Project Profile

This project will advance efforts of the Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) program to better understand and promote practices that increase student motivations and capacities to pursue careers in fields of science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) by developing and testing four Maker Learning Cycle (MLC) curriculum units for English language learners (ELLs) in each of grades 4 and 5.  Each Maker challenge engages students in hands-on creation of solutions to authentic problems in a social context, and each challenge is followed by one to three mathematics lessons related to the challenge. Explicit connections to STEM career possibilities are also featured, linking mathematics concept development to potential career interests. Published collections of mathematics MLCs, together with research on their effective use, will enable teachers and schools to incorporate Maker education in targeted ways to promote both learning in mathematics and broader interest among students in STEM related activities and careers. The project will also develop video resources and examples of student work that can be incorporated into teacher professional learning modules for schools and districts implementing MLCs.

This design and development project is guided by the hypothesis that authentic Maker experiences promote deeper engagement with mathematics concepts among ELLs; promote STEM activation in the dimensions of fascination, competency beliefs, and innovation solutions enhance; and enhance teacher perceptions of ELL capacities. Each MLC includes three components: (1) A maker challenge for teams of students to complete in a regular classroom during a single lesson; (2) Two to three follow-up mathematics lessons focusing on conceptual understanding of the mathematics embedded in or exposed by the challenge and students' language, culture, and prior experiences; and (3) Revisiting the Maker challenge to foster connections among Maker mathematics concepts, and language development. Each MLC includes three components: (1) A maker challenge for teams of students to complete in a regular classroom during a single lesson; (2) Two to three follow-up mathematics lessons focusing on conceptual understanding of the mathematics embedded in or exposed by the challenge and students' language, culture, and prior experiences; and (3) Revisiting the Maker challenge to foster connections among Maker mathematics concepts, and language development. The research plan for this project includes two studies that each explore two research questions.  Study 1 examines the impact of MLCs on opportunities to learn, and the research is guided by two questions: (1) What aspects of mathematics MLCs provide opportunities for English learners to equitably access mathematics learning? And (2) How do MLCs enable participating teachers to recognize capacities in English learners that support engagement in mathematics learning? Study 2 examines the impact of MLCs on STEM learning activation and mathematics learning. The research is guided by two questions: (1) Do features of MLCs impact English learners' growth in the dimensions of STEM learning activation, and their deeper mathematics learning? And (2) Do features of MLCs impact all students' growth in the dimensions of STEM learning activation, and their deeper mathematics learning? An array of standard measures will be used to collect data for these studies, and a background survey will be used to gauge resources and supports for learning available to students in their homes. For data analysis, three analytical models will be used to explore outcomes: (1) How well the MLC experiences influence the dimensions of STEM learning activation, (2) How well MLCs position all students, especially English learners, for future mathematics learning, and (3) Mathematics learning.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.