Methods:
Methods
Observing student engagement levels while playing math games in my classroom is what inspired me to create and build more games into our CPM curriculum. I have always believed that students learn best with their hands and through active exploration. It is only natural for children to want to play. Throughout my action research project I incorporated more playful math experiences in hopes of increasing my students’ engagement, therefore increasing their achievement levels too. Students explored and reinforced various math concepts through playing games two to three days per week. I surveyed and interviewed students throughout my study and analyzed how math games changed their attitudes, engagement and achievement levels over time. Using these results, I modified and created more playful math experiences to help increase student engagement and achievement levels within my classroom. Although I collected data on my entire class in order to provide me with an overall picture of my students, I also selected four focus students. This helped me to gain a deeper understanding of how kids of different math abilities experienced math games. I conducted various interviews with these students and made continuous observations and field notes over the period of my action research project on their behaviors, attitudes, discussions in my classroom, and achievement data.
Data Collection:
Beginning/ End of Year Assignment: The entire group of sixth grade students comes from various neighboring elementary schools, all new faces, and ready to begin their middle school career at a new school with a fresh, blank slate. In order for me to embark on the journey of answering my research question, it was necessary for me to get an idea for my students’ attitudes about math, as well as their previous experience learning math. I had my students create illustrated math analogies comparing themselves to an object when thinking about how they perceive themselves as a mathematician. This helped me to get to know their feelings towards math as they began my class. In addition to this reflective math project, I had students write “get to know you” letters in the beginning of the year, giving them the opportunity to share anything about themselves and their learning with me.
In order to assess students’ change in attitudes about math overtime, I had students look at their initial math analogies and revise and/or recreate them at the end of the semester. Towards the end of the semester, I also had students choose a math concept and create their own math game that reinforced the concept chosen. Afterwards, students had the opportunity to play each other’s games in order to practice various math concepts we have explored together.
Surveys: I surveyed all of my students in the beginning of the school year. I used the result of those surveys to choose my five focus students of various math abilities and varying attitudes towards math. I also surveyed all of my students in the end of the semester in order to examine student attitudes and their self confidence about math. I searched for any trends or changes in attitudes overtime. This provided me with valuable feedback on what students like and dislike about math class, and how I could help them to be successful.
Student Interviews: Student interviews were a great way to delve deep into the minds of my students. Based on the results of my surveys, I interviewed five students, three girls and two boys of various math abilities, who had varying attitudes about math. I also conducted a group interview with my focus students as well. I designed a set of interview questions that focus around students’ experiences in my math class as well as their previous experience learning math (See Appendix 4). I interviewed students periodically throughout the semester in order to get feedback on the various games we are playing in class verses other math activities. Speaking with students about their feelings and experiences provided me with qualitative data and student quotes that helped offer my action research paper a powerful student voice. I also interviewed students to assess their understanding of various math concepts they explored while playing games.
Student Observations, Anecdotal Records and Field Notes: I kept a journal for field notes and observations of students in a variety of learning contexts in the classroom, focusing on peer interactions, academic language being used, students’ general attitudes towards math, their participation, their engagement level in a particular task and the roles they assume within their partnerships and/or teams. Observing various student behaviors and interactions and recording their conversations during cooperative learning allowed me to explore different patterns, or trends that occurred within a variety of learning contexts. This helped me to assess the levels of student engagement throughout various learning activities, such as math games, CPM problem sets, cooperative versus independent learning and so forth. On four different occasions, I audio taped student teams and partnerships and transcribed their conversations and “math talk” in two different learning contexts, working with teams on a CPM problem set and playing math games.
Student Work Samples: By collecting and analyzing student work samples, I was able to assess both the quality of their work and their acquired knowledge of a particular math concept. This also served as an indicator for their engagement level in a specific task. I gathered work samples prior to playing math games, during math games and after. I asked students key questions before playing a math game and then had them revisit similar questions after playing the game in order to see how their learning had progressed. I created various graphs and charts that display this data I have collected.
Exit Slips: Weekly exit slips were a great way for me gather data about students’ experiences and gave them opportunities for feedback about various math activities, including different math games. I asked students which games they liked and games they didn’t and why. The exit slips also provided me with a quick assessment of student understanding and mastery of particular math concepts. If students were able to explain and articulate the math behind the various games they were playing, then their conceptual understanding was demonstrated.
