Introduction:

             The many teachers I had encountered from elementary school through high school helped shape who I have become as a teacher.  Of course I remember the really strong teachers, those that I have always admired and aspired to be like, and I still remember those who have taught me what I do not want to mimic as a teacher.  Although most years of my schooling took place in alternative, hands-on, non-traditional schools, the ways teachers taught math always seemed to share some commonalities. Tracking was not a common practice, except in math. In all classes we learned through projects and cooperative teams, except for math. We rarely used textbooks as a primary resource, except for math. I always loved learning math, but recognized that math was often taught differently than other subjects. When I decided I wanted to teach math, I realized that I wanted my students to explore and discover the beauty of mathematics in a “non-traditional” way.  I knew that although I always “got it” many others around me were slipping through the cracks. I never want my students to feel like they are slipping through the cracks.

            I have always acknowledged that in order for all students to learn and understand math, it is essential for them to be involved and engaged in the learning process. This is something that I continue to struggle with daily in my teaching practice. I am constantly planning my lessons while thinking about how I can involve and engage my students in every part of the lesson. I began to become more aware of a pattern occurring this year in my classroom. Students that naturally love math, often the more proficient and confident math students, seem to always be enthusiastic about the math they are exploring, no matter what the lesson entails; students who lack confidence in math and for some reason have always disliked math, tend to “tune out” in class, causing them to slip further and further behind. These students often show signs of feeling overwhelmed and anxious about learning math. One of my primary goals in teaching is to shift these students’ attitudes about math, giving them more self confidence and showing them that math can be fun, playful and exciting all at the same time. I do not want any of my students to be anxious or scared by math.

            Transforming student attitudes about math begins from day one of the school year. At the beginning of each year, students write me letters about themselves, ways they learn best and their feelings towards math. While reading these letters in the Fall of 2008, I realized just how many students begin my class already scared and anxious about learning math. I always let my students know that although I expect them to work hard and try their very best in my class, I also want them to have fun with math. I want my classroom to not only be rigorous, but also to be a playful place where all students can feel comfortable and look forward to being a part of. A few months later, after the first progress report grading period, I gave my students a teacher and class report card. I wanted to get feedback from my students on how they felt the class was going and ways that I could make their experience learning math even better. Although the curriculum that Keiller Leadership Academy has adopted called CPM (College Preparatory Mathematics) includes many different hands-on exploratory lessons, the majority of my students all said that they love playing math games and wanted me to plan more games for them in class. This is what initially sparked my interests in creating a curriculum that integrated more math games. I originally wondered if these playful experiences could help reduce student anxiety about math and help increase student engagement, therefore increasing student achievement as well. Children like to play, thus it makes perfect sense to have my classroom be a place of learning in playful ways.

            After receiving student feedback and incorporating more games into my lessons that year, I made some observations and comparisons of student engagement and attitudes throughout different math lessons and activities. For starters, I noticed when students spotted the agenda included a math game; they would get really excited and enthusiastic about class. While playing math games, nearly every student was involved and participating. I did not have to remind students to stay on task because they were self motivated and wanted to participate. I thought, “What a breath of fresh air this is!” This excitement produced from both me and my students led me to the research question I would spend the next year exploring, “How do math games effect student engagement and achievement?” I hoped that by creating more experiences like this that allow for students to explore and practice different math concepts in a playful manner such as a game, students would be more engaged in their learning, causing their achievement level and comprehension to increase. I also hoped that my findings on this question would help me create a more enriching classroom that motivated and engaged students to learn, and helped solve the continuous issue of students “falling through the cracks.” Math teachers in particular need to take an active role in breaking this cycle in order to help close the achievement gaps that exist in many classes today. The following is my journey.

Setting:

