Auburn College of Education faculty, student tutors collaborate to strengthen fraction learning at Loachapoka Elementary School

Faculty and undergraduate students in Auburn University’s College of Education have been leading measurable gains in elementary mathematics learning through a collaborative, cross‑disciplinary tutoring and research initiative focused on fractions — one of the most critical and challenging areas of upper‑elementary math instruction.

The collaboration has involved the College of Education’s Department of Special Education, Rehabilitation, and Counseling (SERC) and its Department of Curriculum & Teaching (C&T). Led by College of Education Clinical Professor Vanessa Hinton and Assistant Professor Victoria Sanchez, and with the support of Professor Megan Burton, the mathematics intervention project has been implemented this spring at Loachapoka Elementary School, bringing together expertise in mathematics education, mathematics intervention and literacy.

“We decided to focus on literacy and mathematics reasoning,” Sanchez said. “We worked with a long‑standing local elementary school and tailored the instruction based on their input. The mathematics education expertise of Dr. Burton strengthened the design of the study and intervention. We are especially excited about the project’s cross-disciplinary and collaborative nature.”

Sanchez said she and Hinton have long been passionate about working directly with schools to support students in need of additional academic assistance. She noted that SERC Interim Head Margaret Flores and C&T Head Paul Fitchett encouraged them to bring together faculty across mathematics education, mathematics intervention and literacy to support the project.

Dual goals

The effort was designed with two central goals: improving student outcomes in fraction understanding and strengthening preparation for Auburn’s future teachers.

“First, we aimed to develop and pilot a mathematics intervention focused on fraction conceptual understanding, schema-based instruction and mathematical language to examine its effects on student learning,” Sanchez said. “Second, we wanted to provide meaningful training experience for undergraduate students by preparing them to deliver high-quality, evidence-based mathematics instruction.”

She added that the impact extends beyond the immediate intervention, noting that Burton is following up with undergraduate students who provided instruction to build understanding and improve pre‑service teacher education.

Eight Auburn undergraduate teaching students served as tutors in the program, receiving extensive preparation before working directly with elementary students.

“Our teaching students have been outstanding throughout this process,” Sanchez said. “They received initial training prior to beginning the intervention. While part of the training focused on understanding the research study, the majority of the time was spent modeling lessons, practicing instructional routines and receiving direct, targeted feedback from the project team.”

During implementation, tutors worked collaboratively and received ongoing coaching.

“During the intervention, tutors typically worked in pairs during instructional sessions,” she said. “Dr. Hinton and I provided coaching throughout the sessions. We also held weekly meetings to review instructional procedures, discuss student progress and problem solve collaboratively.”

Tutoring success

For undergraduate tutors like McKenzie Sanders, the project offered meaningful, hands‑on experience working directly with elementary students while building skills for future professional practice.

“My favorite part of tutoring has been watching these students grow and learn. The look on their face when they understand a concept is so rewarding!” Sanders said.

Sanders, an upcoming senior majoring in rehabilitation and disability studies with a minor in special education, has been visiting Loachapoka Elementary School every Monday and Wednesday, tutoring one to three students in a group, with two to three sessions of groups. As she prepares to apply to occupational therapy school this fall, Sanders said the experience has directly shaped her career path.

“This experience has helped me build skills I will use in the future as an OT,” she said. “Working in small groups with students has taught me how to adapt my teaching style to meet each student's individual needs.”

She added that close mentorship from faculty has been essential.

“I have loved working with Dr. Sanchez and Dr. Hinton! They have taught me a lot, and I am so grateful for them,” Sanders said. “We had sessions each Friday where we would go over what we would be teaching the next week, and they gave us advice on how to help the students better understand the concepts.”

For Olivia Garrett, a rising junior majoring in elementary education, the project reinforced both her passion for teaching and her confidence in working with students who have varied learning needs.

“I heard about the math intervention while in my EDUC 1010 class last semester. Dr. Sanchez came in and spoke about the opportunity for tutoring a math intervention in an elementary school,” Garrett said. “Since I want to be an elementary teacher, I immediately knew it was something I wanted to do.”

Throughout the semester, Garrett visited Loachapoka Elementary School on Mondays and Wednesdays, tutoring students in small groups.

“I typically would tutor six students each time we went. We would see them in groups of two. We would tutor one group for about 20 to 25 minutes and then get another group,” she said.

For Garrett, the most impactful moments came through building relationships and confidence with students.

“My favorite part of the tutoring process has been getting to interact with the students I work with,” she said. “They’re what make tutoring so enjoyable.”

One moment, in particular, left a lasting impression.

“I’ll never forget one student saying, ‘I’m so glad you’re here, because I really do want to understand,’” Garrett said. “Hearing that really stuck with me. It reminded me why I want to become a teacher, to support students, build their confidence and help them reach that ‘light bulb’ moment when everything finally clicks.”

Garrett said the experience has helped her better understand how to adjust instruction to meet individual student needs — skills she knows will be essential in her future classroom.

“In my role as a teacher, I’ve learned how important it is to adjust my teaching depending on the student,” she said. “Whether that means explaining a concept in a different way, slowing down or using a new example to help it make sense.”

Strong foundations

The intervention targets fourth‑ and fifth‑grade students identified as at‑risk for mathematics difficulties and aligns with Tier 2 instruction within a multi‑tiered system of supports.

“Instruction targets conceptual understanding of fractions, fraction operations and fraction word problems,” Sanchez said.

Students learn through multiple representations, visual supports, explicit vocabulary instruction and schema‑based problem solving.

“Because fractions are foundational for later mathematical learning,” she said, “our goal is to build deep understanding in ways that reduce anxiety around ‘hard math’ and better prepare students for future concepts such as decimals, percentages and ratios.”

Using a quasi‑experimental design with treatment and waitlist‑control groups, the research team is already seeing encouraging outcomes, including statistically significant improvements in fraction concepts, fraction operations and fraction word problems among treatment students.

“These initial results are very encouraging,” Sanchez said, adding that results related to mathematical language development will be analyzed this summer.

Looking ahead

The project launched this spring, but faculty members hope to expand it in both scope and reach.

“We would very much like to continue the project in the fall,” Sanchez said. “Drs. Hinton, Burton and I plan to pursue external funding to expand the project to serve more students and partner with additional schools. Long‑term growth is a key goal.”

Reflecting on the experience, Sanchez emphasized the collective impact of the work.

“Drs. Hinton, Burton and I are extremely excited about this project; both for its impact on students and for the collaborative, interdisciplinary nature of the work,” she said. “It has been gratifying to see faculty, schools and undergraduate students come together around a shared goal of improving mathematics outcomes for children.”