NSF Award
2400562
Many children in the U.S. struggle in math due to difficulty understanding place value and calculating with two-digit numbers (11-99). Playing number board games is a fun, commonly used and effective way to improve children’s numeracy knowledge. Consequently, this project will explore children’s numeracy learning in both the commonly used 0-100 number board game layout as well as an innovation modifying the game board’s layout to support children looking for and making use of predictable patterns in numbers (a “patterning lens”). In the modified board condition, children will play with a 0-100 game board with the numbers increasing from bottom-to-top and left-to-right, such that decades are in the far-right column and numbers ending in the same ones digit are in the same column (similar to a hundreds chart). Support for recognizing patterns will also be provided using visual cues to highlight numeric patterns. This study will advance understanding of a feature of games that can enhance learning and provide evidence for the benefits of a hundreds chart as a tool for promoting numeracy learning in primary grades.<br/><br/>This study will provide essential evidence to refine a theory about how supporting a patterning lens promotes early numeracy learning, including the causal contribution of this malleable factor to early numeracy learning. It will utilize an experimental design involving pretest, 4 game-playing sessions that will vary across conditions, and posttest. Participants will be 100 students (ages 5-7 years) attending racially- and economically-diverse public schools. Three aspects of base-10 knowledge for two-digit numbers will be assessed: place value, number comparison, and arithmetic. All children will play a 0-100 number board game that will vary in the spatial organization of the numbers. In the experimental condition, implicit support for a patterning lens will be provided by organizing numbers in a 10 x 10 matrix with numbers from left to right so that numbers ending in the same ones digit are in the same column (similar to a hundreds chart), and with visual cues to highlight numeric patterns (e.g., the ones digits repeat in each decade). In the control condition, the numbers will be organized to snake back and forth, as is typical for board games. This study will provide a rigorous test of the effects of implicit support for using a patterning lens for numeracy learning by controlling for all other aspects of board game play (i.e., the same range of numbers, playful interactions, etc.). Furthermore, the study will use a microgenetic design, making it possible to examine the process (e.g., rate of learning) as well as the products of change, which will allow for greater understanding of the components of change for theory refinement for the role of a patterning lens in numeracy development. This study will also advance understanding of a feature of games that can enhance learning by promoting relevant cognitive processes and provide empirical evidence for the benefits of a hundreds chart as a tool for promoting numeracy learning. <br/>This project is supported by NSF's EDU Core Research (ECR) program. The ECR program emphasizes fundamental STEM education research that generates foundational knowledge in the field. Investments are made in critical areas that are essential, broad and enduring: STEM learning and STEM learning environments, broadening participation in STEM, and STEM workforce development.<br/><br/>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.
