Longitudinal Evaluation of a Scale-Up Model for Teaching Mathematics with Trajectories and Technologies: Mechanisms of Persistence of Effects
Author: Clements, Douglas H.
Date: 2011-00-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Preschool Education,Mathematics Instruction,Intervention,Mathematics Achievement,Longitudinal Studies,Kindergarten,Grade 1,Instructional Effectiveness

The author and her colleagues' TRIAD model (Sarama, Clements, Starkey, Klein, &amp; Wakeley, 2008), including the &quot;Building Blocks&quot; curriculum, have significantly and substantially increased preschooler's mathematical competence, both in previous studies (Clements &amp; Sarama, 2008, g = 1.07) and in their present, largest implementation (Clements, Sarama, Spitler, Lange, &amp; Wolfe, in press, g = 0.72). The present study was the first to evaluate the effects of this model longitudinally. The authors' overarching research question was: &quot;What are the long-range (persistence of) effects of the TRIAD intervention, with and without follow through, on achievement?&quot; The present research included two experimental groups (and one control group). In both, pre-K teachers participated in the intervention. In the Follow-Through experimental group, teachers in grades K and 1 were taught about the pre-K intervention and ways to build upon it. Do both experimental groups outperform those in the comparison group in math achievement on the average, at the end of kindergarten and first grade? Do children in the experimental TRIAD Follow-Through (TRIAD-FT) group on the average outperform children in the TRIAD (non-follow through, TRIAD-NFT) experimental group (the value added question)? At the end of Kindergarten, both experimental groups outperformed the control group in math achievement at the end of kindergarten. However, contrary to their hypothesis, the TRIAD Follow Through did not statistically significantly outperform the TRIAD Non-Follow Through (TRIAD-NFT) group. Although it is encouraging that the gains of both TRIAD groups persisted, these findings did not support their hypothesis that Follow Through would be effective and necessary for this persistence. Nevertheless, the effect size of the TRIAD Follow Through group vs. the control group (0.55) was greater than that of the TRIAD-NFT group (0.34), so the trends were consistent with their expectations. There was no evidence that the &quot;Building Blocks&quot; intervention was differentially effective for schools with different percentages of students with free or reduced lunch or English Language Learners, nor for individual children with or without IEPs. There was evidence that the intervention was differentially effective for one ethnic/racial comparison: African-American children learned less than other children in the same control classrooms and African-American children learned more than other children in the same Building Blocks classrooms in Kindergarten. There are five basic recommendations: (1) Curriculum and policy should ensure that children, especially those living in poverty, should be provided with research-based, focused early mathematical interventions which can increase their knowledge of multiple mathematical concepts and skills (including, but also going beyond number); (2) It is essential that preschool mathematics interventions be continued into the primary grades; (3) The Curriculum Research Framework (Clements, 2007) upon which the curriculum was based has been repeatedly empirically supported and may serve as a useful guide to policy   makers, curriculum and software developers, and administrators; (4) The learning trajectories at the core of the curriculum and TRIAD model may constitute a useful construct in future research, curriculum development, and professional development efforts; and (5) This is the first study of this kind of which they are away. They need more research on the conditions that children from early interventions enter in the primary school years. Appended are: (1) References; and (2) Tables and Figures. (Contains 2 figures.) [This paper was written with Julie Sarama, Mary Elaine Spitler and Christopher B. Wolfe.]