Action Research Abstract

Will focusing on learning targets increase student achievement?

The purpose of my action research is to see if implementing learning targets the way that research suggests using them will increase student achievement. While I have not collected all of my data, my initial data suggests that student may be more aware of the connection between their actions and their learning. However, no conclusions can be drawn yet.

I focused on learning targets throughout the lesson in one of my two Algebra 2 classes by using quiz reflections and daily references to the learning targets. Students completed the quiz reflections and noted whether they understood the problems or needed to study the learning target. Students also noted if they had done and understood the homework assignment that was associated with the learning target.

I will compare the tests results of the two classes. Initially, my control group class generally scores higher than the group using learning targets, so some adjustments will have to be made to see if there is a statistically significant difference.

While I can not draw any formal conclusions yet, I do see students understanding the link between homework and their learning more in my learning target group. I anticipate no real difference in their scores, but hope to be proved wrong.

Algebra 2

I have been teaching Algebra 2 for 7 years now.  I love it.  It is my favorite class to teach because the content finally begins to be applied to real life.   This is where kids are really asked to think about Algebra.  Students who flew by with A's all their lives in math might finally see a B in Algebra 2 because it really becomes about the content and understanding it instead of just being able to perform skills.  I love Algebra 2...until recently, that is.

The state of MN now requires all students to take Algebra 2, or at least the content equivalent, in order to graduate.  I have always been a proponent of encouraging kids to take as much math as possible, but I am also realistic about the fact that there is a group of people who really don't need to be able to graph a quadratic function or solve a logarthmic equation.  It is just not essential to life.  These decisions are based on the fact that there is a link between the amount of math a student has and how successful they are in college and beyond.  As a statistics teacher, I also know that correlation does not prove causation.  We have to be realistic about the fact that there are lurking variables (like study skills, home life, and attitude) that impact a student's success.  But instead of recognizing this, we force our students into a one-size-fits-all everybody is equal box.

Not every student is cut out for Algebra 2.  My recent struggles with teaching my classes is evidence of this.  Instead of being filled with students who are electing to take the class and who have somewhat strong math skills, suddenly we have an influx of students whose math skills are incredibly low.  The course has become watered down and this students who would have been in the class anyway- the ones who like the challenge - find themselves bored and not getting the complete benefit of the course.  It is no longer a college prep class, but instead has become a basic math course.

So I ask now:  will these kids really be more successful in college and beyond if the class that was supposed to have been the cause of their success is now a watered down version of its former glory?  I question the reasoning behind requiring this course.  Not every student should be required to solve a rational equation in order to graduate.  I think we all have our strengths and we should allow students to find their own strengths instead of forcing them to be a mathematician.

My Action Research: Learning Targets

How will using learning targets in my classroom affect student achievement?  This is the focus for my action research.  I chose this partly because it is a big focus in my district and in my building.  We have spent the time and money to write these student friendly learning targets and I'd like to know if they really do make a difference.  So far the research I have found suggests that they do have a positive affect.

So here's my plan...I have 2 Algebra 2 classes this trimester.  I have taught them the first chapter in a very traditional way - without an emphasis on learning targets.  We still are required to put the targets on our tests and to post them in our rooms, so students are familiar with them.Starting Monday, I will be teaching the next chapter a little differently.  In my 1st period class, I plan to incorporate learning targets into every facet of my lessons.  I will discuss them with students and make them a part of my conversations with the class and with individual students.  In my 5th period class, I plan to go about teaching the way I have always taught.  I will do the same activities and have the same basic flow of the lessons.  The only difference will be the focus on the learning targets.  I plan to compare their results at the end of the chapter by looking at the test grades.  I will also use a subjective survey at the beginning and end to gauge their understanding of the learning targets. The questions I will use are these basic yes/no questions:

1)  I am aware of the learning targets for this class and know where to find them in the classroom.

2)  There are learning targets on my tests and quizzes.

3) I know what I am supposed to learn and what I need to do to be successful.

4)  My teacher explains what I need to do to receive full credit for my work

5)  I feel responsible for learning the material in this class.

