TYPE Original Research

PUBLISHED 21 August 2024

DOI 10.3389/feduc.2024.1456653

Connecting mathematics and

OPEN ACCESS sports in informal learning spaces
EDITED BY
Amber Simpson,
Binghamton University, United States
Erin Turner 1*, Sanlyn Buxner 1, Seneca B. Miller 1, Christina Baze 2
REVIEWED BY
and Ricardo Valerdi 3
Noble Lo, 1
College of Education, Department of Teaching, Learning and Sociocultural Studies, University of
Hong Kong Polytechnic University,
Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States, 2 College of Education, Department of STEM Education, Northern
Hong Kong SAR, China
Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, United States, 3 Department of Systems and Industrial Engineering,
Marc T. Sager,
University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
Southern Methodist University, United States

*CORRESPONDENCE
Erin Turner Introduction: There is a critical need to develop innovative educational
[email protected]
strategies that engage youth in meaningful mathematics learning, particularly
RECEIVED 28 June 2024 students from groups that have been historically marginalized in science,
ACCEPTED 05 August 2024
PUBLISHED 21 August 2024
technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). In this study, we explore
youths’ participation in two collaborative projects from the Growing Mathletes
CITATION
Turner E, Buxner S, Miller SB, Baze C and curriculum which combines baseball contexts and mathematics. Our goal was
Valerdi R (2024) Connecting mathematics and to understand the potential of these projects to support youths’ engagement
sports in informal learning spaces. with mathematical ideas and practices, and the extent to which youth leveraged
Front. Educ. 9:1456653.
doi: 10.3389/feduc.2024.1456653 a range of resources, including prior experiences and funds of knowledge, to
inform their decisions and understanding.
COPYRIGHT
© 2024 Turner, Buxner, Miller, Baze and Methods: The Design a Stadium and Baseball Team Roster projects were
Valerdi. This is an open-access article
implemented in two afterschool setting sites and two summer program sites
distributed under the terms of the Creative
Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The with 102 youth of all genders in grades 3 to 8. Data sources included video
use, distribution or reproduction in other recordings of youth participation in the project, project artifacts, and youth
forums is permitted, provided the original
interviews.
author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are
credited and that the original publication in Results: We found the projects contained specific features that supported
this journal is cited, in accordance with
youths’ engagement in three specific mathematical practices: (1) make sense of
accepted academic practice. No use,
distribution or reproduction is permitted problems and persevere in solving them, (2) reason abstractly and quantitatively,
which does not comply with these terms. and (3) construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.
Additionally, there is evidence that while engaging in these projects youth drew
on their own funds of knowledge to inform their decisions and understanding.
Conclusion: Our findings point to key implications for researchers, educators,
and curriculum developers in informal STEM learning spaces.
KEYWORDS

informal STEM learning, mathematics learning, mathematical practices, project-based

learning, sports activities

Introduction
There is a critical need to develop innovative educational strategies that engage youth from
diverse racial, cultural and linguistic backgrounds in meaningful mathematics learning
(Celedón-Pattichis et al., 2018). The decontextualized and procedure-oriented nature of
traditional, school-based mathematics instruction often fails to capture the interest of students
(Boaler and Greeno, 2000; Ellis and Berry, 2005; Walkington, 2013). This is particularly true
for students from groups that have been historically marginalized in science, technology,
engineering, and mathematics (STEM; e.g., African American, Indigenous, and Latinx youth),
as even contextualized mathematics activities from traditional school curricula often fail to
reflect their identities, experiences, and perspectives (Ladson-Billings, 2009). This disconnect

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separates students’ cultural strengths and experiences from their Literature review
mathematics learning (Leonard, 2008; Celedón-Pattichis et al., 2018),
and for some youth, leads to disengagement and lower achievement In the following sections, we discuss research on informal
(Spencer, 2009), particular in comparison to settings that build on environments and their potential for supporting mathematics
students’ interests and identities (Clark et al., 2013; Walkington, 2013). learning, and then introduce STEM focused PBL as a specific strategy
Informal learning spaces, such as after-school programs and for informal spaces such as afterschool programs and summer camps.
community centers, provide unique opportunities to support STEM We end by discussing the importance of grounding projects in
learning (McCombs et al., 2017), in part because they can offer flexible, relevant, meaningful contexts, and propose that connections between
interest-based, collaborative activities (Afterschool Alliance, 2013). sports and mathematics hold promise for engaging youth typically
Informal learning spaces are also often community-centered and can underserved and underrepresented in STEM fields.
provide more positive STEM experiences for youth who have had
negative experiences in school (McCreedy and Dierking, 2013; Bathgate
and Schunn, 2017). Project-Based Learning (PBL), an approach that Informal learning spaces and mathematics
emphasizes real-world problem solving (Capraro et al., 2013), has been learning
shown to be effective in informal learning settings, particularly when
projects are grounded in culturally responsive, meaningful contexts While most research in mathematics education focuses on formal,
(Lipka et al., 2005; Enyedy et al., 2011). For example, PBL activities that classroom-based learning, there is growing interest in the diverse ways
connect mathematics and sports such as baseball have the potential to that youth participate in mathematical practices and develop
be high-interest, relevant contexts for engaging mathematical ideas (e.g., mathematical understandings in contexts outside of school. Informal
averages, data analysis) and practices (e.g., problem solving; Kirk and learning spaces include more structured spaces such as afterschool
Kinchin, 2003; Casey and Quennerstedt, 2015). Despite the promise of programs or summer camps, and more open-ended spaces such as
such activities, there is a lack of curricular resources for PBL in informal museum exhibits, nature centers, and playgrounds. Informal
learning spaces (Pattison et al., 2017a). Moreover, given that most mathematics learning environments are often designed with specific
research on informal STEM learning spaces focuses on science, goals in mind, such as supporting mathematical reasoning and
technology or engineering, rather than mathematics, there is a need to learning (National Research Council, 2009). Yet in comparison to
better understand how youths’ participation in mathematics-focused schools, these settings reflect a more relaxed and collaborative
PBL supports their engagement with mathematical ideas and practices atmosphere which can increase student engagement and motivation
(National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council (Vadeboncoeur and Padilla-Petry, 2017; Falk and Dierking, 2018). In
of Chief State School Officers, 2010). In the Growing Mathletes Project, addition, informal learning spaces that promote engagement and
we aimed to address these research needs and challenges, through the learning are typically characterized by interactive activities,
design, implementation and study of baseball and mathematics PBL opportunities for collaboration (e.g., Werner et al., 2009) and open-
activities in informal learning environments that serve youth from ended projects that include choice and creativity (e.g., Denner and
diverse backgrounds, including youth from groups historically Werner, 2007; Tan et al., 2013; Sager et al., 2023).
marginalized in STEM (Latinx, African-American youth). Our study Research suggests that informal learning environments support
adds mathematics learning-focused findings to research on informal youths’ curiosity toward STEM, their engagement in STEM-related
STEM education, and provides insights for informal educators and activities, and understandings about the relevance of STEM disciplines
curriculum developers. in their lives (Noam et al., 2003; Afterschool Alliance, 2013), all of
which can buffer against potentially negative experiences with STEM
Focus of our study in school (McCreedy and Dierking, 2013; Bathgate and Schunn,
2017). Specific to mathematics, research on play in informal learning
In this study, we explore youths’ participation in two collaborative spaces has shown that youth engage in mathematics strategically and
project-based activities that were implemented in afterschool and flexibly as a way to solve authentic problems that arise in the setting
summer camp programs focused on connecting baseball and (Fisch et al., 2009; Martin et al., 2009). For example, Nasir (2012)
mathematics. Our goal was to understand the potential of these found that youth set and pursued emergent goals as they played
projects to support youths’ engagement with mathematical ideas and basketball, many of which involved complex mathematical reasoning
practices, and the extent to which youth leveraged a range of resources, such as calculating shooting averages and using those metrics to
including prior experiences and funds of knowledge, to inform their improve their game. Notably, while youth engage with mathematical
decisions and understanding. Specifically, our study addressed the ideas and strategies in informal spaces, via practices such as
following research questions: visualization, estimation and analyzing outcomes (Nasir and Hand,
2008) they do not always view their practices as mathematical, because
RQ1: How do youth engage key mathematical practices (National of narrow, school-based conceptions of mathematics that privilege
Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of computation (Kliman et al., 2013). This suggests that informal
Chief State School Officers, 2010) as they participate in the learning settings designed to support mathematics learning need to
Baseball Team Roster and Design a Stadium project projects in call attention to mathematical ideas and help youth to see their
informal learning settings? practices as mathematical.
Another pressing challenge is ensuring that informal learning
RQ2: What resources do youth draw upon to support their spaces are accessible to youth from diverse backgrounds. Some
decision making and understanding? research suggests that community-based afterschool and summer

