Alternative Paths to Improved Word-Problem Performance: An Advantage for Embedding Prealgebraic Reasoning Instruction within Word-Problem Intervention
Powell, Sarah R.; Berry, Katherine A.; Fall, Anna-Maria; Roberts, Greg; Fuchs, Lynn S.; Barnes, Marcia A. (2021). Journal of Educational Psychology, v113 n5 p898-910 . Retrieved from: https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1303844
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examining284Students, grade3
Department-funded evaluation
Review Details
Reviewed: September 2023
- Department-funded evaluation (findings for Pirate Math with and without Equation Quest (PMEQ and PM))
- Randomized Controlled Trial
- Meets WWC standards without reservations because it is a randomized controlled trial with low attrition.
This review may not reflect the full body of research evidence for this intervention.
Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.
Findings
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Open Equations |
Pirate Math with and without Equation Quest (PMEQ and PM) vs. Business as usual |
6 Days |
Aggregated sample;
|
12.53 |
10.61 |
Yes |
|
|
|
Equal Sign Tasks |
Pirate Math with and without Equation Quest (PMEQ and PM) vs. Business as usual |
6 Days |
Aggregated sample;
|
8.76 |
7.87 |
Yes |
|
|
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Texas Word Problems |
Pirate Math with and without Equation Quest (PMEQ and PM) vs. Business as usual |
6 Days |
Aggregated sample;
|
26.19 |
10.67 |
Yes |
|
|
Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.
Sample Characteristics
Characteristics of study sample as reported by study author.
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Female: 56%
Male: 44% -
Urban
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Race Asian 3% Black 12% Other or unknown 74% Two or more races 7% White 5% -
Ethnicity Hispanic 69% Not Hispanic or Latino 31% -
Eligible for Free and Reduced Price Lunch Other or unknown 100%
Study Details
Setting
The study took place in grade 3 general education classrooms located in public schools in a large urban school district in the Southwestern United States.
Study sample
Across two school years, the researchers randomly assigned 105 grade 3 students to the Pirate Math Equation Quest (PMEQ) condition, 84 students to the Pirate Math alone (PM-alone) condition, and 115 students to the business-as-usual condition. In year one, students were taught by 37 teachers in 13 schools. In year two, students were taught by 33 teachers in 13 schools. Students who were identified as having mathematics difficulty were eligible to participate in the study. This review assesses the contrast between students in the intervention conditions (PMEQ and PM-alone) and the business-as-usual condition. A total of 284 students in grade 3 were included in this analysis. Approximately 56% of the students were female, 61% were dual-language learners, and 12% were special education students. Twelve percent were African American, 7% were multiracial, 5% were White, 3% were Asian, and the rest had unknown race. Sixty-nine percent were Hispanic.
Intervention Group
Pirate Math is a word-problem solving intervention designed to help students who are struggling with word problems. PMEQ and PM-alone took place three times per week for 30 minutes a session, for a total of 45 sessions. The interventionists worked with students individually in a quiet place outside of the classroom, such as the school library, a conference room, or an extra classroom. PMEQ and PM-alone students participated in five activities during each session: (a) Math Fact Flashcards, (b) Equation Quest or Pirate Crunch, (c) Buccaneer Problems, (d) Shipshape Sorting, and (e) Jolly Roger Review. Only one activity differed for students in the two intervention conditions: PMEQ students participated in Equation Quest where they deepened their understanding of the equal sign and learned to balance equations with a variable while PM-alone students participated in Pirate Crunch where they completed a review of mathematical concepts that were unrelated to the equal sign or word problems.
Comparison Group
Students in the comparison group received business-as-usual grade 3 mathematics instruction. Classroom word-problem instruction for students in this condition (as well as for students in the PMEQ and PM-alone conditions) incorporated general mnemonic devices such as RICE: Read and restate, Illustrate, Calculate, Explain and edit; key word clues; and practice in applying problem-solution rules. Notably, none of the core mathematics classroom practices included schema instruction or explicit discussions about the equal sign as a relational symbol.
Support for implementation
In each year, interventionists participated in four, 1.5-hr tutoring trainings about the content of the intervention and the three types of additive word problem schemas: Total, Difference, and Change problems.
An indicator of the effect of the intervention, the improvement index can be interpreted as the expected change in percentile rank for an average comparison group student if that student had received the intervention.
For more, please see the WWC Glossary entry for improvement index.
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A finding that is included in the effectiveness rating. Excluded findings may include subgroups and subscales.
The sample on which the analysis was conducted.
The group to which the intervention group is compared, which may include a different intervention, business as usual, or no services.
The timing of the post-intervention outcome measure.
The number of students included in the analysis.
The mean score of students in the intervention group.
The mean score of students in the comparison group.
The WWC considers a finding to be statistically significant if the likelihood that the finding is due to chance alone, rather than a real difference, is less than five percent.
The WWC reviews studies for WWC products, Department of Education grant competitions, and IES performance measures.
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A related publication that was reviewed alongside the main study of interest.
Study findings for this report.
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Tier 2 Moderate indicates moderate evidence of effectiveness, and
Tier 3 Promising indicates promising evidence of effectiveness,
as defined in the
non-regulatory guidance for ESSA
and the regulations for ED discretionary grants (EDGAR Part 77).