Exploring Math Language Use in Learning Vector Addition With Concreteness Fading (Poster 40)

• In Event: AERA Poster Session Nine
  In Poster Session: Learning Sciences SIG Poster Session Two: Health, Higher Education, Representations, and Reasoning

Abstract

This study designed an intervention to teach middle schoolers vector addition. The participants were in two conditions: concreteness fading (CF) and concreteness introduction (CI). In the CF condition, they first experienced informal vector addition in a physical activity, then played a simulation game with the same context, and later solve similar problems on a worksheet. CI condition participants did the same tasks in a reversed order. Participants in both conditions had a storytelling activity after the three tasks to demonstrate their learning. We examined their use of math vocabulary in each task and discovered the participants in the CF condition had consistent growth in using math language and were more confident in math language when demonstrating their learning.

Authors

• Yilang Zhao, University of Tennessee
  Presenting Author

• Matthew Berland, University of Wisconsin - Madison
  Non-Presenting Author