What Did I Learn Because of Action Research:
Through my action research experience, I learned that addressing the learning needs of students is not an easy task, but accounting for these needs is crucial for supporting students as they continually work toward succeeding and learning. I was able to research best practice strategies that were appropriate for the diverse levels of development and determine what would work best for my third grade students. My experience led me to communicate with individuals both within and outside of my building to help me devise various activities to accommodate all of the diverse learning needs of my students. I became a part of a professional network as I collaborated with CADRE associates, the HALE instructor at my building, and teachers at the third grade level as well as different grade level teachers within the district. My research and collaboration experiences enabled me to differentiate instruction from the struggling students to the students having difficulty with one skill or concept, to those who were advancing quickly through the material and needed new challenges.
As a professional, I learned the importance of being open-minded in teaching and sharing ideas with colleagues. I have found that it is an essential skill in the classroom to take risks and be willing to try new strategies. With such a proactive approach, I have learned how to implement best practices to help students be successful, as well as foster authentic relationships with colleagues and the community. Professionally, the action research encouraged me to implement new programs to help guide students to reaching their full potential. My experience with the action research has not only proven to be an effective way to teach math instruction, but has led me toward the best practices for meeting the individual needs of all students. I have learned what methods will work, and I have also learned that not every method will work for every student. Moving forward, I know that each group of students I will be working with in the future will be unique, but I plan to use my knowledge gained from the action research to seek what strategies will best fit each of their needs.
As a professional, I learned the importance of being open-minded in teaching and sharing ideas with colleagues. I have found that it is an essential skill in the classroom to take risks and be willing to try new strategies. With such a proactive approach, I have learned how to implement best practices to help students be successful, as well as foster authentic relationships with colleagues and the community. Professionally, the action research encouraged me to implement new programs to help guide students to reaching their full potential. My experience with the action research has not only proven to be an effective way to teach math instruction, but has led me toward the best practices for meeting the individual needs of all students. I have learned what methods will work, and I have also learned that not every method will work for every student. Moving forward, I know that each group of students I will be working with in the future will be unique, but I plan to use my knowledge gained from the action research to seek what strategies will best fit each of their needs.
How Did Research Impact Learning:
When reflecting on my class’s fall Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) scores, I realized how diverse my third grade learners’ needs are. The range of my students’ fall MAP results was from below-average to above-average scores. Math Workshop allowed students of different developmental levels to construct knowledge appropriate to their abilities. As a result of my literature review, research demonstrated that differentiated instruction is the most effective teaching strategy to improve student achievement. The implementation of the Math Workshop model is a student-centered environment where personalized learning is key. Math Workshop is a framework that allows students to learn new concepts each day, practice math strategies in various ways, and reflect on learning.
In addition, my students completed a student disposition survey which informed me that some of my students were not excited about math. Information gathered from students’ dispositions, along with my observations during math instruction, revealed the need of differentiation to increase student excitement and engagement. To do so, choice was a key element for differentiating instruction. For students to be actively involved in math, they made choices about the materials and methods they used. In order for students to construct their own knowledge at their own developmental readiness and experiences, they must choose work that is more or less challenging. Choice allowed each student to take on an appropriately challenging task and required them to take responsibility for their own learning. Students benefited from choice, both as a motivator and as a mechanism to ensure that students were working at an optimal level of understanding and development.
In addition, my students completed a student disposition survey which informed me that some of my students were not excited about math. Information gathered from students’ dispositions, along with my observations during math instruction, revealed the need of differentiation to increase student excitement and engagement. To do so, choice was a key element for differentiating instruction. For students to be actively involved in math, they made choices about the materials and methods they used. In order for students to construct their own knowledge at their own developmental readiness and experiences, they must choose work that is more or less challenging. Choice allowed each student to take on an appropriately challenging task and required them to take responsibility for their own learning. Students benefited from choice, both as a motivator and as a mechanism to ensure that students were working at an optimal level of understanding and development.
How Did Research Impact My Teaching:
Through peer reviewed research and participation in a collaborative community, my study impacted my teaching as I learned how to positively impact student learning through culturally responsive practices. My study included multiple perspectives related to teaching and learning in the way it was structured to reach all of the 21 learners in my classroom. I differentiated through the Math Workshop model by adjusting my instruction and the delivery of the instruction to create the best learning experience for each child. It was important that I learned and considered the different learning styles of each student when differentiating. Not everyone learns with a single instructional technique. My action research project taught me that students actually learn best through various styles such as visual, auditory, linguistic, kinesthetic, interpersonal, and intrapersonal. As a result, my study included differentiation by how the lesson was taught – the actual “vehicle.” I took into account learning styles for students when differentiating by process. I used interactive notebooks for visual and kinetic learners, and songs and chants for auditory learners. To build a stronger understanding of student strengths and weaknesses, I conducted student interviews to see which strategies and materials helped my students when learning math concepts. I used the information gathered from student interviews when conducting my study. For example, a couple of students said they learn best when manipulatives such as fraction strips are available. As a result, when working with those specific students, I made sure fraction strips were readily on hand. In addition, some students said games they played with a partner helped them better understand concepts because they liked having the opportunity to discuss mathematics with peers. Not only did I begin to increase partner work within my action research project, I also began to gamify some activities that were involved in Math Workshop to consistently diversify content and its delivery, appealing to different learning styles. Because of research and student interviews, I was able to keep what each student said to identify themes and different preferences so that I could relate content to their interests and deliver lessons that appealed to shared strengths.
