文章基本信息

标题：The Impact of Early Algebra: Results from a Longitudinal Intervention
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作者：Barbara M Brizuela ; Mara V Martinez ; Gabrielle A Cayton-Hodges 等
期刊名称：REDIMAT: Journal of Research in Mathematics Education
电子版ISSN：2014-3621
出版年度：2013
卷号：2
期号：2
页码：209-241
DOI：10.4471/redimat.2013.28
出版社：Hipatia Press
摘要：In this paper, we provide evidence of the impact of early algebra (EA) over time. We document this impact in the following ways: (a) by showing the performance over time of an experimental group of 15 children on an algebra assessment, from 3 rd to 5 th grade; and (b) by showing how the performance on an algebra assessment of children from an experimental group differs from the performance of a group of comparison students from their same elementary school who did not receive EA instruction from 3 rd to 5 th grade. We compared students’ scores through comparisons of means, correspondence factorial analyses, and hierarchical analyses. Our results highlight the positive impact of an early access to algebra, indicating that this early access is associated, when we compare 3 rd graders to 5 th graders, with increased scores on items that involve inequalities and graphs. When comparing experimental to comparison-group students we find increased scores on items that involve variables, functional relations, intra-mathematical contexts, tables, and algebraic expressions. The study adds to a body of literature that has been arguing for EA as well as a need to thread algebra throughout the mathematics curriculum, starting in the earliest grades.