Baylor Hosts Mathematics for Early Learners Academy Throughout July

Contact: Kelly Craine, 254-297-9065
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Baylor University’s Mathematics for Early Learners Academy (MELA), sponsored by the Baylor School of Education (SOE), is underway now at the Mayborn Museum on the Baylor campus through July 25 for students ages 4 to 6.

The four-week summer program, designed for students who have just finished PreK or Kindergarten and directed by Sandi Cooper, Ph.D., professor of mathematics education, aims to establish a solid foundation in “number sense,” especially for students who could benefit most from this summer experience in mathematics. 

The program, which has measurably helped young students ages achieve or exceed grade-level expectations in early math skills and number fluency, continues to test its new curriculum and assessments and conduct research to study the Baylor teacher-education students who are teaching in the program.

“MELA is all about gaining number sense, which is composing and decomposing numbers – more than just counting,” Cooper said. “When you think about the number 5, you can see it as a sum of 3 and 2 or of 4 and 1, and there are sets of five and counting by fives. And 5 can be found in the real world; for example, a nickel represents the number 5. It’s about understanding what numbers mean, not just rote counting.”

In addition to the focused math learning, MELA students also engage in STEM-focused activities. Led by Alan Small, STEM specialist at the Mayborn, the students are exploring topics including insects, magnets and fossils.

For 2024, Baylor SOE is partnering with three school districts and hosting more than 80 students from five different elementary schools:

• Waco ISD – Alta Vista Elementary, Crestview Elementary and Bell’s Hill Elementary
• La Vega ISD – La Vega Primary
• Midway ISD – Castleman Creek Elementary and Hewitt Elementary

MELA staff includes eight master teachers, eight Baylor students, seven paraprofessionals from participating ISDs, five graduate students (from two Baylor departments) and one research consultant (a recent Baylor doctoral graduate). Faculty includes Cooper; SOE clinical assistant professor DTracey Jones, Ph.D., providing English as a Second Language (ESL)/bilingual support; and lecturer Blaire Thornton providing mentoring support for Baylor students.

Ongoing research

According to Cooper, research shows early math skills are a better predictor of academic success than reading skills. However, many preschools don’t focus enough on math, and students often don’t receive interventions in math until later grades.

During MELA, the Baylor team is conducting research in early mathematics curriculum, assessment tools and teacher professional growth.

When MELA began in 2016, the teaching team modified a curriculum designed for the full academic year. Then, based on collected research data from MELA sessions, an expert team of Baylor educators developed a four-week curriculum designed for summer intervention use, such as by districts during their summer-school programs. Assessment tools administered both before and after the MELA program are part of the curriculum package being developed.

“The goal remains to produce a summer-school curriculum that would be made available to any school district,” Cooper said, noting that a faculty team also is working on efforts to support students who are English language learners, led by Jones.

In addition to the research related to the development of number sense for young learners, Cooper organized a team of graduate student researchers to study the professional growth of the Baylor SOE teacher education students as they prepared and taught math lessons in the summer program.

“Teacher noticing”

For three previous summers, the research focused on “Teacher Noticing” and was designed to determine how these Baylor students “notice” mathematical learning based on young learners’ verbal responses and interactions with the tasks. As part of this research, the Baylor students participated in a “video club” once a week to review video clips of themselves and their peers and discuss the process of noticing – how the teachers are noticing student activity, interpreting the students’ thinking process, and responding in real time to enhance student learning.

“There is limited research exploring in-the-moment noticing of pre-service teachers working with young children,” Cooper said. “This study provided evidence that pre-service teachers improved over a short time span while working intensively in this real-world situation and then evaluating themselves weekly through viewing videos. Some began to make more effective in-the-moment decisions and to ask more open-ended questions that required students to explain their reasoning.”

In 2023, the research team studied professional growth through professional coaching by implementing and evaluating a cycle of mentoring relationship between the Master Teachers and the Baylor teacher-education students. Mentoring is an important aspect of MELA for participating Baylor students, and this summer, master teachers received additional professional development, facilitated by Sandra Talbert, Ed.D., clinical associate professor in Curriculum & Instruction.

This year, the research is focused on studying the MELA curriculum to learn more about the support for students who are learning English as they engage in the math learning experiences. Jones leads the research team using a lesson analysis tool to study the written lessons and video-recorded lessons to determine effective strategies for emergent bilingual students.

Baylor campus benefits

Cooper said the MELA experience is enhanced by being on the Baylor campus, based at the Mayborn Museum.

“The Mayborn provides appropriate classrooms, and the students also can venture into the wonderful exhibits,” Cooper said. “We go on number walks throughout the museum, and we are able to go into the exhibits to experience mathematical explorations.” 

This summer MELA’s theme is “Mammoth Math,” celebrating the unveiling of the new Mammoth sculptures at the entrance of the Mayborn. MELA also includes field trips to other campus locations, such as the Bill and Eva Williams Bear Habitat and Baylor athletic facilities.

“By hosting all children at the Mayborn, we are able to offer more instructional time devoted to the concepts presented in the newly developed MELA curriculum,” Cooper said. “At the Mayborn, MELA is from 9 a.m. to noon, and the entire time is organized by the MELA staff and focused on math. The instructional time includes whole-group lessons, small-group lessons, stations and museum walks focused on number develop development.”

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Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked Research 1 institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 20,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 100 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions.