Jennifer Boyer-Thurgood

An Examination of Children’s Learning Progression Shifts While Using Touch Screen Virtual Manipulative Mathematics Apps

The purpose of this study was to examine shifts in young childrens learning progression levels while they interacted with virtual manipulative mathematics apps on touch-screen devices. A total of 100 children participated in six mathematics learning sequences while using 18 virtual manipulative mathematics touch-screen apps during clinical interviews. Researchers developed a micro-scoring tool to analyze video data from two camera sources (i.e., GoPro camera, wall-mounted camera). Our results showed that it is possible to document evidence of shifts in childrens learning progressions while they are interacting with mathematics apps on touch-screen devices. Our results also indicated patterns in the childrens interactions that were related to the shifts in their learning progression levels. These results suggest that an open-ended number of tasks with a variety of representations and tasks at varying levels of difficulty led to children refining their understanding and shaping their concept image of mathematical ideas resulting in incremental shifts in learning. The results of this study have important implications about how mathematical tasks in touch-screen apps may prompt childrens incremental learning progression shifts to occur, and thereby promote opportunities for learning. We propose that design features in mathematics apps can be created to support and encourage these learning shifts.

A Window Into Mathematical Support: How Parents’ Perceptions Change Following Observations of Mathematics Tutoring

This research study examined the perceptions of 24 parents of rising 5th-grade students with mathematics learning difficulties as part of a 10-week summer mathematics tutoring experience. During the summer tutoring program, parents observed their children participating in mathematics learning experiences during one-to-one tutoring sessions. At the conclusion of the summer tutoring services, parents reflected on observations of their own children in surveys and interviews. Results indicated that parents’ observations of the tutoring impacted their perceptions and changed the support they provided to their children during and after the tutoring program. Parents reported changes in attitudes and beliefs about mathematics, gaining insights into their child’s mathematical understanding, and changes in their methods and practices as mathematics supporters outside of the tutoring sessions.