Fraction Ball R&D Project Team
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14099/50
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Item Open Access Equity-Focused Programs to Measure and Promote Math Learning and Executive Functioning(2023-06-05) Ramani, Geetha B. ; Guo, Siling; Pahor, Anja; Buschkuehl, Martin; Mayes, AmandaDisparities found in children’s mathematical achievement are often due to unequal access to opportunities and resources. Therefore, providing rich, challenging, and evidence-based approaches for all students is critical for reducing differences in math outcomes. Targeting foundational underlying skills, such as executive functioning (EF), also could assist in reducing these inequalities found in math performance. This symposium includes four projects that are a part of the EF+Math Program, which supports multidisciplinary teams to develop methods and tools to measure and promote math learning by strengthening EF skills. The program centers students in grades 3-8, with a particular focus on Black and Latine students experiencing poverty in the United States. The symposium will present innovative methods and tools designed with a focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion to test and promote mathematical learning and executive functioning. In the first presentation, Guo will discuss an active and playful learning approach to promote children’s rational number learning and emotions. In the second presentation, Pahor will present a novel set of tools to measure and visualize math and EF skills using mobile app technology. In the third presentation, Buschkuehl will present findings from a novel web-based program to promote math fact fluency and EF skills simultaneously. Finally, Mayes will discuss a curriculum overlay for 3rd-5th grade students to improve EF skills, math identity, and math outcomes for Black and Latine students. Together, the symposium will present innovative approaches that could be used as resources and opportunities to enhance students’ mathematical outcomes.Item Open Access Fraction Ball: Playful and Physically Active Fraction and Decimal Learning(American Psychological Association, 2022) Bustamante, Andres S.; Begolli, Kreshnik N.; Alvarez-Vargas, Daniela; Bailey, Drew H. ; Richland, Lindsey E.This study tested a novel approach to capitalizing on the benefits of play for informal math learning. Two experiments evaluated a platform called “Fraction Ball,” that provides an embodied, playful, and physically active learning experience by modifying the lines on a basketball court to support rational number learning. In the Pilot Experiment, 69 fifth–sixth graders were randomly assigned to play a set of four different Fraction Ball games or attend normal physical education (PE) class and completed rational number pretests and posttests. After strategic improvements to expand the intervention, the same protocol was implemented in the Efficacy Experiment with 160 fourth–sixth graders. Playing Fraction Ball for four PE class periods (Pilot Experiment) improved students’ ability to convert fractions to decimals. Playing a revised version of six different Fraction Ball games for six PE class periods (Efficacy Experiment) significantly improved children’s rational number understanding as reflected by higher scores in overall accuracy, with positive impacts on several subtests. Fraction Ball represents a low-cost, highly scalable intervention that promotes math learning in a fun and engaging approach. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)Item Open Access Evidence-based Designs for Physically Active and Playful Math Learning(Theory into Practice, Taylor & Francis, 2023-05-08) Alvarez-Vargas, Daniela; Lopez Perez, Jessica Paola; Bermudez, Vanessa N.; Beltrán-Grimm, Susana; Santana, Evelyn; Begolli, Kreshnik N.; Bustamante, Andres S.In this article, we demonstrate how playful learning serves to provide optimal learning opportunities through teacher-guided play. First, we describe the theoretical design principles that can be leveraged to support mathematical learning for students that have been underserved. Then, we provide concrete examples of evidence-based games that can be directly applied by teachers within their classrooms and beyond the classrooms into the schoolyard. Lastly, we conclude with a detailed graphical tutorial showcasing how the research literature and evidence-based classroom learning activities inform the development of 2 different mathematics games that supplement classroom instruction. We share the design of whole number and rational number basketball games to emphasize how teachers, administrators, and policymakers can replicate these games in their own context. Overall, this work can inform administrators and policymakers on supporting math and physical education by developing guided activities that incorporate the principles of the science of learning, motivation, and physical education science to provide students with optimal math learning opportunities.Item Open Access Fueling an Inclusive R&D Approach to Education Research and Development(2022-10-17) Uncapher, Melina; Francisco, Aubrey; Rosario, Enid; Lange, Karin; Lindo, Debbra; Young, Tyron; Bustamante, Andres S.; Rodriguez, Karina; Torres, Diana