18, 2013 — When early elementary math
teachers ask students to explain their problem-
solving strategies and then tailor instruction to
address specific gaps in their understanding,
students learn significantly more than those
taught using a more traditional approach. This
was the conclusion of a yearlong study of
nearly 5,000 kindergarten and first-grade
students conducted by researchers at Florida
State University.
The researchers found that “formative
assessment,” or the use of ongoing evaluation
of student understanding to inform targeted
instruction, increased students’ mastery of
foundational math concepts that are known to
be essential to later achievement in
mathematics and science.
Their results corroborated those of two earlier
pilot projects indicating that implementation of
the Mathematics Formative Assessment System
(MFAS) can markedly improve academic
performance in mathematics. The findings
further suggested that MFAS may help close
the gender gap that often develops by third
grade.
“The results of the most recent study
conducted in schools across Florida are
exciting,” said Laura Lang, principal
investigator who directed development and
testing of MFAS. “The randomized field trial
showed that students in K-3 classes where
teachers used MFAS were well ahead of other
students taught by teachers using more
traditional approaches. As one of the
elementary principals of a participating school
put it, MFAS is a real ‘game changer’ in terms
of student engagement and success in math.”
MFAS was created through the efforts of
researchers at the Florida Center for Research
in Science, Technology, Engineering and
Mathematics (FCR–STEM) who received $2.9
million in competitively awarded grant funds
from the Florida Department of Education’s
Race to the Top program to pursue the
project. MFAS is fully aligned with the Common
Core State Standards adopted in Florida and
many other states.
The randomized field trial was conducted in
partnership with 31 schools and 301 teachers
in three Florida districts across the state —
one urban, one suburban and one rural.
Schools were randomly assigned to either the
MFAS treatment group or to a group that used
a more typical approach to math instruction.
Comparing average annual gains in math on
nationally normed tests to the results, learning
was accelerated when teachers integrated MFAS
in their day-to-day instruction.
“In kindergarten, we can infer that students
learned at a rate equivalent to an extra six
weeks of instruction,” Lang said. “In first
grade, the gains were even greater — two
months of extra instruction. It was as if we
extended the school year without actually
adding any more days to it.”
In constructing MFAS, Lang and her team drew
upon research demonstrating that the learning
of mathematics is facilitated when teachers
gain deeper insights into what their students
already know and are able to do as well as
what students do not know and are unable to
do. Teachers gather these insights through
careful observation and by engaging students
in discussions of their mathematical thinking.
“Formative assessment is a process, not a
test,” Lang said, “and feedback is a key
element.”
The approach enables teachers to address each
child’s instructional needs. Teachers can avoid
holding back those who are ready to advance,
while efficiently helping those who are
struggling. This contrasts sharply with current
practice in many elementary classrooms.
“Based on our classroom observations over the
past four years, teachers typically rely heavily
on a math textbook to guide the planning of
day-to-day instruction and often provide
students feedback only on whether their
answers are correct,” Lang said. “Teachers
integrating formative assessment in instruction
not only ask students to do math tasks but
also to explain their reasoning and to justify
their solutions. As a result, teachers are better
equipped to identify misconceptions,
determine gaps in understanding and adjust
their instruction accordingly.”
Students play a key role in the formative
assessment process. MFAS actively engages
students, encouraging them to monitor and
regulate their own learning. Students also
evaluate each other’s work and provide
productive feedback, working as a team.
MFAS also has potential long-term effects on
closing the gender gap in mathematics, Lang
said. Studies show that even though both boys
and girls enter school with a fundamental
number sense, by the third grade boys tend to
do better in mathematics.
The results of a pilot study conducted in
second- and third-grade classrooms suggest
that, in classrooms where MFAS was used, by
third grade the girls showed no statistically
significant difference in mathematics
achievement from boys, according to Mark
LaVenia, methodologist on the MFAS team.
However, in classrooms with more
conventional instruction, girls continued to lag
behind boys in math achievement.
Story Source:
The above story is based on materials provided
by Florida State University, via Newswise.
