Afterschool Math Success: Developing the Vision and Support
Funding Partner: Florida Philanthropic Network
Principal Investigator: Carrie Meyers
Project Announcement
Ocotber 2, 2024
The Florida Philanthropic Network (FPN) has awarded Florida State University’s Learning Systems Institute (LSI) a grant to implement the “Afterschool Math Success: Developing the Vision and Support” project. The grant will be implemented by LSI’s Florida Center for Research in STEM (FCR-STEM), with Carrie Meyers, LSI’s Director of STEM Outreach, serving as the Principal Investigator.
The project will support afterschool providers who work with students learning mathematics, thereby addressing the gap for professional learning opportunities for afterschool providers. This is a key component of improving students’ mathematics success since, in many cases, afterschool programming is where students access math homework support. The project will also prepare afterschool providers and tutors to address specific strategies and conceptualization of mathematics in direct alignment to the skills addressed in state’s B.E.S.T. mathematics standards.
“Learning Systems Institute has been attending a math coalition of Florida stakeholders for more than a year, building a shared vision with other groups across the state and working to support new initiatives and endeavors to help spur improved student mathematics achievement,” said Meyers. “We realize it takes a community of learners to support a child’s math achievement and instill a love and appreciation of math. Having attended the Tallahassee FPN meeting and listening to the challenges of our afterschool colleagues, we believe we can help remedy many of the challenges faced by providers in afterschool programs, especially when it comes to mathematics.”
Meyers and her colleagues plan to create supportive partnerships with afterschool providers like Florida After School, Inc., who want to help support and improve students' success in math, creating a potential model for others to use across the state. The model will include an easy-to-use guide that focuses on best practices for mathematics support in K-5 out-of-school programs.
The guide will focus on number sense and operations, a foundational domain of math and include visuals to model conceptual exploration. The guide will be supported by other materials created by the FCR-STEM team. Short videos will be produced to showcase how to support number sense and operation learning along with a set of engaging tasks and mathematical games that support achievement and fun in math.
Another element of the project is a professional learning experience for a group of Leon County Florida After School, Inc. providers. This face-to-face experience on mathematical strategies and engaging tasks will instill the love and fun that mathematics can elicit while addressing the how and why of conceptual approaches to teaching math and how to support math homework help.
“Our partnership with Florida After School, Inc. can become a model across the state of Florida and the country on how to implement change in afterschool programs supporting math success for students,” said Meyers. “We will address the challenges and successes throughout this process, setting a framework for others.”
Count Us In
FCR-STEM launched Count Us In! - Fun Math 4 After School Resource Hub to support out-of-school time (OST) providers and parents in fostering meaningful math learning for K–5 students. Recognizing the challenges families and educators face in supporting math outside the classroom, the initiative focused on building number sense and operations through engaging, accessible resources. A comprehensive guide rooted in research-based best practices, offering conceptual visuals and easy-to-follow strategies for math instruction in OST settings, was created to support instructional methods and concepts that parents and OST providers are not familiar with, but are being used by their children. A series of short instructional videos was also released, providing practical demonstrations to help parents and providers gain confidence in supporting the learning of core math concepts.
To further enrich learning, Count Us In! included a collection of fun, low-cost games and tasks that make math enjoyable while reinforcing foundational skills. This initiative was made possible through the generous support of the Florida Philanthropic Network and in collaboration with Florida After School, Inc., whose partnership extended the reach of these tools to afterschool programs across the state. A professional learning workshop was provided to OST providers in Florida to become more familiar with the free resources featured on CPALMS.