This study examined the question, ‘What is the impact of a digital math intervention on secondary ELL
students’ mathematical capabilities and perceptions of their future possibilities?’ The hypothesis was
that through its direct effect on increasing students’ math ability and its indirect effect on increasing
students’ perceived math self-efficacy, the digital intervention affects students’ perceptions of their
functionings and future possibilities. A path analysis, with qualitative data nested into the design, was
used to analyze the conceptualized relationships. The study was conducted with 50 ninth-and-10thgrade
Hispanic students in a Colorado high school, over 6 months. The primary finding was that
through its direct effect on increasing students’ math ability and its indirect effect on increasing students’
perceived math self-efficacy, the digital intervention improved students’ perceptions of their functionings
and future possibilities. What this study specifically underscores is the importance of taking
a coherent and purposeful approach toward the design of digital student-directed educational technology,
especially for ELL students who may have specific learning needs.
Drawing
on sociocultural theory, the present study investigated how children in an intensive elementary
level Grade 6 class for English as a second language (ESL) scaffolded each other while carrying
out cooperative learning tasks.
Research from interactionist second language acquisition and sociocultural theoretical perspectives shows that referential questions are important for learning, but also, that they can be difficult for English language learners (ELLs) to understand and produce answers to. By integrating analytical tools from both traditions, this study examined the scaffolding functions of a fifth grade teacher's talk. The study found that the teacher utilized various communicative moves to engage ELLs in referential questions. Examples illustrating these communicative moves and their scaffolding functions are provided. Implications from these findings for teacher education are discussed