Mathematics

The Technology Tools for Teaching and Training (dot-EDU T4) project seeks to assist the education departments in the Indian states of Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and Delhi, for quality teaching and learning for the primary education sector. To this end, dot-EDU T4 has created interactive, multimedia tools in audio, video, and software formats that established new standards for education quality while delivering education services on a large scale and reaching out to girls and other vulnerable populations.

The Somali Interactive Radio Instruction Program (SIRIP) provides high-quality interactive audio programs to Somali children attending formal, non-governmental, Quranic and community schools. With the assistance of the audio programs, teachers lead the classes and are thus trained in interactive teaching methods which include stories, activities, educational songs and other forms of active learning pedagogy. Supplemental materials accompany the programs, providing schools with the resources to support sound, primary-level instruction.

The Regional Educational Laboratory Northeast and Islands (REL-NEI) is one of ten regional laboratories and has a mission to help pre-K–16 educators use the best available evidence to make decisions leading to improved student achievement and reduced performance gaps. REL-NEI places a special emphasis on helping states, districts, and schools build capacity to use their data effectively; forming and conducting high-quality research and evaluation through new “research alliances”; and helping regional education stakeholders incorporate data-based inquiry practices into their decision-making.

EQuALLS2 increases access to quality basic education and livelihood skills in areas most affected by conflict and poverty in the Philippines (primarily the Muslim areas in the Mindanao island group in the south). EQuALLS2 is a large-scale project that seeks to benefit 345,000 children and youth in 37 municipalities and four cities by training 37,238 educators and school officials, building the capacity of 850 local education stakeholder groups, and expanding local education resources through public-private partnerships.

The Southern Sudan Interactive Radio Instruction (SSIRI) project is a program of the Southern Sudan Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MoEST). Four SSIRI activities provide learning opportunities for children, adults, and teachers in South Sudan.

• THE LEARNING VILLAGE: IRI programs based on the Southern Sudanese Primary School Syllabus.

The National Science Digital Library (NSDL) is an online portal for education and research on learning in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). The NSDL Youth Resources project (NYR) is designed to increase utilization of the NSDL by middle school students and their teachers by adding relevant, high-quality and engaging content. The project focuses on the quality, accessibility, and interactivity of content to determine what student’s identify and conceptualize as high-quality online STEM content.

EDC is developing and testing a 2-year, intensive professional development model for building middle grades mathematics teachers’ facility with formative assessment. Using a combination of institutes, ongoing professional learning communities, and Web-based resources, this model attends both to teachers’ knowledge of critical aspects of formative assessment and their implementation of formative assessment in the classroom.

The ITEST Learning Resource Center at EDC held a convening designed to develop a theoretical framework to guide future research on youth motivation in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) with a particular emphasis on populations most underrepresented in the STEM workforce. Two guiding questions were the focus of the event: 1) What is currently known about motivation in STEM for underrepresented youth? 2) What can be done to cultivate new research around STEM motivation for underrepresented youth?

EDC is carrying out a research and development project related to Math for All (MFA), a professional development program for teachers who teach elementary school students with disabilities. The project has three distinct components: 1) Conduct a qualitative study on the way the facilitators use the professional development materials. 2) Based on that study develop resources for teacher leaders and other facilitators of professional development.

This project addresses a critical need to develop quality early childhood mathematics curriculum, particularly for low-income students.