School Setting

            Keiller Leadership Academy (KLA) underwent an amazing transformation in 2004 as it broke free from San Diego Unified School District and became its own public Charter school. Once one of the most dangerous middle schools in Southern California, parents, teachers, administration and community members rallied together to turn this gang infested and violence ridden school from Keiller Middle School into Keiller Leadership Academy. After much resistance, KLA won and opened its metal sliding gates, otherwise known as the “Gates of Wisdom” to over 500 middle school students in 2005. Within the first two years of becoming a Charter School, KLA’s test scores had risen almost 100 points, and the school exited “Program Improvement.” 
              One can only imagine how these incredible achievement gains affected the community of Keiller Leadership Academy. Parents and guardians lined up to enroll their children at our school. News reporters wrote articles, conducted television news shows, and interviewed students and staff about the many successes we were experiencing. Because of the strong culture of learning that exists at KLA, parents continue pulling their students from other neighborhood schools and enrolling them at KLA. Any child can attend KLA, as it is a public charter school. Because of this, the majority or our student population comes from its neighboring Jamacha and Skyline area.  However, as KLA becomes more and more popular, the number of students commuting from outside neighborhoods is increasing. Since KLA hosts mostly neighborhood children, the student population is very similar to its community schools: mainly minority students with almost 70% of students receiving free or reduced-priced lunch.  
            While the first three years at KLA were very stable, the fourth year included a considerable administration change and the resignation of numerous board members. However, as we begin to close the current school year, we move towards a path of stability and recovering KLA’s shared vision. Through this transition of leadership, the mission of KLA has become a bit muddled; however, teachers and staff are actively working on rebuilding KLA in order to reach its full potential. KLA remains a Leadership Academy that holds its’ students and their achievement at very high expectations.  It is evident that most teachers working at KLA really want to be there, and since becoming a charter school, teacher absences have decreased significantly.

             KLA is built upon five values we call REACH; Respect, Enthusiasm, Achievement, Citizenship and Hard Work. Students, as well as all staff are expected to follow the REACH values. Teachers model the REACH values as well as design curriculum centered on them. Every day, teachers teach an advisory, referred to as REACH class. KLA has allotted extra funding to extend our school day by an hour from that of the district. Within this extra hour of REACH class, students do various lessons and activities to promote the REACH values as well as choose other electives such as Art, Drama, Avid, or Journalism.  The mission of KLA is to create student leaders that take an active role within their education and their diverse community. Through student governments and various plays and activities, KLA students have numerous opportunities to take on a leadership role within their school.  Parents and guardians are also encouraged to take an active role within their child’s education. This may include volunteering their time in the classroom, attending various school events or even shadowing their child for the day.

            Since KLA is a fiscally independent Charter school, we have flexibility in how we spend our money. Money is allocated for reduced class sizes, with the goal being no more than 25 students in one class. Enrollment at KLA is now about 500 students, as compared to over 700 students that were previously enrolled when KLA was a part of the district four years ago. Although it is considerably more expensive, KLA also implements a block schedule, allowing me to teach each student one and half hours of math a day. What a difference that makes!

            One of the ways in which I am blessed at KLA is that we do not have to follow the district’s policy on curriculum. Because of this, the entire math department adopted a more hands-on math program called CPM (College Preparatory Mathematics). This curriculum teaches math more conceptually instead of procedurally, allowing students to gain a deeper level of understanding and meaning. Through much exploration, students are able to come to their own conclusions on why we do the things we do in mathematics. Although CPM is not centered on project based learning, it does require students to work in teams in order to discover and uncover various math concepts. As far as math curriculums go, CPM is a fairly hands-on curriculum.  It also encompasses numerous math games that help students practice and reinforce various math concepts. 

Classroom Setting

            I currently teach sixth grade pre-algebra.  As I mentioned earlier, KLA runs on block scheduling. However, unlike many block schedules, I get to teach each student every day. I teach three 1 ½ hour blocks of math and one hour of REACH/ Art class. In my classroom, students are arranged in teams of four and work daily on exploring various math concepts within their teams. Each student is assigned a role within their team. For example, there is a resource manager, task manager, team leader and a recorder/ reporter. Within each of these roles, students have numerous jobs to uphold throughout the lesson. This helps hold individuals more accountable when working as a team.

            After shaking each student’s hand and greeting them at my classroom door, they begin class everyday with three warm up Quick Questions. Not only does this help students review previously learned concepts, but it also launches my class into the lesson for that day. While students are working on their Quick Questions, student homework checkers record their teams’ homework while I take attendance and circulate the classroom to check in with individual students. After Quick Questions, students join me at the rug in a semi circle of chairs and we launch into our lesson for the day as a large group. This is when I frontload specific vocabulary or introduce new math concepts. After about a twenty minute launch, students then go back to their teams in order to explore various math concepts. They might be working on a problem set of about three to four problems that help guide them towards discovering a certain math concept or perhaps a math project or game that reinforces specific math content area.  During students’ explore time, I can work with small groups on various math concepts and give more individual instruction to my students. After this time, we then rejoin as a class to summarize and share out what we have learned that day. This is when students form conjectures and conclusions about various math concepts.