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"},"meta":{"blocks":[{"blockName":"acf\/hero-secondary","attrs":{"name":"acf\/hero-secondary","data":{"hero_secondary_headline":"Why EFs, Math, and Equitable Math Learning Experiences?","_hero_secondary_headline":"field_hero_secondary_hero_secondary_headline","hero_secondary_overline":"","_hero_secondary_overline":"field_hero_secondary_hero_secondary_overline","hero_secondary_subheading":"EF+Math saw potential in understanding how executive function (EF) skills and equitable math experiences interact to support math learning. Prior research showed strong correlations between EF skills and math achievement, the potential promise of explicitly developing EF skills in math, and the importance of equitable learning experiences for improving math outcomes. Through our work, we contributed new understandings of these intersections and what they mean for improving math learning. ","_hero_secondary_subheading":"field_hero_secondary_hero_secondary_subheading","hero_secondary_styles_next_section":"1","_hero_secondary_styles_next_section":"field_hero_secondary_hero_secondary_styles_next_section","hero_secondary":"","_hero_secondary":"field_hero_secondary_hero_secondary"},"mode":"edit","id":"acf-block-697d5d79f1e3a"},"innerBlocks":[],"innerHTML":"","innerContent":[],"name":"hero-secondary","data":{"hero_secondary":{"headline":"Why EFs, Math, and Equitable Math Learning Experiences?","overline":"","subheading":"EF+Math saw potential in understanding how executive function (EF) skills and equitable math experiences interact to support math learning. Prior research showed strong correlations between EF skills and math achievement, the potential promise of explicitly developing EF skills in math, and the importance of equitable learning experiences for improving math outcomes. Through our work, we contributed new understandings of these intersections and what they mean for improving math learning. <\/p>\n","styles_next_section":true,"advanced_accordion":null,"advanced_block_options":{"message_field_message":null}}}},{"blockName":"acf\/venn-diagram","attrs":{"name":"acf\/venn-diagram","data":{"venn_diagram_headline":"Explore Our Research Areas","_venn_diagram_headline":"field_venn_diagram_venn_diagram_headline","venn_diagram_content":"Our research assessed student learning in three areas: EF skills, math learning outcomes, and students' perceptions of their math learning experiences, as a way to measure our focus on equitable math learning. We note that there are many other pathways to design for and study equitable math learning experiences that are not addressed through our research.\r\n\r\nClick on each area below to learn more about each area, how the areas relate to each other, and to access actionable insights for supporting student math learning.<\/strong>","_venn_diagram_content":"field_venn_diagram_venn_diagram_content","venn_diagram_modal_skills_0_color":"cyan","_venn_diagram_modal_skills_0_color":"field_venn_diagram_venn_diagram_modal_skills_color","venn_diagram_modal_skills_0_headline":" Executive Function Skills (EFs)","_venn_diagram_modal_skills_0_headline":"field_venn_diagram_venn_diagram_modal_skills_headline","venn_diagram_modal_skills_0_subheading":"EFs are cognitive processes that all students have, which they use to manage and direct their learning, attention, and behavior. EF+Math focused on 5 EF skills in the context of mathematics learning: cognitive flexibility, inhibitory control, working memory, planning, and metacognition.\r\n","_venn_diagram_modal_skills_0_subheading":"field_venn_diagram_venn_diagram_modal_skills_subheading","venn_diagram_modal_skills_0_link_boxes_0_headline":"We advanced a vision of EFs as culturally relevant, math-related, and dynamic across our work, enabling a paradigm shift in the field.","_venn_diagram_modal_skills_0_link_boxes_0_headline":"field_venn_diagram_venn_diagram_modal_skills_link_boxes_headline","venn_diagram_modal_skills_0_link_boxes_0_link":{"title":"Learn More","url":"https:\/\/osf.io\/preprints\/osf\/stzmk_v1","target":"_blank"},"_venn_diagram_modal_skills_0_link_boxes_0_link":"field_venn_diagram_venn_diagram_modal_skills_link_boxes_link","venn_diagram_modal_skills_0_link_boxes_1_headline":"Our teams built measures that provide asset-based data on how students engage their EFs in math learning, and enable new understanding of how contextual and environmental factors influence that engagement.","_venn_diagram_modal_skills_0_link_boxes_1_headline":"field_venn_diagram_venn_diagram_modal_skills_link_boxes_headline","venn_diagram_modal_skills_0_link_boxes_1_link":{"title":"Access Our Measures","url":"https:\/\/efmathprogram.org\/measures\/","target":""},"_venn_diagram_modal_skills_0_link_boxes_1_link":"field_venn_diagram_venn_diagram_modal_skills_link_boxes_link","venn_diagram_modal_skills_0_link_boxes":2,"_venn_diagram_modal_skills_0_link_boxes":"field_venn_diagram_venn_diagram_modal_skills_link_boxes","venn_diagram_modal_skills_0_accordion_0_headline":"Cognitive Flexibility","_venn_diagram_modal_skills_0_accordion_0_headline":"field_venn_diagram_venn_diagram_modal_skills_accordion_headline","venn_diagram_modal_skills_0_accordion_0_overline":"","_venn_diagram_modal_skills_0_accordion_0_overline":"field_venn_diagram_venn_diagram_modal_skills_accordion_overline","venn_diagram_modal_skills_0_accordion_0_content":"Cognitive flexibility is demonstrated any time a student adjusts their thinking and behavior in response to their environment. In math class, this may look like switching between operations during an arithmetic problem set, or listening to and trying out a classmate\u2019s strategy.<\/span>\r\n\r\nEF+Math R&D project teams built opportunities for students to engage their cognitive flexibility skills within math learning by using different notations, representations, operations, and approaches within mathematical tasks. <\/span>\r\n\r\nKey Takeaways:<\/b>\r\n Our research assessed student learning in three areas: EF skills, math learning outcomes, and students’ perceptions of their math learning experiences, as a way to measure our focus on equitable math learning. We note that there are many other pathways to design for and study equitable math learning experiences that are not addressed through our research.<\/p>\n Click on each area below to learn more about each area, how the areas relate to each other, and to access actionable insights for supporting student math learning.