Papers by Aarnout Brombacher
New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 2017
This article examines the effects of two early grade reading interventions in two Arabic-speaking... more This article examines the effects of two early grade reading interventions in two Arabic-speaking contexts (Egypt and Jordan), developed in partnership with ministries of education. The interventions relied on similar research bases for improving reading instruction in Arabic. In Egypt, the results of a 166-school pilot led to the national scale-up of the Early Grade Reading Program for more than 4 million children in grades 1-3. Informed by Egypt's experience, a demonstration effort in 43 schools led to a national rollout in Jordan's 2,651 public primary schools and the creation of a remediation program. We reflect on the conditions that influenced the pilot and scale-up outcomes given the commitments made to "inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong learning opportunities for all" under the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Many students around the world are exposed to a rote teaching style in mathematics that emphasize... more Many students around the world are exposed to a rote teaching style in mathematics that emphasizes memorization of procedures. Students are frequently presented with standard types of equations in their textbooks, in which the equal sign is immediately preceding the answer (a + b = c). This exposure can lead to many misconceptions, such as thinking that the equal sign means “do something” or “the answer is.” This paper describes students’ understanding of the equal sign when solving nonstandard equations in Jordan on the Early Grade Mathematics Assessment (EGMA) and in India on a number sense screener. Common misconceptions are shared, as well as strategies for improving instruction with the equal sign and non-standard equations to prevent future errors.
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Papers by Aarnout Brombacher