Halley Bowman

Date of Award

Fall 2023

Document Type

Open Access Dissertation

Department

Educational Studies

First Advisor

Sean Yee

Abstract

This study used a holistic case study to explore obstacles tutors faced when implementing high cognitive demand (HCD) tasks and the possibility of using embedded educative curricular supports to overcome them. Much prior research has explored using educative supports in classrooms with teachers (Davis et al., 2017), but more research is needed on using educative supports in tutorial. Similarly, prior research has shown that HCD tasks lead to significant mathematical learning but are challenging to facilitate (Stein et al., 1996). Little research explores the use of HCD tasks in tutorials. This study used the theoretical framework that educators and curricular materials influence each other (Remillard, 2005) to expose how educative guidance could support tutors in implementing HCD tasks. The study was a qualitative single-case design with three tutors in a high-dosage tutoring program in a large midwestern city comprising the case. Data was collected from a participant journal and focus group on what was most challenging for tutors in implementing HCD tasks. Then, a task was revised to include educative supports in response to tutor requests. Data was then collected from observations of tutors using the task with students using the Mathematical Tasks Framework (Stein et al., 1996), another participant journal, and a final focus group. Findings from this study suggest that educative supports helped tutors overcome planning and implementation challenges to facilitate a HCD task successfully. Supports found to be most beneficial for tutors were those that assisted with planning and facilitation suggestions that were readily implementable.

Rights

© 2024, Halley Bowman

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