4 minute read
SCRATCHMATHS
Evidence has shown that learning programming can help students to develop higher levels of understanding of certain mathematical concepts. A project from UCL Knowledge Lab at University College London has been testing a fresh approach involving learning computing alongside mathematical concepts. They have designed an integrated curriculum using the programming environment Scratch to teach mathematical ideas. A recent evaluation has found that using this approach improves computational
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THE FIVE Es OF SCRATCHMATHS
n Explore: Moving from direct control to planning or building behaviours n Explain: Experiencing concepts before defining them through discussions n Envisage: Including unplugged activities and encouraging identification with the object being programmed n Exchange: Providing the need to share or build on others’ ideas n bridgE: Explicit links to mathematics national curriculum
STORY BY Jonathan Dickins
thinking. There was no evidence, however, of an improvement in maths attainment, as measured by Key Stage test scores.
ScratchMaths is a two-year computing- and maths-based curriculum for pupils aged nine to eleven. Scratch is used to integrate coding activities into mathematical learning, to address a key problem that students have in learning mathematics: expressing mathematical concepts in formal language. The programme focuses on Scratch programming skills and computational thinking, with explicit links made to areas of mathematics. ScratchMaths provides teacher professional development to help educators deliver the curriculum, along with a range of teaching resources. John Morris, head teacher at Ardleigh Green Junior School in Essex, says, “For us, ScratchMaths is a breath of fresh air because it allows us to approach the teaching of mathematics in a new, exciting, and engaging way.”
The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) funded the programme. It has recently released a report produced by Sheffield Hallam University evaluating the impact of ScratchMaths on a sample of schools that worked with the curriculum over two years.
More than 100 schools, with over 6,000 pupils, were involved at the beginning of the trial. Around half were in the intervention group in which ScratchMaths was taught for at least one hour every fortnight. In a randomised control trial, they were compared to the other half of schools, which did not use ScratchMaths. Teachers in participating schools received professional development for teaching ScratchMaths, with teacher mediation seen as a crucial factor in helping pupils build links between computing and mathematics.
Participating schools were located across England, including schools in deprived areas. Piers Saunders, a lecturer in mathematics education at UCL, explains, “The curriculum was designed to meet the needs of all children, not just for highattaining children, or those who often attend clubs. It really was for all children, as evidenced by the large range of national schools that we had involved.”
Evaluation of impact
The independent team at Sheffield Hallam University evaluated the computational thinking scores of pupils after one year of intervention, and the maths scores of pupils after two years. They also gathered data from teachers via surveys and telephone interviews, and assessed how schools had implemented ScratchMaths.
They found no evidence that ScratchMaths impacted pupils’ Key
Stage 2 (ages seven to eleven) maths attainment, as measured by Key Stage scores. However, pupils in schools using ScratchMaths made more progress in computational thinking relative to schools that did not implement ScratchMaths. Teachers reported that ScratchMaths was useful for addressing certain aspects of the primary computing curriculum, and good for improving Scratch skills.
This positive effect on computational thinking skills did not differ between boys and girls who took part in the evaluation, which is a noteworthy finding, as previous interventions in programming education often highlight gender differences in how children benefit. The evaluation also found that progress was highest for children who were, or had been, eligible for free school meals, suggesting that ScratchMaths is an accessible curriculum for children of different socio-economic backgrounds.
The report also found that many schools did not fully implement ScratchMaths during the trial, with attendance of training sessions, use of materials, and time spent teaching ScratchMaths decreasing
between years one and two of the trial. Pressures around the national standardised assessment tests (SATs) for ten- and eleven-year-old students in the second year were reported as a barrier to implementation for many teachers. Some students involved in the trial also experienced a change of teacher between years one and two of the trial, with incoming teachers not receiving professional development from ScratchMaths, and perhaps being less proficient in Scratch.
Given that the second year of the trial was the year in which computing concepts were to be more explicitly linked with mathematics ideas, it could be that these pressures resulted in the lack of improvement in mathematics attainment, and that application of the curriculum as intended could see the predicted effect on mathematics attainment. It is also possible that the timescale of the study wasn’t long enough to observe this effect.
As the ScratchMaths resources are free and online, schools from various regions are exploring implementing the curriculum in their settings. There is a trial underway in Spain measuring the impact on students’ computational thinking skills, and some educators have localised the resources to make them relevant to their existing computing and mathematics curriculum. In
SCRATCHMATHS IS A BREATH OF FRESH AIR
n A resource from the ScratchMaths ‘Tiling patterns’ module
n All ScratchMaths resources are freely available at helloworld.cc/scratchmaths
the UK, local coordinators are in place to advise on implementing ScratchMaths.
While ScratchMaths has not raised mathematical attainment in this trial, the report suggests that where there is a need to develop teachers’ computing skills, ScratchMaths could act as a lowcost form of professional development, helping teachers to develop computational thinking skills in pupils.
You can find out more about ScratchMaths and access resources at helloworld.cc/scratchmaths. If you’re using ScratchMaths in your classroom, we’d love to hear your thoughts!