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camp programs may benefit youth who may not be well-served by toward STEM following a project-based unit that included ratios,
other informal settings (Dawson, 2016). For instance, while museums proportions, and percentages. Similarly, Holmes and Hwang (2016),
are powerful levers to advance interest in STEM, they are less visited documented the impact of mathematics PBL projects with racially and
by culturally and linguistically diverse families, potentially because of economically diverse 8th and 9th graders; participating students
fiscal barriers or feelings of not belonging (Falk, 1993; Melber, 2007; evidenced increased motivation, critical thinking, and understanding
Dawson, 2014). In contrast, community-based centers such as Major of mathematics concepts.
League Baseball (MLB) Youth Academies, which host both afterschool To document the impact of STEM-focused PBL in informal
and summer camp programs, were built in under-resourced learning settings, researchers often focus on outcomes such as beliefs
neighborhoods with the explicit purpose of attracting African or attitudes (Marshall et al., 2021; Bicer and Lee, 2023), or content
American and Latinx youth, a goal that they have successfully met knowledge (Han et al., 2014). There is a need for more robust,
(MLB.com, 2015; ESPN.com, 2017). Another example are Boys and qualitative assessment tools that can capture the multifaceted impacts
Girls Clubs which work with youth over sustained periods of time, of PBL (Thomas, 2000; Vadeboncoeur and Padilla-Petry, 2017),
supporting multiple aspects of development (e.g., intellectual, socio- including how PBL supports engagement in disciplinary practices.
emotional; National Research Council, 2009). While these types of While not specific to informal learning settings, various researchers
informal learning spaces are positioned to engage youth who have have suggested that rubrics may be particularly well suited to capture
been historically marginalized in STEM fields (Dawson, 2016), they the complex outcomes of PBL activities (Brodie and Gibbings, 2009;
also face challenges, including a lack of high-quality curricula for Petrosino, 2023). Developing and investigating such tools is
informal STEM learning, and a lack of preparation to support STEM particularly important for mathematics-focused PBL, given the
content (Afterschool Alliance, 2013). The next section describes one limited number of studies that have specifically examined
strategy, PBL, to address these challenges. mathematics-related outcomes. Mathematics-focused PBL activities,
which include complex, real-world questions that allow for multiple
strategies and solutions, have the potential to support students’
Project-based learning in informal learning engagement in the Standards for Mathematical Practice (National
spaces Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief
State School Officers, 2010), fostering skills such as problem-solving,
Several strategies have been identified to enhance mathematics reasoning, and communication. For example, PBL creates
learning in informal settings. Perhaps the most-cited approach is the opportunities for youth to make sense of open-ended problems and
integration of project-based learning (PBL), in which youth develop persevere in solving them (Mathematical Practice 1; Capraro et al.,
strategies and solutions to address broad, real-world questions 2013). Similarly, in mathematics-focused projects youth may draw on
(Capraro et al., 2013). There are several critical components of PBL, data to develop mathematical arguments, and they may consider,
including activities that are guided by a driving question (Darling- critique, and respond to the reasoning of others (Mathematical
Hammond et al., 2008), opportunities for collaboration, discussion, Practice 3). Despite the promise of PBL for supporting students’
and reflection (Larmer et al., 2015), and the creation of a final artifact engagement in mathematical practices, research in this area is
or model to showcase learning (Krajcik et al., 2022). The openness, extremely limited, particularly in informal learning spaces that serve
choice and relevance of PBL projects allows youth to draw on prior youth from diverse and underrepresented backgrounds. The next
experiences and knowledge to generate unique strategies and solutions section focuses specifically on the importance of grounding projects
(Darling-Hammond et al., 2008). Benefits of STEM-focused PBL in in relevant contexts that draw on youths’ experiences and interests.
informal learning settings include enhanced engagement and learning
(Capraro et al., 2017), and increased interest in STEM and STEM-
related careers (Tseng et al., 2013; Mohr-Schroeder et al., 2014; Kwon Relevant projects that connect
et al., 2021). PBL also encourages the development of critical thinking mathematics and sports
and problem-solving skills (Bevan et al., 2015; Schukajlow et al., 2018).
Despite strong consensus on the benefits of PBL in STEM-focused PBL activities that connect to youths’ interests and to relevant,
informal learning settings, most studies have investigated science (e.g., culturally responsive contexts have shown particular promise for
Mateos-Nuñez et al., 2020), robotics (e.g., Newton et al., 2020), or engaging youth who have been historically marginalized in STEM
engineering-focused projects (e.g., Yilmaz et al., 2010), rather than (Nasir, 2012; Krajcik et al., 2022). When PBL activities are grounded
mathematics. Mathematics-focused PBL involves students in complex, in familiar contexts, and to questions that relate to youths’ interests
real-world projects, to promote a deeper understanding of and experiences, this encourages youth to draw on what they know,
mathematical concepts and practices (Pattison et al., 2017a). For including funds of knowledge from their communities and everyday
example, Cross et al. (2012) described a statistics focused project in activities (González et al., 2005; Simic-Muller et al., 2009; Turner et al.,
which elementary age youth in an afterschool program collected and 2009). One promising context for PBL in informal learning settings
analyzed data to explore school breakfast options that would both are sports related activities, both because of the STEM connections
encourage students to eat breakfast and also support their learning. and the fact that many youth participate or express interest in sports
They found that the project was relevant and connected to students’ (Aspen Institute, 2018; Jones et al., 2020). For example, Marshall et al.
interests, while addressing important statistical ideas such as sampling, (2021) engaged underrepresented middle school youth (African
distribution of data, and data representations. In related school-based American, Latinx, multi-racial) interested in sports in a summer camp
research, Özdemir et al. (2015) found that middle school students that combined basketball, analysis of basketball performance data, and
improved their mathematical understanding and their attitudes biomechanics related activities. They found that youth demonstrated