Data Analysis:
Surveys: Data collection was an ongoing endeavor for me throughout my action research project. The quantitative data that I collected from my students’ surveys was entered into an excel spreadsheet. After entering student data, I created different graphs and tables to provide a visual representation of various trends that appeared among student’s attitudes, self concepts, and feelings about math. When analyzing my students’ surveys, I color coded the results of their surveys according to different categories or trends that have emerged. I also made note of various themes that emerged within the surveys, student interviews and exit slips.
Student observations: During student observations I focused on student engagement levels, and tallied in the form of a frequency table, all “on” verses “off” task comments spoken within a 20 minute period of time. I conducted this observation and frequency table with the same students in two different learning contexts, one while playing a math game and the other while answering a set of problems out of our CPM book. I compared the results of “on” verses “off” task comments between the two different contexts. I did this on two different occasions.
Student Interviews: Interviewing my four focus students provided me with valuable feedback about their experiences in class. I carefully tracked their attitudes, engagement and progress throughout the semester. I also pulled student quotes that correspond with both qualitative and quantitative data collected, looking for themes, trends and connections between attitude, engagement and achievement. These quotes added depth and student voice to my research and findings. I transcribed and/or logged the interviews on the following weekend.
Student Observations, Anecdotal and Field Notes: I transcribed relevant parts of the audio recordings I gathered from students’ conversations and interviews. I also transcribed audio tape recordings of students “on” verses “off” task behaviors and dialogues and compared results from the same group, or math team across a variety of learning contexts (math games, CPM problem set, ext.) Weekly, I read over my field notes journal and observations, “cooking,” or analyzing, my notes and adjusted the direction of my research accordingly.
Student Work Sample, Exit Slips, and Journal Entries: I analyzed exit slips, journal entries and student work samples in order to assess whether or not the objectives of the lesson were met. By looking at student work and quick assessments such as exit slips, I could see whether or not students mastered the concepts being taught and decide if they needed further practice, or if they were ready to move on. This helped to guide my instruction in the classroom. Examining and assessing these also allowed me to make connections between student achievement and math games. I compared how students demonstrated what they learned from days they played math games along with other learning experiences. I also compared their mastery of math concepts across the board. Since I had students give me feedback on various math games, including a self assessment of how well they mastered a particular concept while playing the game, I was able to judge how effective certain math games were in teaching various concepts.
Examining change over time: In order to help answer my essential question, How do math games affect student engagement and achievement?, I needed to compare student’s attitudes and engagement levels overtime in order to measure any changes that occurred. I examined the beginning and end of the semester math analogy assignment, results from both student surveys and various anecdotal records and notes on my focus student’s engagement patterns and levels.
Methods
Observing student engagement levels while playing math games in my classroom is what inspired me to create and build more games into our CPM curriculum. I have always believed that students learn best with their hands and through active exploration. It is only natural for children to want to play. Throughout my action research project I incorporated more playful math experiences in hopes of increasing my students’ engagement, therefore increasing their achievement levels too. Students explored and reinforced various math concepts through playing games two to three days per week. I surveyed and interviewed students throughout my study and analyzed how math games changed their attitudes, engagement and achievement levels over time. Using these results, I modified and created more playful math experiences to help increase student engagement and achievement levels within my classroom. Although I collected data on my entire class in order to provide me with an overall picture of my students, I also selected four focus students. This helped me to gain a deeper understanding of how kids of different math abilities experienced math games. I conducted various interviews with these students and made continuous observations and field notes over the period of my action research project on their behaviors, attitudes, discussions in my classroom, and achievement data.
Data Collection:
Beginning/ End of Year Assignment: The entire group of sixth grade students comes from various neighboring elementary schools, all new faces, and ready to begin their middle school career at a new school with a fresh, blank slate. In order for me to embark on the journey of answering my research question, it was necessary for me to get an idea for my students’ attitudes about math, as well as their previous experience learning math. I had my students create illustrated math analogies comparing themselves to an object when thinking about how they perceive themselves as a mathematician. This helped me to get to know their feelings towards math as they began my class. In addition to this reflective math project, I had students write “get to know you” letters in the beginning of the year, giving them the opportunity to share anything about themselves and their learning with me.
