Assignment #6 - Identify the Possible Threat to Internal Validity Using "MR SMITH ID"

5 Points Possible

Instructions: Below is a description of a study that focuses on teaching children mathematical skills using picture books. Read over the study description in Part One. In Part Two, read over some variations of the study and determine which MR SMITH ID threat is present

PART ONE: Study Description

Research by van den Heuvel-Panhuizen et al. (2016) proposes that reading children picture books using a new math-based reading approach can help kindergarteners learn mathematical concepts. For example, consider the picture above. Asking kindergarteners questions about how the child in the rowboat can get to the sea (on the right side of the page) can help the children understand basic geometry. That is, looking down on this scene from above, the rowboatshouldrow his boat to the right. But from the perspective of the child in the rowboat, rocks seem to block that path to the sea. The rowboat could go up first and then aim the boat to the right, but then the rowboat would encounter an alligator! Having kindergarteners think about the geometrical properties associated with this picture (from both the rowboat perspective as well as from an overhead perspective) can help them think mathematically without explicitly teaching them math!

Set-up:The researchers randomly assigned kindergarten teachers to one of two conditions. In the experimental condition (the "math-based reading program"), they trained teachers how to ask kids questions involving mathematical thinking while reading picture books. The teachers kept a log of their reading sessions with the children, and the researchers observed the teachers at several points during the four week study. In the control condition (the "control reading program"), teachers were told to simply read the picture books as they normally would during class. To measure student math performance, kindergarteners in both the math-based reading group and the control reading group completed a PICO mathematical test before the study began to measure their mathematical understanding (PICO stands forPIcture Books andCOncept Development - Mathematics). All students completed the PICO test at the end of the experiment as well, and the pre-test and post-test scores were compared. An example of a PICO question is below:

Measures were taken in the following order:

Pre-test PICO--->Math-Based Reading Program (90 participants)----->Post-test PICO

---->Control Reading Program (90 participants)

Geometry: Mouse .@ There is Mouse. How would Mouse look if you looked down on him like a bird? Underline the way Mouse looks 'om above