How can innovative classroom technology combined with well-researched curriculum materials and intensive teacher training affect a middle school teacher’s ability to teach math concepts? How can it improve a student’s ability to learn them?
The answers to those questions were among research findings Vivian Fueyo, Ph.D., USFSP professor of Childhood Education and interim regional vice chancellor for Academic Affairs, delivered last week at the national meeting of the Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators in California. Fueyo and fellow researcher George Roy, P.h.D., University of South Carolina, presented “Teaching With Technology: Two Tiers of Professional Development,” pointing to their research on how the methods of SunBay Digital Mathematics can make a difference in middle-school mathematics instruction.
“We found that students of teachers using SunBay to teach key mathematical topics showed consistently higher learning than students taught by traditional means,” said Dr. Fueyo. “Gains were consistently higher for lower-performing students.”
The SunBay Digital Mathematics project aims to set the direction of the future of middle school mathematics education, specifically to increase student achievement in grades 6-8 on the major math topics of Florida’s Sunshine State Standards.
The project is collaboration between SRI International and the University of South Florida St. Petersburg (USFSP), with funding support from the Duke Energy Foundation, the Next Generation Learning Challenges of the Gates Foundation, the Pinellas Education Foundation, and the Helios Foundation.