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enhanced STEM-identities (i.e., familiarity, interest, perceived softball), mathematics concepts, and growth mindset concepts. For
importance) on post-camp surveys (see also Drazan et al., 2017). example, in the Strike Zone session youth learn about the concept of
Similarly, Jones et al. studied a sports and computing summer camp strike zones (the area above home plate that is used to determine
for elementary grade Black and Latinx youth and found that youth whether a pitch is a strike or a ball) in baseball. They measure the height
expressed strong interest in sports, and on post camp surveys, of their individual strike zones, create a representation on chart paper,
evidenced increased understanding of the utility of technology and calculate and plot the area. Next, they use their chart paper
in athletics. representations to practice pitching balls toward their strike zone,
Baseball in particular provides rich contexts for the application of calculating the number of “strikes” and “balls” thrown in a set of 10
mathematical concepts and practices (Casey and Quennerstedt, 2015). attempts. The session concludes with a discussion of mistakes, and how
As noted by Quinn (1996), baseball statistics such as batting averages, reflection on mistakes can support learning and performance
earned run averages (ERAs), and on-base percentages provide improvements in sports, school and other areas of life. Other sessions
practical examples for teaching concepts like ratios, percentages, and introduce youth to additional baseball performance statistics such as
probability. Similarly, using baseball contexts in mathematics activities batting average, earned run average, hits and home runs, and provide
creates opportunities for students to engage in mathematical practices youth with opportunities to generate, represent and analyze their own
(National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and data. Analysis of program outcomes across multiple implementations
Council of Chief State School Officers, 2010), such as problem solving, has shown that youth demonstrate a small but statistically significant
and to develop critical analysis skills. For example, a study by Kirk and increase in their growth mindset for mathematics on post program
Kinchin (2003) shows that analyzing baseball data requires students surveys, and report increases in understanding of specific mathematics
to interpret statistical information, make predictions, and solve concepts, such as fractions, decimals and percents, in post session
complex problems. According to Wang et al. (2017) middle school interviews (Baze et al., 2024).
students who played a sports-related computer game about running The Growing Mathletes curriculum also includes two projects which
races demonstrated problem solving and quantitative reasoning skills are the focus of this study: Baseball Team Roster, and Design a Baseball
(i.e., reasoning about relationships between speed, time and distance), Stadium. In both projects, youth work in small groups to plan, create, and
and a willingness to accept challenges. present a final product (see Appendices A,B). In the Baseball Team Roster
The use of sports contexts to explore mathematics can also foster project (Roster project), the driving question is: How can we create a
collaboration and a sense of community among youth. A study by Nasir 9-player MLB baseball team roster that meets salary requirements and
(2012) found that peer collaboration in sports-related activities helped maximizes performance? In the project, youth use various batting and
students develop a deeper understanding of mathematical concepts pitching statistics from a recent season (e.g., batting average, hits,
through shared problem-solving and discussion. This is important, homeruns, earned run average, strike outs, wins) to select players for their
because when learning settings support collaboration and risk-tasking, own 9-player roster, within a specified salary cap. As they plan their
engagement is enhanced (Boaler and Greeno, 2000; Boaler, 2002; Nasir, rosters, youth interpret the relative importance of different player statistics
2012). However, a key challenge in using sports contexts, such as baseball, (i.e., which statistics are most important when selecting a pitcher, vs. a
to teach mathematics is the availability of relevant resources. Informal position player), and they work collaboratively to optimize multiple
learning settings may lack access to relevant materials to effectively criteria (maximum performance among the players on their team, for
integrate these contexts into their programming (Afterschool Alliance, minimum cost). They present their rosters to the group, justifying their
2013). Additionally, while connecting sports and mathematics can selection of players and explaining the criteria they used to make
enhance youth engagement, ensuring that the activities are educationally decisions. As a whole group, youth compare their rosters by analyzing the
valuable can be challenging. As McCombs et al. (2017) emphasize, batting averages of players on their teams, and comparing the total hits or
educators must carefully design activities to balance sports-related content homeruns achieved by players on their roster to the salary dollars spent.
with mathematical learning objectives. Our work in the Growing In the Design a Stadium project (Stadium project), the driving
Mathletes program aims to address this challenge, through the design, question is: How can we design a MLB stadium that will attract fans,
implementation and study of sports and mathematics PBL activities in including youth, and meet their needs? Youth research some of the 30
informal learning environments that serve youth from diverse Major League Baseball stadiums and develop a proposal for their new
backgrounds. This study will contribute mathematics education focused stadium. Their stadium plans must include the distances of the outfield
findings to the growing body of research on informal STEM education, wall (which are different for every ballpark), unique stadium features
and provide research-based insights for informal educators and to attract fans (giant scoreboards, recreational areas, etc.), seating
program designers. capacity (overall and by section), and ticket prices. As part of their
design proposals, youth estimate how much it would cost for their
family (or a group of friends) to attend a game at their stadium. Youth
Methods present their stadium plans to the group, justifying their decisions and
how they used different criteria and priorities to guide their designs.
Growing Mathletes Program context

The Growing Mathletes program is an National Science Foundation- Participants

funded research and design project aimed at broadening participation
in STEM for youth from underrepresented backgrounds. The The Growing Mathletes program has been implemented in various
curriculum consists of 21 sessions for youth in grades 3 through 8, each informal learning settings, including Boys and Girls Club afterschool
of which include activities that connect sports (primarily baseball and programs, and sports and STEM related summer camps at MLB

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TABLE 1 Overview of youth participants at each informal learning site.

Site # Youth/# Facilitators Gender/age of youth Small groups included in analysis, by project
(50 youth for Roster, 23 for Stadium)
Southwest Afterschool Site 1 19/1 Ages 10–13, 9 girls, 10 boys Group A (Roster): 1 girl, 3 boys
Group B (Roster): 2 girls, 2 boys
Group C (Roster): 2 girls, 1 boy
Group D (Stadium): 4 girls
Group E (Stadium): 4 boys
Group F (Stadium): 3 girls, 1 boy

Southwest Afterschool Site 2 20/1 Ages 8–13, 14 girls, 4 boys, Group G (Roster): 3 girls, 2 boys
2 did not report Group H (Stadium): 4 girls
Group I (Stadium): 3 girls
Group J (Stadium): 4 girls

Southwest Summer Camp 1 18/2 Ages 8–13, 8 girls, 9 boys, 1 did Group K (Roster): 4 boys
not report Group L (Roster): 3 girls
Group M (Roster): 4 boys
Group N (Roster): 3 girls

Southwest Summer Camp 2 29/2 Ages 8–13, 10 girls, 18 boys, Group O (Roster): 3 girls, 1 boy
1 did not report Group P (Roster): 3 girls
Group Q (Roster): 4 boys
Group R (Roster): 2 girls, 2 boys

Central Summer Camp 16/2 Ages 8–13, 3 girls, 12 boys, Group S (Roster): 3 boys
1 did not report Group T (Roster): 2 boys

academies. For each implementation, our project team provided for most, their primary source of knowledge was the Growing
professional learning support to adult facilitators (initial training, Mathletes program. In contrast, the two summer camp sites drew
opportunities to engage in sessions as learners, ongoing coaching during youth with interest in baseball; many camp participants played
implementation) at each of the sites. In this analysis, we draw on data baseball or softball in local leagues.
collected from two afterschool sites in the Southwest region of the
United States, and two summer camp sites in the Southwest and Central
regions of the United States. An overview of the youth participants Data collection
(total = 102) from each site is provided in Table 1. Information about age
and gender was self-reported by youth on surveys. The primary data sources for this study were (a) video recordings
At all sites, youth participants reflected the racial/ethnic of 20 small groups as they worked on the projects outlined above (14
background of the surrounding schools and communities. At the two Baseball Team Roster groups, and 6 Design a Stadium groups), and (b)
Southwest afterschool sites, youth participants attended schools the artifacts they produced (i.e., planning notes, final project posters).
within walking distance of the Boys and Girls Clubs. The schools We selected these data sources given our research focus on how
predominantly served students from minoritized backgrounds [Latinx program activities supported youths’ engagement in mathematical
(45% Site 1, 57% Site 2), Black/African American (17% Site 1, 21% Site practices; video recordings of youths’ interactions in extended projects
2), White (24% Site 1, 14% Site 2), two or more races (7% Site 1, 3% allowed detailed documentation of youths’ participation in these
Site 2), American Indian (3% Site 1, 4% Site 2)].1 The Southwest practices, including evidence of youths’ actions, decisions, and
summer camp site also drew youth from the surrounding community, discussions. Members of our research team reviewed each video and
though some youth attended from other parts of the city. The created detailed content logs that described the small groups’ activity
community population was 55% White, 31% Latinx, 6% 2 or more in 5 min increments. Stopping the videos after each 5 min increment
races and 3% Black/African American, based on census tract data allowed research team members to capture the details of youths’
(FRB Census Geocoder, 2024). The Central summer camp also drew interactions, including exchanges with the facilitators, specific
youth from the surrounding community, which was 48% Black/ examples of the reasoning youth used to make decisions, conversations
African American, 43% Latinx, 5% White, and 2% two or more races or debates among youth in the group, and descriptions of mathematical
(FRB Census Geocoder, 2024). At the Boys and Girls club sites, some concepts or practices employed. While the logs did not include a full
youth participants had experiences with sports, including baseball, but transcript of the interactions, we transcribed specific excerpts to
capture youths’ activity and reasoning related to key group decisions.
Secondary data sources included (a) detailed field notes taken by
project team members as they observed these sessions and (b)
1 www.usnews.com/education/k12/ transcripts of interviews with a subset of youth participants following