It is my hope that I can determine if using learning targets correctly really will impact student learning in a positive way.  I think that any good teacher should always be looking for what will help students learn.  If this will help my students achieve more, I am excited to give it a try!

Spring Conference

In MN, you would hardly know it is spring.  There is at least a foot of snow out there and more to come.  Nevertheless, the St. Mary's Spring Conference is upon us and I get to pick 5 sessions that interest me.  These sessions are lead by 2nd year Masters Program students and highlight their work over the last two years.  I would actually be excited about attending the sessions except that I have a prior commitment for that day.  So instead, I am sad to say that I will miss several great sessions about topics that I think would truely be useful to me in my practice.

The sessions I picked center around technology, literacy, and engagement.  The first session I picked is about integrating technology (specifically iPads) into a health education class.  While my discipline is high school math, I think it would have been great to see how someone was able to use iPads in their class.  I also picked another session about using iPads in the classroom.  This particular session will be lead by an elementary teacher, so again, it is not my discipline, but it still would be great to see how someone integrated iPads and other technology into the classroom.

The other sessions I picked focus on student engagement, literacy, and staff morale.  An elementary teacher chose to use movement in her class to see the impact on student engagement.  She suggests that her students did show improvement and were more likely to be engaged during learning times.  I have used games and other activities in class and seen the positive effects of movement for high schoolers.

The fourth session I would have liked to attend regards staff morale and the impact on student achievement.  I think it is very true that staff morale has an affect on students.  I would be curious to hear the results of his research and to know how he improved the morale at his school.

The final session I picked is about incorporating literacy strategies into the math classroom.  I was excited to finally have a math-specific session!  Then I saw that it was an elementary classroom!  Foiled again!  In any case, I am sure there would be something useful there for me.  Afterall, if literacy is about understanding context and knowing how to answer a question, any strategy used in elementary school should be able to be used at the secondary level to some degree.

I truely wish I could attend these sessions.  It would have been wonderful to see the final results of someone's research - especially considering I will be doing this in about a year!

21st Century Learning

We, as teachers, definitely live in a technological world.  Most of us have students who know more about using technology than we do!  Using technology is a way to speak the language of our students.  It engages them and offers another way to learn and be a part of the classroom.

In my classroom, we are starting to offer podcast videos for students to watch when they are absent or need a little extra help.  Our special education department has used these videos when working with students who have learning disabilities as a way to provide another means for learning.  We also use websites, texting programs, and response clickers to communicate with our students.  

Education is a dynamic field, or at least it should be.  I feel as though our M.Ed. program at St. Mary's is all about finding a strategy that works for us and our students.  It might also be that multiple strategies work for us.  If 21st Century Learning is a way to help our students and we, as teachers, feel comfortable incorporating it into our classrooms, then we should try to do so.  This might mean learning about what resources are out there or learning how to use a new piece of technology.  It might also mean messing up a few times and learning from mistakes.  No changes happen overnight.  Perhaps little by little, I can begin to speak the language of my students if I am willing to learn and try new things.

Tech to Check?

Anyone who teaches at a public school understands the problem with grading 140+ students homework on a daily basis.  If you are like me, you probably collect it, maybe look it over, and give them credit for attempting their homework.  Personally, I feel like my homework scores are a bit inflated.  I justify this by only making homework 10% of their overall grade and constantly reminding them that their test grades will reflect their efforts.

But what if I could actually gauge their understanding on their homework?  What if I had an easy way to check for completion and understanding?  Hmmm...wouldn't that be something?

We have at our disposal a number of technological gadgets and gizmos that, to be honest, the students know more about than we do.  We have text messaging, google forms and docs, and student "clickers" that sit around collecting dust.  Why not take some time to enter the homework answers into a file where students can check their own homework?  Why, we could even just pick 2 or 3 problems to check.  What a concept!

In response to this epiphany, I would really like to try using technology in some way to force students to check their homework so that we can both see what they get and don't get in a very immediate way.  I don't know yet how it will be graded, but that's a detail that can easily be worked out.