1. Steve Noble, Sam Dooley, Dan Brown: Pearson Assessments
Is it Text, or is it Math? Accessible Mixed Content STEM Writing Support
Steve Noble, Sam Dooley, Dan Brown: Pearson Assessments

2. Outline Introduction, Motivation and Background Software Demo
User Testing and Research Outcomes
Research Significance
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3. Introduction: What is Text plus Math?
Goals of Text Plus Math:
Ability for all students to author explanatory narrative text along with inline mathematical notation in a seamless manner within digital content
Ability for all students to do this in an authentic manner, regardless of the nature of their disability or the type of AT used
Ability for all students to do this without having to memorize an extra code like LaTeX or AsciiMath, or an extensive list of keyboard shortcuts
Historical examples of “authentic” usage of text plus math include cases like:
Typical student without a disability who uses paper and pencil to answer a word problem…the student describes the reasoning for what theorem or formula is appropriate to solve this problem, which data points matter and which don’t, and the various steps used to calculate the final solution.
Typical blind student using a Perkins brailler to do the same thing.
While LaTeX, AsciiMath, and keyboard shortcuts have their place, our point is that students should not have to learn something extra just to do math, beyond what they already have to know like Nemeth braille, etc.

4. Motivation: Deeper Learning Outcomes
The mastery of any field is typically conveyed by:
the ability to digest large amounts of information from diverse perspectives
sift through various details for key unifying factors
then create an authentic personal elaboration on what one has learned
Mathematics mastery is no different…
More than rote memorization
More than clicking on the right answer
More than typing into an answer box
Give a connection to Critical Thinking in mathematics and the sciences.
[Example below is copied from ]
To think critically is to follow a clear line of logical steps and reasoning. To solve critical thinking problems, math teachers should model the way they think when solving a problem. Students can internalize a set of questions to ask that will help them think their way to a solution. These questions could include:
What is the problem? What am I trying to figure out?
What do I know? What is the given information?
What do I need to know to solve the problem?
What problems like this have I solved before?
What solutions could work? What strategies will work best in this situation?
After students attempt a solution, they can further ask: Why did my solution work? Or they might try to understand why their solution didn't work. Critical thinking activities present the perfect opportunity for students to collaborate and have meaningful conversations using mathematical vocabulary, which is a good sign they have developed a deep understanding of concepts.

5. Background: Pedagogical Approach
The “writing to learn” movement first gained momentum in the 1970s
Based on the findings that students develop a greater command of a topic through written engagement with the subject area
As students gain knowledge of the subject matter, they benefit from also learning the ways of authentic writing associated with the discipline
First applied to the humanities, over time many educators began to utilize this approach in the study of mathematics as well as the sciences

6. Background: Writing with Math
Writing in the context of mathematics and math-heavy sciences such as physics and chemistry requires the use of literary text plus math
Mathematical symbols, expressions and full equations are core to the math and science disciplines, and one cannot relay mastery of these disciplines without both reading and writing math.
Research comparing student performance in the applied sciences has found that students who were asked to embed mathematical representation into their writing performed better on test questions than students who just wrote a literary explanation only, without using embedded math expressions in their answers (Hand et al, 2009).
Hand, B., Gunel, M., & Ulu, C. (2009). Sequencing embedded multimodal representations in a writing to learn approach to the teaching of electricity. Journal of Research in Science Teaching: The Official Journal of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching, 46(3),

7. Online accessible braille math
Blind students can
compose mathematical expressions and full equations
using the proper braille to denote the proper symbols
within an accessible online software application
But what about math within expository text?

8. Online accessible braille text ... with math
Blind students can
compose explanatory text that includes math
using the proper braille text/math start/end symbols
within an accessible online software application
But doesn’t speech support make braille obsolete?

9. Online braille enables interaction
Braille access to online literary text is a solved problem
Users know how to work with braille contractions online
Screen reader speech support is extensive and straightforward
Braille access to online math content is in its early stages
MathML encoding for static math has enabled extensive progress
Screen reader speech support for static math is available and progressing
Accessible math authoring is an ongoing research topic
Users still need to read and write math, within explanatory text, for themselves
The Accessible Equation Editor has been developed to meet this need

10. Working with braille codes
English braille standards for literary text are in transition (EBAE -> UEB)
Nemeth braille is still the best computer code for math
Standards exist to use Nemeth within both EBAE and UEB
The AEE supports braille text (EBAE/UEB) with embedded math (Nemeth)
within the same window, using visual/braille input/output
The AEE supports the standard Nemeth start/end symbols to transition
between literary text and embedded math

11. Research Studies
Time Period - Pearson has conducted equation editor research studies since 2015
Goal - To collect feedback from multiple populations on equation editor functionality
Populations - Blind, low vision, regular print readers, students with learning disabilities
Equation Editor Interactions – Numbers only, multi-line, and Text Plus Math

12. Research Outcomes
Input - When exposed to editors with braille keyboard entry, palette entry, and keyboard shortcuts, Blind students who were braille users clearly favored Nemeth braille input over all other input
Shortcuts - There was a perceived value in knowing/using simple, short (single character), keyboard shortcuts for common symbols or constructions
Complex shortcuts, “\sqrt[]{}” for nth root, were seen as much less useful/too hard to remember
Palettes - Students preferred editors offering a wide variety of symbols, but ease in locating and clear organization were identified as crucial factors

13. Research Outcomes (continued)
Students had limited knowledge of Nemeth
Nemeth discoverability was helpful, but keyboard navigation was overwhelming
Erasing math content was unpredictable
Cursor tracking/routing improved position awareness
Using Dot 8 to indicate grouping symbols, fractions, and trigonometric expressions was confusing
Students requested additional feedback when transitioning from text to Nemeth and vice versa

14. Research Significance
Ground breaking - blind students can compose explanations of mathematics, physics and applied sciences using math expressions within a textual discussion--fundamental to demonstrating mastery of the topic.
Provides important considerations for all online work - learning management systems, online lab reports, unit tests and quizzes, and state-mandated summative assessments.
The integration of Content MathML provides important capabilities for automated scoring and the potential for development of automated self- scoring tutoring systems in math and science subjects.

15. Contact Information
Steve Noble, Pearson Assessments,
Sam Dooley, Pearson Assessments,
Dan Brown, Pearson Assessments,
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