Action Research Abstract

  -->This is my first draft of my abstract for the review of literature about my current action research in my masters programs.  

Implementing High-Level Cognitive Activities in Geometry

Calla Athman

Blaine High School, Blaine, MN

This action research is focused on implementing high-level cognitive activities in a geometry classroom.  These activities will be used to increase retention and understanding of geometry concepts.  Research was conducted about a general definition of critical thinking, methods of implementing high-level cognitive activities, and the difficulty of measuring a student's ability to think critically.  For three units in the geometry class, students were given problems in which they had to use high-level cognitive thinking skills.  Strategies for approaching challenging problems were modeled in the classroom.  They were given surveys prior to and following the units where emphasis was placed on critical thinking.  Data from test scores before the critical thinking activities was compared to test score data after implementing the activities.  This action research is currently in progress.  The pre-critical thinking survey has been given.  Students are in the second unit where high-level cognitive skills are being taught and data is being gathered regarding students proficiency in each critical thinking task.  At the end, a conclusion will be formulated showing if there was an increase of retention and understanding of geometry concepts because of the additional critical thinking activities that were implemented. 

Math

Tomorrow we are going to the spring conference for the MEd program.  We will be joining discussions and seminars given by second year MEd students about their Action Research in their classrooms.  We are going to be able to connect with teachers in our discipline from all across the state.  I am excited to talk to other teachers that teach the same subject that I do. 

It is interesting to find out how other teachers from other school teach specific topics within our curriculum.  All of us teach in Minnesota and all are using the Minnesota State Math Standards as the base for what we should be teaching.  Each of our students will take the MCA math test as a junior and our schools will be judged on that data.  But, we don't all teach the same way and it is nice to sit down and discuss how others do things. 

In my geometry class, the next chapter we cover will be surface area and volume.  It is interesting to get into a discussion about formulas and whether they should be given to the students or whether they should be memorized.  Our world is so different from 20 years ago and now students have so much information available to them through the internet.  When they go out to the real world, they will be able to look up anything that they need, so is it still important for us to make them memorize mathematical formulas? My opinion varies on the subject, I am ok with having my students memorize information, and then give smaller tests just on that memorization.  Then for the larger tests, I think we need to give students the formulas and then we test them on their ability to apply the formulas.  It is a subject that many different teachers have many different opinions on, and it is interesting to be able to talk to other teachers about their opinions. 

Action Research

My current action research project for the MEd program centers on critical thinking.  I would like to know if implementing critical thinking will increase my students retention and understanding of our geometry concepts.  I have researched and found many different opinions about what critical thinking actually is and found methods of implementing it into my classroom.

For my project, I am going to teach strategies on critical thinking and then give my students a higher-cognitive level question each day for one chapter.  I will then take data on how my students scored on the problems, a survey about their opinions on the benefits of critical thinking, and an analysis of their previous test scores compared to the current test scores.

On Monday we will be starting the chapter where we will implement the critical thinking.  So far, I have not had too many challenges with this topic, but I do have a few worries.  I am going to be adding something to my lesson plan each day and I want to give my students adequate time to think about the question, but also get in the lesson and practice that they need.  So, time management might be a problem and I may have to change things around if needed.  Also, when researching, many authors discussed the fact that it is difficult to assess a student's ability to think critically, so this may skew my data.  I am excited to get started with my implementation plan.  I'm sure the research won't go exactly as planned, but I am interested to see what happens and analyze the results.

In April, we will be attending St. Mary’s Spring Conference.  This is where 2^nd year master of ed students present their action research and conduct Socratic Seminars with other graduate students. 

            The first session that I will be attending is about physical vs. virtual manipulatives in the math classroom.  The research that they conducted shows that there are benefits to using manipulatives in the math classroom, but also addresses the problems such as time constraints and technology difficulties that can be a negative for these activities.  The data that the presenter collected is about how student’s knowledge of the concept grew and how they were motivated and engaged when doing the activities.  I think this session will be interesting to find out which virtual manipulatives were used and how they implemented them.  In my classroom, I would like to use more of these and enhance my students learning through their 21^st century skills.   

            The second session that I will be attending is about grading policies and how they support high quality learning.  The research that they have conducted is about how a grade needs to reflect exactly what a student knows.  Their answer to the grading problems is standards based grading along with weighting the grade with at least 80% summative assessment.  Part of the math department at Blaine is doing standards based grading and our Geometry team is thinking about implementing the practice.  I am interested in seeing this model and how it has been implemented at another school and the pros and cons they have encountered. 

            The third session that I will be attending is called encouraging participation from the reluctant participant.  The main concepts they focused on were communication, culture, and technology.  The data that they collected shows that with this change the majority of their class is on task in various ways that include both interactions with peers and using technological devices.  I am interested in the techniques used for implementing a cooperative style of learning and also the strategies used to make electronic devices useful in the classroom. 

            The fourth session that I will be attending is about using iPads to increase student engagement.  It is a study about how we can use this technology in the classroom, how it can save money on books, newspapers, and computers, and the professional development that is needed for teachers to implement this.  I currently have a teacher iPad and our engineering program is looking at buying iPads for student use if we find good applications and uses for them.  I am interested in how they used the apps that are described in their research and the benefits that student iPads can bring.  I think that this technology can be very beneficial to our students but we want to approach it with plan for implementation or it may cause more work than it is worth. 

            The fifth session that I will be attending is about how metacognitive practices can be used to improve critical thinking.  Their research is focused on giving students skills that can be used in any subject and into their future.  They collected data through journals that students used on “Critical Thinking Fridays.”  My current action research plan has to do with increasing student achievement through critical thinking.  I am interested in finding out how they set up the one day of critical thinking and what type of activities were implemented.  I like the focus on student-reflection of their own learning and studying how the students actually learn.  

21st Century Learning

We have been studying 21st Century Learning and how it can work in our classrooms.  One of the parts of this type of learning that I like most is how it provides our students with skills to move onto college and careers.  I really believe that my job consists of not only teaching my students math but also giving them collaboration and communication skills that they will use the rest of their life.  In my classroom I want to put my students in pressure situations and then give them the skills to cope.  I want them to fail at something, but then show them how to work and get help to rise to the challenge.  A student has to know how to function in the real world and we have to do all of these things to teach them how to succeed.  

The other aspect of 21 Century Learning that I would like to implement into my classroom more is the information, media, and technology skills.  Students have access to so many different types of technology, but they oftentimes don't have the skills to use them to their advantage.  I would like to give my students more strategies that involve using technology to their advantage if they are unsure about a mathematical concept.  I would also like to teach my students the responsibility of having a cell phone, iPad, video game, etc, and the ability to put them down when they need to complete a task.  

The biggest challenge to the implementation of 21st Century Learning is the challenge that is present in every teachers classroom.  We never seem to have enough time to accomplish everything that we want.  Taking time to do activities that will build communication skills will help in the long term student grade and putting more technology in a classroom will save me time, but the initial setup takes work.  I do think 21st Century Learning is possible in the classroom, but we need to think of ways to implement it creatively. 

For our action research in the masters of education program we are going to make a change in our classroom.  We are currently doing professional development in the math department at Blaine that has to do with critical thinking.  We have looked at the benefits of using higher order thinking in our curriculum.  The change that I would like to make is to implement critical thinking activities in my lessons.  I would like to put higher cognitive level problems on the homework and tests in which the students have to think in a different way to solve the problem and then explain their reasoning.

Welcome to my blog!!!

This is a blog that I am creating through my Masters of Teaching and Learning at Saint Mary's University.  I am currently in my first year of the MEd program and teach math and engineering at Blaine High School.