Susanne Strachota

Tufts University | Tufts

This research shares progressions in thinking about equations and the equal sign observed in ten students who took part in an early algebra classroom intervention across Kindergarten and first grade. We report on data from task-based interviews conducted prior to the intervention and at the conclusion of each school year that elicited students’ int...

This research focuses on the retention of students’ algebraic understandings 1 year following a 3-year early algebra intervention. Participants included 1,455 Grade 6 students who had taken part in a cluster randomized trial in Grades 3–5. The results show that, as was the case at the end of Grades 3, 4, and 5, treatment students significantly outp...

This research focuses on ways in which balance scales mediate students’ relational understandings of the equal sign. Participants included 21 Kindergarten–Grade 2 students who took part in an early algebra classroom intervention focused in part on developing a relational understanding of the equal sign through the use of balance scales. Students pa...

Our research team surveyed members of the mathematics education scholarly community to gain insight into the community's perceptions of the two-column proof and its role in high school geometry. We created an email survey, which we sent to email addresses gathered from public lists of conference participants and speakers from recent mathematics edu...

This study aims to understand the instructional interactions that foster students’ generalizing. By analysing video-recorded lessons from 13 different Grade 3 classrooms in which an early algebra intervention was implemented, activities related to generalizing and students’ generalizing activities were identified, and the nature of the relationship...

A cluster randomized trial design was used to examine the effectiveness of a Grades 3 to 5 early algebra intervention with a diverse student population. Forty-six schools in three school districts participated. Students in treatment schools were taught the intervention by classroom teachers during regular mathematics instruction. Students in contro...

This study considers classroom situations in which students and the teacher co-contribute to promoting generalization. It specifically focuses on the ways in which students and a teacher in one classroom engage in generalizing arithmetic. Generalized arithmetic is an important route into early algebra (Kaput in Algebra in the Early Grades. Routledg...

Numbers and statistical representations (e.g., graphs, charts, etc.) are often used to mislead people into believing an argument. For example, in fall 2014 Wisconsin was considering whether to raise the minimum wage. A radio commercial claimed, “Ninety-eight percent of the employers in this state are small-business owners….” The commercial suggeste...

In this article we advance characterizations of and supports for elementary students’ progress in generalizing and representing functional relationships as part of a comprehensive approach to early algebra. Our learning progressions approach to early algebra research involves the coordination of a curricular framework and progression, an instructio...

Why should teachers engage in research studies? As a community, teachers and researchers are concerned with addressing critical issues in math education. NCTM's web resources and conferences, as well as the pages of this journal, give evidence of a growing community and an expanding body of work supporting NCTM's (2012) position of linking research...

This paper reports results from Grade 6 students’ written work on a functional thinking assessment item. The results show that students who experienced an early algebra intervention during Grades 3-5 were more likely to successfully represent a function rule in words and variables than students who did not. Also, both comparison and intervention gr...

The authors analyzed results of entrance exams for University of Banja Luka in the Republic of Srpska, B&H. Twelve exams were administered from 2012 to 2015 and designed to assess the mathematical proficiency of candidates for admission to the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering. The authors conducted further examination of the 280 tasks using Bloom’...

We introduce Tuva, a free tool that encourages students to engage in the authentic practices of statistics and data analysis. Tuva allows students to develop and refine their statistical literacy skills by exploring, analyzing, and interpreting data. We demonstrate the features of Tuva, and outline using Tuva in a classroom.

In this paper we present the results of student testing, from two technical colleges at Banja Luka University, on understanding and applying the logical implication and its contraposive in a real-world situation. The findings support our belief that the tested population has insufficient knowledge of these logical concepts. Furthermore, we argue th...

The purpose of this paper is to encourage mathematics educators to refine their notions of generalizing and generalization. The paper describes generalization and how definitions of generalization have evolved from conceptions of transfer. In particular, the paper demonstrates how definitions of transfer have shaped definitions of generalizing, and...

This research is part of a larger study that used a learning progressions approach to characterize students' algebraic thinking over time in terms of levels of sophistication. In this paper, we report on analyses of two students' interviews over a three-year period and focus on one big idea from our learning progression—functional thinking— to demo...