Classroom strategy diversity and early mathematical growth across intervention conditions

Students’ solution strategies are important to mathematical competence; most research has focused on intraindividual strategy variability rather than classroom strategy diversity (i.e., interindividual, within each classroom). We investigated the relations between classroom strategic diversity ecologies and mathematics growth as students moved from preschool to kindergarten and first grade. Multigroup latent growth modeling techniques were applied to data from a large-scale experiment, in which the experimental group received the Building Blocks early mathematics curriculum. The analytic sample included 730 students from 96 classrooms. We found that students’ learning trajectories in early mathematics were non-linear and differed in growth rate across intervention conditions. Controlling for demographics, specific classroom strategy diversity ecologies were associated with steeper growth. Findings were consistent with previous research, supporting early diversity followed by guidance and strategy pruning; however, these findings differed by intervention, with high-quality early intervention reducing the need for later guidance of students’ strategies.