UCI School of Education research team receives research award to introduce innovative Fraction Ball math game in Santa Ana Unified School District
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A team of researchers from the UCI School of Education, led by Assistant Professor Andres Bustamante, received a three-year, $1.25 million research award from the NewSchools Venture Fund’s EF+Math Program to adapt Fraction Ball, an innovative math game, for the Santa Ana Unified School District (SAUSD).
In Fraction Ball, lines, arcs and colors are added to the design of a basketball court to emphasize fraction and decimal learning. The traditional 3-point arc is converted to 1 point, and smaller arcs closer to the basket represent shots worth 1/4, 1/2, and 3/4 points on one end of the court and 1/3 and 2/3 points on the opposite end. Fractions are represented on one side of the court and decimals on the other. As a result of the design, children can both visualize equivalencies between fractions and decimals and practice converting between fractions and decimals. A number line on the side of the court helps them keep track of their score. |
Students play a game of Fraction Ball at the El Sol Science & Arts Academy. The academically engaging game emphasizes fractional and decimal learning in a playful setting.
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“Fractions are a notoriously difficult content area for young students, and they represent a barrier to engage in more complex math like algebra,” Bustamante said. “Many students begin to disengage with math when they struggle with fractions and develop insecure math identities. Fraction Ball is a more accessible way for students to learn fractions; it's playful, hands-on, physically active, and based in the latest research in math learning.”
The Fraction Ball initiative was launched at El Sol Science & Arts Academy in Santa Ana in 2019, where it was “received with excitement and enthusiasm by students and teachers,” Bustamante said.
“Our pilot work at El Sol Academy showed the students who were randomly assigned to play six 50-minute sessions of Fraction Ball during P.E. class made significantly greater gains on a fraction knowledge test than students assigned to remain in P.E., business as usual.”
The Fraction Ball initiative was launched at El Sol Science & Arts Academy in Santa Ana in 2019, where it was “received with excitement and enthusiasm by students and teachers,” Bustamante said.
“Our pilot work at El Sol Academy showed the students who were randomly assigned to play six 50-minute sessions of Fraction Ball during P.E. class made significantly greater gains on a fraction knowledge test than students assigned to remain in P.E., business as usual.”
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UCI researchers are spending the first year of the project working remotely with SAUSD teachers to co-design new games and resources that connect the Fraction Ball experience to classroom fraction learning. The goal is to create an experience that is aligned with SAUSD’s curricular goals and that reflects the strengths and cultural assets of the students and teachers in the district. The team’s vision is to create an equitable learning platform that can support students from a broad range of ability levels and backgrounds.
Another major focus of the project is building children executive function (EF) skills in the context of math learning. “Executive functions are higher order cognitive skills like attention, working memory, and inhibition that help children engage in learning.” Bustamante said. “We are designing opportunities for students to exercise their EF skills during Fraction Ball and examining the benefits for later math learning.” The first SAUSD partner schools are Esqueda Elementary and Romero Cruz Academy. “Our teachers are excited to collaborate with UCI on Fraction Ball,” said Griselda Maldonado, principal of PreK-8 Romero Cruz Academy in Santa Ana. “This project is innovative and will boost our students' math skills both in and outside of the classroom in a fun and engaging way.” |
A number line on the Fraction Ball court depicts conversions between fractions and decimals.
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"I'm excited about the collaboration and learning with Fraction Ball,” said Maryellen Nicholson, SAUSD Elementary Math Curriculum Specialist. “I'm especially looking forward to watching our kids in SAUSD learn about fractions and have fun at the same time!"
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"Our pilot work at El Sol Academy showed the students who were randomly assigned to play six 50-minute sessions of Fraction Ball during P.E. class made significantly greater gains on a fraction knowledge test than students assigned to remain in P.E., business as usual.” -Dr. Andres Bustamante, Assistant Professor |
The next step in the project, to be initiated summer 2021, will involve painting the basketball courts and testing the new games and curricula.
“The study will culminate in an experimental trial of the game across the district,” Bustamante said. “In the final year of the project, we are planning for a 10,000 student study across all 36 SAUSD elementary schools.”
The UCI research team includes School of Education faculty June Ahn, Drew Bailey, Katherine Rhodes, and Lindsey Richland; Research Scientist Kreshnik Begolli, and graduate students Daniela Alvarez-Vargas, Daniel Hodge, and John Louis-Strakes Lopez.
EF+Math is an ambitious initiative to unlock the brilliance inside each student and develop powerful math learners. They fund bold approaches that hold promise to dramatically improve math outcomes for students in grades 3–8. Founded on the belief that students from every background deserve to express their mathematical brilliance, the program explores the possibility that exercising math-relevant executive function skills may mitigate some of the challenges of learning math in under-resourced schools. EF+Math’s five-year program funds multi-disciplinary teams to co-create approaches that integrate executive function skill-building activities into high-quality, evidence-based math instruction. Each team’s work is deeply equity focused, research-informed and designed with educators at the center. Read more about the New Schools Venture EF+Math Program here.
“The study will culminate in an experimental trial of the game across the district,” Bustamante said. “In the final year of the project, we are planning for a 10,000 student study across all 36 SAUSD elementary schools.”
The UCI research team includes School of Education faculty June Ahn, Drew Bailey, Katherine Rhodes, and Lindsey Richland; Research Scientist Kreshnik Begolli, and graduate students Daniela Alvarez-Vargas, Daniel Hodge, and John Louis-Strakes Lopez.
EF+Math is an ambitious initiative to unlock the brilliance inside each student and develop powerful math learners. They fund bold approaches that hold promise to dramatically improve math outcomes for students in grades 3–8. Founded on the belief that students from every background deserve to express their mathematical brilliance, the program explores the possibility that exercising math-relevant executive function skills may mitigate some of the challenges of learning math in under-resourced schools. EF+Math’s five-year program funds multi-disciplinary teams to co-create approaches that integrate executive function skill-building activities into high-quality, evidence-based math instruction. Each team’s work is deeply equity focused, research-informed and designed with educators at the center. Read more about the New Schools Venture EF+Math Program here.