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TABLE 2 Description of selected dimensions from analysis rubric for

each project session. This included interviews with 12 of the 50 youth small group projects.
from small groups included in the analysis of the Roster project, and
8 of the 23 youth from small groups included in our analysis of the Dimensions (with connection to math practices)a
Stadium project. Interviewed youth included 12 girls and 8 boys, and A. Making Sense of Problems, Problem Solving (MP 1): Persistence in solving
all but 2 youth were from Latinx, African American or mixed-race complex problems; Identifying different problem solving approaches; Monitoring
backgrounds. While the broader purpose of these interviews was to progress and making adjustments as needed.
elicit youths’ feedback to inform iterative revision of program B. Number Sense and Operations (MP 2): Making sense of quantities including
activities, for this analysis we used segments of the interviews that multi-digit numbers, fractions, decimals in problem situations; Reasonable
included youths’ descriptions of their participation in the Roster or estimates; Decontextualizing situations and representing them symbolically;
Stadium projects to add additional context to the video recordings and Executing relevant operations flexibly and accurately; Interpreting the meaning of
collected artifacts. quantities and operations.
C. Reasoning across multiple data sources (MP 2): Attending to the meaning and
relative importance of different quantities in relation to the real-world scenario to
Analysis inform decisions.
D. Communicate Reasoning and Mathematical Arguments (MP 3): Explaining and
Data analysis was organized around three phases. In Phase 1, justifying ideas, approaches and strategies; Explaining the reasoning behind
we used the video recordings, detailed content logs, and group decisions; Constructing an argument to justify a decision.
artifacts to score each small group’s project work using an analysis
E. Considering, Responding, Critiquing the Ideas of Peers (MP 3): Making sense of
rubric. The analysis rubric included dimensions focused on use of
peers’ ideas; Asking questions, responding to, or critiquing the ideas of others;
mathematics concepts including number sense and operations,
Revising one’s own thinking in response to ideas from others.
and mathematical practices such as MP 2: Reason abstractly and
F. Use of Tools (MP 5): Strategic use of tools (calculators, rulers, tables or graphs) to
quantitatively, and MP 3: Construct viable arguments and critique
support problem solving.
the reasoning of others (see Table 2 for selected dimensions in the
G. Attention to Precision (MP 6): Attention to precision in selection of quantities,
analysis rubric). A final dimension of the analysis rubric focused
calculations, and/or measurements; Attention to clarity in representations (clear
on the resources and supports youth drew upon to inform their
use of symbols and labels) and communication.
decision making including prior experiences and knowledge,
a
Each dimension was scored as either Strong, Limited, or None based on the amount of
facilitator suggestions, and peer support. For each dimension of
evidence found.
the analysis rubric, we noted whether the small group interactions
reflected limited evidence (i.e., a single, isolated instance, or
evidence from a single youth in the group, or several instances we reviewed the evidence across these dimensions to generate
which were brief and lacking in depth), strong evidence (i.e., initial codes. Next, we reviewed codes and associated evidence to
repeated, meaningful instances, evidence from multiple youth in identify themes related to how small groups evidenced specific
the group), or a lack of evidence. To ensure credibility of our mathematical practices, including similarities and differences
interpretations (Lincoln and Guba, 1985), two members of the (RQ1), and related to the resources or supports youth drew upon
research team individually scored each small group using the to inform their decision making (RQ2). This process involved
analysis rubric, and then met to compare their analyses. drafting themes, checking the theme against relevant evidence
Differences in scores were resolved via discussion. When across different small groups, and then creating a detailed memo
necessary, we consulted videos for additional information. In for each research question that described prominent themes and
Phase 2, we triangulated the evidence on each small group’s illustrative examples. Our findings are organized around these
analysis rubric against relevant secondary data sources including key themes.
segments of researcher field notes that focused on the interactions
of that specific group, or interviews with youth participants.
We noted instances when secondary data sources confirmed Findings
evidence already recorded on the group’s rubric, and added
additional evidence (e.g., interview quotes) as appropriate. In Our findings are organized around our two research questions.
Phase 3, we analyzed the small group rubric evidence across For research question 1, we highlight themes related to the
groups to identify themes related to our two research questions. mathematical practices that were most prominent (MP 1, MP 2, and
Following a process of thematic analysis (Creswell, 2009), we first MP 3) as youth worked on collaborative projects in the informal
reviewed evidence for a given dimension (i.e., Making Sense of learning environments. Of the 20 small groups, all but 1 or 2
Problems, Problem Solving) across groups and generated initial demonstrated at least “limited evidence” of these mathematical
codes to label different ways that groups evidenced that dimension, practices, and approximately half of the groups demonstrated
including how they enacted mathematical practices and the strong evidence. In comparison, other mathematical practices, such
resources and supports that they drew upon to support decision as MP 5 and 6 were less evident; approximately one-third of groups
making. When multiple dimensions related to the same lacked evidence for these practices, while half demonstrated limited
mathematical practice (i.e., the dimensions Communicating evidence, and several groups had strong evidence. Our findings are
Reasoning and Mathematical Arguments and Considering, organized around themes related to the mathematical practices
Responding, Critiquing the Ideas of Peers both related to MP 3: most salient in our analysis (MP 1, 2, and 3), offering evidence for
Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others) the role of specific project features to promote meaningful

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engagement of these practices. For research question 2, we outline Sofia: (as she subtracts the two player salaries from 70,000,000), Hold on,
the range of resources that youth leveraged to support their work, I am trying to see how much money we have left. We have two
and then highlight the varied ways that youth drew on knowledge players, the pitcher and catcher. We have 53 million left. Now the first
from other experiences and contexts to inform their work. All baseman.
youth names used are pseudonyms. We end with a discussion of our [Harper and Ya’Nai select the next player, who has a 5 million dollar salary.]
findings, and implications for further research and curriculum
Sofia: Now we have 48 million left.
development for informal STEM learning environments.
Harper: That’s pretty good.

Sofia: But [for our other players] noone that has 20 million salaries,
Findings for RQ1: youths’ engagement with because we will not have enough. Anyone who has a 22 million salary
specific mathematical practices (looking at one of the player cards) is out of the competition.

Our analysis of small group interactions on the Roster and They continued this process as they selected the remaining 6
Stadium projects demonstrated that youth engaged in six of the players, calculating available funds after each selection to ensure that
eight mathematical practices (National Governors Association they did not overspend the allotted salary budget.
Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School In the Stadium project, youth made purposeful decisions about
Officers, 2010). Before we turn to the three practices that were quantities to facilitate calculations with larger numbers, which
most prominent (MP1, MP2, and MP3), we briefly describe supported efficient progress through the task. For instance, Group D
youths’ engagement with other practices. In both projects youth from a Southwest afterschool program site strategically used multiples
evidenced MP 5: Use Appropriate Tools Strategically, and MP 6: of 5,000 or 10,000 as they planned the seating sections in their stadium
Attend to Precision in complementary ways as they used so that they could easily ensure that the capacity of their sections
calculators to execute, check or revise calculations, or used rulers equaled the total capacity of the stadium (100,000). Initially, they
to sketch accurate models of their field design (e.g., using rulers designated 20,000 seats to each of 5 seating sections (because they
to ensure an equal distance between bases in the infield). MP 4: knew 5 times 20,000 is 100,000). Later, they revised this plan to allow
Model with Mathematics was also evident in small groups’ work, for more seats in the “cheaper sections,” but continued to use quantities
as youth used equations to model the total salary of their MLB that facilitated efficient mental calculation. Another small group of
roster, or the cost of attending a game in their stadiums. Youth elementary grade students at the same Southwest site, Group F, used
also engaged in MP 4 as they identified and related important a similar approach, explaining to the program facilitator that they used
quantities (e.g., size and location of seating sections, compared “friendly numbers” for their seating capacity and ticket prices of each
to ticket prices in the Stadium project), and interpreted their section to make it easier to review and keep track of calculations.
mathematical results in the context of the real-world situation. Second, as youth worked on the projects, they evaluated their
These instances of modeling with mathematics typically involved progress, reflected on whether their approaches to the problem made
other mathematical practices, such as problem solving (MP1) or sense, and made adjustments as needed. In some instances, these
quantitative reasoning (MP2), and thus are discussed in the adjustments were based on the constraints of the project, and other
corresponding findings sections below. Two mathematical times based on their real-world reasoning about the situation. For
practices related to the use of patterns and structures (MP7) and example, in the Roster project, some groups spent less than the allowed
the recognition of repeated reasoning (MP8) were less evident in salary dollars on their team roster, and decided to use the remaining
youth interactions, likely due to the lack of focus on mathematical funds on additional players to strengthen the team. Group R at the
patterns and structures in the projects, and thus are not a focus Southwest summer camp site decided to draft a second pitcher, given
in the findings sections that follow. the importance of this position. One youth in the group explained, “after
we picked and had all the [required] players. We had more extra salary
MP1: make sense of problems and persevere in and thought that it would be helpful to have an extra pitcher just in case.”
solving them
As youth engaged with each of the project-based tasks
Josiah: Should we draft another pitcher, since we have extra money to spend,
(Baseball Team Roster and Design a Stadium) they evidenced
should we get Lance Lynn?
specific practices related to MP1: Make sense of problems and
He’s [with] in budget
persevere in solving them. First, as youth made sense of the goals
of each project and considered possible problem solving Ariya: Wait, you want the pitcher to have the lowest salary?
approaches, they made strategic decisions that facilitated Liam: This is a second pitcher.
calculations and helped them to keep track of their progress. For Josiah: Lance Lynn from the White Sox is only $10 million.
example, in the Roster project, multiple groups opted to select the
most important, and potentially most expensive players first,
such as the pitcher, and to track their spending along the way so In other cases, youth found that their selected players exceeded
they were aware of how much money was left after each player the salary limit, and they had to make adjustments to their selections.
selection. Group P from the Southwest Summer Camp site started For example, Group K from the Southwest summer camp site totaled
by selecting the team pitcher and catcher (positions that they their selected player salaries and discovered that their roster was $17
deemed most important), and then calculated their remaining million over budget. They debated which player to “lose” in favor of
salary funds. another, less expensive option.