<\/strong><\/p>\n","modal":{"skills":[{"color":"cyan","headline":" Executive Function Skills (EFs)","subheading":" EFs are cognitive processes that all students have, which they use to manage and direct their learning, attention, and behavior. EF+Math focused on 5 EF skills in the context of mathematics learning: cognitive flexibility, inhibitory control, working memory, planning, and metacognition.<\/p>\n","link_boxes":[{"headline":"We advanced a vision of EFs as culturally relevant, math-related, and dynamic across our work, enabling a paradigm shift in the field.","link":{"title":"Learn More","url":"https:\/\/osf.io\/preprints\/osf\/stzmk_v1","target":"_blank"}},{"headline":"Our teams built measures that provide asset-based data on how students engage their EFs in math learning, and enable new understanding of how contextual and environmental factors influence that engagement.","link":{"title":"Access Our Measures","url":"https:\/\/efmathprogram.org\/measures\/","target":""}}],"accordion":[{"headline":"Cognitive Flexibility","overline":"","content":" Cognitive flexibility is demonstrated any time a student adjusts their thinking and behavior in response to their environment. In math class, this may look like switching between operations during an arithmetic problem set, or listening to and trying out a classmate\u2019s strategy.<\/span><\/p>\n EF+Math R&D project teams built opportunities for students to engage their cognitive flexibility skills within math learning by using different notations, representations, operations, and approaches within mathematical tasks. <\/span><\/p>\n Key Takeaways:<\/b><\/p>\n Inhibitory control is used to ignore distracting information (and classroom distractions, too!), and focus on relevant information for the task at hand. In math class, this can involve selecting appropriate strategies to solve a problem, choosing which information and context is necessary to interpret an answer, and focusing on key ideas in peers\u2019 thinking.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n EF+Math R&D Project teams built opportunities for students to engage their inhibitory control skills in multiple ways, such as staying focused when playing games with shifting rules and goals, or when determining which information is relevant to solve open-ended tasks.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Key Takeaways:<\/b><\/p>\n Working memory is the ability to hold and manipulate information in the mind to achieve a task; students\u2019 working memory capacity – the amount of information they can hold in mind – increases naturally with development and also can be improved with practice. In math, students use working memory to hold numbers in mind while performing calculations, remember multiple steps in a problem solving process, or keep track of different pieces of information needed to solve a word problem.<\/span><\/p>\n EF+Math R&D project teams focused on increasing and supporting working capacity in the context of mathematics, including through: increasing the amount of items students have to hold in their working memory during fluency games; providing scaffolds to offload some information from working memory while managing new information; and using their working memory to listen, understand, and respond to others in discussions while also considering their own ideas.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Key Takeaways:<\/b><\/p>\n Planning, in both EFs and mathematical terms, is the ability to think several steps ahead while solving a complex problem, and anticipate whether a chosen strategy will lead to a desired solution. In math learning, students use planning skills when they are deciding how to tackle a task or open-ended problem, such as determining what to do first, what information they might need, and how they will know when they have achieved their goal.<\/span><\/p>\n EF+Math R&D project teams promoted planning by: assigning problems with specific, non-routine goals, such as challenging students to land on a specific score in a game; including an explicit step for students to explore and understand what new problems are asking before starting to solve them; or asking students to reflect on their plans and identified strategies during and after solving problems.<\/span><\/p>\n Key Takeaways:<\/b><\/p>\n Metacognition is reflecting on one\u2019s own thinking\u00a0 \u2013 an important skill in and out of the classroom. In mathematics, metacognition allows students to evaluate their own learning, effort, and skills while in the middle of a problem or over the course of a year.<\/span><\/p>\n EF+Math R&D teams supported students in developing metacognitive skills through opportunities to: set and evaluate their own learning goals; compare problem solving strategies and their relative effectiveness in different contexts; and reflect on and improve their collaboration skills when working with peers.<\/span><\/p>\n Key Takeaways:<\/b><\/p>\n Math learning is a social and cultural activity that involves understanding mathematical content and developing mathematical practices. Success in math learning is assessed through day-to-day engagement in mathematical activities and overall mathematics achievement. EF+Math attended to each of these facets in order to advance more equitable mathematics learning experiences for students. <\/p>\n","link_boxes":[{"headline":"EF+Math project teams explicitly designed their instructional materials to integrate principles from learning science research that articulate how mathematics learning happens within the brain.","link":{"title":"See Our Products","url":"https:\/\/efmathprogram.org\/projects\/","target":""}},{"headline":"In addition to our individual impact studies, we conducted analyses to explore interactions between the design principles in our portfolio of learning products and how they supported student math learning. ","link":{"title":"Read Our Research","url":"https:\/\/efmathprogram.org\/resource\/efmath-competitive-product-analysis\/","target":"_blank"}}],"accordion":[{"headline":"Math Practices","overline":"","content":" Mathematical practices are the activities and skills that are used to do mathematics; students need opportunities to develop these practices across all content topics and grade levels.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n R&D Project teams within EF+Math emphasized mathematical practices that have been identified as pivotal for accessing more advanced levels of proficiency, such as: problem solving, discourse, and peer collaboration. Teams studied how these practices were developed and used within their focal content topics and math learning environments.<\/span><\/p>\n Key Takeaways:<\/b><\/p>\n\r\n \t
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