Abstract:
Child outcomes in math, cognitive self-competence, and social skills were analyzed to compare the influence of three different teaching approaches: one with children's free-choice centers and two with small-group teacher-directed academic centers with center time variations. No differences in children's baseline math skills were found after means were adjusted for SES and verbal ability. Some differences were found in girls' increased math skills over boys' increased math skills after participation in the math games. No differences were found in children's cognitive self-competence. Significant differences were found in children's social skills over the three teaching approaches. Teacher beliefs about teaching math were also examined to see whether participation in the math project would positively impact teacher beliefs.