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Levi: Ok, we are over budget. that clearly evidenced understanding of how the quantities related to
Mateo: by how much? specific components of the project context. For example, in the Stadium
project, youth performed multi-step calculations as they planned the
Levi: $17 million.
seating capacity and ticket prices for their stadium, and projected the
Xavier: by $17 million? We’re over budget by just $17 million!
total cost for a group of family members or friends to attend a game. At
Facilitator: Oh, that’s a lot. … You have to sacrifice somewhere. one of the Southwest afterschool sites, multiple groups (H, I, and J)
Mateo: I know, I’m doing it, I’m doing it. labeled their calculations in ways that evidenced understanding of
Xavier: We’re not sacrificing.
meaning of each quantity and solution in relation to the context (e.g.,
they labeled equations that represented the total cost of ticket prices,
Levi: Yeah we are, but we are not sacrificing Mookie Betts. (who had
food purchases and parking for a group of 4 people attending the game).
a salary of $18,658,692).
One group designed a very small, personal stadium that included only
Xavier: We have to keep Betts? (puts head down on table, covers with 1,100 seats. When they shared their design, they explained the meaning
hand). of the quantities in each seating section (number of seats, and ticket
Mateo: I’m taking out [Yadier] Molina. (a catcher, with a $9,000,000 prices), and the meaning of their computations (i.e., Youth: “we put 100,
salary). 100, 300, 500 and then another 100…. for the number of seats in each
Levi and Xavier: NO! section. We added those together and we got 1,100 …[which was] the
total number of seats in the stadium.”).
Xavier: He’s the best catcher.
At the other Southwest afterschool site, Group E identified and
Levi: (looks over their roster to identify another high salary player). operated on quantities related to seating capacity and ticket
Wait, $22 million, is Freddy [Freeman] (first baseman) really practices in ways that reflected understanding of the meaning of the
worth $22 million?! values in context. For example, they divided the 75,000 seats in their
Mateo: Yes! Well not in real life. stadium across three seating sections of varying sizes and ticket
Facilitator: Is there another first baseman you could find that is cheaper? prices to create accessible options for stadium attendees. One youth
explained the half/double ratios they used to set ticket prices for
Levi: Matt Olsen. And we’ll keep Betts.
each section:
Mateo: How does that make sense?

Xavier: Matt Olsen is way cheaper than Betts. (Matt Olsen has a salary
Umar: It was really hard because we were only doing three sections. So
of $5,000,000).
we had to figure out a way to balance 75,000 into three sections.
And we had a VIP section, I think it was 10,000 seats for the VIP,
The group tested out this plan and found that by removing
which was $50 a ticket. Then 25,000 for the second section, which
Freddy Freeman they had a little over 5 million salary dollars
was, $25 [for a ticket]. And then for the last section it was 40,000
remaining, enough to add in a different first baseman, Matt
seats for $12 [per ticket].
Olsen. These adjustments allowed them to honor the budgetary
Facilitator: Why did you choose $25 for the middle section?
constraints of the task, while still retaining their favorite player,
Mookie Betts. Umar: I think $25 was a pretty good price for section two. Cause it’s half
In the Stadium project, youth also tracked their progress and of 50, which is the [price for the] VIP. And 12 would’ve been good
made adjustments as needed, in some instances based on real-world for the other section because it would’ve been close to half of 25.
considerations related to the project context. For example, Group J
at a Southwest afterschool site initially planned to only offer 4-packs In other words, as these youth identified and operated on
packs of tickets for their exclusive VIP section, reasoning that quantities, they consistently attended to the meaning of the quantities
attendees would want to enjoy the special VIP offerings with family and operations in the real world situation.
and friends. But when asked by the facilitator whether she could Just as youth contextualized quantities throughout their work
purchase a single ticket to join a group in the VIP section, the girls on the Roster and Stadium projects, they also demonstrated the
decided that the 4-pack option was too limited and they added a per ability to decontextualize—to represent and manipulate situations
person ticket pricing structure to their plan. symbolically, flexibly using properties of operations to support
In both projects, multiple groups of youth engaged in making their work. For example, in the Roster project, multiple groups of
sense of problems (MP1) as they generated and enacted problem youth reasoned that they could use two different mathematical
solving approaches, made purposeful decisions that supported operations, addition or subtraction, to determine whether their
their progress, and strategic adjustments to their approach when team roster exceeded the allowable salary budget. Some youth
needed. The balance between the openness and choice built into the opted to repeatedly subtract each player’s strategy from the
project, combined with the requirements and constraints, seemed $70,000,000 budget, understanding that the result of each
to support these practices, a point which we return to in operation represented the amount of salary dollars remaining.
the discussion. Other youth successively added each player’s strategy,
understanding that the result of each sum represented the number
MP2: reason abstractly and quantitatively of salary dollars spent. In some small groups, such as Group G at
Across both projects, youth consistently attended to the meaning of a Southwest afterschool site, youth explored both approaches in
quantities in relation to the real-world scenario. As youth performed parallel, explaining how they each verified that the team roster met
operations, compared quantities, and selected values, they did so in ways the salary requirements.

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Facilitator: Ok, tell us what you did. What did you get? Ava: I am doing pitcher, ok, these are all the pitchers.

Dominic: 64,670,286 Ava: This guy is $35 million but he has a really good ERA (only 2.29). It is

Facilitator: Is this the total, for how much you spent? Write that on the board, really hard picking a pitcher because there are so many. I am mostly

ok? looking at their ERA. The pitcher is the most important, but
strikeouts are also important. I am weeding some people that have
Facilitator: [To Camila] Did you get the same thing?
low scores.
Camila: Yeah all the 9 player salaries and it is about $64 million (youth
Chloe: The pitcher is the most important, right?
rounded some of the salary figures). So we are under.
Gemma: The pitcher makes the team.
Dominic: [records total salary dollars on board].
Ava: Yeah I am weeding out the ones that have low scores.
Facilitator: [To Grace and Alexis] Did you get the same number?
Chloe: Are you doing wins? Or strike outs?
Grace: We found the difference. I was finding out how much we spent on
each player and then subtracting it from what we had in the budget Ava: I say strike-outs.

[$70,000,000] and then from what we had left over. Gemma: Yeah strikeouts are important.

Facilitator: And you had about 5 and a half million left? [looking at written Ava: All we still need is a pitcher so we can spend big money on a pitcher.
work from Grace and Alexis]. Chloe: We have to wait and see how much money we have left when she is
Alexis: Yeah, it’s the same. done (Gemma is adding the salaries of the players selected so far).

