Hannah Carter

Writing may not be the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about success in math learning, but Hannah Carter, an associate professor of literacy in the College of Education, knows research suggests that writing provides depth of understanding in all disciplines.

A $600,000 grant from the National Science Foundation will support Carter and former Boise State faculty Gena Nelson and Peter Boedeker to conduct a meta-analysis to synthesize years of research on writing in math, allowing the team to study effective writing methods for teaching students in secondary math and science classrooms.

"A need exists for more professional learning and support specific to writing, particularly for secondary teachers of math and science," said Carter. "To be able to support teachers, we need to understand what effective practices are for using writing in meaningful ways to leverage content learning in math and science."

Carter's research contributes to the College of Education's goal of supporting continuous improvement for educators in Idaho and beyond, preparing students for lifelong success. According to Carter, writing affords secondary students opportunities to explore the uniqueness of the disciplines they study, to think critically like experts, and to communicate the results of their investigations - which helps students engage in writing like scientists.

This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation under award No. 2404864. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. National Science Foundation.

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