Across three studies and empirical papers, this dissertation focuses on the ways embodied, choreographic sense-making practices can expand the means and ends of STEM learning with respect to mathematics and computation. Specifically, this work demonstrates how practices for developing rule-based improvisational choreography map generatively onto…

Gestures--hand movements that accompany speech and express ideas--can help children learn how to solve problems, flexibly generalize learning to novel problem-solving contexts, and retain what they have learned. But does it matter who is doing the gesturing? We know that producing gesture leads to better comprehension of a message than watching…

Student engagement is an impactful component of student experience in mathematics classrooms and can shape academic and affective outcomes. The measurement of engagement in classroom settings has been limited to self-report measures or observational frameworks which privilege verbal participation. By conducting a microanalysis of two students'…

A central goal of lesson-centered professional development programs (PD) for mathematics teachers is to learn by constructing an artifact, for example, by designing and improving a lesson plan together. That leads to the questions, what does it mean, for mathematics teachers, to improve a lesson? And how can improvements be accounted for in the…

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a significant change in college mathematics education toward online learning, which has advantages and disadvantages for students, instructors, and institutions. To ensure the effectiveness of online learning, it is crucial to understand the factors that influence its success. This study looks at the…

Science disciplines are inherently multimodal, involving written and spoken language, bodily gestures, symbols, diagrams, sketches, simulation and mathematical formalism. Studies have shown that explicit multimodal teaching approaches foster enhanced access to science disciplines. We examine multimodal classroom practices in a physics extended…

Recent research indicates that using multimodal learning experiences can be effective in teaching mathematics. Using a social semiotic lens within a participationist framework, this paper reports on a professional learning collaboration with a primary school teacher designed to explore the use of metaphors and modalities in mathematics…

This study was conducted to examine the effects of modality across gender on undergraduate student achievement when learning Algebra concepts. Cognitive Load Theory (CLT) and Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning (CTML) provided a framework for this study to describe in depth the concept of the modality principle. Participants were undergraduate…

To make complex mathematics concepts accessible to students, teachers often rely on visual representations. Because no single representation can depict all aspects of a mathematics concept, instruction typically uses multiple representations. Much research shows that multiple representations can have immense benefits for students' learning.…

Students with visual impairments (SVIs) are often dehumanized in mathematics education, based on deficit perspectives, the assumption that mathematics learning must be visual, and a lack of tools that allow students on the entire spectrum of vision to collaborate mathematically. The current advent of assistive learning technologies (ALTs) holds…

Over half of 4th grade students did not meet proficiency standards in mathematics on the National Assessment of Educational Performance in 2019 and this problem has persisted over time. This underachievement coupled with the numerous barriers to implementing evidence-based practices in schools reveals a need to provide a menu of effective…

Modern schoolchildren are the new digital generation and their preferences for working with information are based on of the dominant sensory modality which can be visual, auditory, and tactile/ kinesthetic. Therefore, to organize effective mathematics teaching it is necessary to use a personalized system of teaching techniques, instructional…

In this article, we use multimodality to examine how bilingual students interact with an area task from the National Assessment of Educational Progress in task-based interviews. Using vignettes, we demonstrate how some of these students manipulate the concrete materials, and use gestures, as a primary form of structuring their explanations and…

While California Common Core State Standards in Mathematics (CA CCSSM) call for rigorous mathematics for all students, students with disabilities have not been provided equal access to instruction that meets these standards. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a research-based framework to develop strategic, expert learners within classroom…

Elementary students' difficulties with angles in geometry are well documented, but we know little about how they conceptualize angles while solving problems and how their thinking changes over time. In this study, we examined 26 third and fourth grade students completing a body-based angle task supported by the Kinect for Windows. We used…