Ava: Part of me wants to just pick the best ERA, but then this one has
While the facilitator did not further probe the youths’ really good strikeouts and this other one has the most wins. This one
explanation, the youth concurred that each of their operations has the most strikeouts.
“proved” that the team roster met the $70,000,000 salary limit
Gemma: I will tell you if we have enough money. So far I only have two more
requirement, and seemed to understand how their addition and
that we need to add, so I think you can get the most expensive one.
subtraction calculations related to one another, each providing key
… I calculated all of it and we spent $60 million. We have $10
information about their situation.
million left (looking over the pitcher salaries, half of which are over
Another way that youth reasoned abstractly and quantitatively
$10 million)
as they engaged in the projects was by reasoning across different
quantities to inform the decisions they made. This primarily Ava: That’s actually really good. Ok, maybe this one (Robbie Ray). … So

occurred in the Roster project as youth compared quantities we can get this pitcher, he’s $8 million, so we are under budget.

abstractly (i.e., comparing decimal values, whole numbers, or I know his wins aren’t a lot, but his strikeouts are one of the most.

percentages) and then contextualized the meaning of those

quantities and relationships in terms of baseball player statistics. Throughout this discussion, the girls compared quantities
For example, Group N at the Southwest summer camp site used expressed as whole numbers (salaries, hits, homeruns) and as decimals
multiple player statistics to compare players at each position as they (ERA, batting average). They not only compared the quantities
made their team roster. In the discussion excerpt below, the youth abstractly, but reasoned about the relative importance of each quantity
debated which first baseman to select. Gemma shared the first for a particular player (i.e., they concluded that strikeouts were critical
baseman statistics with the rest of the group, while Chloe compared for a pitcher, while hits and home runs were focal points for the first
the first baseman statistics to those of the second baseman she baseman.) In addition, they correctly interpreted whether higher or
was reviewing. lower values for a given statistic indicated strong performance (e.g.,
with ERA, a lower value is better because it indicates that a pitcher gives
us fewer runs, while with strikeouts, a higher value is better). In other
Gemma: I think we are going with Matt Olson for first base.
words, as youth reasoned about different statistics they decontextualized
Chloe: Does he have good stats, or is he just cheap?
and recontextualized each value to inform their roster decisions.
Gemma: His salary is $5 million, hits are 53, and home runs 30. Across both projects, though more prominent in the Roster project,
Chloe: What? Yours is only $5 million? My [second baseman] player is twice youth engaged in quantitative reasoning as they compared and found
as much as that, and he only has like 3 more hits! How many hits relationships among values, debated the relative importance of different
does yours have? player statistics, and reasoned about how different operations related to
Gemma: 153.
the problem context. We suspect that the different kinds of quantitative
data included in the Roster project was particularly supportive of these
Chloe: Ok, mine has 5 more hits than yours, but he is double the price.
practices, a point which we elaborate in the discussion.
Gemma: Yeah, and he (Matt Olson) has like the same home runs as this guy
(Anthony Rizzo) but he is much more expensive ($16,000,000).

MP3: construct viable arguments and critique the

Once the group selected all field players, they proceeded to select reasoning of others
a pitcher, leaving the pitcher to the end so they could spend all As youth communicated their reasoning about the meaning of
remaining salary funds on this position. In the discussion below, the quantities in the project, they also engaged in MP3: constructing and
youth leading the pitcher selection (Ava) debated the relative critiquing augments. In the Roster project, this most often occurred as
importance of different pitcher statistics, including ERA (Earned Run youth argued for selecting a particular player. As evidenced in the
Average), wins, and strikeouts. excerpts above, they often considered how a player’s statistics

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compared to those of others that played the same position. For In the Stadium project, youth also engaged in communicating and
example, in the discussion below, two boys from Group R from the critiquing arguments, most often related to decisions about seating
Southwest summer camp site engaged in a lively debate about which capacity and ticket prices for different sections of their stadium. For
player they should select for pitcher. Their goal was to optimize example, groups H, I and J each had spirited debates about which
multiple criteria in their pitcher selection (maximum performance for seating section would be the most desirable, and therefore the most
the minimum cost). expensive. Two groups presented conventional arguments for a small
section of expensive, exclusive, “close to the field” seats for “VIP”
attendees. But one group (Group I), argued that the lower seats were
Josiah: We are doing pitchers. Who do you think we should do? Who is the
less desirable, because they only provided a partial view of the field,
best and the cheapest?
and included a higher risk of “getting hit” by a ball. Instead, they
Liam: Shohei Ohtani is the cheapest, he is like $3 million.
argued that the VIP section should be located in the top rows of the
Josiah: But we need who is the best and the cheapest. stadium, as those seats allowed a wide view of the entire field.
Liam: Oh, best but cheapest. Adam Wainwright, he’s $8 million and he’s
better than anyone. He has 17 wins and 174 strikeouts.
Midra: Let us make the top row more expensive, because let us have the
Josiah: I think Robby Ray. Robbie Ray is the same price, but he has more famous people that are going to come to the baseball game sit on top.
strike outs (248), and better ERA (2.84, vs. 3.05), but less wins (13
Zahara: Yeah.
wins, vs. Wainwright’s 17 wins).
Lorelei: So for them it would be more expensive, like VIP.
Liam: ok, then Robbie Ray, Robbie Ray. … But what about Brandon
Zahara: Should we make it like $180 [per ticket]?
Woodruff? Let us see Brandon. He is also cheap (3.275 million). But
Shohei Otani is cheaper, and wait, he has more strikeouts than Lorelei: That’s way too cheap.

Brandon. Zahara: 300 dollars.

Josiah: But Robbie Ray has more. I still think we should do Robbie Ray, Midra: No, no, 320 dollars.
he is the cheapest and he has more strikeouts and a better ERA but Zahara: $360.
less wins.
Lorelei: Ok 360 dollars for VIP. Then the middle row [section] is going to
Liam: Yeah, yeah. Robbie Ray? Do you guys all agree on Robbie Ray? be like 100 or 200 dollars. And the bottom one [section] is going to
[Hands the card to Youth 4 that she can examine the stats; Youth 3 be like $60.
and 4 were discussing other positions] He has good stats and he is
Zahara: I think $40.
cheaper.
Lorelei: The bottom row is going to be $40, the VIP $360 and the mid is
Mila: [after studying the stats for one minute] Yeah I think he’s good.
$100.

… [the facilitator approaches the group to ask about their plan].

Following this session, Josiah reflected on the project with a Midra: [to the facilitator] This is the money and this is the seating
member of our team, and specifically described his group’s process for [capcity]. We made this like VIP that is why it is so expensive, and
communicating and critiquing arguments for specific players. this is where the famous baseball players and famous people sit, at
the top.

Project staff: So tell me more about how you selected players? Facilitator: Why these numbers [prices]?

Josiah: [For pitcher], I was saying, who had the most strikeouts and ERA Zahara: Because the middle, we did not want to do too much, because not
and he was almost the cheapest one. that many people can pay that. So mid level is $100, you know, not

Project staff: So you took a rounded approach. that expensive but not that cheap.

Josiah: Yeah, and for shortstop I chose Fernando Tatis Junior because Facilitator: Wait, these are your cheap ones, right? (points to top level seats)

he had the most hits and he had one of the highest batting Midra: No, the bottom ones are the cheapest.
averages. But he also had the most salary rate of all the shortstops. Facilitator: The closest ones are the cheapest?
Project staff: And how did you decide as a group? Zahara: Yeah because you might get hit by the ball.
Josiah: We did like cooperation. We went through it as a team, and Facilitator: Ah, on this one [shows a sample seating chart from an actual
we decided, like, who we thought would be the best and we’d take stadium] the closest ones are the most expensive, but you are
a vote or whatever. …. We did a lot of what we thought would worried about getting hit by the ball, but most people want to
be the best, but then we also would say if one of us made a bad be close to the field. As close to the field as possible.
pick then we told them why it was bad or if there was someone
Lorelei: Yeah, this is VIP, [points to upper section] that is why it is the most
better. … And if they wanted to change or if we wanted to keep it,
expensive.
we’d all choose.
Midra: And our stadium is going to be big, and the top is going to be really
high, so I think people will want to sit there, because first of all, less
Notable in Josiah’s reflection is how the project created chance of getting hit in the face and second you can see better.
opportunities for students to present and justify their own arguments,
Lorelei: And if you are looking for the restrooms or like the food area,
but also opportunities to consider other’s reasoning, and to revise their
you can see everything.
arguments in response to critique.

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In summary, both projects created opportunities for youth to Javon: I think we should pick this guy [Robbie Ray, one of the pitcher
communicate their reasoning and to construct, consider, and options], he is a little bit inexpensive, but compared to the 34 million
respond to the ideas of others. Mathematical argumentation guy, he has pretty good stats. I say he is good for the price.
was most evident in the Roster project, as youth strove to Ty: [looks at stats] I feel like he’s good too. His [earned run] average is 0.284.
optimize multiple criteria so that players had maximum
Lucas: What are you all talking about? I do not understand what you are
performance for minimal cost. When students constructed
talking about. I
arguments in the Stadium project, the focus was mostly on
Ty: We are picking out the players.
youths’ reasoning for their choices and preferences in their
stadium design. Lucas: For what?

