Tuesday, July 15, 2008

What Works Clearinghouse: 2 new Quick Reviews

The Advantage of Abstract Examples in Learning Math: "This study examined whether college students are better able to apply knowledge of simple mathematical concepts when they are taught the concepts using abstract symbols or concrete examples... College students taught the mathematical concepts using abstract symbols were better able to apply this knowledge to a new example than college students taught using concrete examples."

The Effects of Teach for America in High School: "This study examined whether having a Teach For America (TFA) teacher instead of a non-TFA teacher affects the academic performance of high school students...TFA improved student performance on standardized end-of-course tests in math and science—by about one-tenth of a standard deviation. This is equivalent to moving a student from the 50th to the 54th percentile."

No comments: