SBIR-STTR Award

This SBIR Phase I project is designed to address the dramatic drop in US student proficiency happening in the middle school grades. Seen across years of international test data, this drop highlights the urgent need to prepare students for success in the math classroom. Without a solid foundation in math, US students cannot succeed in science, technology and engineering. They will be less likely to graduate high school, will struggle to succeed in college, and are at risk of being left behind in a global economy. Many look to technology to address this challenge - but the 22 million US students struggling in mathematics do not need yet another virtual tutorial, online lecture or more practice time on a computer doing textbook-based math problems. What they need is a simulator. A comprehensive simulator where they can see, hear and experience just how math works - and why it matters. This project would develop an innovative product that delivers interactive video challenge math problems, aligned to Common Core State Standards for 5th through 8th grade mathematics, into any classroom. This product will use a complex programming system and codebase to allow teachers to collect student data and responses to complex math problems that result in functional output, accepting rapid real-time responses from multiple student devices, that can range from computers to mobile phones, in a low-bandwidth environment. Within the product, teachers generate tasks and challenges for students; students would grapple with multi-step problems and provide answers, with the teacher maintaining ultimate control over what is shared out with the classroom as a whole when the simulation is played out. Student data and responses are captured and are connected directly to a robust learning management system. The product is anticipated to be highly effective by providing students with an opportunity for Productive Failure (PF) prior to instruction; PF shows a higher effect size for both conceptual learning and transfer to novel situations than typical approaches where instruction is provided first. The Phase I project will conduct preliminary research using an experimental design to determine effect size of student growth from use of the intervention on a single CCSS standard.

This SBIR Phase II project was initiated as a direct result of extensive research into the US math crisis and the complexity of the problem. As a nation, we must invest resources directly into the breaking point: the mid school math cliff. The US shows the greatest decline worldwide from 4th to 10th grade on International tests in math. This project is designed to address all 146 Common Core State Standards (and all other state math standards) from 5th to 8th grade, providing a virtual reality context for each standard, embedded in an engaging, interactive 3-Act math story problem. The theoretical foundation of the project stems from Productive Failure, the concept that students perform better when they encounter productive failure prior to direct instruction in contrast to the reverse, where instruction is given first. Additionally, each simulator directly links student input to functional output to show how the math works, specifically allowing students to persist in exploring solutions. This project supports the NSF mission to support education for all fields fundamental to science and engineering, and holds the potential to positively impact a critical problem in U.S. education through broad commercial acceptance in schools throughout the US. This project is designed to provide simulations in a virtual reality context for all standards from 5th to 8th grade, using a core software platform for delivery that can be ubiquitously used in classrooms throughout the United States. This high-risk technical innovation uniquely embeds math content in such a way that input leads to functional output such that students can see how the math actually works. Students watch the outcomes of their solutions, both the successes and the failures so they can try again. Math problems have context and meaning. Students experience the direct results of their mathematical abilities, while teachers have the ability to deploy specific problems and receive real-time metrics to further respond and support student comprehension. Underlying the advanced classroom technology is the pedagogical framework based on Productive Failure and the intentional withholding of instruction and information prior to direct experience with grappling with a difficult problem with trial and error repetition. The goal of the research is to illustrate that math simulations show the highest achievement in comparison to other methodologies and that Productive Failure is a viable tenant of learning that can be applied to all fields supporting higher math applications and scientific discovery.