In order to assess students’ change in attitudes about math overtime, I had students look at their initial math analogies and revise and/or recreate them at the end of the semester. Towards the end of the semester, I also had students choose a math concept and create their own math game that reinforced the concept chosen. Afterwards, students had the opportunity to play each other’s games in order to practice various math concepts we have explored together.
Surveys: I surveyed all of my students in the beginning of the school year. I used the result of those surveys to choose my five focus students of various math abilities and varying attitudes towards math. I also surveyed all of my students in the end of the semester in order to examine student attitudes and their self confidence about math. I searched for any trends or changes in attitudes overtime. This provided me with valuable feedback on what students like and dislike about math class, and how I could help them to be successful.
Student Interviews: Student interviews were a great way to delve deep into the minds of my students. Based on the results of my surveys, I interviewed five students, three girls and two boys of various math abilities, who had varying attitudes about math. I also conducted a group interview with my focus students as well. I designed a set of interview questions that focus around students’ experiences in my math class as well as their previous experience learning math (See Appendix 4). I interviewed students periodically throughout the semester in order to get feedback on the various games we are playing in class verses other math activities. Speaking with students about their feelings and experiences provided me with qualitative data and student quotes that helped offer my action research paper a powerful student voice. I also interviewed students to assess their understanding of various math concepts they explored while playing games.
Student Observations, Anecdotal Records and Field Notes: I kept a journal for field notes and observations of students in a variety of learning contexts in the classroom, focusing on peer interactions, academic language being used, students’ general attitudes towards math, their participation, their engagement level in a particular task and the roles they assume within their partnerships and/or teams. Observing various student behaviors and interactions and recording their conversations during cooperative learning allowed me to explore different patterns, or trends that occurred within a variety of learning contexts. This helped me to assess the levels of student engagement throughout various learning activities, such as math games, CPM problem sets, cooperative versus independent learning and so forth. On four different occasions, I audio taped student teams and partnerships and transcribed their conversations and “math talk” in two different learning contexts, working with teams on a CPM problem set and playing math games.
Student Work Samples: By collecting and analyzing student work samples, I was able to assess both the quality of their work and their acquired knowledge of a particular math concept. This also served as an indicator for their engagement level in a specific task. I gathered work samples prior to playing math games, during math games and after. I asked students key questions before playing a math game and then had them revisit similar questions after playing the game in order to see how their learning had progressed. I created various graphs and charts that display this data I have collected.
Exit Slips: Weekly exit slips were a great way for me gather data about students’ experiences and gave them opportunities for feedback about various math activities, including different math games. I asked students which games they liked and games they didn’t and why. The exit slips also provided me with a quick assessment of student understanding and mastery of particular math concepts. If students were able to explain and articulate the math behind the various games they were playing, then their conceptual understanding was demonstrated.
Data Analysis:
Surveys: Data collection was an ongoing endeavor for me throughout my action research project. The quantitative data that I collected from my students’ surveys was entered into an excel spreadsheet. After entering student data, I created different graphs and tables to provide a visual representation of various trends that appeared among student’s attitudes, self concepts, and feelings about math. When analyzing my students’ surveys, I color coded the results of their surveys according to different categories or trends that have emerged. I also made note of various themes that emerged within the surveys, student interviews and exit slips.
Student observations: During student observations I focused on student engagement levels, and tallied in the form of a frequency table, all “on” verses “off” task comments spoken within a 20 minute period of time. I conducted this observation and frequency table with the same students in two different learning contexts, one while playing a math game and the other while answering a set of problems out of our CPM book. I compared the results of “on” verses “off” task comments between the two different contexts. I did this on two different occasions.
Student Interviews: Interviewing my four focus students provided me with valuable feedback about their experiences in class. I carefully tracked their attitudes, engagement and progress throughout the semester. I also pulled student quotes that correspond with both qualitative and quantitative data collected, looking for themes, trends and connections between attitude, engagement and achievement. These quotes added depth and student voice to my research and findings. I transcribed and/or logged the interviews on the following weekend.
