Project Activities
The researchers will evaluate the long-term effects of the TRIAD program on students' mathematics achievement by following the original sample of pre-kindergarten to Grade 1 students during Grades 2 through 5.
Structured Abstract
Setting
The setting for this study includes elementary schools in New York and Massachusetts.
Sample
The schools are located in diverse racial and socioeconomic, low-resource communities. The study sample will consist of at least 900 students from the original TRIAD scale-up evaluation.
The TRIAD intervention consisted of two treatment groups. The general TRIAD intervention included the use of the Building Blocks researched-based pre-Kindergarten mathematics curriculum, teacher professional development, and use of the Building Blocks software and Building Blocks Learning Trajectory web application. The second treatment condition, TRIAD plus Follow-Through, included the same components as the general TRIAD intervention, plus a follow-through intervention with participating teachers during the students' Kindergarten and Grade 1 years. In this condition, teachers were informed about the students' prior mathematical accomplishments and competences, and provided tools (e.g., Building Blocks software and Learning Trajectory web application) to support the students' trajectories of learning in mathematics.
Research design and methods
Participants in the original scale-up evaluation included 1,305 students, 106 pre-Kindergarten teachers, 270 Kindergarten teachers, and 345 Grade 1 teachers. Schools were randomly assigned during pre-Kindergarten to one of three conditions: TRIAD; TRIAD plus Follow-Through at Kindergarten and Grade 1; and control. In the current study, the researchers will follow the original sample of students when they are in Grades 2 through 5 to collect data on the students' mathematics achievement. In addition, the researchers will also follow up with the study's original pre-Kindergarten teachers to examine the sustainability of the TRIAD intervention.
Control condition
Students in the control condition during the original TRIAD evaluation received business-as-usual instruction in mathematics.
Key measures
The measures to be collected include the Tools for Elementary Assessment in Mathematics (TEAM), school records and state mathematics assessments, a teacher and administrator questionnaire and interview, a parent questionnaire, and the Classroom Observation of Early Mathematics Environment and Teaching (COEMET). The researchers will randomly select classrooms for observations, adjusting for the number of TRIAD children in the classroom, with a heavier sampling of classrooms that have more TRIAD children.
Data analytic strategy
Data analyses include hierarchical linear modeling to assess the long-term impact of the TRIAD intervention on students' mathematics achievement at Grades 2 through 5. Growth curve modeling will also be conducted to determine which early mathematical knowledge and skills are critical for long-range student success in mathematics.
People and institutions involved
IES program contact(s)
Products and publications
Products: The products of this project include information describing the long-term outcomes of the TRIAD program on elementary mathematics outcomes and future published reports of the projects' findings.
Book
Sarama, J., Clements, D.H., Germeroth, C., and Day-Hess, C.A. (2017). The Development of Early Childhood Mathematics Education.
Book chapter
Clements, D.H., and Sarama, J. (2012). Learning and Teaching Early and Elementary Mathematics. In J.S. Carlson, and J.R. Levine (Eds.), Instructional Strategies for Improving Student Learning: Focus on Early Mathematics and Reading (pp. 107-162). Charlotte, NC: Information Age.
Clements, D.H., and Sarama, J. (2012). Mathematics Learning, Assessment, and Curriculum. In R.C. Pianta, W.S. Barnett, L.M. Justice, and S.M. Sheridan (Eds.), Handbook of Early Education (pp. 217-239). New York: Guilford Press.
Sarama, J., and Clements, D. H. (2015). Scaling Up Early Mathematics Interventions: Transitioning with Trajectories and Technologies. In B. Perry, A. MacDonald and A. Gervasoni (Eds.), Mathematics and Transition to School (pp. 153-169). Springer.
Sarama, J., and Clements, D.H. (2012). Walking the Same Broad Path (With Side Trips): Response to Comments. In J.S. Carlson, and J.R. Levine (Eds.), Instructional Strategies for Improving Student Learning: Focus on Early Mathematics and Reading (pp. 205-212). Charlotte, NC: Information Age.
Journal article, monograph, or newsletter
Clements, D.H., and Sarama, J. (2015). Discussion from a Mathematics Education Perspective. Mathematical Thinking and Learning, 17 (2): 244-252.
Clements, D.H., Sarama, J., Wolfe, C.B., and Spitler, M.E. (2013). Longitudinal Evaluation of a Scale-Up Model for Teaching Mathematics With Trajectories and Technologies: Persistence of Effects in the Third Year. American Educational Research Journal, 50 (4): 812-850.
Fuson, K.C., Clements, D.H., and Sarama, J. (2015). Making Early Math Education Work for All Children. Phi Delta Kappan, 97 (3): 63-68.
Germeroth, C., and Sarama, J. (2017). Coaching in Early Mathematics. Advances in Child Development and Behavior, 53 : 127-168.
Nguyen, T., Watts, T.W., Duncan, G.J., Clements, D. H., Sarama, J.S., Wolfe, C., and Spitler, M. E. (2016). Which Preschool Mathematics Competencies Are Most Predictive of Fifth Grade Achievement?. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 36 (3): 550-560.
Sarama, J., and Clements, D.H. (2017). Interventions in early mathematics: Avoiding pollution and dilution. Advances in Child Development and Behavior, 53 : 95-126.
Sarama, J., Clements, D.H., Lange, A., and Wolfe, C.B. (2012). The Impacts of an Early Mathematics Curriculum on Oral Language and Literacy. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 27 (3): 489-502.
Sarama, J., Clements, D.H., Wolfe, C.B., and Spitler, M.E. (2012). Longitudinal Evaluation of a Scale-Up Model for Teaching Mathematics With Trajectories and Technologies. Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, 5 (2): 105-135.
Watts, T.W., Clements, D. H., Sarama, J., Wolfe, C.B., Spitler, M.E., and Bailey, D.H. (2017). Does Early Mathematics Intervention Change the Processes Underlying Children's Learning?. Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, 10 (1): 96-115.
Watts, T.W., Duncan, G.J., Clements, D.H., Sarama, J., Wolfe, C.B., and Spitler, M.E. (2017). What is the Long-Run Impact of Learning Mathematics During Preschool?. Child Development, 89(2): 539-555.
Weiland, C., Wolfe, C.B., Hurwitz, M.D., Clements, D.H., Sarama, J., and Yoshikawae, H. (2012). Early Mathematics Assessment: Validation of the Short Form of a Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten Mathematics Measure. Educational Psychology, 32 (3): 311-333.
Additional project information
Previous award details:
Supplemental information
Co-Principal Investigators: Sarama, Julie; Lazer, Carolyn
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