ECR Projects

Explore past and current fundamental STEM education research projects across the three research areas that NSF's EDU Core Research (ECR) program funds, as well as across ECR funding types. Other search filters draw from both NSF's data and the ECR Hub's hand coding of award abstracts.

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STEM Learning and Learning Environments STEM Learning and Learning Environments  

From lab to math classroom: Utilizing eye gaze and cognitive control tasks to examine the effects of perceptual cues and structure on mathematical performance

Effective Years: 2023-2026

Using perceptual cues in mathematical problem solving has been shown to improve students' performance. Attention and executive function skills are two potential mechanisms that explain how and for whom perceptual supports have the greatest impact. However, measuring executive function, attention, and cognitive control with students in educational settings is challenging. Using more scalable and affordable web-based tools such as open-source executive function and eye gaze measures provides a means to understand individual differences in cognitive processing related to math. This project aims to build capacity and expertise in the principal investigator's research on perceptual learning in mathematics by examining how open source tools such as eye gaze/trackers and executive function/cognitive control measures can be embedded into online technology platforms to conduct ecologically valid classroom-based research.

To move research from the lab to classrooms with broader populations and to test mechanisms, two studies will be conducted. The first study will establish the usability and feasibility of using open-source eye tracking (Webgazer) and executive function measures (ACE-X) online with college students. The second study will test these relations in classroom contexts with middle school students. By using translational research to investigate key potential moderators and mediators, this work can contribute to research on how attention and executive function impact student use of perceptual scaffolds during mathematics problem solving. The outcomes of this project will also guide methods to conduct translational research in education and may also inform the future design of educational interventions or technology supports.

This project is supported through a partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Schmidt Futures, and the Walton Family Foundation. This project is also supported by NSF's EDU Core Research Building Capacity in STEM Education Research (ECR: BCSER) program, which is designed to build investigators' capacity to carry out high-quality STEM education research in the core areas of STEM learning and learning environments, broadening participation in STEM fields, and STEM workforce development.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.