Building mathematics skills in a vocational context

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How much did the students’ maths improve?

The study tested around 4000 students both before the project began and after it ended. They each took one of three different maths tests and a test of knowledge and skills relevant to their own vocational subject. About half the students were taught by 114 CTE teachers randomly selected to design and teach between five and ten new maths in CTE lessons over the course of a single term. The rest of the students continued to be taught by 122 CTE teachers in their usual way.

The study tested each of the six subject areas using three different maths tests, so creating eighteen different pairs of comparisons between the students. It found that:

in fourteen of the eighteen test comparisons, experimental groups of students scored more than their peers in the control groups;
these higher scores were statistically significant in three instances: for two vocational subjects, this was in the maths test usually used to place college students and, for a third vocational subject, the significantly better performance was found on a test of applied maths; and
students in the experimental group did just as well as control students on a test of vocational subject-specific skills and content knowledge.

The researchers concluded that the additional time spent on maths activities during CTE lessons did not impair students’ acquisition of occupational skills and knowledge, but that it could improve their performance in mathematics. They noted that, although students in the experimental group generally improved more than their peers in the control groups, few improvements were big enough to be statistically significant. They considered possible reasons for this.

Students’ attitudes towards maths and their motivation and confidence also improved. They became more proactive in approaching maths.

“The kids would go tell the maths teacher what I did and then they’d work out a problem in maths class … [The maths teachers would] come and ask, ‘What in the world are you doing? Our kids come and ask about problems I didn’t think they would be interested in!’” (CTE teacher)

“The one thing I am probably most proud of …[is] that I have more of my kids volunteering to go for remedial maths than ever before.” (CTE teacher)

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Research Home Themes \| Find digests \| About the digests resources glossary researchers contact TRIPS Introduction How much did the students’ maths improve? How did the teachers prepare for and implement the project? What was the typical pattern of a CTE lesson designed to support students’ maths? How did the pairs of teachers evaluate the new lessons? What did the researchers believe might improve the success of a future programme? What were the aims of the study and how was it designed? What are the implications of the study? Where can I find out more? Send us your feedback Collated digests To find out more about collated digests click here Get Word Reader Building mathematics skills in a vocational context This digest found in Mathematics Send to a friend Word doc 70KB Printer friendly Collate for later How much did the students’ maths improve? The study tested around 4000 students both before the project began and after it ended. They each took one of three different maths tests and a test of knowledge and skills relevant to their own vocational subject. About half the students were taught by 114 CTE teachers randomly selected to design and teach between five and ten new maths in CTE lessons over the course of a single term. The rest of the students continued to be taught by 122 CTE teachers in their usual way. The study tested each of the six subject areas using three different maths tests, so creating eighteen different pairs of comparisons between the students. It found that: in fourteen of the eighteen test comparisons, experimental groups of students scored more than their peers in the control groups; these higher scores were statistically significant in three instances: for two vocational subjects, this was in the maths test usually used to place college students and, for a third vocational subject, the significantly better performance was found on a test of applied maths; and students in the experimental group did just as well as control students on a test of vocational subject-specific skills and content knowledge. The researchers concluded that the additional time spent on maths activities during CTE lessons did not impair students’ acquisition of occupational skills and knowledge, but that it could improve their performance in mathematics. They noted that, although students in the experimental group generally improved more than their peers in the control groups, few improvements were big enough to be statistically significant. They considered possible reasons for this. Students’ attitudes towards maths and their motivation and confidence also improved. They became more proactive in approaching maths. “The kids would go tell the maths teacher what I did and then they’d work out a problem in maths class … [The maths teachers would] come and ask, ‘What in the world are you doing? Our kids come and ask about problems I didn’t think they would be interested in!’” (CTE teacher) “The one thing I am probably most proud of …[is] that I have more of my kids volunteering to go for remedial maths than ever before.” (CTE teacher)