As my action research progressed there came a point where I assumed that I would see a certain result. I predicted that at the end of my research project I would see a decline in the average level of math anxiety that my students experienced but that I would also see a stagnation or slight decline in their average math performance scores. There were a variety of reasons that led me to believe student capacity to perform mathematically wouldn’t increase, including: the increasing difficulty of the material being covered and the students losing interest in certain teacher based interventions toward the end of the research. After surveying the students and having them choose the most effective teacher led interventions for reducing their feelings of math anxiety I learned that students were essentially choosing interventions that provided them increased review and (because they felt that my instruction was clear) direct interaction with the instructor. Looking at the bigger picture of reducing math anxiety and increasing student capacity I concluded that students are not able to perform on assessments because the methods we use for review are largely ineffective in actually preparing them.
Seeing students largely select the same teacher led interventions: guided notes with every lecture, practice unit tests with answer keys and teacher clarity and interaction with students, it became more apparent that students are simply looking for clear, mindful instruction with intentional review elements that reflect the material they will be tested on. Keeping with the theme of reducing math anxiety in students and increasing their capacity to perform mathematics I believe that I want to refine my teacher led interventions, integrating technology like interactive video editors (EDpuzzle) and online note taking templates to create supports for student review. I will absolutely need to do more research into effective ways to unite technology and the teacher led interventions that I identify as effective. I hope that I will be able to find already existing apps that track student response and collect data so that I can more easily measure effectiveness. Based on what I have already learned in the Innovative ED program I will need to expand on my tech tool box, determining the best additions for my practice. I believe that my research is innovative because it causes me to be reflective on the interventions that I implement in my classroom. I assess how effective certain interventions are at reducing math anxiety and increasing capacity for all students. I will have to be creative in how I reach all students, integrating technology to create interactive experiences but also making those experiences just as authentic for those with limited technology. Math anxiety is a debilitating and pervasive force in education and if this issue is not addressed there are many adverse effects to both our domestic and international community. At the root of my research is the desire to see students look forward to learning math. I will have to be collaborative in working with students and other teaching staff, identifying needs, then identifying ways to satisfy those needs. As rote as learning procedure and taking notes is, innovating those processes could make a huge impact on the global math community.
4 Comments
Julie Lovie
2/3/2019 06:04:06 pm
Brandon you work is very important we must increase math achievement! I agree with you there are so many factors affecting our students and anxiety is a huge one. The relationship with the teacher is huge and base on what my students have shared you connect very well with your students. This is my wonder can something be created to help all teacher help their students reduce their anxiety? Do all math teachers recognize this is a problem. You have a very important project Brandon.
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Jona Sandau
2/3/2019 06:55:23 pm
Brandon, your research is so interesting to me. Anxiety affects so many, and merely the attention being brought to the fact that it negatively affects academic performance is wonderful. It's great that you were able to pull apart some of the factors that could be affecting your results, such as the increasing complexity of the material being covered and the effectiveness of interventions. I am really looking forward to hearing about the modifications you will make to your interventions and how they will affect your students' performance on assessments!
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2/3/2019 10:57:13 pm
HI Brandon
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JP
2/5/2019 10:24:28 pm
I too appreciate that you are pursuing research around math anxiety. To this day there are aspects of math that stress me out, yet at the same time - whenever at all possible, I pay with exact change down to the last penny! What I find most intimidating is the more advanced problems - like stuff we would never really use on a daily basis. It is cool that you are open to adding to your set of tools to use in your class to help students.
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