Person: Pollack, Courtney Morgan
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Pollack
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Courtney Morgan
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Pollack, Courtney Morgan
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Publication Learning from Comparison in Algebra(2014-04-28) Star, Jon; Pollack, Courtney Morgan; Durkin, Kelley; Rittle-Johnson, Bethany; Lynch, Kathleen; Newton, Kristie; Gogolen, ClaireMastery of algebra is an important yet difficult milestone for students, suggesting the need for more effective teaching strategies in the algebra classroom. Learning by comparing worked-out examples of algebra problems may be one such strategy. Comparison is a powerful learning tool from cognitive science that has shown promising results in prior small-scale studies in mathematics classrooms. This study reports on a yearlong randomized controlled trial testing the effect of an Algebra I supplemental comparison curriculum on students’ mathematical knowledge. 141 Algebra I teachers were randomly assigned to either implement the comparison curriculum as a supplement to their regular curriculum or to be a ‘business as usual’ control. Use of the supplemental curriculum was much less frequent than requested for many teachers, and there was no main effect of condition on student achievement. However, greater use of the supplemental curriculum was associated with greater procedural student knowledge. These findings suggest a role for comparison in the algebra classroom but also the challenges of supporting teacher integration of new materials into the curriculum.Publication A meta-analysis of functional reading systems in typically developing and struggling readers across different alphabetic languages(Frontiers Media SA, 2015) Pollack, Courtney Morgan; Luk, Gigi; Christodoulou, JoannaFunctional neuroimaging research has identified multiple brain regions supporting reading-related activity in typical and atypical readers across different alphabetic languages. Previous meta-analyses performed on these functional magnetic resonance imaging findings typically report significant between-group contrasts comparing typical readers and readers with reading difficulty or a clinical diagnosis of developmental dyslexia. In order to advance our understanding of cross-linguistic convergence of reading-related brain activations for these reader groups, analyses using activation likelihood estimation were carried out separately for typical and atypical readers who ranged from children to adults. Contrasts were analyzed for tasks involving rhyming or reading of letter or word stimuli presented visually in English, Dutch, Italian, German, French, or Norwegian. Typical readers showed reliable activation in only left lateralized regions, including the inferior frontal area, precentral area and middle temporal gyrus. Atypical readers also showed activation in the left inferior frontal area and precentral region, in addition to significant activations in the right hemisphere, including the superior, medial and inferior frontal regions, lingual gyrus and the inferior occipital area. These results distinguish between typical and atypical reader group activations, showing common and distinct regions of activation when engaged in reading-related activities, extending previous meta-analyses on identifying brain regions relevant to reading to include cross-linguistic analyses for alphabetic scripts. Results support the universality of a signature pattern of brain activation in developmental dyslexia across alphabetic languages.Publication More Than Just Symbols: Mental and Neural Representations Related to Symbolic Number Processing in Mathematics(2016-05-17) Pollack, Courtney Morgan; Star, Jon R.; Luk, Gigi; De Smedt, BertThe ability for students to understand numbers and other mathematical symbols is a crucial part of success in mathematics. Accordingly, it is important for researchers to understand the nature of symbolic number processing – the connections between a symbol or collection of symbols that convey numerical information (e.g., Arabic digits, arithmetic facts, literal symbols) and their related mental and neural representations. Research that joins the mind and brain sciences with education, such as educational neuroscience work, provides a powerful way to examine students’ symbolic number processing. Much of the research in this area has focused on processing of Arabic numerals in adults and children, with relatively less work on symbols common in intermediate and higher-level mathematics. This dissertation contributes two studies that focus on number processing for symbols beyond those used in basic numeracy, arithmetic facts and literal symbols. The first study uses neuroimaging meta-analysis to examine whether there are brain regions that support both arithmetic and phonological processing. Results suggest that activity in frontal and temporo-occipital brain regions support both types of processing, and that there is recruitment of left temporoparietal areas for each type of processing, but these areas are regionally differentiated. The second study investigates the connection between literal symbols and their mental representations of quantity. Results suggest that there is a cognitive processing cost associated with connecting literal symbols to numerical referents because literal symbols have extant mental referents related to literacy. Taken together, these studies expand the scope of existing research in educational neuroscience related to mathematics learning, to more fully incorporate notions of symbolic processing in intermediate and higher-level mathematics, and contribute to theory building on the connections between symbols in mathematics and their mental and neural representations. These studies also form the basis of my future work in educational neuroscience related to symbolic number processing, which will build and expand on the studies presented herein. Research on symbolic number processing that spans symbols learned in early numeracy (i.e., Arabic numerals) and in intermediate and higher-level mathematics (e.g., arithmetic facts, literal symbols) can facilitate a more complete picture of student learning, thereby supporting students’ mathematical development from early numeracy through advanced mathematics.