Ty: We are making a roster, like you know when we went to an Astros
game, and they’ll tell us like who is up in the lineup. That’s what
Findings for RQ2: youth leverage resources we are doing.
to support their decision making and Lucas: Ooooh, now I get it. You could have told me about that earlier.
understanding

This section focuses on the varied resources that youth drew Following this exchange, the younger youth leaned into the group
upon to support their understanding and decision making as they conversation, and even took the lead on the selection of a player for
completed the two projects. We found that almost all groups one of the field positions.
evidenced use of social resources (peers and/or facilitators) to In other cases, youth drew on their knowledge in ways that informed
support their decision making. In both projects, youth asked how they interpreted provided player statistics. For example, as
group members for ideas and suggestions as they made decisions highlighted in the extended example from Group N above (Section on
about ticket prices, seating capacity, and player selection. Often, MP2), youth used their knowledge of baseball to debate the relative
discussions were collaborative where several youth introduced importance of different statistics for a given position (i.e., ERA vs.
and debated ideas, as shown in the excerpts from groups K and strikeouts for pitchers), or the importance of different positions (i.e.,
I above. In other instances, a single youth drove the decision selecting a pitcher first, or spending the most salary dollars on a pitcher).
making, often because this youth was older and positioned as a In these instances, youth used their knowledge of baseball as a resource
group leader. While all groups collaborated, in some instances the to correctly interpret whether “higher” or “lower” values for a given
collaboration was less focused on considering peers’ ideas and statistic indicate better performance (i.e., a low ERA is optimal, while a
more focused on delegation of tasks (i.e., one youth selected high value for strikeouts is preferred), which then guided their
players, one youth added salaries to keep track of totals, and a player selection.
third youth recorded their selections on a team poster). We found Sometimes, youths’ knowledge of players complemented the
these cases to be less productive, as opportunities to provided statistics, providing additional data points to consider.
engage in mathematical practice were focused on a subset of This included real time information about players (i.e., injuries),
youth. While it was more common for youth to draw on ideas or knowledge of players’ abilities from youths’ experience
from peers as they made decisions, groups also leveraged watching baseball. For example, when Group P from the
suggestions from facilitators to inform their work. Southwest summer camp site was comparing center fielders, they
Consistent with the norms of informal learning spaces considered how the player salaries compared to batting average
(Vadeboncoeur and Padilla-Petry, 2017), facilitators allowed and home runs, and whether cheaper players actually had weaker
youth to drive small group work, as they circulated among statistics. They initially settled on Mike Trout, who in the 2021
groups, asking questions and offering tips as needed season had generally stronger statistics than the other options,
(see groups G, K and I above). While use of social resources was but then reconsidered when one youth in the group recalled that
a prominent pattern across groups, we focus the remainder Trout was injured.
of this findings section on how youth drew on their experiences
and funds of knowledge (González et al., 2005) from
Sofia: I know who a lot of these people are because my brother watches it
settings outside the informal learning space to inform
[baseball] all the time. … [looking at cards for center field players] The
their decisions.
best batting [average] is Mike Trout. [But] Mike Trout is injured in real
life… It does not say he’s injured on the card but he is actually injured in
Youth draw on their own funds of knowledge to real life. These are the best batting averages [points to Trout and another
inform their decisions and understanding option, Reynolds], and these are the best homeruns [Trout and another
In both projects, but in particular the Baseball Team Roster
center fielder, Acuña]. And he has the most hits [Reynolds].
project, youth demonstrated and utilized knowledge of baseball
Ya’Nai: [examines card] In 2021 was he injured? (cards have statistics from the
and of specific players that was beyond what was included in the
2021 season).
activity. For example, some groups drew on their understanding
of team rosters or “line-ups” to make sense of the goals of the Sofia: He’s injured now!
project. When a younger youth in Group S at the Central summer Sofia: I think we are going to choose this player [Reynolds], look he is the
camp site expressed confusion about the project, a peer in the cheapest. He is not even a million dollars, and he is [in terms of players
group referenced an outside experience to support statistics] in the middle! … This guy is injured [sets Trout card aside].
his understanding.

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Ultimately, this youth’s knowledge influenced the group decision and statistics to justify this choice (i.e., Adam Fraiser’s batting average was
they selected a different (non-injured) player for the center field position. comparable to that of other second baseman, and his salary was
While youths’ use of their prior knowledge and experiences to considerably less), but their reliance on one group member’s
inform decisions was most common in the Roster project, some knowledge of the player backgrounded this information.
groups leveraged outside experiences to inform their Design a Stadium We noted similar patterns in other groups, wherein youth who
decisions, particularly related to ticket pricing. For example, in Group had more prior experience with baseball used this knowledge to
E from a Southwest afterschool site, youth prioritized full attendance inform and justify their decisions, often with minimal use of the
at games in their stadium, and reasoned that if they made ticket prices provided player statistics. For example, Efran, a youth from Group A
too high, people would opt to view the game on television instead of explained that he led the selection process for his group, based on his
attending in person. As these two youth explained during a post experience watching players on television. He noted:
project interview:
I picked those baseball players because I watch baseball and
I picked the players I know. I know that they are good, but they
Umar: We want a lot of people to come [to our stadium]. It cannot just
are cheap. So I just told the people sitting at the table to choose
be $200.
those people. Because I’ve seen them play before and they are
and $150 and then $100 [for the ticket]. Not a lot of people are going
pretty good when I watch them on TV…. So I’m like, “just get
to want to pay $100 to see a baseball game that they can just watch on
him.” And there was a baseball player with 39 home runs so I said,
TV. So we try to make it just like normal price.
“choose him. He′s really good (post project interview).
Dillon: ….So we put [the ticket prices as] $12, $25 to $50. So that way more
people would come instead of having to like. …So that way we can
Other youth used their knowledge of specific teams (but not the
actually have a lot of people that could afford it come in.
statistics of particular players) to select or eliminate players from their
roster. For example, a youth in Group L at the Southwest summer
Other groups had similar reasoning, arguing that considering camp site selected a pitcher because he played for the Angels (the
“their friends and family” helped them determine reasonable prices youth’s favorite team), and other groups at this site eliminated players
for tickets and concessions in their stadium. As a youth from Group from the Dodgers, and selected players from the Blue Jays, primarily
D explained, “if we were to do it, then we were to invite our friends or based on their team affiliations.
our family, [we thought about] would we want them to pay a lot? or, In summary, youth leveraged social resources (peers and
do we want them to pay a little bit?” facilitators), in addition to their own knowledge and experiences from
Interestingly, in some instances youths’ use of their prior settings outside of the informal learning space to inform their
knowledge about specific players to inform decisions meant that the understanding and decisions, particularly during the Roster project.
group only engaged minimally with the provided player statistics. While in most instances these connections to outside funds of
For example in Group K from the Southwest summer camp site, knowledge enhanced youth’s engagement with the provided statistics,
youth were debating between two players for the right field position in some cases, youth leveraged outside knowledge in ways that limited
(Aaron Judge and Mookie Betts). Rather than comparing their opportunities to engage in mathematical reasoning. We revisit this
statistics (hits, homeruns, batting average, salary, etc.), one youth potential challenge in the discussion.
claimed that they knew Mookie Betts was “faster” and should
be selected.
Discussion
Levi: Right field—either Aaron Judge or Mookie Betts.
Overall, we found that both of the projects implemented in
Mateo: Yeah, I go with Aaron Judge,
informal learning sites contained specific features that supported
Levi: Yeah, let us go with Aaron Judge. youths’ engagement in mathematical practices including problem
Mateo: But Mookie Betts is like faster than Aaron Judge…[so] are we going solving (MP1), quantitative reasoning (MP2) and argumentation
with Mooke Betts? (MP3). First, the openness and choice built into the projects not only
Everyone: Yeah!
encouraged creativity but also required youth to generate problem
solving approaches (MP1), and to build arguments to support their
choices and decisions (MP3). At the same time, the given constraints
While Aaron Judge outperformed Mookie Betts on multiple (i.e., salary limit), required youth to monitor their overall progress
statistics (higher batting average, more hits and homeruns in 2022), and make adjustments to ensure compliance. This monitoring and
the group selected Mookie Betts because of one youth’s claim and they revision of approach led to further engagement in key problem
knew he was “faster.” As the group continued to select players, they solving practices (MP1). In other words, the balance of choice and
again relied on their prior knowledge of players, instead of player constraints in the projects seemed particularly generative for
statistics, to inform choices. For example, when selecting a second supporting youth engagement in key mathematical practices. This was
baseman, Mateo referenced their experience watching one player on most apparent in the Roster project, as youth were able to choose
television to justify the choice: “Let us take this guy [Adam Fraiser]. criteria and processes for selecting players, but were constrained by
I’ve seen him play before. He hit a ball, and I do not even know how the parameters of a salary limit and the need to construct (at a
[but] he hit a homerun.” Without further discussion, the group minimum) a 9-player roster. These constraints led to a more
selected this player. Notably, youth could have used various player challenging problem, which prompted youth to iteratively review and