Student Observations, Anecdotal and Field Notes: I transcribed relevant parts of the audio recordings I gathered from students’ conversations and interviews. I also transcribed audio tape recordings of students “on” verses “off” task behaviors and dialogues and compared results from the same group, or math team across a variety of learning contexts (math games, CPM problem set, ext.) Weekly, I read over my field notes journal and observations, “cooking,” or analyzing, my notes and adjusted the direction of my research accordingly.
Student Work Sample, Exit Slips, and Journal Entries: I analyzed exit slips, journal entries and student work samples in order to assess whether or not the objectives of the lesson were met. By looking at student work and quick assessments such as exit slips, I could see whether or not students mastered the concepts being taught and decide if they needed further practice, or if they were ready to move on. This helped to guide my instruction in the classroom. Examining and assessing these also allowed me to make connections between student achievement and math games. I compared how students demonstrated what they learned from days they played math games along with other learning experiences. I also compared their mastery of math concepts across the board. Since I had students give me feedback on various math games, including a self assessment of how well they mastered a particular concept while playing the game, I was able to judge how effective certain math games were in teaching various concepts.
Examining change over time: In order to help answer my essential question, How do math games affect student engagement and achievement?, I needed to compare student’s attitudes and engagement levels overtime in order to measure any changes that occurred. I examined the beginning and end of the semester math analogy assignment, results from both student surveys and various anecdotal records and notes on my focus student’s engagement patterns and levels.
Observing student engagement levels while playing math games in my classroom is what inspired me to create and build more games into our CPM curriculum. I have always believed that students learn best with their hands and through active exploration. It is only natural for children to want to play. Throughout my action research project I incorporated more playful math experiences in hopes of increasing my students’ engagement, therefore increasing their achievement levels too. Students explored and reinforced various math concepts through playing games two to three days per week. I surveyed and interviewed students throughout my study and analyzed how math games changed their attitudes, engagement and achievement levels over time. Using these results, I modified and created more playful math experiences to help increase student engagement and achievement levels within my classroom. Although I collected data on my entire class in order to provide me with an overall picture of my students, I also selected four focus students. This helped me to gain a deeper understanding of how kids of different math abilities experienced math games. I conducted various interviews with these students and made continuous observations and field notes over the period of my action research project on their behaviors, attitudes, discussions in my classroom, and achievement data.
Data Collection:
Beginning/ End of Year Assignment: The entire group of sixth grade students comes from various neighboring elementary schools, all new faces, and ready to begin their middle school career at a new school with a fresh, blank slate. In order for me to embark on the journey of answering my research question, it was necessary for me to get an idea for my students’ attitudes about math, as well as their previous experience learning math. I had my students create illustrated math analogies comparing themselves to an object when thinking about how they perceive themselves as a mathematician. This helped me to get to know their feelings towards math as they began my class. In addition to this reflective math project, I had students write “get to know you” letters in the beginning of the year, giving them the opportunity to share anything about themselves and their learning with me.
In order to assess students’ change in attitudes about math overtime, I had students look at their initial math analogies and revise and/or recreate them at the end of the semester. Towards the end of the semester, I also had students choose a math concept and create their own math game that reinforced the concept chosen. Afterwards, students had the opportunity to play each other’s games in order to practice various math concepts we have explored together.
Surveys: I surveyed all of my students in the beginning of the school year. I used the result of those surveys to choose my five focus students of various math abilities and varying attitudes towards math. I also surveyed all of my students in the end of the semester in order to examine student attitudes and their self confidence about math. I searched for any trends or changes in attitudes overtime. This provided me with valuable feedback on what students like and dislike about math class, and how I could help them to be successful.
Student Interviews: Student interviews were a great way to delve deep into the minds of my students. Based on the results of my surveys, I interviewed five students, three girls and two boys of various math abilities, who had varying attitudes about math. I also conducted a group interview with my focus students as well. I designed a set of interview questions that focus around students’ experiences in my math class as well as their previous experience learning math (See Appendix 4). I interviewed students periodically throughout the semester in order to get feedback on the various games we are playing in class verses other math activities. Speaking with students about their feelings and experiences provided me with qualitative data and student quotes that helped offer my action research paper a powerful student voice. I also interviewed students to assess their understanding of various math concepts they explored while playing games.
