Math minus the numbers

Most elementary school students will tell you that math and fun don’t intersect on the coordinate plane. But an experimental math program under development at the MIND Research Institute in Santa Ana may literally change the way students look at math.

The software-based program, called ST Math, takes a more conceptual approach to mathematics, using visual elements in the place of numbers and symbols.

“Most math is taught with a heavy reliance on language,” said Andrew Coulson, president of the education division at the MIND Institute. “What we’ve done is eliminated that requirement, so math is presented in a visual, language-independent way.”

The MIND Institute is working with the Orange County Department of Education and with UCI education professor Michael Martinez to test the effectiveness of ST Math at 50 underperforming schools in Orange County. The U.S. Department of Education paid for the program with a $3-million grant.

“We are a research organization,” Martinez said, “so we constantly want to learn more about what gets results. This grant allows us to measure many more aspects about how the program works.”

At first glance, ST Math looks like a computer puzzle. Students must use concepts like symmetry and spatial orientation to solve a series of simple puzzles that progressively become harder. When students reach the 100-point mark, they move to the next level.

Although ST Math has been used in classrooms before, its results have yet to be proven empirically.

“In the past, the evidence for its effectiveness has been strong but not conclusive,” Martinez said. “This time, we’re looking at a larger population, and we’re doing randomized experimentation that involves treatment and control. That will allow us to make direct causal statements.”

Martinez and his UCI colleagues will oversee the project and analyze its results.

“UCI is providing overall project direction,” Martinez said. “We are the main contractor for the grant, so we’re managing it and providing strategic direction.”

Lindsey Richland, assistant professor of education and psychology and social behavior at UCI, will work with Martinez to collect the data and assist in the professional development of ST Math. She hopes kids who use it will see long-term improvements in their math skills.

“We’re hoping for learning gains that are tied not only to these exact concepts, but broader concepts as well,” she said. “We want students to see how these skills are connected to each other, so that they will learn to be flexible. Then they will be able to solve other similar math problems.”

The results of the study may determine the future of ST Math in the classroom.

“If it turns out to be very effective, then we would like to see its use expand,” Martinez said. “But for now, we want to test if ST math is effective, and if so, for whom.”