McREL is in the midst of an ongoing, rigorous research study that aims to help educators improve the achievement of American Indian students in mathematics, a subject area where there is a pronounced gap in achievement between this student subgroup and the majority population. This study is being conducted in North Dakota and South Dakota—two states which rank fifth and sixth in the nation for percentages of American Indian students.
In 2003, McREL researchers worked with experienced Indian educators in North Dakota and South Dakota to identify instructional practices their professional wisdom and the existing, albeit, small research base suggest are likely to improve American Indian students’ achievement in mathematics. These methods include using culturally relevant curriculum and direct instruction of math-related vocabulary.
Working with our Indian education partners, McREL provided teachers with guidance on how to use these strategies in their classrooms. McREL will study the impact of these strategies through a scientifically based research study, which will include classroom observations to determine the extent to which teachers are correctly implementing the strategies and matched comparison groups to determine their impact on student achievement. Researchers will begin collecting data late this year with a final report due out in 2005.
“To date, there has not been much research regarding effective classroom practices for American Indian students,” noted McREL Principal Researcher, Helen Apthorp, who is leading the McREL team conducting the study. “As a result, educators have had to rely more on ideological, rather than theoretically-sound, empirical guidance when looking for ways to improve the achievement of American Indian students. We’re hoping to change that by conducting scientifically based research that will help educators address the needs of this critical group of students.”