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Overview

Algebraic competence and mastery are key components for students and yet this is an area of concern, especially for students with or at-risk for or with learning difficulties in mathematics. This project is an efficacy study of Promoting Algebra Readiness (PAR). PAR is a mathematics intervention focused on properties and operations with whole and rational numbers to support the mathematics learning of 6th grade students who are identified as students with or at-risk for mathematics difficulties. The intervention was developed as part of a previously funded project (R324A120115) and is designed to be used as a supplementary intervention within a multi-tiered system of support (MTSS) framework.

Funder

(Grant No. )

Partners

University of Oregon (OU)

Oregon Research Institute (ORI)

Principal Investigator

at the University of Oregon

Co-Principal Investigators

Dr. Leanne Ketterlin Geller at °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²ÊÔ¤²â

at the University of Oregon

Purpose

The purpose of the project is to expand the growing but limited body of research on effective middle school interventions targeting foundational fractions content needed to ensure access to advanced mathematics including Algebra. The project also addresses the need for research-based instructional interventions to fully articulate and implement MTSS service delivery models in middle school settings. To achieve these purposes, we will conduct an efficacy study of the Promoting Algebra Readiness intervention which is a 93-lesson, Tier 2, mathematics intervention for students with or at-risk for mathematics difficulties (MD). There are three major aims of the project: (a) identify the immediate and long-term effect of PAR intervention on the mathematics outcomes of 6th grade students with or at-risk for MD, (b) identify what student and interventionist characteristics moderate the PAR intervention effects, and (c) explore relationships between variables related to the implementation of the PAR intervention, student mathematics outcomes, and end-user characteristics that may lead to and sustain successful implementation of PAR.

Methodology

Across the five years of this project, we examine the effectiveness of Promoting Algebra Readiness (PAR) in a series of randomized controlled trials (RCT). The treated sample includes students identified as with or at-risk for MD). We will randomly assign students to treatment (PAR) or a control condition.

All 93-lessons of the PAR intervention will be implemented in 4 different strands. The intervention will be delivered to small groups of 5-10 students, for approximately 30 minutes, five days a week. During the study, data will be collected in treatment classrooms using multiple measures including observations, teacher surveys, and mathematics measure to examine the potential promise of PAR intervention for increasing student achievement.

Outcomes

Preliminary evidence has shown PAR to be effective for increasing the mathematics achievement of 6th grade students with or at-risk for MD (Clarke et al., 2020). Using a series of RCTs implemented across two states, we aim to (a) test the impact of the PAR intervention on immediate and long-term math outcomes for students with MD; (b) explore a range of potential teacher and student-level moderators of the intervention effects to identify the conditions under which PAR is effective; and (c) explore relationships between the implementation of the PAR intervention, student math outcomes, and end-user characteristics that may lead to and sustain successful implementation of PAR.

References

Lesner, T., Clarke, B., Nelson, N., Kosty, D., Ketterlin-Geller, L., & Smolkowski, K. (Advance Online Publication). Exploring the relationship between initial mathematics skill and a sixth-grade fractions intervention. Learning Disability Quarterly.

Clarke, B., Nelson, N. J., Ketterlin-Geller, L. R., Kosty, D., Smolkowski, K., Lesner, T., Furjanic, D., & Fien, H. (2020). Investigating the promise of a tier two sixth grade fractions intervention. Learning Disability Quarterly.