The investigators seek are examining the relationship between specific technology-based motivational activities and grade 5 to 9 student interest in STEM careers through a variety of classroom-based experiences. Students will be exposed to the work of STEM professionals, take a scripted two-day mathematics lesson, solve problems in algebra, and respond to questionnaires immediately after and six months after the experience. The study will vary the technological context of the induction experiences and hold constant the instructional component. They will test a series of specific hypotheses relating motivation, self-efficacy, STEM career interest, and mathematics learning to activity assignment. Student induction activities will involve watching career-related videos that provide the context of the to-be-solved problems; assuming the identity of a STEM professional in a multi-user virtual environment (MUVE); or receiving a narrative description of the problem-solving context from the teacher using PowerPoint-like presentation media.
Students will be provided opportunities to explore, represent, and analyze real-life situations which involve varying quantities based on a model of how professionals use algebra. They expect students to find such activities more motivating and have longer lasting effects than found in typical instruction.
The focus of the Transforming the Engagement of Students in Learning Algebra (TESLA) project was to design and study ways to enhance the motivation and learning in mathematics of students in grades five through eight, through providing an innovative, technology-based curriculum coupled with teacher professional development. The goal was to enhance the educational accomplishments of students and teachers while adding to the knowledge of educators about effective practices in motivation, instruction, and learning. Curricular design was based on major theories of motivation. The curriculum included three alternative motivational activities coupled with effective and authentic mathematics learning, in order to develop insights about inductions related to confidence in math and science capability, seeing one’s abilities in STEM as able to improve over time, and developing a passion or sustained interest in becoming a scientist or engineer. Further, the project studied the impacts of media with substantially different production costs, providing the basis for a cost-benefit analysis. At the core of Induction 1 was an Immersive Virtual Environment (IVE) - a game-like activity we designed to introduce students to the mathematical concepts that were to follow in a subsequent lesson. For the storyline of the IVE, students were provided with the opportunity to explore an outer space environment in the context of a space rescue mission (Figure 1). Vicarious experiences were included in Induction 1 by including real-life, young, STEM professionals who discussed their jobs and the types of obstacles that they faced (and overcame) as they pursued a STEM career (Figure 2). In contrast, students assigned to Induction 2 were given access to an abridged version of the Mindset Works® StudentKit - Brainology® program (www.mindsetworks.com). In a series of interactive modules, animated characters taught students how the brain works and how the brain grows stronger with effort (Figure 3). Induction 3 was intended to provide an off-the-shelf experience for students related to some of the mathematical ideas that were to come in the mathematics lesson. For induction 3, the project selected a commercially available PBS NOVA video on fractals because of its engaging storyline and graphics, its focus on mathematical patterns, and the accessibility of the content to the target population of students (Figure 4). In spring, 2012, a one-week mathematics curriculum with these three technology-rich, motivational activities was implemented for all fifth through eighth grade students and teachers in a large public school system in Virginia. A total of 18,628 students participated in the study, along with their 476 teachers, from 38 elementary and 12 middle schools. Across the district, the curriculum was implemented in a total of 545 distinct mathematics classes. Overall, and despite the fact that the intervention lasted only one week, most students made gains in mathematics learning and in the belief that they were capable of doing mathematics. This is encouraging given the struggles students are having nationwide with pre-algebra and algebra, which are key gatekeepers for careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). With respect to the technological activities, the researchers found that there is no one-size-fits-all technology activity that motivates all students and helps them learn math. Although the project explored a large variety of factors that might be related to how students respond to these technology activities (e.g., previous achievement, grade level, race/ethnicity, gender, Free/Reduced Lunch status), the only variable that mattered was students’ grade level. This means that, when educators design technology activities, they must be attuned to the developmental appropriateness of these activities.. This is an important finding for curriculum design in general. The researchers found no significant differences in how students responded to the different technology activities based on teacher-level factors such as years of experience and credentialing. This might be because the researchers and school system coordinated efforts both to train teachers and rally teachers and staff to implement a "best practices" math unit. This is encouraging in showing that, given proper preparation and guidance, all teachers can succeed with curricula that utilize technology and active forms of student engagement and learning. TESLA made contributions for how motivation theory can inform the design of technology-based learning experiences that engage students and motivate them to learn disciplinary content. In particular, the project produced heuristics for reaching students who may be uninterested in or phobic about mathematics learning. Project results are encouraging about developers’ ability to create instructional interventions and professional development that are effective when experienced by a wide range of students and teachers. Further research is needed to determine the degree and type of instructional "dosage" necessary to change multi-dimensional, deep-rooted motivational constructs, such as self-efficacy. TESLA also has developed insights about implementing technology-based learning experiences at very high levels of scale (18000+ students, 400+ teachers) while collecting research data in the process.
