Middle School

Reasoning Language for Teaching Secondary Algebra (ReLaTe-SA) is working in partnership with the San Antonio Independent School District to investigate the algebraic reasoning and discourse tools that secondary mathematics teachers use to make algebra concepts accessible for students and orchestrate and respond to student work on mathematics tasks. We are investigating teachers' algebraic discourse through written surveys, interviews, and a year-long professional development program focused on enhancing students' opportunities for algebraic reasoning in the classroom.

The Building on MOSTs project focuses on improving the teaching of secondary school mathematics by exploring the teaching practice of building on MOSTs (Mathematical Opportunities in Student Thinking). We cyclically work with teachers to enact the practice, analyze those enactments, and refine our understanding of the practice. Building consists of four elements: (1) Establish, (2) Grapple Toss, (3) Conduct, and (4) Make Explicit.
PI: Keith Leatham, Brigham Young University

With operating title Researching Order of Teaching (ROOT), this project brings together 100 middle grades mathematics teachers in a teacher-researcher alliance to articulate effective instructional practices for promoting modeling and problem-solving achievement. Strategies center around Explicit Attention to Concepts and Student Opportunities to Struggle, culminating in a randomized cluster crossover trial. The poster includes results from the first two years, featuring professional development materials, a video observation tool, and findings from classroom studies.

Our vision is to make computational modeling a sustained practice in middle school science classrooms. We are working closely with teachers to design a tool and curricula that integrate computational modeling with data practices and enables students to move towards unpacking models and their underlying assumptions. Our research questions involve investigating 1. students modeling trajectories in this environment; 2. how classrooms norms develop over time; and, 3. the interplay between computational modeling and data practices.

Through DEAP, we have created three Problem-Solving Measures (PSMs) that address the Common Core State Math Content for grades 3, 4, 5, and 6 and built a robust validity argument for their use and score interpretations. We have also used vertical equating to link the PSMs with the already functioning middle-school PSMs (grades 6, 7, and 8). We are constructing a DEAP reporting system and investigating how the reporting system formatively informs teachers instructional decisions.

Aqualab is an online video game to teach scientific practices in the context of life sciences for middle school. Students use science practices of experimentation, modeling, and argumentation to investigate questions related to aquatic ecosystems. The project is developing and scaffolding layers of science practices within the gameplay, and exploring how learning progressions can be empirically derived from game data. The findings will be used to create personalized interventions to improve student learning outcomes.

Aqualab is an online video game to teach scientific practices in the context of life sciences for middle school. Students use science practices of experimentation, modeling, and argumentation to investigate questions related to aquatic ecosystems. The project is developing and scaffolding layers of science practices within the gameplay, and exploring how learning progressions can be empirically derived from game data. The findings will be used to create personalized interventions to improve student learning outcomes.