Student Observations, Anecdotal Records and Field Notes: I kept a journal for field notes and observations of students in a variety of learning contexts in the classroom, focusing on peer interactions, academic language being used, students’ general attitudes towards math, their participation, their engagement level in a particular task and the roles they assume within their partnerships and/or teams. Observing various student behaviors and interactions and recording their conversations during cooperative learning allowed me to explore different patterns, or trends that occurred within a variety of learning contexts. This helped me to assess the levels of student engagement throughout various learning activities, such as math games, CPM problem sets, cooperative versus independent learning and so forth. On four different occasions, I audio taped student teams and partnerships and transcribed their conversations and “math talk” in two different learning contexts, working with teams on a CPM problem set and playing math games.
Student Work Samples: By collecting and analyzing student work samples, I was able to assess both the quality of their work and their acquired knowledge of a particular math concept. This also served as an indicator for their engagement level in a specific task. I gathered work samples prior to playing math games, during math games and after. I asked students key questions before playing a math game and then had them revisit similar questions after playing the game in order to see how their learning had progressed. I created various graphs and charts that display this data I have collected.
Exit Slips: Weekly exit slips were a great way for me gather data about students’ experiences and gave them opportunities for feedback about various math activities, including different math games. I asked students which games they liked and games they didn’t and why. The exit slips also provided me with a quick assessment of student understanding and mastery of particular math concepts. If students were able to explain and articulate the math behind the various games they were playing, then their conceptual understanding was demonstrated.
Data Analysis:
Surveys: Data collection was an ongoing endeavor for me throughout my action research project. The quantitative data that I collected from my students’ surveys was entered into an excel spreadsheet. After entering student data, I created different graphs and tables to provide a visual representation of various trends that appeared among student’s attitudes, self concepts, and feelings about math. When analyzing my students’ surveys, I color coded the results of their surveys according to different categories or trends that have emerged. I also made note of various themes that emerged within the surveys, student interviews and exit slips.
Student observations: During student observations I focused on student engagement levels, and tallied in the form of a frequency table, all “on” verses “off” task comments spoken within a 20 minute period of time. I conducted this observation and frequency table with the same students in two different learning contexts, one while playing a math game and the other while answering a set of problems out of our CPM book. I compared the results of “on” verses “off” task comments between the two different contexts. I did this on two different occasions.
Student Interviews: Interviewing my four focus students provided me with valuable feedback about their experiences in class. I carefully tracked their attitudes, engagement and progress throughout the semester. I also pulled student quotes that correspond with both qualitative and quantitative data collected, looking for themes, trends and connections between attitude, engagement and achievement. These quotes added depth and student voice to my research and findings. I transcribed and/or logged the interviews on the following weekend.
Student Observations, Anecdotal and Field Notes: I transcribed relevant parts of the audio recordings I gathered from students’ conversations and interviews. I also transcribed audio tape recordings of students “on” verses “off” task behaviors and dialogues and compared results from the same group, or math team across a variety of learning contexts (math games, CPM problem set, ext.) Weekly, I read over my field notes journal and observations, “cooking,” or analyzing, my notes and adjusted the direction of my research accordingly.
Student Work Sample, Exit Slips, and Journal Entries: I analyzed exit slips, journal entries and student work samples in order to assess whether or not the objectives of the lesson were met. By looking at student work and quick assessments such as exit slips, I could see whether or not students mastered the concepts being taught and decide if they needed further practice, or if they were ready to move on. This helped to guide my instruction in the classroom. Examining and assessing these also allowed me to make connections between student achievement and math games. I compared how students demonstrated what they learned from days they played math games along with other learning experiences. I also compared their mastery of math concepts across the board. Since I had students give me feedback on various math games, including a self assessment of how well they mastered a particular concept while playing the game, I was able to judge how effective certain math games were in teaching various concepts.
