A Novel Platform for High-Quality Formative Assessment in Mathematics

Purpose: This project team will fully develop and test Woot Math Polls, a formative assessment dashboard that converts student math work into data-driven insights to inform teacher instruction and student learning in middle and high school algebra classrooms. Research has marked a decline in math achievement around the time students take algebra in middle school. Technological innovations that produce immediate information teachers and students can use to facilitate dialogue and analysis of complex topics offer potential for improving understanding and learning. Project Activities: During Phase I in 2017, the team developed a prototype of a dashboard that generates information on student work during algebra class. At the end of Phase I, researchers completed a pilot study with 254 students and nine teachers across grade 8 and 9 classrooms. They found that the prototype operated as intended, teachers were able to understand and use results, and students were engaged during classroom dialogue around the insights on their work. In Phase II, the team will fully develop the user interface for students and teachers, a tool to create and share Open Educational Resources (OERs), and materials to support classroom implementation. After development is complete, the researchers will carry out a pilot study to examine the usability and feasibility, fidelity of implementation, and the promise of the dashboard to inform teacher instruction and improve student learning. Participants in the study will include 20 Algebra I mathematics classrooms in 10 schools, and the students enrolled in those classrooms, with one classroom per school randomly assigned to use Woot Math as well as the dashboard and the other half assigned to a business-as-usual control. Researchers will compare student scores on pre and post algebra learning outcomes aligned to Common Core standards. Product: In prior research and development, the project team developed Woot Math, a technology delivered intervention with interactive games and activities for algebra learning. In this project, the team will develop Woot Math Polls, a formative assessment dashboard to convert student work into data-driven insights to promote dialogue and discussion of complex algebra topics between teachers and students. The dashboard will work across all web-enabled devices, including laptops, tablets, smartphones, smart boards, and projectors. The dashboard will include a teacher tool to create, customize, share, and remix materials as OERs, which teachers will share with other teachers using the dashboard. The intervention in coordination with the dashboard will support student outcomes for Common Core standards in algebra.