What Impact Will Research Have on Future Teaching:
In the future, I would like to continue to implement the Math Workshop model into my math instruction. Through research and data collection, I have determined that the Math Workshop is the best way to meet all students’ needs, at their appropriate level, each day. Next year, I would like to implement the Math Workshop immediately at the beginning of the school year as it has proven to be effective for all students within my classroom. After reflecting on my students’ growth from my 7 week study, I am confident that their growth would increase even more if I were to implement the Math Workshop throughout the entire school year.
The action research implemented within my classroom was successful, and I intend on keeping certain elements the same in order to increase student growth in mathematics. An aspect of the Math Workshop I plan on utilizing again is the Xtra Math program. It served as an effective tool to improve computation fluency. I have found how important it is for students to develop proficiency in basic computation such as addition, subtraction, and multiplication in order to be successful in mathematics. Research has acknowledged that mathematical proficiency is not a one-dimensional trait, therefore, computation fluency is essential in the development of proficiency in mathematics as it is interwoven and interdependent with other mathematical concepts.
I also believe the math game station played an important role in the positive effect the Math Workshop had on student growth throughout my study. I was able to foster an equitable and accessible learning environment through the Math Workshop model, especially at the game station, as my action plan encouraged my students to embrace peer teaching. I found there were times when I did not pick up on some student vocabulary and communal practices, so I used peer teaching exercises to fill such gaps. For example, students were able to work through math problems together to reason and think critically through discussing and rationalizing concepts in their own words. My study allowed students to regularly learn and process content together. The students focused on supporting each other while striving to meet learning goals in the duration of the study. Although data and feedback from the students demonstrated the positive effects of the Math Workshop, an aspect I plan on changing in the future is to implement more subtraction games. While reflecting on my action research project, I realized that a majority of the games I created for the game station involved the concepts of addition and multiplication. As a result, when comparing my students’ math computation assessment scores from the end of the second quarter to the end of the third quarter, I noticed that their addition and multiplication assessment scores increased more than they did on their subtraction assessment. Such information has encouraged me to create more games and activities involving subtraction in the future.
The action research implemented within my classroom was successful, and I intend on keeping certain elements the same in order to increase student growth in mathematics. An aspect of the Math Workshop I plan on utilizing again is the Xtra Math program. It served as an effective tool to improve computation fluency. I have found how important it is for students to develop proficiency in basic computation such as addition, subtraction, and multiplication in order to be successful in mathematics. Research has acknowledged that mathematical proficiency is not a one-dimensional trait, therefore, computation fluency is essential in the development of proficiency in mathematics as it is interwoven and interdependent with other mathematical concepts.
I also believe the math game station played an important role in the positive effect the Math Workshop had on student growth throughout my study. I was able to foster an equitable and accessible learning environment through the Math Workshop model, especially at the game station, as my action plan encouraged my students to embrace peer teaching. I found there were times when I did not pick up on some student vocabulary and communal practices, so I used peer teaching exercises to fill such gaps. For example, students were able to work through math problems together to reason and think critically through discussing and rationalizing concepts in their own words. My study allowed students to regularly learn and process content together. The students focused on supporting each other while striving to meet learning goals in the duration of the study. Although data and feedback from the students demonstrated the positive effects of the Math Workshop, an aspect I plan on changing in the future is to implement more subtraction games. While reflecting on my action research project, I realized that a majority of the games I created for the game station involved the concepts of addition and multiplication. As a result, when comparing my students’ math computation assessment scores from the end of the second quarter to the end of the third quarter, I noticed that their addition and multiplication assessment scores increased more than they did on their subtraction assessment. Such information has encouraged me to create more games and activities involving subtraction in the future.
What Role Did Collaboration with Other Professionals Play in Action Research:
Overall, my Capstone experience has made me realize the importance of meaningful and purposeful instruction. My knowledge gained through coursework as well as seminars has prepared me for teaching diverse learners and adapting my curriculum for those learners. Through my action research I came to the realization that all students are different and must be taught according to their unique needs and abilities. However, I firmly believe as a teacher that all my students are capable of learning at high levels and it is my job to hold high expectations for each individual. As I researched best practices to meet the diverse needs of my students, I found the importance of professional collaboration and support. Not only did I benefit from support given by other professionals competent in the education field, but by extension, my students benefited as well. Teacher collaboration throughout my study was guided by a common focus: to promote collegial dialogue focused on student data as a means of improving teacher practice and student learning. As a result of my data collection, I observed the positive impact professional collaboration on student learning and outcomes. Collaboration occurred in various ways throughout my study. Assessing curricula at a grade level meeting, shared planning time, mentoring, and peer coaching are just a few examples of when I was part of a professional network. I have learned that being a member of a collaborative community can do so much to foster not just a greater sense of teamwork, but in turn, can increase student engagement and performance from the sharing of best practices. Moving forward, I will continue to seek opportunities to work with effective colleagues to improve my own teaching effectiveness and positively impact student learning.