Organization(s): Horizon Research, Inc., North Carolina State University
Funding agency: National Science Foundation
Program: Discovery Research K-12 (DRK-12)
HRI Role: Research
Project Description
Project AIM NEXT (All Included in Mathematics New Extension) is a late-stage design and development study focused on mathematics education. The overarching purpose of Project AIM-NEXT is to strengthen and examine the connection between professional development and student learning outcomes in the context of the Project AIM professional development (AIM-PD) program. AIM-PD, developed with prior NSF funding, focuses on improving mathematics discourse practices in K–2 classrooms, with particular attention to emergent multilingual learners. The program has been developed and tested, demonstrating impacts on K–2 teachers’ knowledge, beliefs, and practices. AIM-PD is designed for web-based, district-led implementations that can be delivered at scale. It also includes an AIM facilitator program (AIM-FP) to prepare mathematics leaders who can facilitate AIM-PD maintaining integrity with its design. AIM-NEXT is designing, developing, and field testing additional components: a coaching program (AIM-CP) and a school leadership program (AIM-LP). All four components of AIM-NEXT will then be studied in a randomized experiment to examine the impact of the full program on participating teachers and on their students.
Research Purpose
AIM-NEXT addresses the following research questions:
RQ1.1 What mathematical knowledge for teaching teachers do coaches need to support teachers’ noticing with an equity focus?
RQ1.2 What professional learning experiences best support AIM coaches’ preparation?
RQ1.3 What are key aspects of AIM coaches’ work?
RQ1.4 Can the AIM coaching be implemented with integrity?
RQ2.1 What do principals need to know to support high-quality mathematics instruction?
RQ2.2 How do principals make sense of AIM NEXT materials and bring ideas into practice?
RQ3.1 What is the impact on teachers’ MKT of AIM NEXT compared to BAU?
RQ3.2 What is the impact on teachers’ beliefs about discourse-promoting mathematics practice, and perceptions of principal support, of AIM NEXT compared to BAU?
RQ3.3 What is the impact on the frequency of teachers’ discourse-promoting mathematics practices and noticing with an equity focus of AIM NEXT compared to BAU?
