Study Author
& Title
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Strategy, Subjects, Results
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Description of
Strategy/Program
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Misc. |
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Table
information is abbreviated. Click "Read full review" links below for full
citations of author and journal names and for details about the
studies. |
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Study:
D. Bradby and A. Dykman
High Schools That
Work and whole school reform: raising academic achievement completers
through the reform of school practice
Read full review
math_meta_bradby |
N/A |
Strategy:
Effects of High Schools That Work (HSTW) Practices on
Student Achievement
Subjects: 424 high schools from the 650 high
schools in the HSTW network. The students that attend these high
schools are career oriented high school graduates.
Results: An increase in the percentage of
students meeting the recommended curriculum and an increase in the amount
of time students talked to teachers and counselors about high school plans
had a positive effect on science, mathematics, and reading achievement.
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Description: The study looked at six clusters
representing key reform practices promoted by High Schools That Work
(HSTW): curriculum standards, instructional goals, academic/vocational
integration, guidance counseling, teacher practices, and work-based
learning. |
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Study:
A. Ellington
A meta-analysis of
the effects of calculators on students’ achievement and attitude levels in
precollege mathematics classes
Read full review
math_meta_ellington |
N/A |
Strategy: The use of calculators in the
mathematics classroom
Subjects: Students from Kindergarten to the 12th
grade
Results: Mixed results were reported. When
calculators were used in instruction only, operational skills and the
ability to select appropriated problem-solving strategies improved for the
treatment group, but there were no changes in students' computational
skills. When calculators were part of testing and instruction, there was
an improvement in the operational skills, computational skills,
problem-solving skills, and skills necessary to understand mathematical
concepts. Finally, students who used calculators while learning
mathematics reported more positive attitudes toward mathematics than their
non-calculator counterparts. |
Description: This is a meta-analysis of 54
studies related to the use of calculators from 1983-2003. It examined the
effect of calculators on students' acquisition of operational and
problem-solving skills, as well as student attitudes toward
mathematics. |
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Study:
D. Gijbels et al
Effects of
problem-based learning (PBL): A meta-analysis from the angle of
assessment
Read full review
math_meta_gijbels |
N/A |
Strategy: Problem-based learning (PBL)
Subjects: According to the criteria for
inclusion, all the subjects of study had to be students in higher
education. Each study had to be conducted in a real-life classroom or
programmatic setting. Even though all areas of study were examined, all,
but one of the 40 studies that met the criteria for inclusion, were in the
domain of medical education.
Results: On the basis of 13 studies, students in
PBL were better at the third level of the knowledge structure than were
students in conventional classes. PBL has the most positive statistically
significant effects when the focal constructs being assessed were at the
second level – understanding principles that link concepts. In general,
the effect of PBL differs according to the levels of the knowledge
structure being measured. |
Description: This study is beyond the range of
K-12 education and focuses mainly on classes in the domain of medical
education, however, this meta-analysis reported results from 40 studies
about problem-based instruction in terms of assessment – a topic of
interest to many K-12 educators. They investigated the influence of
assessment on the reported effects of problem-based learning by applying
Sugrue’s (1995) model of cognitive components of problem solving. Three
levels of the knowledge structure that can be targeted by assessment of
problem solving are used as the main independent variables: (a) the
understanding of concepts, (b) the understanding of the principles that
link concepts, and (c) the linking of concepts and principles to
conditions and procedures for application. |
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Study:
Hurley.
Reviewing integrated science and mathematics: the search for
evidence and definitions from new perspectives
Read full review
science_meta-hurley |
N/A |
Strategy:
Mathematics and science integration
Results: Not all
approaches produced positive results and those that did produced greater
gains in science than in mathematics. Two that produced highly significant
results in science and slight gains in math were (1) instruction where
either science or math was the major discipline and (2) instruction where
science and mathematics had equal emphasis. Highly significant results in
math and somewhat significant results in science were obtained when both
were planned conceptually together but taught sequentially. Negative
results were obtained when parallel concepts were planned and taught
simultaneously. Slightly positive gains were obtained when science and
math were taught partially together and partially as separate
disciplines. |
Description: Thirty-one studies, which
represented a wide variety of configurations of integrated science and
mathematics as a treatment, measured student achievements. The study
grouped research by type of integration strategy, grade level, and by the
decade in which the study was conducted. Studies covered the years from
1935 through 1997 and included several reform efforts and curriculum
improvement projects. |
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Study:
P. Maccini and C. Hughes
Mathematics
interventions for adolescents with learning disabilities
Read full review
math_meta_maccini |
N/A |
Strategy: Interventions for adolescents with LD
requiring extensive remediation in mathematics
Subjects: 721 students, 590 students with LD, 12
to 20 years of age, representing the 6 th through 11 th grades. Modal age
was 14 years and the modal grade was 9.
