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Greene County Schools
Greeneville, TN
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Fourth Grade
Classroom Study
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Pre and Post-Tests
Program Evaluation Tools
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8 Weeks, 30 mins per week
Program Timeline
Study Focus: Determine the effect of kinesthetic activities on multiplication outcomes
Hailey Parente, a Master of Public Health student at East Tennessee University, led this project in partnership with Jennifer Gunter and Valerie Walters from Greene County Schools. Jennifer Gunter was a 4th grade math teacher, and Valerie Walters was the Greene County Schools Health Coordinator.
The project leads consulted with Kirby Schoephoerster, the Program Manager for the National Math Foundation (NMF). The NMF provided Math & Movement resources for the project leads to implement a multiplication-focused math intervention for 46 fourth-grade students.
Hailey used both active math movements and Skip Counting floor mats designed by Math & Movement in the intervention. Hailey and Valerie trained Jennifer on how to use the Math & Movement materials both virtually and in person.
This study examined a total of 46 fourth-grade students in 4 different classes. The Math & Movement program was integrated into the multiplication units for three of the four classes. Class #1 utilized active math movements only. Class #3 utilized Skip Counting floor mats only. Class #2 utilized both active math movements and Skip Counting floor mats. Class #4 did not integrate the program at all and functioned as a control group.
The students completed a pre-test before the start of the intervention. Then, they completed a post-test after the intervention was completed. Students utilizing the Math & Movement program only did so for 30 minutes per week for 8 weeks.
Challenges
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Prior to the project, Jennifer stated that her afternoon class (Class #3) not only struggled the most with math, but also had less time in class per day to practice math. Such variables may have affected the outcomes seen in Class #3 relative to the other classes.
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Students utilizing the Math & Movement program only did so for 30 minutes per week.
Solution
Results
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The students in Class #2 who utilized both Math & Movement mats and physical movements saw an average score increase of 22% from their pre-tests to their post-tests. In contrast, the control group, Class #4, only saw an average score increase of 8% from pre-test to post-test.
Pre-Test and Post-Test Averages Per Class
No Data Found
Test Average Difference (Pre to Post) Per Class
No Data Found
*Please note that averages are rounded to the nearest whole number for the purposes of these graphs.