Phi-Bao Tran

Annotated Bibliography 2021

Barner, D., Sullivan, J., Srinivasan, M., Alvarez, G., Brooks, N., & Frank, M. C. (2016).

Learning Mathematics in a Visuospatial Format: A Randomized, Controlled Trial of

Mental Abacus Instruction. Child Development, 87(4), 1146-1158.

Summary:

In this study, researchers conducted a longitudinal study at a school in Vadodara, India. The
researchers wanted to test the effects of mental abacus technique on students visuospatial
working memory. The abacus is an ancient mathematical tool used throughout history. The
mental abacus technique involves creating and manipulating a mental image of a physical abacus
to perform arithmetic operations. This technique has been successful in making quick and precise
calculations and has been used to win calculation competitions. The researchers worked under
two theories: Cognitive Transfer, the ability to manipulate structures in working memory, and
Cognitive Moderation, using preexisting abilities to enhance spatial working memory. The
researchers worked with elementary students who were split into a control group and mental
abacus group. The control group was given 3 hours a week of supplementary practice from a
standard curriculum and the mental abacus group was given 3 hours a week of abacus training.
The study followed the students for a total of 3 years, from 2nd grade to 4th grade. The results
concluded that mental abacus training was more effective in developing arithmetic skill than an
equivalent amount of standard supplemental training. However, one of the pitfalls was that
mental abacus training seemed to build upon pre-existing cognitive capacity instead of
modifying current working memory.

Reflection:

This article is beneficial to my research because it utilizes a physical and visual medium as a
mathematical intervention. The goal of my research is to view the effects of visual representation
on student achievement. Part of the use of visual representation is to create an image with the
students mind that will allow them to perform mathematical operations. This study demonstrates
the use of mental images does have a positive impact on arithmetic skill.

Caglayan, G., & Olive, J. (2010). Eighth grade students' representation of linear equations based

on a cups and tiles model. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 74(2), 143-162.

Summary:

In this study, researchers studied the effect of using cups and tiles as representations of algebraic
expressions. The study was conducted in a rural 8th grade middle school with students in a
College Preparatory Mathematics (CPM) class. The researchers worked under the theory of
Kaput’s 1991 model of referential relationship. The article describes the theory as a windshield
metaphor where ideal visual representations should simultaneously be looked at and looked
through. Constraints of physical manipulations is that the physical objects often bring along
outside qualities that by inhibit students’ ability to decompose the object into an abstract symbol.
The research concluded that the cups and tiles model was best used for algebraic expressions
involving addition. Also, the cup and tiles visual representation created cognitive dissonance
where students could not disassociate the math operations with the physical constraints of the
objects.

Reflection:

This article is useful in my research because it demonstrates some of the constraints and pitfalls
of visual representations. When using visual representations, the images contain properties
inherent to the visuals themselves. This can be beneficial where those inherent properties can
lead students towards specific mathematical operations. It can also be detrimental where students
are unable to disassociate the visual from the symbolic notation. As a result, I will be more
selective of the visual representations that I choose so that they do not contain unwanted
qualities.

Greene, Maxine (1997). Teaching as Possibility: A Light in Dark Times. In A. Darder, R.D.

Torres & M.P. Baltodano (Eds.), The Critical Pedagogy Reader (3rd ed) (pp. 418-431.).

New York, NY: Routledge.

Summary:
The role of an educator is to cultivate imagination in order to empower disenfranchised students.
Students need to develop skills to deal with feelings of manipulation by outside forces. If
students do not develop a sense of agency, students will not engage in the questioning necessary
for learning. Classroom strategies for cultivating imagination is position students to discuss their
unique experiences, enable students to recognize inequity and encourage intellectual
imagination.
Reflection:
Cultivating imagination is a key element in the learning of mathematics. Incorporating the CPA
approach involves creating situations and investigations where students can discover unique
math properties for themselves. Allowing students to engage with manipulates and visuals
provides flexibility in approaching math problems and can help instill a sense of agency.
Students need to intellectual imagination to imagine the ideal world of how math rules and
properties should function.
Hinton, Vanessa M., and Margaret M. Flores (2019). The Effects of the Concrete-

Representational Abstract Sequence for Students at Risk for Mathematics Failure.

Journal of Behavioral Education, 28(4), 493-516, doi:10.1007/s10864-018-09316-3.

