Capstone Project
What was implemented?
During this study, I implemented writing in math. Writing in math is when students write their answer to a math question. This can be in the form of exit tickets or math journals. Students wrote to explore, reflect, explain, argue, or describe the answer. I chose to implement writing in math because research has shown that it increases student’s understanding of math concepts, allows students to use problem solving skills, and allows all students to have a voice about their ideas.
How was it implemented?
Due to my research, I implemented writing in a math journal two or three times a week. In addition to journals, I taught my math instruction as normal with differentiating strategies such as homogeneous grouping. Students wrote about math during their independent time by posing a math question. Before students were expected to write independently, I taught them how to write in math journals and showed examples. After showing them four times, students got to work with partners to practice how to write in the math journals. Students then were expected to write independently. During the study students received support in many different ways. All students had a sentence starter handout glued to the front of their math journal. This was to help students start the writing process. Each student chose whether they used the sentence starters or not. Another support was given to students who struggled with math and were below grade level. Students had the opportunity to verbally explain their answers to me or record it on camera instead of writing. Students were exposed to writing about math with many different purposes including to explain, describe, argue, and reflect. l created homogeneous grouping and targeted instruction after reviewing their writing entries. I targeted instruction by clarifying misconceptions or providing more challenging experiences. Writing in math was best for my students because of their learning needs in math.
When was it implemented?
This study was implemented from January 28 to March 13, 2019. Everyday students received fifteen minutes of classroom instruction on the skill they were learning that day. Then they were split up into small groups to practice the skill with guidance from me. The students that were not meeting with the me, were in small group practicing the desired skill in varied activities. These activities included task-cards, a worksheet, or an educational video. During the end of the lesson, I posed a math question and students would write in their math journals to answer the math question.
Why was this strategy chosen?
According to my Fall 2018 MAP math data, 56% of my class was below grade level. This was a concern that I needed to give my students required additional instruction in math. My students completed an attitude survey where they expressed how they felt about math. (Many of the students reported that they thought “math was boring” in their response to the survey). Writing in math was the solution for this problem because students were more engaged with the process. Writing in math also helped my students develop a deep understanding of math which improved their math scores.
Fostering Diverse Learning Needs and Creating an Equitable Learning Environment
My study fostered equity in my classroom because all students were writing about their ideas in math. This fostered equity because all students were able to participate instead of the teacher just asking questions and having one student at a time provide the answer. In addition, it fostered equity because I adjusted instruction based on how my students were writing in math. For example, each student had a sentence starter handout glued to the front of their math journals to help start the writing. Students had a choice as to whether they wanted to use sentence starters to help them write. Students who struggled with writing were given opportunity to record their responses, instead of writing. Some students who were below grade level were able to explain their ideas by verbally telling it to me or recording it on a camera. These students responded to a differentiated question that was on their math level. This fostered equity because all students had a way of showing me their understanding based on their academic needs.
My study fostered accessibility because I adjusted my instruction for my students after reading their writing entries. I was able to know if I needed to provide additional instruction, move on, or use extension activities after reading these entries. I grouped my students into homogeneous skill groups based on the previous day’s writing. I was able to reach each student’s level of the math skill by teaching them in homogeneous skill groups during math.
Collaboration
Multiple Perspectives
My study supported multiple perspectives because each student shared their ideas in their math journals. The questions students responded had more than one answer. Each response was valued as long as students elaborated their answer. For example, students were asked to reflect on a strategy they used in math, students had different answers of reflection. These differences in answers were valued and provided me a different perspective in how they performed in math. Students' perspectives were valued because they shared their individual ideas about math in their journals. The student and the teacher were the only ones that read the math journal entries so students were more likely to share their ideas in their journals. Writing in math allowed students to share their ideas while still respecting their privacy. Students' were honest with their answers in their math journals because of this privacy.
My internal stakeholders have supported my study because they helped me differentiate instruction for my students. One of my internal stakeholders was a 4th grade teacher at my school. She helped determine what writing prompts I could use during my study. This was important because it helped me know what questions were appropriate for writing in the math journals. This helped students’ learning because it engaged them in deeper understanding. I have collaborated with my speech pathologist and special education teacher to adjust instruction for students who struggled in math and were below grade level. They helped me differentiate for my two specific students who received special education services and were significantly below grade level. They also helped differentiate instruction by including sentence starters and varying the way two specific students presented their ideas. This helped student learning because it gave support to each student during the study.
My external stakeholders have supported my study because they have helped me process the management of the study. My CADRE associate helped me with this study by providing additional information for what students would need before the study. This included introducing students into the process slowly. For example, students needed to see teacher examples and work with partners on the writing before doing it independently. Another external stakeholder that helped me was a CADRE teacher in the same district but taught the same grade as me in a different school. This CADRE teacher helped me with what curriculum I would be teaching my students in math. These external stakeholders helped student learning because it helped them ease into the writing process and helped me deliver the curriculum effectively. My last external stakeholder was the 4th grade teacher I interviewed in my literature review. She helped the study by providing ideas for time management of math journals and planning for the questions I would ask the students. She helped me understand that there is only time for writing in math two or three times a week. This individual helped with student learning because the delivery of math journals was more organized for students.