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Enrolling by Invitation

NCT Number: NCT04878757

Implementing Inclusive Fraction Intervention Classwide

The main purpose of this study is to assess effects of a previously validated fraction intervention when it is conducted classwide on the fraction knowledge of fourth-grade students with and without math learning difficulties (MLD). The study population is 4th-grade students with MLD and without MLD. Teachers agree to be randomly assigned to two conditions. In one condition, teachers include classwide fraction intervention (CFI) in their standard math program. In the other condition, teachers conduct their standard math program without CFI. CFI is implemented 2 times per week for 20 weeks for about 30 minutes each time. Students in both conditions are tested before and after CFI ends.

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Key information

Conditions

Math Learning Difficulty

Age range

8 year–11 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools

Nashville, Tennessee, 37204, United States

About this study

The study is conducted in the Metropolitan-Nashville Public Schools. Teachers decide if they want to participate. Parents of students in their classrooms decide if they want their children to participate in the study; participation means students complete the study's pretesting and posttesting, and teachers report their test scores on a school-collected measure. Students decide if they want to participate. Teachers complete a survey, report student scores on the school-collected measure, and are observed during CFI implementation.

Each CFI session comprises 3 segments. In Segment 1 (10-12 minutes), teachers conduct that day's CFI lesson. In Segment 2 (10-12 minutes), students work in pairs, taking turns being "coach" and "player" as they explain their thinking and solution strategies taught in that day's Segment 1. Students use CFI help cards to provide constructive feedback to each other. Segment 3 (5-7 minutes) is independent practice.

The primary end-points are students' posttest fraction ordering, fraction number line estimate, fraction calculations. Secondary end-points are students' performance on more distal fraction measures. Other measures are a teacher survey describing fractions instruction and reliance on CFI procedures and their perceptions of CFI's effectiveness and feasibility, as well as CFI adherence from audio recordings and live observations of teachers implementing CFI.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • To enter the study, students must meet the following criteria. They must attend a Metropolitan-Nashville Public School whose principal has given permission for his/her school to participate and participate in a fourth-grade classroom whose teacher has agreed to let her/his students participate.

Exclusion criteria

  • We exclude students with identified intellectual disability from study data collection because CFI is not designed to meet the needs of this population. There are no other exclusions.

Treatment and study plan

CFI - Classwide Fraction Intervention

Behavioral

40 sessions (2 sessions per week; 25-31 minutes per session) of explicit fraction intervention designed to improve students understanding of fraction magnitude and fraction operations.

Primary outcomes

  1. Change in Fraction Ordering Score

    Time frame: Pre-intervention measurement will take place within three weeks prior to beginning of intervention; post-intervention measurement will take place within three weeks after completion of intervention.

    In Fraction Ordering, students order 11 strings of 3 fractions to be ordered from least to greatest. The student's score is the change from pre-intervention to post-intervention in the number of correctly ordered strings.

  2. Change in Fraction Number Line Estimation Score

    Time frame: Pre-intervention measurement will take place within three weeks prior to beginning of intervention; post-intervention measurement will take place within three weeks after completion of intervention.

    In Fraction Number Line Estimation, students place fractions on a 0-2 number line, presented via computer with labeled endpoints. Accuracy for each of the 20 items is the absolute value of the difference between actual and correct answer multiplied by 100. The student's score is the change from pre-intervention to post-intervention in average accuracy across all 20 items.

  3. Change in Fraction Calculations Score

    Time frame: Pre-intervention measurement will take place within three weeks prior to beginning of intervention; post-intervention measurement will take place within three weeks after completion of intervention.

    In Fractions Calculations, students complete 25 fraction calculation problems with like and unlike denominators, with and without whole or mixed numbers. The student's score is the change from pre-intervention to post-intervention in the number of correct answers.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Change in Fraction Arithmetic Number Line Estimation Score

    Time frame: Pre-intervention measurement will take place within three weeks prior to beginning of intervention; post-intervention measurement will take place within three weeks after completion of intervention.

    In Fraction Arithmetic Number Line Estimation, students estimate placement of the total or difference of 16 fraction addition and subtraction problems on number lines. Accuracy for each of the items is the absolute value of the difference between actual and correct answer multiplied by 100. The student's score is the change from pre-intervention to post-intervention in the average accuracy across all items.

  2. National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Released Fraction Items - Updated

    Time frame: Measurement will take place within three weeks after the end of intervention

    Students complete 12 items from the 4th-grade assessment and 8th-grade assessment, tapping fractions magnitude understanding, part-whole understanding, and fractions calculations. The student's score is the number of correct answers.

  3. Change in Fraction Magnitude & Calculations in Context Score

    Time frame: Pre-intervention measurement will take place within three weeks prior to beginning of intervention; post-intervention measurement will take place within three weeks after completion of intervention.

    In Fraction Magnitude and Calculations in Context, students complete 14 word problems: 3 involving ordering, 3 involving making units into fractions, and 8 involving additional and subtraction to reflect a change in quantity over time. The student's score is the change from pre-intervention to post-intervention in the number of problems answered correctly.

  4. Measures of Academic Progress (MAP)

    Time frame: Within six weeks of intervention completion

    These scores are students' scores on the school district's Northwest Evaluation Association Measures of Academic Progress (NWEA MAP) testing for Numbers and Operations as reported by classroom teachers. Percentile scores range from 0 to 99. The Rasch Unit (RIT) scores range from 100-300. For both measures, higher scores indicate a better outcome.

Other outcomes

  1. Fall Teacher Survey

    Time frame: 4-6 weeks after intervention begins

    In a structured survey, teachers describe their methods for teaching fractions and their reliance on CFI's design dimensions. Teachers rate the accuracy of statements using a 1-5 scale and distribute 100 points to indicate their instructional emphasis. Descriptive statistics for each item on the survey are reported (rating score or percentage of points allocated).

  2. Spring Teacher Survey

    Time frame: 14-16 weeks after intervention begins

    In a structured survey, teachers describe their methods for teaching fractions and their reliance on CFI's design dimensions. Teachers rate the accuracy of statements using a 1-5 scale and distribute 100 points to indicate their instructional emphasis. Descriptive statistics for each item on the survey are reported (rating score or percentage of points allocated).

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Vanderbilt University

Other

Registry information

Important dates

Study start
2021
Primary completion
2026
Study completion
2027
First posted
May 7, 2021
Registry last updated
Nov 10, 2025

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.