Summary:

The article describes a research study where the Concrete-Representational-Abstract (CRA)

sequence was used as an intervention strategy for struggling students. The elementary school
described in the article has three tiers of intervention. Tier 1 occurs in the general education
setting; Tier 2 involves smaller groups and repeated instruction, and Tier 3 involves more
intensive instruction. Two 3rd grade students who qualified for Tier 3 intervention were
participants in the study. The researchers conducted 25-minute interventions 4 days a week for
12 weeks. During these interventions, students worked on the following three mathematics skills:
rounding, subtraction and fractions. The researchers progressed through the CRA sequence
where lessons began with using physical manipulatives, such as base 10 blocks or card stock.
The lessons then transitioned to the representational stage where number lines, tables and
drawings were introduced. Finally, in the abstract stage, physical and visual tools were phased
out. The research concluded that the students improved their performance in all three
mathematical skills and error patterns did not repeat themselves during the maintenance period.

Reflection:

The data from Round 1 research showed that struggling students failed to demonstrate significant
growth when using visual representations. Comparatively, English learning students, students
with high mathematical ability, and students from special population demonstrated significant
growth using visual representations. This article demonstrates that mathematical performance
can improve for struggling students using the CRA sequence. One possible hypothesis for my
students not fully utilizing interventions is that I mainly focused on visuals and abstract learning.
The article explains that learning must follow the complete CRA sequence where the researchers
spent more time in the concrete phase using manipulatives such as base 10 blocks. For my
Round 2 research, I will spend more time providing instruction emphasizing the concrete phase.

Khan, Richards, & Douglas Kellner (2005). Reconstructing Technoliteracy: A Multiple

Literacies Approach. In A. Darder, R.D. Torres & M.P. Baltodano (Eds.), The Critical

Pedagogy Reader (3rd ed) (pp. 418-431.). New York, NY: Routledge.

Summary:
Our society had conflicting and divergent views of technoliteracy. The United States was
criticized for having curriculum that lacked science and technology. A s a result, a new standard
was set to reach technoliteracy by 8th grade. Technology was often thought as high-tech articfacts
and literacy was though of as proficiency with language and numbers. However, technology
should be expanded to include a network of people and profession. Social media also serves a
technology and technoliteracy should include being able to dissect media forms and embrace
multiple voices. Finally, technology should be shifted towards making it more applicable to
people’s needs, not desires.
Reflection:
The article describes how print literacy relied on images and graphics. Technoliteracy provides
opportunity for multimodal interactions including print, speech, visuality, tactility, and sound.
When conducting action research, I relied on technology tools to have students engage with the
material and progress through the CPA phases of learning. By allowing students to connect and
combine multimodal interactions could be the cause of improvement in students’ academic
scores.

Kercood, S., & Grskovic, J. A. (2009). The Effects of Highlighting on the Math Computation

Performance and Off-task Behavior of Students with Attention Problems. Education and

Treatment of Children, 32(2), 231-241.

Summary:

In this study, researchers investigated the use of highlighting on math computation and off-task
behavior. The study was conducted with three 3rd grade students who were selected of having
attention problems and had failed one or more sections on the math state test. The students
learned in a general education classroom located in a suburban elementary school. The
researchers worked under Hebb’s 1955 Optimal Stimulation theory. The theory states that
students with attention disorders fail to self-regulate due to under-reaction to environmental
stimulus. Adding stimulation, such as bright colors, could temporarily increase arousal and
subsequently focus the students’ attention on relevant tasks. As a result, the researchers created
an intervention where students were given worksheets of 49 problems and had to complete as
many as they could in a 15-minute time frame. Students were given highlighters to color code
problems by difficulty or problem type: addition, subtraction, multiplication. During the
sessions, students were examined for off-task behavior in 10-second intervals. The results were
mixed on the reduction of off-task behavior. However, data showed that highlighting did
improve performance, but not to desired levels. Also, color-coding by math operations had the
best results and having a variety of colors limited the possibility of acclimating to the color
stimulation.

Reflection:

Color highlighting is one of the visual interventions I utilize in my math class and one that I plan
to conduct research on. This article has given me a baseline of color highlighting and areas for
future research. One of the issues with the study was that the intervention was held isolated in an
empty classroom. I will be using the highlighting intervention in a regular classroom setting (or
distant learning setting). The research has also shown that highlighting was more beneficial when
use for specific mathematical purposes, such as differentiation between adding, subtracting, and
multiplying. I will be using the effects of highlighting to demonstrate the relationship between
mathematical representations, tables, graphs, and equations.

