Efficacy of a learning trajectory approach compared to a teach-to-target approach for addition and subtraction

Although basing instruction on a learning trajectory (LT) is often recommended, there is little direct evidence to support the premise of a “LT approach”—that to be maximally meaningful, engaging, and effective, instruction is best presented one LT level beyond a child’s present level of thinking. T...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:ZDM 2020-08, Vol.52 (4), p.637-648
Main Authors: Clements, Douglas H., Sarama, Julie, Baroody, Arthur J., Joswick, Candace
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Addition
Addition & subtraction
Arithmetic
Children
Curricula
Education
Educational Strategies
Evaluative Thinking
Instructional Development
Instructional Effectiveness
Kindergarten
Learning
Learning Processes
Mathematical Concepts
Mathematics
Mathematics Education
Mathematics Instruction
Original Article
Preschool Children
Sequential Learning
Subtraction
Task analysis
Teaching Methods
Young Children
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Summary:Although basing instruction on a learning trajectory (LT) is often recommended, there is little direct evidence to support the premise of a “LT approach”—that to be maximally meaningful, engaging, and effective, instruction is best presented one LT level beyond a child’s present level of thinking. The present report serves to address the question: Is it necessary to teach each contiguous level of a LT or can instruction be similarly or more effective when skipping levels, provided the necessary exemplars are made? In a multimethod research study that included individual teaching experiments embedded inside of a quasi-experimental research design, one group of 13 kindergartners received instruction based on an empirically-validated LT for addition and subtraction (the “LT” treatment). The counterfactual, “skip” treatment ( n  = 12), received instruction focused mainly on levels at least two levels above their present level for the same amount of time as the LT treatment. More children in the LT treatment exhibited greater addition and subtraction learning during sessions and from pretest to posttest than children in the skip treatment. Implications for future study are discussed.
ISSN:1863-9690
1863-9704
DOI:10.1007/s11858-019-01122-z