Middle

There is strong empirical evidence in support of learning from comparisons in mathematics education research (Rittle-Johnson & Star, 2007; Star, Pollack, et al., 2015; Star et al., 2016). Comparisons have produced gains in students’ procedural knowledge, flexibility, and conceptual knowledge of algebra (Lynch & Star, 2014; Star, Newton, et al., 2015; Star, Pollack, et al., 2015). The Animated Contrasting Cases in Geometry project seeks to extend this research and transform the learning of geometry for middle school students by designing a supplementary digital animated curriculum.

The purpose of the Reasoning Language for Teaching Secondary Algebra (ReLaTe-SA) project is to understand teachers' use of reasoning language for teaching concepts and procedures in middle and high school algebra. Previous studies on algebra and algebraic reasoning have investigated other aspects, including students’ conceptions and discourse. The link between students' discourse and conceptual understanding has been explored (Chesnais & Constantin, 2020; Reinhardtsen, 2020). However, less is known about middle and high school teachers' language in the algebra classroom.

This report describes initial findings from a study of middle school science curriculum materials that were designed to promote learning as called for by the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS).

WestEd led an independent randomized controlled trial to evaluate the efficacy of the NGSS-designed Amplify Science Middle School (ASMS) curriculum. This study examined the impact of the materials in 7th grade classrooms across three school districts in two states.

Since March 2020, in-person science competitions have been cancelled or moved to a virtual space. This reality has encouraged teachers and students to find alternative ways to disseminate student research and participate in a scientific community. Participating in the peer review and publication of one’s research offers one such alternative. The Journal of Emerging Investigators (JEI) is a free, online, peer-reviewed science journal specifically for middle school and high school students.

Scientists spend a substantial amount of their time engaging with the primary literature: reading, constructing, reviewing and revising it. Yet, the role of primary literature is generally absent from the development of scientific inquiry skills in the pre-college science classroom, thus undermining a true understanding of what it means to do science. In this study, we examined middle and high school student perceptions of scientific inquiry and the role of disciplinary literacy practices after engaging in scientific review and publication of their research papers.

The researchers conducted a qualitative analysis of the perceptions of school personnel and pre-service teachers about an Algebra I tutoring program for students with learning disabilities. The researchers surveyed and interviewed the participants about the effectiveness of the program for the mathematics learning of the students with LD at the school and as a learning experience for the pre-service teachers. The school personnel indicated there was a mutually beneficial relationship between the tutors and the school.

This study explored an innovative coaching model termed video-based online video coaching. The innovation builds from affordances of robot-enabled videorecording of lessons, accompanied by built-in uploading and annotation features. While in-person coaching has proven effective for providing sustained support for teachers to take up challenging instructional practices, there are constraints. Both logistical and human capacity constraints make in-person coaching difficult to implement, particularly in rural contexts.

This study examined how mathematics coaches leverage written annotations to support professional discourse with teachers about important classroom events during synchronous debriefing conversations. Coaches and teachers created the annotations while asynchronously watching video of an implemented lesson as part of online video-assisted coaching cycles. More specifically, this project examined the extent to which a coach and teacher discussed the annotations during a debrief conversation in a coaching cycle.

In this project, we have designed, implemented, and started to research an innovative fully online video-based professional development model for mathematics coaches in rural contexts. Coaches in rural areas often lack access to professional development available in more populated areas, fueling the need for an online model that bridges geographic barriers (Howley & Howley, 2005; Maher & Prescott, 2017). The intent of the poster will be to share the professional development model and describe the research processes that are currently in progress.

In this chapter, we describe a three-part fully online model for the professional development of middle school mathematics teachers. While the model could be applied to any context, we created it for rural mathematics teachers to provide them access to high-quality professional development and to demonstrate that we could move face-to-face experiences to an online context without losing interactional qualities or intellectual rigor. We describe the model and how we researched it.