Lamberg, T., & Wiest, L. R. (2014). Dividing Fractions Using an Area Model: A Look at In

service Teachers' Understanding. Mathematics Teacher Education and Development,

17(1), 30-43.

Summary:

The article describes a problem in math education where many practicing teachers have weak
conceptual understanding and as a result, pass those weak conceptions onto their students. In the
math topic of fractions, common solution strategies such as ‘invert-and-multiply’ and ‘common-
denominator’ are taught as isolated procedures and the underlying mechanics are lost. As a
result, the researchers conducted a seminar study with 12 practicing teachers, whose experience
varied from 5 to 15 years. Within the four hours session, teachers attempted to make sense of
fraction division utilizing an area model. The anecdotal result showed that teachers who
struggled understanding the concept visually reverted to using standard procedures. Also, the
visual representation alone could not improve conceptual understanding, meaning had to be
place inside the model. For example, with area model and fraction division, the model was useful
was teachers were able to identify the relationship between the divisor and the dividend.

Reflection:

The article demonstrates the benefits and constraints of visual representations. Visual images can
provide context that allow students to relate symbols to realistic situations. On the other hand,
some contexts are not general enough to support different visual models. Fractions is a topic that
is shown continuously throughout mathematical education. Similarly, area model is one of the
visual representations I utilize in my class to teach fractions and other concepts as well.

Lee, Ngan Hoe, and Boon Leong Jeremy Tan (2014). The Role of Virtual Manipulatives On

The Concrete-Pictorial-Abstract Approach in Teaching Primary Mathematics. The

Electronic Journal of Mathematics and Technology, 8(2), 215-241.

Summary:

This article explores updating the Concrete-Pictorial-Abstract (CPA) approach to the Virtual-
Pictorial-Abstract (VPA) approach. Advances in technology have created virtual manipulatives
that can be moved dynamically and can serve the same purpose as concrete manipulatives. The
researchers conduct a case study with a single teacher who implemented the VPA approach to
teach the math concept of equivalent fractions. The researcher interviewed the teacher who
describe four conclusions from the experiment. The first conclusion was that virtual manipulates
were an effective coupling of concrete and pictorial representations. Secondly, virtual
manipulatives were more efficient that concrete manipulatives, removing time needed to pass
out, collect and organize physical objects. Thirdly, students demonstrated a preference to using
virtual manipulatives rather than concrete ones. Fourthly, the teacher identified a potential equity
issue where higher ability students had greater access to computers at home. As a result, affluent
students felt more at ease using virtual tool when compared to lower ability students who may
not have similar resources.

Reflection:

Round 2 of my action research will be conducted online and as a result, I am looking for
alternatives to providing students with hands-on experience. The article demonstrates the
possibility of replacing concrete manipulatives with virtual ones, which may be a necessity due
to distance learning. To address any potential equity issues, all virtual manipulatives chosen will
have to be accessible using school provided technology resources. The mathematical topics
chosen for the virtual manipulatives will also differ. The article focused on concepts of fractions,
however the topic for my Round 2 will consist of solving algebraic expressions.

Lipman, Pauline (2003). Beyond Accountability: Toward Schools that Create New People for a

New Way of Life. In A. Darder, R.D. Torres & M.P. Baltodano (Eds.), The Critical

Pedagogy Reader (3rd ed) (pp. 418-431.). New York, NY: Routledge.

Summary:
Accountability represents the measures of a well performing school. Traditionally, accountability
has focused on skills and test taking techniques. This causes students to be reduced to test scores
and teachers to be reduced to technicians on an assembly line. The system of high-stakes testing
results in participants in the system to engage in self-blame and the blaming of others. The
solution is to provide education that is not only personal, cultural, and social but also
intellectually rigorous as well.
Reflection:
Teaching through an online format resulted in a lack of personal interaction with students. When
teaching in person, students’ progress could be measured through examining students’ work and
asking questions. However, conducting action research online caused a reliant on numeric scores
and online testing to gauge students’ understanding. Relying on test scores and sorting students
into success or failure is a restrictive form of binary thinking. In order to interpret test scores
results, survey responses were collected to find a glimpse into students’ attitudes.

Namkung, Jessica M., and Nicole Bricko (2020). The Effects of Algebraic Equation Solving

Intervention for Students With Mathematics Learning Difficulties. Journal of Learning

Disabilities, 54(2), 111-123, doi:10.1177/0022219420930814.

