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Influence of initial mathematical competencies on the effectiveness of a classroom‐based intervention
Author(s) -
Cueli Marisol,
Areces Débora,
García Trinidad,
Rodríguez Celestino,
Vallejo Guillermo,
GonzálezCastro Paloma
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
british journal of educational psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.557
H-Index - 95
eISSN - 2044-8279
pISSN - 0007-0998
DOI - 10.1111/bjep.12239
Subject(s) - psychology , intervention (counseling) , developmental psychology , mathematics education , applied psychology , medical education , psychiatry , medicine
Background Students commonly struggle with mathematics and mathematical problem‐solving. Therefore, it is necessary to design and implement interventions aimed at improving these essential components of learning. Furthermore, the outcomes of these interventions can vary significantly and appear to be a function of a student's initial competencies in mathematics. Aim This study attempts to analyse the influence of initial levels of mathematics competency with respect to the benefits of a specific intervention known as the Integrated Dynamic Representation ( IDR ). Sample Participants were 288 students (aged 6–8 years) who were divided according to their levels of mathematics competency (low–medium–high). Methods Students were assigned to the two primary intervention groups, experimental group ( EG ; students who received the IDR intervention) and control group ( CG ; students who followed the traditional instructional methods). All participants completed the Test of Early Mathematics Abilities ( TEMA ‐3) both before and after the intervention. Results and conclusions Although all the three competency levels of the EG improved, the progression was different for each level. Results showed that students with low competency level improved substantially more than the students with medium and/or high baseline competency level.