Project Activities
The AnimalWatch System is a computer-based intelligent tutoring program that provides students in pre-algebra classes the opportunity for individualized guided practice, immediate feedback, and practice to increase computational fluency. The efficacy of the AnimalWatch System will be evaluated using a block-randomized design with teachers in grade 6 randomly assigned to the treatment and control condition within schools. The teachers assigned to the treatment condition will teach their standard math curriculum with the AnimalWatch System replacing specific lesson topics. Teachers in the control condition will teach their students using the standard curriculum without the AnimalWatch System.
Structured Abstract
Setting
The settings for this study are urban school districts in California.
Sample
The study sample will consist of 70 grade 6 teachers and their students.
Intervention
The AnimalWatch System includes multiple components that are designed to build students' proficiency with pre-algebra mathematics operations, with a specific focus on word problems and basic skills. The AnimalWatch System was designed on the basis of three principles that are predicted to improve mathematics achievement: (1) individualized guided practice, (2) immediate feedback to support self-correction and transfer, and (3) increased computational fluency. The system is accessed via the Internet and is designed primarily for use as a supplement to reinforce classroom instruction. Embedded within the system for each lesson is a content index that lists primary and secondary learning objectives. Teachers use the learning objectives of each lesson to select which activities in the standard curriculum will be replaced by activities using the AnimalWatch System.
Research design and methods
The study will use a block-randomized design with teachers randomly assigned to the treatment and control condition within schools. A total of 35 teachers will be assigned to the treatment condition and 35 teachers to the control condition. The teachers assigned to the treatment condition will teach their standard math curriculum with the AnimalWatch System replacing specific lesson topics. Implementation of the AnimalWatch System will be monitored through the collection of survey data from teachers in both treatment and control classrooms and from observational data from a sample of classrooms.
Control condition
Teachers in the control condition will teach their grade 6 students using the standard curriculum in place at the school without the AnimalWatch System.
Key measures
Student achievement in mathematics, the key outcome measure in the study, will be measured by the California Standards Test (CST) in mathematics and the California Mathematics Diagnostic Testing Program's (MDTP) pre-algebra readiness assessment.
Data analytic strategy
The primary analyses will involve fitting conditional mixed effects ANCOVA models (hierarchical or multilevel models) with an additional term to account for the nesting of students within classrooms within schools. The three-level hierarchical linear model will be used to estimate the impact of the AnimalWatch System on students' mathematics achievement.
People and institutions involved
IES program contact(s)
Products and publications
Products: The products of this project will be evidence of the efficacy of the AnimalWatch System for students in grade 6 and published reports.
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Supplemental information
Co-Principal Investigator: Carole Beal (University of Arizona)
Questions about this project?
To answer additional questions about this project or provide feedback, please contact the program officer.