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Turner et al. 10.3389/feduc.2024.1456653

reflect on their choices until they completed the task. In contrast, in outside knowledge, they often considered what they knew about the
the Stadium project, youth were able to make choices about the overall interests and needs of friends, family, and other potential fans while
size of their stadium, the capacity and ticket prices of different seating designing unique stadium features, determining reasonable ticket
sections, and unique stadium features. While the project emphasized prices, and arranging seating sections (e.g., Group E). Notably, in the
choice, few constraints were provided. For example, youth had to Roster project there were several instances when youths’ use of their
include different seating sections but could design stadiums of any knowledge about specific players to inform roster selections meant
size. Similarly, youth were asked to include features that they thought that the group only engaged minimally with the provided player
would attract fans, but without consideration of budgetary limits. statistics (e.g., Groups A and K), which then limited their opportunities
Given the relative lack of constraints in the Stadium project, youth to engage in mathematical reasoning. While youths’ engagement in
were not prompted to monitor or adjust their approaches (MP 1), or the projects invited connections to their experiences and funds of
to mathematically justify their design decisions (MP 3) in the way that knowledge, a practice which has been shown to enhance STEM
was evident in the Roster project. This finding related to the learning (Simic-Muller et al., 2009; Turner et al., 2009; Nasir, 2012;
importance of balancing choice and constraint in mathematics- Krajcik et al., 2022), our findings also suggest that informal learning
focused PBL activities is in part consistent with prior research which educators may need to support youth to use their real world
has highlighted youth voice and choice as essential design elements knowledge to complement and enhance their engagement in
for PBL (Tan et al., 2013; Larmer et al., 2015). Yet our findings about mathematical reasoning, rather than limiting such opportunities.
the role of constraints extends this prior work, by showing that a key Our work answers a call for additional research on the impact of
component of designing challenging and authentic questions (Larmer informal learning settings and PBL activities on youths’ mathematics
et al., 2015) is ensuring that those questions include sufficient, real- engagement and learning, particularly for youth from groups
world constraints. underserved and underrepresented in STEM fields (Condliffe et al.,
Another project feature that supported youth engagement in 2017; Pattison et al., 2017b). Additionally, by documenting the
mathematical practices was the included quantitative data about potential of PBL activities that integrate sports and mathematics to
player performance (in the Roster project) and the contextual support youths’ engagement in mathematical practices (National
information about sample stadiums (in the Stadium project). In the Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief
Roster project in particular we found that the player statistics State School Officers, 2010), we address additional calls that research
supported youths’ engagement in quantitative reasoning (MP 2) and on PBL (Thomas, 2000), and in STEM informal learning spaces to
their opportunities to develop, communicate and critique attend to a range of outcomes.
mathematical arguments (MP 3), as they used the various sources of
data to defend their player selections. In the Stadium project, while
youth occasionally used the sample stadium information to justify Implications and conclusion
their choices about stadium capacity or outfield distances, the lack of
constraints limited youths’ need for this information. If the project Our study has important implications for educators, curriculum
had included budget limits along with information about potential developers, and researchers who work in informal STEM learning spaces.
costs of different stadium features, youth may have drawn on this First, there is the need for additional informal learning curricula that
information as engaged in quantitative reasoning (MP 2) or integrate sports and mathematics, given the positive outcomes
communicated mathematical arguments (MP 3). While PBL activities demonstrated in our findings (i.e., engagement in mathematical practices,
often include sustained inquiries where youth generate information connections to outside knowledge and experiences). Additionally, our
on their own (Cross et al., 2012; Larmer et al., 2015), we found that findings suggest that curriculum developers attend to the complementary
including authentic player statistics in the project materials allowed roles of choice and creativity alongside constraints to support youths’
youth to focus their attention on comparing the values and engagement in problem solving and mathematical reasoning and to
interpreting the relative importance of different statistics. Given the encourage reflection and discussion.
fluidity of activity in informal learning settings and the fact that time Second, our findings have implications for professional learning and
for sustained inquiries may be limited, providing youth with a diverse support for informal STEM learning facilitators. Youth in informal
set of authentic data seemed like a productive way to maximize afterschool and summer settings have varied backgrounds and interests,
opportunities to engage in mathematical practices. and facilitators need to seek connections to youth who may have limited
Finally, we found that both projects created opportunities for prior experiences with project contexts. Our findings also suggest that
youth to draw on outside knowledge and experiences, including professional learning programs for informal STEM educators should
knowledge of baseball and understanding about the needs and include strategies for supporting youths’ sustained focus on mathematical
interests of potential baseball fans to support their project decisions. learning goals, such as reminding youth of project guidelines or
In the Roster project, youth leveraged knowledge of player positions supporting youth to use data to support decisions and arguments. This is
and the importance of specific statistics as they selected players for consistent with other research that has highlighted the professional
their team roster. This was particularly true for youth in the summer learning needs of informal STEM facilitators (Hladik, 2022).
camp implementations, as those settings drew more youth with prior An important limitation of our research is that our team offered
baseball experiences (e.g., Groups P and S above). In the Stadium professional learning support (i.e., initial training, ongoing coaching)
project, there were fewer instances when youth drew on baseball- for facilitators who implemented the program. While materials from
related knowledge to inform their decisions, which may reflect a lack our professional learning sessions will be broadly disseminated via our
of experience attending live sporting events in stadiums, particularly project website, future research should explore the effectiveness of the
among youth who did not play team sports. When youth did leverage Growing Mathletes program, including how the culminating projects

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Turner et al. 10.3389/feduc.2024.1456653

support youths’ engagement in mathematical practices, when – original draft, Writing – review & editing. SB: Data curation, Formal
implemented by facilitators who do not participate in sessions with analysis, Investigation, Writing – review & editing. SM: Data curation,
our team, but are instead supported by our online materials and/or by Formal analysis, Investigation, Writing – review & editing. CB: Data
other professional learning supports in their contexts. An added curation, Formal analysis, Investigation, Writing – review & editing.
limitation is that our research focused on informal learning spaces RV: Funding acquisition, Writing – review & editing.
that offered a more structured learning program (i.e., a week long
summer camp, or designated time for Growing Mathletes during an
afterschool program). Future research should explore the applicability Funding
of Growing Mathletes activities, and particularly their potential to
engage youth in mathematical practices, in less structured informal The author(s) declare that financial support was received for the
learning spaces such as community centers or museums. research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This material
Finally, our findings raise key questions and topics for future is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation
research on mathematics learning in informal settings. Specifically, under Grant #2005793. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or
studies should explore additional aspects of integrating sports and recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s)
mathematics to better understand the learning impacts for youth with and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National
varying levels of interest and prior knowledge about sports. Research Science Foundation.
should also continue to investigate how specific features of
mathematics-focused PBL activities support mathematical
understanding, and the application of different mathematical practices. Conflict of interest
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the
Data availability statement absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could
be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will
be made available by the authors, without undue reservation.
Publisher’s note
Ethics statement All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the
authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated
The studies involving humans were approved by the University of organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the
Arizona Institutional Review Board. The studies were conducted in reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or
accordance with the local legislation and institutional requirements. claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or
Written informed consent for participation in this study was provided endorsed by the publisher.
by the participants’ legal guardians/next of kin.

Supplementary material
Author contributions
The Supplementary material for this article can be found online
ET: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Funding at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2024.1456653/
acquisition, Investigation, Methodology, Supervision, Writing full#supplementary-material

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