In journaling about my own teaching practice I have gathered questions resulting from natural curiosities and desires I have in relation to helping students in and around my classroom develop a greater passion for math. Here are the questions I have gathered:
I believe that these questions, once developed into a guiding framework for research, could lead me to many interesting discoveries. In order to truly attempt to answer the questions above I will need to look deeper into each issue and know the following: 1. How does group work help my students learn material? How do students learn to function in groups so that they are effective? What is the primary function of having students work in groups; is it to learn math content, to practice math content, or to connect the real word with math content? 2. What issues are preventing my students from building confidence in their math ability? What previous trauma may have occurred around math instruction to give them such negative feeling about math? What instructional practices can not only teach content but address the whole student? Is it necessary for my students to like math in order to be good at it? 3. What alternative forms of assessment exist that are common in other math classrooms? Can I use the same alternative assessment on students despite their different levels and learning styles? How will I be able to accurately measure students growth using alternative summative assessments? Based on my experience in the classroom and research that I have done I can say that I know: 1. My students usually take group work as an opportunity to be social instead of an opportunity for learning with/from their peers. Some students loath group work and can produce much more quality work when not restricted by their peers. Group work does not fit naturally with my current instructional practice, classroom set up and classroom norms. 2. Most of my students who are repeating math 1 report that they have some form of math trauma and that they have experienced high levels of anxiety in spaces where they are required to do math. I have been very sucessful in helping students to pass math 1 their second time through the program by using CRSH (Culturally responsive, sustaining and humanizing) practices. 3. Students report that testing, even testing when they feel prepared, causes them anxiety. Alternative forms of assessment are usually tailored to individual students to allow them to demonstrate their understanding. It will be exciting to see how my research question develops over the course of this semester!
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Brandon DeJesusMath Archives
July 2019
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