Scaffolding Mastery Motivation: Testing a Theoretical Model of Teacher Practice and Preschoolers' Mathematics Learning

支架式掌握动机：检验教师实践和学前儿童数学学习的理论模型

• 批准号: 1348564
• 负责人: Jessica Young
• 金额: $ 149.73万
• 依托单位: Education Development Center
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2014
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2014-03-01 至 2019-02-28
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1348564&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Scaffolding; Mastery; Motivation; Testing; Theoretical

This project testing a theoretical model of child development that examines the relation of a preschool teacher intervention to children's mathematics learning. Specifically, the project investigates a two-step causal model that examines one aspect of children's school readiness skills "mastery motivation" as a mediating variable of teacher practice to children's mathematics learning. Mastery motivation is a child's independent persistence to accomplish moderately challenging tasks, which has been found to be both a key individual difference variable and a malleable factor. The project's central hypothesis is that a teacher professional development intervention that (1) shows teachers how to pose challenging mathematics activities; (2) supports teachers in scaffolding mastery motivation (persistence); and (3) changes teachers' beliefs about learning will influence children's mastery motivation and mathematics learning. The sample includes approximately 60 preschool teachers and 600 low-income children in Head Start centers. The study contributes to knowledge about the malleable classroom factors that influence at-risk preschool children's readiness to engage successfully in elementary mathematics as articulated in the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM). The CCSSM define a challenging set of expectations for elementary students. The Content Standards delineate for each grade the mathematical content students are expected to know and understand. The Standards for Mathematical Practice (SMP) are quite different, addressing the mathematical thinking and habits of mind that children should develop across content areas and across grade levels. SMP1 directly relates to mastery motivation: to make sense of problems and to persevere in solving them. However, meeting the increased expectations of the CCSSM will be particularly difficult for children who enter kindergarten underprepared. Research has shown that early mathematics understanding significantly predicts school achievement, and children from low-income backgrounds achieve at a much lower level than others. Understanding that mastery motivation, or the ability to persist at challenging tasks, is a habit of mind emphasized by CCSSM and a key school readiness skill may encourage teachers to adapt their instructional practices to promote this aspect of children's development. Typically, preschool teachers do not teach mathematics and often feel uncomfortable with how to do so in a developmentally appropriate way. By showing teachers how to play challenging mathematics games with children and giving teachers skills to scaffold persistence, this project provides support for teaching mathematics in a fun, appropriate, and challenging way. The games are adapted from the kindergarten activities in the Think Math!©2008 elementary mathematics curriculum developed at EDC and engage children in problem-solving, puzzling, and discussing strategies as they play. This work expands the research foundation in STEM learning, integrating two theoretical frameworks from developmental psychology: mastery motivation and beliefs about learning into mathematics education research. Understanding the malleable factors that influence children's learning is important for practitioners and policymakers who are considering ways to help at-risk preschoolers' mathematics development. While this study investigates mastery motivation as a foundation for mathematics learning, mastery motivation is also related to general academic and school success indicators; therefore, the results are of even broader interest in the field. Moreover, the results may suggest that interventions that enhance instructional practices in preschool would be an important line of investigation, could be of particular value in closing the school readiness gap for low-income children, and better prepare all children to meet the increased expectations of the CCSSM.

该项目测试了儿童发展的理论模型，该模型研究了学前教师干预与儿童数学学习的关系。具体来说，该项目研究了一个两步因果模型，该模型检查儿童入学准备技能“掌握动机”的一个方面，作为教师实践与儿童数学学习的中介变量。掌握动机是孩子独立坚持完成中等挑战性任务的能力，这已被发现是一个关键的个体差异变量和一个可塑性因素。该项目的中心假设是教师专业发展干预：(1) 向教师展示如何开展具有挑战性的数学活动； (2) 支持教师掌握支架的动机（坚持）； (3)改变教师的学习信念会影响儿童的掌握动机和数学学习。该样本包括启蒙中心的大约 60 名学前教师和 600 名低收入儿童。该研究有助于了解影响高危学龄前儿童成功学习基础数学的可塑性课堂因素，如共同核心数学国家标准 (CCSSM) 中所述。 CCSSM 为小学生定义了一系列具有挑战性的期望。内容标准描述了每个年级学生应了解和理解的数学内容。数学实践标准（SMP）则截然不同，它解决了孩子们应该在不同内容领域和不同年级培养的数学思维和思维习惯。 SMP1 与掌握动机直接相关：理解问题并坚持解决问题。然而，对于那些准备不足进入幼儿园的孩子来说，满足 CCSSM 日益增长的期望将尤其困难。研究表明，早期的数学理解可以显着预测学校成绩，而来自低收入背景的孩子的成绩比其他人低得多。理解掌握动机，或者说坚持完成挑战性任务的能力，是 CCSSM 强调的一种思维习惯，也是一项关键的入学准备技能，可能会鼓励教师调整他们的教学实践，以促进儿童在这方面的发展。通常，学前班教师不教授数学，并且常常对如何以适合发展的方式教授数学感到不舒服。通过向教师展示如何与孩子们一起玩具有挑战性的数学游戏，并赋予教师坚持不懈的技能，该项目为以有趣、适当和具有挑战性的方式教授数学提供了支持。这些游戏改编自 EDC 开发的 Think Math!©2008 基础数学课程中的幼儿园活动，让孩子们在玩耍时解决问题、解谜和讨论策略。这项工作扩展了 STEM 学习的研究基础，将发展心理学的两个理论框架：掌握动机和学习信念融入到数学教育研究中。了解影响儿童学习的可塑性因素对于正在考虑如何帮助高危学龄前儿童数学发展的从业者和政策制定者来说非常重要。虽然这项研究调查了掌握动机作为数学学习的基础，但掌握动机也与一般学业和学校成功指标有关；因此，研究结果在该领域引起了更广泛的兴趣。此外，结果可能表明，加强学前教育实践的干预措施将是一个重要的研究方向，对于缩小低收入儿童的入学准备差距可能具有特别的价值，并更好地让所有儿童做好准备，以满足 CCSSM 日益增长的期望。