Identifying Effective Instructional Practices that Foster the Development of Algebraic Thinking in Elementary School

迫切需要让所有学生为学习代数做好更好的准备。这种准备的一部分涉及通过建立学生对模式，关系和结构的非正式直觉，以更形式化的数学思维方式，为小学代数打下坚实的基础。该项目旨在确定可以与学生在三、四、五年级的早期代数学习相联系的教学实践。该项目的目标是利用课堂教学的评估数据和视频，以创建一个工具，可用于记录有效的教学实践。然后，这种观察工具可以用来支持教师在早期代数和研究如何教师的行动可以联系到学生的学习专业发展。该项目的独特之处在于，它将早期代数课程与理解教师在实施该课程和学生学习数学方面的做法联系起来。探索研究K-12计划（DRK-12）旨在通过研究和开发创新资源，模型和工具（RMT），显着提高学前班学生和教师的科学，技术，工程和数学（STEM）的学习和教学。DRK-12项目中的项目建立在STEM教育的基础研究和先前的研究和开发工作的基础上，这些研究和开发工作为拟议的项目提供了理论和经验依据。该项目旨在解决两个研究问题。首先，什么样的教学实践与学生在早期代数中的表现有关？第二，这些有效教学实践的概况在多大程度上因年级而异？这项工作的主要产品是早期代数观察协议，将捕捉非域和非年级水平的有效教学的具体做法结合具体到早期代数的做法。早期代数教室的视频将被用来设计观察协议，这反过来，将被用于沿着与学生的评估数据，以确定与学生的学习相关的教学实践的配置文件。将使用多个阶段的测试和修订来创建观察方案。观察协议还将生成教师实践的概况，这些概况可用于描述有效教授早期代数的不同模型。该项目还将研究他们的工作对教师培训和专业发展的影响。

There is a critical need to better prepare all students for learning algebra. Part of this preparation involves developing a strong foundation for algebra in the elementary grades by building on students' informal intuitions about patterns, relationships and structure into more formalized ways of mathematical thinking. This project seeks to identify teaching practices that can be linked to students' early algebra learning in grades three, four and five. The goal of the project is to use assessment data and videos of classroom teaching in order to create a tool that can be used to document effective instructional practices. This observation tool can then be used to support teacher professional development in early algebra and research about how teachers' actions can be linked to students' learning. The project is unique in its work to link an early algebra curriculum with understanding of teachers' practices in implementing that curriculum and students' learning of mathematics. The Discovery Research K-12 program (DRK-12) seeks to significantly enhance the learning and teaching of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) by preK-12 students and teachers, through research and development of innovative resources, models and tools (RMTs). Projects in the DRK-12 program build on fundamental research in STEM education and prior research and development efforts that provide theoretical and empirical justification for proposed projects.The project aims to address two research questions. First, what profiles of instructional practice are associated with greater student performance in early algebra? Second, to what extent do these profiles of effective instructional practices vary by grade level? The primary product of the work is an early algebra observation protocol that will capture non-domain and non-grade level specific practices of effective teaching in combination with practices specific to early algebra. Videos of early algebra classrooms will be used to design the observation protocol, which in turn, will then be used along with student assessment data to identify profiles of instructional practices associated with students' learning. Multiple phases of testing and revision will be used to create the observation protocol. The observation protocol will also generate profiles of teacher practices that can be used to describe different models for effectively teaching early algebra. The project will also examine implications of their work for teacher preparation and professional development.