Scaffolding Mastery Motivation: Testing a Theoretical Model of Teacher Practice and Preschoolers' Mathematics Learning

支架式掌握动机：检验教师实践和学前儿童数学学习的理论模型

• 批准号: 1348564
• 负责人: Jessica Young
• 金额: $ 149.73万
• 依托单位: Education Development Center
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2014
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2014-03-01 至 2019-02-28
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1348564&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Scaffolding; Mastery; Motivation; Testing; Theoretical

This project testing a theoretical model of child development that examines the relation of a preschool teacher intervention to children's mathematics learning. Specifically, the project investigates a two-step causal model that examines one aspect of children's school readiness skills "mastery motivation" as a mediating variable of teacher practice to children's mathematics learning. Mastery motivation is a child's independent persistence to accomplish moderately challenging tasks, which has been found to be both a key individual difference variable and a malleable factor. The project's central hypothesis is that a teacher professional development intervention that (1) shows teachers how to pose challenging mathematics activities; (2) supports teachers in scaffolding mastery motivation (persistence); and (3) changes teachers' beliefs about learning will influence children's mastery motivation and mathematics learning. The sample includes approximately 60 preschool teachers and 600 low-income children in Head Start centers. The study contributes to knowledge about the malleable classroom factors that influence at-risk preschool children's readiness to engage successfully in elementary mathematics as articulated in the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM). The CCSSM define a challenging set of expectations for elementary students. The Content Standards delineate for each grade the mathematical content students are expected to know and understand. The Standards for Mathematical Practice (SMP) are quite different, addressing the mathematical thinking and habits of mind that children should develop across content areas and across grade levels. SMP1 directly relates to mastery motivation: to make sense of problems and to persevere in solving them. However, meeting the increased expectations of the CCSSM will be particularly difficult for children who enter kindergarten underprepared. Research has shown that early mathematics understanding significantly predicts school achievement, and children from low-income backgrounds achieve at a much lower level than others. Understanding that mastery motivation, or the ability to persist at challenging tasks, is a habit of mind emphasized by CCSSM and a key school readiness skill may encourage teachers to adapt their instructional practices to promote this aspect of children's development. Typically, preschool teachers do not teach mathematics and often feel uncomfortable with how to do so in a developmentally appropriate way. By showing teachers how to play challenging mathematics games with children and giving teachers skills to scaffold persistence, this project provides support for teaching mathematics in a fun, appropriate, and challenging way. The games are adapted from the kindergarten activities in the Think Math!©2008 elementary mathematics curriculum developed at EDC and engage children in problem-solving, puzzling, and discussing strategies as they play. This work expands the research foundation in STEM learning, integrating two theoretical frameworks from developmental psychology: mastery motivation and beliefs about learning into mathematics education research. Understanding the malleable factors that influence children's learning is important for practitioners and policymakers who are considering ways to help at-risk preschoolers' mathematics development. While this study investigates mastery motivation as a foundation for mathematics learning, mastery motivation is also related to general academic and school success indicators; therefore, the results are of even broader interest in the field. Moreover, the results may suggest that interventions that enhance instructional practices in preschool would be an important line of investigation, could be of particular value in closing the school readiness gap for low-income children, and better prepare all children to meet the increased expectations of the CCSSM.

该项目测试了儿童发展的理论模型，该模型研究了学龄前教师干预与儿童数学学习的关系。具体而言，该项目研究了一个两步的因果模型，该模型研究了儿童学校准备技能“精通动机”的一个方面，这是教师练习对儿童数学学习的中介变量。精通动机是一个孩子独立的持久性，以实现适度挑战任务，这既是关键的个体差异变量，又是可延展的因素。该项目的核心假设是（1）向教师展示如何提出挑战数学活动的教师专业发展干预措施； （2）支持教师的脚手架精通动机（持久性）； （3）改变教师对学习的信念将影响儿童的精通动机和数学学习。该样本包括大约60名学龄前老师和600名低收入儿童。该研究有助于了解影响高危学龄前儿童准备成功参与基本数学的可延展课堂因素，这是在共同的核心国家数学标准（CCSSM）中所阐明的。 CCSSM定义了针对小学生的一系列挑战。内容标准划定每个年级的数学内容学生应了解和理解的数学内容。数学实践的标准（SMP）截然不同，解决了儿童应在内容领域以及跨年级发展的数学思维和思想习惯。 SMP1直接与精通动机有关：理解问题并坚持解决问题。但是，对于进入幼儿园的儿童来说，满足CCSSM的期望不断增加，这将是特别困难的。研究表明，早期数学理解可以显着预测学校的成就，而来自低收入背景的儿童的水平要低得多。了解掌握动机或坚持挑战任务的能力是CCSSM强调的一种心理习惯，并且是一项关键的学校准备技能，可能会鼓励教师适应他们的教学实践，以促进儿童成长的这一方面。通常，学龄前老师不会教数学，并且经常以发展的方式对此感到不舒服。通过向老师展示如何与孩子一起玩挑战数学游戏并为教师提供脚手架持久性的技能，该项目为以有趣，适当和挑战的方式提供了教学数学的支持。这些游戏是根据思想数学中的幼儿园活动改编的！©2008年在EDC开发的基本数学课程，并让孩子们参与解决问题，难以解决的问题，并讨论他们玩耍时的策略。这项工作扩大了STEM学习的研究基础，从发育心理学：掌握动力并相信学习到数学教育研究中的两个理论框架。了解影响儿童学习的可延展因素对于正在考虑有助于高危学龄前儿童的数学发展方法的从业者和政策制定者很重要。虽然这项研究调查了精通动机作为数学学习的基础，但掌握动机也与一般的学术和学校成功指标有关。因此，结果对该领域具有更大的兴趣。此外，结果可能表明，在学龄前增强教学实践的干预措施将是一项重要的投资渠道，对于缩小低收入儿童的学校准备差距而言，可能具有尤其有价值，并且更好地准备所有儿童以满足CCSSM的期望。