Promoting Mathematical Reasoning in OpenSciEd Middle School Curriculum Units

This study responds to the need to support science teachers in deepening their students' engagement in mathematics reasoning. To address this need, we collaborated with two school districts to (1) explore how to support middle school science teachers to integrate mathematics into their science classrooms and (2) examine what students learned by deepening mathematics engagement during their science instruction. We worked with teachers who used OpenSciEd instructional materials, which integrate opportunities for mathematical reasoning as students work with data to explain science phenomena. The research team designed professional learning experiences and resources aimed to help teachers deepen their mathematics knowledge, support students’ mathematical reasoning, and modify instructional materials to enhance connections to mathematics. We developed a student mathematics assessment, administered teacher surveys, conducted teacher interviews, and observed classroom instruction. Broadly, our study indicates that teachers can enhance student engagement in mathematics during phenomenon-based science instruction, given access to appropriate resources and support. In addition, our findings identify features of instruction that were successful in deepening students' mathematics engagement. These findings inform recommendations for diverse interest holders to support mathematical reasoning in science classrooms.

This study was supported by the Gates Foundation. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the funders.