Elementary school students' prolonged experiences with positive numbers and operations often lead to their overgeneralizations of rules (e.g., adding always makes larger numbers, subtracting always makes smaller numbers). These overgeneralizations can make learning algebra more difficult later, particularly when students must simultaneously learn algebra, negative numbers, and operations with negative numbers. The purpose of this project is to design and develop educational games centered on negative number concepts that target students before they learn algebra in middle school. Earlier exposure to and learning about negative numbers could increase students' motivation, understanding of connections between positive and negative numbers, and preparation for algebra.
Projects
Elementary school students' prolonged experiences with positive numbers and operations often lead to their overgeneralizations of rules (e.g., adding always makes larger numbers, subtracting always makes smaller numbers). These overgeneralizations can make learning algebra more difficult later, particularly when students must simultaneously learn algebra, negative numbers, and operations with negative numbers. The purpose of this project is to design and develop educational games centered on negative number concepts that target students before they learn algebra in middle school. Earlier exposure to and learning about negative numbers could increase students' motivation, understanding of connections between positive and negative numbers, and preparation for algebra.
This project addresses the critical need for improved mathematics education of elementary teachers and their students by preparing and supporting Elementary Mathematics Specialists (EMSs) who are highly effective mathematics teachers and teacher leaders. The program provides these EMSs with professional development grounded in research-informed practices and focuses on refinement of an existing program. The project aims to develop ambitious, responsive mathematics instruction and to provide high-quality coaching to teacher candidates and novice teachers.
This project will investigate how to design an after-school mathematics space within a school setting that can challenge and expand both students' and teachers' conceptions of what doing mathematics means and teach them to see participation in the discipline in increasingly nuanced and expansive ways. The study focuses on designing an after-school program to support recreational mathematics activities for elementary students. At the same time, teachers who are supporting the after-school program with students will have the opportunity to learn to notice different forms of mathematical participation and learning.
As STEM education researchers work to improve STEM teaching and learning in schools and districts across the nation, rural communities are often overlooked. There is a definite critical need for STEM education research focused on rural communities. Rural schools typically have less funding for STEM programs, have trouble recruiting and retaining quality STEM teachers, and have less access to STEM learning opportunities. Yet, rural communities possess an abundance of ingenuity, resourcefulness, and collective problem-solving skills. This project works to address this need by bringing together researchers, rural educators, and workforce leaders in rural communities to support the mutual exchange of knowledge and learning around pressing problems in rural K-12 STEM education, understanding rural ingenuity within teaching STEM, and STEM education's connection with the local workforce.
While family engagement in mathematics is highly predictive of children's mathematical outcomes, teachers' family engagement responsibilities are rarely addressed in teacher preparation programs. This conference seeks to improve how teacher preparation programs equip educators to engage families in preK-5 children's math learning by bringing together math teacher educators, preK-5 classroom teachers, families/caregivers, and mathematics teacher candidates. Beginning with an in-person gathering and followed by two virtual workshops, the conference will elevate models of community-engaged mathematics teacher preparation and explore the competencies that elementary grade teachers must develop to meaningfully engage families in mathematics.
Disengagement from mathematics during middle and high school is a widespread concern that contributes to lower academic achievement and diminished long-term participation in STEM fields. Research shows that students' beliefs about their ability to grow and improve—often referred to as growth mindsets—can significantly enhance motivation, persistence, and performance. However, classroom environments and teacher practices play a critical role in shaping these beliefs. This project evaluates a professional development program, Fellowship Using the Science of Engagement (FUSE), designed to help 6th through 9th grade math teachers adopt instructional practices that foster growth mindset-supportive learning environments. The program provides teachers with research-based insights into adolescent development, structured opportunities to revise their instructional language and feedback practices, and personalized guidance through AI-supported coaching. The study examines whether the FUSE program improves teacher mindsets, communication practices, and well-being, and whether these changes lead to increased student motivation, improved perceptions of classroom climate, and higher performance on state mathematics assessments.
Rapid changes in computing, especially with advances in artificial intelligence, are reshaping the future needs of society and the demands on the STEM workforce. More than ever, computer science (CS) education is critical for all children. Many schools are looking for ways to introduce CS skills and thinking in the elementary grades. Whereas some initiatives have focused on coding as its own endeavor, not integrated with subjects like mathematics, science, or literacy, developers and researchers are increasingly exploring ways that programming and computational thinking (CT) can be integrated into core content. This project will design and study resources that build teacher capacity to integrate CS/CT into mathematics by building on the investigators' prior work developing integrated Math+CS modules in grades 2-5.