Capstone Project
History
My capstone project was conducted during the school year of 2018-2019. This study was focused on my class of 19 students. I taught fourth grade at a suburban elementary school in Bellevue, Nebraska. My school had a total of 362 students according to the Nebraska Department of Education in 2017-2018 where 61.05% of students qualified for free or reduced lunch and approximately 42% of students were considered minorities. In my classroom of 19 students, two students were English Language Learners, and five students received special education services. I had a very diverse classroom due to the varied needs and abilities of students. Some of the culturally responsive strategies I utilized in my classroom were working in small groups, using visuals, working one on one with students, and including choice of how students showed their learning. For example, in math, writing, and reading I had students in a small group and read the text to them in order for them to understand. There were visuals throughout the classroom for all students and I gave students the choice in whether they wrote or drew when doing assignments. I adjusted my teaching strategies based on feedback received from students, both in a group and individually.
Need
The data collected from my students showed a need for improvement in math. The Measurement of Academic Progress (MAP) is a computerized test given twice a year to communicate achievement and growth of each student. The MAP places students into four categories: low percentile, low average percentile, average percentile and high percentile.
According to my Fall 2018 MAP math class report for my students:
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31% were in low percentile
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25% were in low average percentile
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31% were in average percentile
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13% were in high percentile
To summarize, 56% of my class was academically below average for their grade level and only 44% were academically at grade level or above. This showed that my students needed a research-based strategy that would help them progress in math. The behaviors I observed during math were avoidance behaviors such as asking to go to the bathroom or nurse, and frustration behaviors such as refusing to do problems. My formative assessments included exit tickets and worksheets that have shown a need for improvement of the students' math skills. While the class worked on their worksheets, students who struggled met with me so I could reinforce the math skills taught that day. I met with the same students 4 out of 5 days on average to help them with the math skills.
Importance
The importance of this study was that it allowed me to see what students knew while giving them the chance to think deeply about math concepts. This study allowed me to make instructional decisions based on students' writing to evaluate whether each student completely understood the content. By knowing what students understood with clear evidence, I was able to adjust learning for them and provide challenging, thought-provoking math questions as well as strategies to teach students who needed it. I was responsible for challenging each student at their ability level due to the classroom's diversity. During the implementation of writing into math, I learned where my students were at and used resources to improve my teaching of math. From this study, I hoped my students would gain a concrete understanding of math and deepen their level of knowledge.
Literature Review Introduction
In the trend of education, there were many standards to teach students in order for them to excel to the next grade level. The standards ranged from basic thinking such as identifying, drawing, and recalling. Other standards focused on higher level thinking such as drawing conclusions, hypothesizing, and developing a logical argument. Specifically, there has been research behind students explaining their answer in math. Martin and Polly (2016) confirmed higher level thinking was important, “The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics’ (NCTM) process standards of problem solving, reasoning, proof, communication, representation, and connections”.
I taught fourth grade at a suburban school in Bellevue, Nebraska, where I was responsible for teaching these standards, whether they were basic thinking or higher level thinking. Some students could meet the standards at higher level thinking while other students struggled with meeting the same standard. The purpose of this study was to determine whether writing in math would increase student achievement.
I decided to focus on implementing writing in math because of the benefits it had on the higher order thinking skills. Martin and Polly (2016) summarized, “The research supports combining writing instruction and mathematics education to strengthen students’ understanding of content.” I had also found a need in my classroom to improve in math. Much of my qualitative and quantitative data had made it clear my students needed explicit instruction in math. The Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) was a computerized test given twice a year to communicate achievement and growth of each student. According to my Fall 2018 MAP math class report, 56% of my class was below grade level. I reviewed the literature behind this strategy to understand the benefits, the process, and the challenges of writing in math. The literature review section was organized thematically: concrete understanding of content, problem solving, types of writing in math, writing strategies, and math journals.