How Research Shaped the LEAP Curriculum for Early Algebra

How Research Shaped the LEAP Curriculum for Early Algebra 

As seen in EdWeek 

The LEAP Curriculum, created by TERC and sold by Didax, was recently featured in an article in EducationWeek. The article explores how early algebraic thinking develops in young children and highlighted the research behind Project LEAP. What follows is a summary of that piece along with key program insights from the LEAP authors. 

For many years, algebra has been viewed as a middle school milestone, a moment when students suddenly transition from working with numbers to working with letters. Yet research from TERC and its university partners shows that the thinking behind algebra begins much earlier. This insight became the foundation for Project LEAP, a multi-year study dedicated to understanding how young children build the ideas that prepare them for success in later algebra. The LEAP Curriculum grew directly out of this body of research, bringing early algebraic thinking into classrooms in developmentally appropriate and meaningful ways. 

The Early Questions Behind Project LEAP 

Project LEAP began with a simple but powerful question: Can elementary-age children genuinely think algebraically, and if so, what supports do they need? Traditional math instruction in the early grades is centered on arithmetic. Students spend years mastering addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. While these skills are essential, many students reach later grades without the deeper conceptual understanding that allows them to interpret relationships, notice structure, and generalize patterns. These capacities are at the heart of algebra. 

Researchers at TERC noticed that the disconnect between arithmetic and algebra often stemmed from missed conceptual opportunities in the early years. For example, large numbers of students misunderstand the meaning of the equals sign, believing it signals that “the answer comes next” rather than recognizing it as a relational symbol. Others struggle to see patterns in even and odd numbers or explain why certain numerical relationships work. These are small moments in early math instruction, yet they build the foundation for reasoning about variables and expressions later on. 

Recognizing these gaps, Project LEAP set out to explore what algebraic thinking looks like for children in kindergarten through grade five, and how educators could support it in ways that felt natural and connected to their existing math instruction. 

What the Research Revealed 

Through years of classroom studies, the Project LEAP team identified four key practices that shape early algebraic thinking: generalizing, representing, justifying, and reasoning about structure. These practices do not require formal algebraic notation. Instead, they involve helping students recognize common patterns, describe how quantities relate, and use multiple representations to support or explain their thinking. 

In the upper elementary grades, the research showed strong results. Students in grades three through five who participated in Project LEAP demonstrated significant gains in algebra knowledge and reasoning skills. Even more compelling, these gains persisted into sixth grade, suggesting that the learning experiences were building lasting understanding rather than short-term procedural skill. 

This data raised an important next question. If elementary students benefit from algebraic thinking experiences, what might be possible if these ideas began in kindergarten? This led researchers to expand Project LEAP into the primary grades and ultimately helped shape the development of a full K-5 curriculum grounded in these findings. 

From Research to Curriculum 

The LEAP Curriculum was designed to bring the practices identified through Project LEAP into real classrooms. Each grade level includes a series of lessons that follow a consistent progression from concrete to visual to more abstract representations. Students use manipulatives, drawings, number sentences, and verbal explanations to explore ideas such as equality, patterning, functional relationships, and the behavior of even and odd numbers. 

The curriculum intentionally echoes the LEAP research: lessons focus on how students think, not simply what they can compute. Students are encouraged to notice patterns, explain why something works, and make general statements from specific examples. For example, by representing odd numbers with cubes, students can see why two odd numbers always sum to an even number. They are not memorizing a rule. They are discovering and justifying it. 

A key component of the curriculum design is its emphasis on discourse. From the earliest grades, students are invited to explain their reasoning and respond to one another's ideas. This practice supports the development of metacognition, argumentation, and mathematical communication. 

Evidence That Continues to Grow 

The work of Project LEAP is ongoing. A new National Science Foundation funded study is now following classrooms in kindergarten through grade two as they implement the LEAP Curriculum. Researchers are documenting how children develop relational understanding, how teachers support these conversations, and how these early ideas connect to later algebraic thinking. 

Early signs show promise. Teachers report that young learners grasp key concepts more readily than expected. For example, understanding that 8 equals 8 may seem trivial to adults, but many early grade students need opportunities to explore equality as a relationship. With the LEAP Curriculum, these ideas become concrete, visual, and accessible. 

A Strong Beginning for Algebra Success 

The LEAP Curriculum is the product of years of rigorous research and classroom testing. It brings together the insights of mathematicians, learning scientists, and classroom teachers and offers a structured path toward building algebraic thinking from the earliest grades. By strengthening conceptual foundations through engaging and developmentally appropriate lessons, LEAP helps students enter later mathematics with confidence and understanding. 

Blanton, Maria and Angela Murphy Gardiner. “Developing an Effective Curriculum for Early Algebra.” TERC Blog, 15 Sept. 2022, https://blog.terc.edu/developing-an-effective-curriculum-for-early-algebra. Accessed 21 Nov. 2025. 

Schwartz, Sarah. “Can Kindergarten Math Lay the Foundation for Algebra? New Study Aims to Find Out.” Education Week, 09 Oct. 2024, https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/can-kindergarten-math-lay-the-foundation-for-algebra-new-study-aims-to-find-out/2024/10. Accessed 21 Nov. 2025.