Results: The mathematics interventions for
adolescents with learning disabilities cited in this meta-analysis used
direct instruction, computer assisted instruction, and cognitive
strategies to impact student achievement. Student gains in achievement
were reported for the interventions studied. Booster sessions were also
shown to be necessary to maintain strategy use.
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Description: The purpose of this review was to
identify mathematics interventions for students with learning disabilities
(LD) that had appeared in a published, refereed journal from 1988 to 1995.
The interventions were required to have an effect on students' mathematics
performance. |
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Study:
P. Maccini and J. Gagnon
Best practices for
teaching mathematics to secondary students with special needs.
Read full review
math_meta_maccini |
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Strategy: Best practices for teaching mathematics
to secondary students with special needs: advantages of the NCTM
standards, instructional approaches and methods, adaptations and
provisions on individualized education plans, and teaching methods to
improve future NCTM standards implementation.
Subjects: Secondary students with LD or ED
attending schools in Maryland.
Results: Educators provided recommendations in
the areas of (1) instructional approaches and methods, (2) adaptations and
provisions, and (3) teaching methods to improve future NCTM Standards
implementation. |
Description:
This review highlights both
general education and special education teachers' perceptions of
strategies and modifications determined to be effective when teaching
mathematics to secondary students with learning disabilities (LD) and
emotional/behavioral disorders (ED) in light of the goals of the NCTM
Standards. |
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Study:
S. Miller, F. Butler, and K.
Lee
Validated practices
for teaching mathematics to students with learning disabilities: A review
of literature
Read full review
math_meta_miller |
N/A |
Strategy: Validated Practices for Teaching
Mathematics to Students with Learning Disabilities
Results: Some promising strategies were
described, however, because of the small number of subjects, additional
work will be needed to validate the results. |
Description: This review selected fifty-four
studies (published between 1988 and 1998) involving the effectiveness of
mathematics instructional interventions for students with learning
disabilities. The studies were divided into three categories: (1)
computation and related instruction, (2) problem solving instruction, and
(3) alternative delivery systems. |
See
Miller et al
table
of studies |
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Study:
S. Reis et al
Why not let high
ability students start school in January? The Curriculum
Compacting study.
Read full review
math_meta_reis |
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Strategy: Curriculum Compacting
Subjects: 783
gifted and talented students and 436 elementary teachers in twenty-seven
school districts throughout the United States.
Results:
Findings indicated that although teachers eliminated 50% of the regular
curriculum for the gifted students, no differences in the out-of-level
ITBS results were found in math computation, however, students in all
treatment groups scored significantly higher in the math concepts post
test than the control group. |
Description: Curriculum compacting is an
instructional technique that modifies a curriculum. In this study, the
curriculum was compacted for high-ability students. Teachers identify
area(s) in which students have strengths or proficiency, then identify the
curricular materials students have not yet mastered and design a plan to
achieve mastery at a pace commensurate with the students' abilities.
Finally, teachers provide enrichment or acceleration opportunities.
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Study:
E. Silver and M. K. Stein
THE QUASAR PROJECT:
The “Revolution of the Possible” in mathematics instructional reform in
urban middle schools
Read full review
math_meta_silver |
N/A |
Strategy: QUASAR (Quantitative Understanding:
Amplifying Student Achievement and Reasoning)
Subjects: Initially, four middle schools (two
schools added later), urban school districts. Schools ranged from small
(300 students) to very large (about 1500 students). Half of the students
were African American, about 1/3 are Latino, and about 1/8 are Caucasian.
All Quasar schools primarily serve children who live in
poverty.
Results: Gains for the treatment groups were
reported in mathematical understanding, reasoning, and all mathematics
content areas. |
Description: This study reported on the QUASAR
Project intervention in mathematical instruction to promote thinking,
reasoning, problem solving, and communication in economically
disadvantaged middle schools.
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Reviewers' Ratings of Research As explained in the Mathematics
Summary page, selection of research for this database has emphasized
studies meeting the definition of quality research as outlined in the
federal No Child Left Behind legislation. Remember that ratings in column
2 apply to the research design, not to the quality of the
intervention studied or how powerful the method, strategy, or approach is
in influencing overall student achievement. Rating levels, as illustrated
by the Gold Standard pyramid, are further defined on the Definitions
page. The review tables below are arranged by column 2, Design Rating,
with highest ratings first.