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Blood Inspiration Blood Home Learn More Standards Inspiration About the Author Evolution of Research Summary Goals For the Research Introduction to the Research
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Inspirations from Teachers and Students
What inspired me? A child’s large brown eyes looked up at me and a proud smile declared, “I added because I wanted the correct answer!” This statement echoes in my ears, the statement that has had me hitting my head against the wall for more years than I am proud. I decided to embark on a journey that would focus on why my students were unable to solve math word problems. Students in my class have pair-shared and discussed in small groups, a 5-step math word problem solution process unsuccessfully for a very long time. But monologues not dialogues occurred, and they looked at the numbers in the problem and played roulette with the operations instead of using the math solution process I provided .
What to do? My first mission was to create a driving question: What Effects Does Collaboration Have on Students' Ability to Solve Math Word Problems? and to glean ideas from current research to support my lessons. Roles and rules in group participation, helped students successfully complete posters for math talks However, the students did not make significant improvement on individualized exams. One of the articles I read was about the importance of teachers using “wh” questions to support critical thinking. Through this query, I discovered the students really struggled with translating the problem into comprehensible text. This along with my reflections of the SITE Model: Interweaving threads of connections between learner and three sub-contexts: Sociocultural , Informational, and Technical, against the larger Educational Context promoted more student-centered conversations and resulted in surveys and reflections: What prior experiences did my students have with math word problems? What plans did they use? What skills and background knowledge would they need? and What pathways could I provide to support them? My driving question evolved: What Effects Does Collaboration and the Use of Technology Have on Students' Ability to Solve Math Word Problems? By adding technology and supporting the student finding the question within the problem and rephrasing it as a statement. Students were then able to identify what information was needed to solve the problem, this allowed the student an entry point. But many students had difficulty with this step. Because students enjoy animation, gaming, and making their own videos, technology afforded me the ability to add a new aspect to my lessons and engage my students in a modality they preferred, as well as provide repeatable lessons at a pace more amenable to all. After adding teacher supported interactive video lessons I was surprised by my students progress. Details and resources for my journey are on the research page. Evolution of Research Summary:
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Research
Narration of Next Steps, Timeline of Action Steps, Literature Reviews, Action Research Paper
Design Process
Support and Next Steps
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This study examines the effect collaboration has on third grade students' ability to solve math problems. In the state of California, less than 13 percent of graduating third graders can think logically and express their thoughts in order to solve a math word problem (California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP, 2017). Research sustains using project based learning (PBL) as a vehicle to support collaboration, to close the achievement gap (Hixson, Ravitz, & Whisman, 2012). It also recommends the use of decentralized group discussion, to aid comprehension, as it is an active and constructive process (Peterson, 2016). This study explores third grade student collaboration to solve a California Common Core aligned two-step math problem using Guided Language Acquisition Design (Be GLAD) strategies and a mathematical process method.