Summary:
The article begins by describing the necessity of algebra skills in the context of the American
workforce, college entrance and STEM fields. The researchers implore the need for improvement
in algebra instruction, which may be accomplished utilizing the concrete-semi-concrete-abstract
(CSA) approach. The researchers conducted a study to test the effects of algebraic equation-
solving interventions. The research was conducted with sixth grades from one urban and on
suburban middle schools. Students where randomly grouped into an intervention group and a
control group. Over the course of 5 weeks, students progressed through the stages of the CSA
approach. During week 1, students focused on vocabulary and conceptual understanding of the
equal sign through concrete objects such as scales and manipulatives. During weeks 2 and 3,
students explored the conceptual understanding of multiplication and division using tools such as
plates and base 10 blocks. Finally, during weeks 4 and 5, students entered the abstract phase
where focus was placed on solving advanced algebraic equations and order of solutions. The
research concluded that gains were made using the CSA approach however it was unclear if the
impact was due to the fact that the intervention served as supplementary instruction in addition to
students’ regular class.
Reflection:
The topics and strategies described in the article run parallel to my round 2 research plans.
Similar to the article, the math topics to be covered in round 2 will include algebraic expressions,
distributive property and solving linear equations. The article began the intervention utilizing
concrete manipulatives such as scales, plates, and base 10 blocks. In my round 2 research, I will
utilize virtual manipulatives of Algebra Tiles. The article shares similar theoretical framework,
where they utilized the Concrete-Semi-Concrete-Abstract (CSA) approach, and I will utilize the
Concrete-Pictorial-Abstract (CPA) approach. Unlike the article, my intervention strategies will
not serve as supplemental instruction used as the main source of instruction. The article describes
no significant difference between test scores for the intervention and control group. My round 2
research will not have a control group, but I hope to demonstrate significant growth in comparing
pre- and post-tests.

Putri, H. E. (2015). The influence of concrete pictorial abstract (CPA) approach to the

mathematical representation ability achievement of the pre-service teachers at elementary

school. International Journal of Education and Research, 3(6), 113-126.

Summary:

The article describes the impact of the concrete pictorial abstract (CPA) approach on
mathematical representational ability. The CPA approach is a learning theory where math
learning occurs in three progressive stages. The first is the concrete stage, where students learn
by physical manipulation and have access to visual, auditory, and tactile senses. The next stage is
pictorial, where students learn from visual representations, such as graphs of images. Finally, the
last stage is abstract, where students utilize numbers and letter notations to solve math. The
research operated under the mathematical representation ability theory, which describes the
ability to reproduce outside factors within one’s own mind. Research was conducted on the
University of Indonesia campus with two control groups, one receiving traditional learning and
one utilizing the CPA approach. The results demonstrated that the CPA approach produced
higher achievement for students of all categories of prior mathematical ability: low, intermediate,
and high.

Reflection:

The CPA approach is a learning framework that I base my own teaching practices upon. When
teaching new concepts to students, I attempt to guide them through the three phases of learning,
concrete, pictorial and abstract. The goal of my research study is to narrow focus on the second
level of CPA, where I want to measure the impact of visual representation on student
achievement.

Rouinfar, A., Agra, E., Larson, A. M., Rebello, N. S., & Loschky, L. C. (2014). Linking

attentional processes and conceptual problem solving: visual cues facilitate the

automaticity of extracting relevant information from diagrams. Frontiers in Psychology, 5.

https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01094

Summary:
The article describes a study which investigated the impact of visual cues on solving conceptual
problem solving. Participants in the study worked on physics problems that contained a diagram
and required higher levels of cognition. The participants were split into two groups, where one
group received visual cues overlayed on top of the diagrams and the other group did not. The
researcher studied participants eye movement to measure changes in attentional selection during
the problem-solving process. The results from the experiment demonstrated that participants who
were given visual cues solved problems correctly at a higher rate than those who did not. The
results suggest that visual cues helped promote higher levels of cognition. The measure on eye
movement showed that the group who were trained to attend to visual cues spend less time the
relevant areas of the problem. The researchers use the automatization hypothesis to explain that
the group who were given visual cues developed greater efficiency in extracting information
from relevant diagrams. As a result, those participants had lower measures of eye movement.
Reflection:
This article is relevant to my round 3 research because I want to explore the impact of use of
color coding on students’ ability to connect multiple linear representations, such as tables graphs
and equations. Connecting multiple representations is a high cognitive skill and the result of the
study indicates that visual cues resulted in higher rates of problem solving. The research also
hypothesized that training participants to attend to visual cues may help they gain more
automaticity in extracting relevant information.