Lynch School of Education Associate Professor Laura O鈥橠wyer has been awarded a $3.8 million grant from the National Science Foundation for her project 鈥淪upporting Success in Algebra,鈥� a four-year quasi-experiment designed to examine the impact of the Transition to Algebra intervention, a supplemental math course provided to high school freshmen.
Algebra is a cornerstone of a college prepatory curriculum, said O鈥橠wyer, who will conduct the study with the Education Development Center, which created the Transition to Algebra intervention.
Successful completion of algebra by ninth graders is linked to higher rates of graduation, college enrollment and completion, and workforce preparation. Ninth grade in general is an important year of academic transition, according to O鈥橠wyer, a professor in the Lynch School鈥檚 Department of Educational Research, Measurement and Evaluation.
鈥淣inth grade is a pivotal year for high school students: Studies have shown that poor performance in ninth grade, especially course failure, substantially increases students鈥� risk of dropping out of high school and falling off track for college eligibility.
鈥淢oreover, access to algebra appears to be even more important for low-income and minority students,鈥� she added. 鈥淭he TTA intervention was developed because success in algebra is a critical milestone for high school students.鈥�
Implementing a quasi-experiment in the field with as many as 5,000 students and their teachers, O鈥橠wyer will look at the effectiveness of Transition to Algebra, which tries to establish the 鈥渓ogic of algebra鈥� by connecting arithmetic pattern and algebraic structure, with a focus on 鈥渉abits of mind鈥� to create a coherent mathematical storyline, she said.聽
Transition to Algebra, O鈥橠wyer notes, is organized around five key mathematical ways of thinking: puzzling and persevering, seeking and using structure, using tools strategically, describing repeated reasoning, and communicating with precision.
鈥淲e hope that our findings will provide a deeper understanding of the curriculum and system supports that promote success for students at risk of failure in algebra,鈥� O鈥橠wyer said. 鈥淏y generating knowledge about ways to improve the achievement and attitudes of underprepared algebra students, we expect that the results of this work can help to broaden students鈥� participation in mathematics, through and beyond algebra courses in high school.鈥�
O鈥橠wyer said she is tackling the challenges presented by the scope of the study. She and her colleagues are currently developing instruments for field study and data collection and recruiting school districts to participate in the research.
鈥淥ur research plans are quite ambitious 鈥� we plan to implement a quasi-experimental pre-post research design in 70 schools,鈥� said O鈥橠wyer. 鈥淥verall, we will be working with about 350 teachers serving over 5,000 students. Getting such a large study up and running in the field is both challenging and exciting.鈥�
-Ed Hayward / University Communications