Girls and STEM: Improved Math Performance and Confidence through Intensive Word-Problem Intervention Katherine A. Berry and Sarah R. Powell The University of Texas at Austin

Thank You! Teachers and students in Austin, Texas Graduate research assistants at The University of Texas at Austin

Abstract Fewer girls than boys participate in STEM and pursue STEM careers. To increase girls’ participation and performance in math, we provided a 16-week word-problem intervention to third-grade students with math difficulty. Girls who received the intervention outperformed students in the control condition and showed significantly higher growth than boys who received the intervention.

Introductions What is your name/job title? What grade/subjects do you teach? How many years have you been teaching math? How do you teach students to solve word problems? Have you noticed differences in how boys and girls solve math word problems? If so, please describe.

Why Girls? Future job growth relies heavily on STEM Number of girls pursuing STEM is limited Girls and math: Are outnumbered by boys Sometimes perform lower on math tests than boys in elementary school Report less self-confidence and aspiration than boys (Else-Quest, Hyde, & Lynn, 2010; Fuchs & Fuchs, 2002)

Why Word Problems? Embedded into majority of items on high-stakes tests Needed to demonstrate successful math competency Prove challenging for students with math difficulty (MD) Include multiple steps to develop a problem solution Provide entry point for enhancing math performance (Fuchs & Fuchs, 2002; Jordan, Hanich, & Kaplan, 2003)

Word Problems at Grade 3

Why Girls and Word Problems? Performance gap widens for girls with MD Sometimes poorer performance on problem-solving Difficulty selecting operations to solve word problems Misuse of irrelevant information in word problems Evidence-based math interventions broaden STEM pipeline (Dasgupta & Stout, 2014 ; Jitendra et al., 2013)

Purpose To investigate the efficacy of a word-problem intervention for third-grade students with math difficulty. To examine if math performance differences exist between girls and boys who participated in the intervention and who did not participate in the intervention.

Research Questions Does an intensive word-problem intervention improve the word-problem performance of third-grade students with math difficulty? Do girls with math difficulty who receive the intervention outperform girls with math difficulty who do not receive the intervention? Do girls with math difficulty who receive the intervention demonstrate improved performance over boys who receive the intervention?

Hypotheses The intensive word-problem intervention will improve the word-problem performance of third-grade students with math difficulty. Girls with math difficulty who receive the intervention will outperform girls with math difficulty who do not receive the intervention. Girls with math difficulty who receive the intervention will demonstrate improved performance over boys who receive the intervention.

Research Design Randomized control trial (Year 1 of 4 data; 2015-2016) University IRB approval 1,111 third-graders recruited and screened from 14 schools 83 third-graders identified with MD (<13th percentile) Identified students randomly assigned to one of 2 groups Students pre-/post-tested (cognitive/mathematical measures) Word-Problem Intervention Group Business-as-Usual Comparison Group Intervention with schema instruction No intervention 16 weeks of individualized tutoring Teacher implemented math lessons n = 40 n = 43 M = 18; F = 22 M = 21; F = 22

Participating Schools 14 schools in diverse, urban district Serve elementary students, pre-K-8 Offer free and reduced meals (FARMS) 1 of 14 is dual language (2-way Spanish) 1 of 14 is dual language (2-way Vietnamese) 7 of 14 are dual language (1-way Spanish)

Participants Identified as third-graders with MD Scored <13th percentile on a word-problem measure Obtained parental consent Represent diverse backgrounds Minority students from low SES backgrounds Students identified with disabilities

Schema Instruction Why Schemas? Identify a word problem as belonging to a problem type Use a specific solution strategy to solve problem Why Schemas? Help students categorize to understand novel problems Influence whether students answer problems correctly Prove more effective than other techniques For example, key words or mnemonic devices (Cooper & Sweller, 1987; Fuchs, Fuchs, & Prentice, 2004; Fuchs et al., 2006; Fuchs et al., 2008; Ng & Lee, 2009; Zhang & Zin, 2012)

Schemas Total Difference Change Putting parts together Comparing two amounts Change An amount that increases or decreases

Pirate Math Intervention 16 weeks 48 one-on-one lessons 3 times/wk; 30 min sessions Implemented by trained master’s and doctoral candidates Fidelity data collected on > 20% of sessions In-person supervisory observations Analysis of audio-recorded sessions Pirate Math session activities: Math Fact Flashcards Equation Quest Buccaneer Problems Shipshape Sorting Jolly Roger Review

Math Fact Flashcards

Equation Quest

Buccaneer Problems

Buccaneer Problems

Buccaneer Problems

Buccaneer Problems

Shipshape Sorting

Jolly Roger Review

Jolly Roger Review

Average Gain: All Students

Average Gain: Girls Only

Average Gain: Girls versus Boys

Effect Sizes

Discussion Extends previous research on schemas and problem solving Provides justification for the use of schemas Confirms importance of teaching students to use schemas Validates need for explicit, intensive instruction Benefitted girls slightly more than boys Improved math reasoning skills through schema instruction Increased word-problem competency and confidence Greater access to STEM subjects Holds implications for teacher training Informs curriculum development (Fuchs & Fuchs, 2002; Jordan & Hanich, 2000)

Limitations School and teacher scheduling Student absences Testing Time restrictions English proficiency

Questions Kate Berry kberry@austin.utexas.edu Sarah R. Powell: srpowell@austin.utexas.edu @sarahpowellphd www.sarahpowellphd.com