Examining change over time: In order to help answer my essential question, How do math games affect student engagement and achievement?, I needed to compare student’s attitudes and engagement levels overtime in order to measure any changes that occurred. I examined the beginning and end of the semester math analogy assignment, results from both student surveys and various anecdotal records and notes on my focus student’s engagement patterns and levels.
Methods
Observing student engagement levels while playing math games in my classroom is what inspired me to create and build more games into our CPM curriculum. I have always believed that students learn best with their hands and through active exploration. It is only natural for children to want to play. Throughout my action research project I incorporated more playful math experiences in hopes of increasing my students’ engagement, therefore increasing their achievement levels too. Students explored and reinforced various math concepts through playing games two to three days per week. I surveyed and interviewed students throughout my study and analyzed how math games changed their attitudes, engagement and achievement levels over time. Using these results, I modified and created more playful math experiences to help increase student engagement and achievement levels within my classroom. Although I collected data on my entire class in order to provide me with an overall picture of my students, I also selected four focus students. This helped me to gain a deeper understanding of how kids of different math abilities experienced math games. I conducted various interviews with these students and made continuous observations and field notes over the period of my action research project on their behaviors, attitudes, discussions in my classroom, and achievement data.
Data Collection:
Beginning/ End of Year Assignment: The entire group of sixth grade students comes from various neighboring elementary schools, all new faces, and ready to begin their middle school career at a new school with a fresh, blank slate. In order for me to embark on the journey of answering my research question, it was necessary for me to get an idea for my students’ attitudes about math, as well as their previous experience learning math. I had my students create illustrated math analogies comparing themselves to an object when thinking about how they perceive themselves as a mathematician. This helped me to get to know their feelings towards math as they began my class. In addition to this reflective math project, I had students write “get to know you” letters in the beginning of the year, giving them the opportunity to share anything about themselves and their learning with me.
In order to assess students’ change in attitudes about math overtime, I had students look at their initial math analogies and revise and/or recreate them at the end of the semester. Towards the end of the semester, I also had students choose a math concept and create their own math game that reinforced the concept chosen. Afterwards, students had the opportunity to play each other’s games in order to practice various math concepts we have explored together.
Surveys: I surveyed all of my students in the beginning of the school year. I used the result of those surveys to choose my five focus students of various math abilities and varying attitudes towards math. I also surveyed all of my students in the end of the semester in order to examine student attitudes and their self confidence about math. I searched for any trends or changes in attitudes overtime. This provided me with valuable feedback on what students like and dislike about math class, and how I could help them to be successful.
Student Interviews: Student interviews were a great way to delve deep into the minds of my students. Based on the results of my surveys, I interviewed five students, three girls and two boys of various math abilities, who had varying attitudes about math. I also conducted a group interview with my focus students as well. I designed a set of interview questions that focus around students’ experiences in my math class as well as their previous experience learning math (See Appendix 4). I interviewed students periodically throughout the semester in order to get feedback on the various games we are playing in class verses other math activities. Speaking with students about their feelings and experiences provided me with qualitative data and student quotes that helped offer my action research paper a powerful student voice. I also interviewed students to assess their understanding of various math concepts they explored while playing games.
Student Observations, Anecdotal Records and Field Notes: I kept a journal for field notes and observations of students in a variety of learning contexts in the classroom, focusing on peer interactions, academic language being used, students’ general attitudes towards math, their participation, their engagement level in a particular task and the roles they assume within their partnerships and/or teams. Observing various student behaviors and interactions and recording their conversations during cooperative learning allowed me to explore different patterns, or trends that occurred within a variety of learning contexts. This helped me to assess the levels of student engagement throughout various learning activities, such as math games, CPM problem sets, cooperative versus independent learning and so forth. On four different occasions, I audio taped student teams and partnerships and transcribed their conversations and “math talk” in two different learning contexts, working with teams on a CPM problem set and playing math games.
Student Work Samples: By collecting and analyzing student work samples, I was able to assess both the quality of their work and their acquired knowledge of a particular math concept. This also served as an indicator for their engagement level in a specific task. I gathered work samples prior to playing math games, during math games and after. I asked students key questions before playing a math game and then had them revisit similar questions after playing the game in order to see how their learning had progressed. I created various graphs and charts that display this data I have collected.
Exit Slips: Weekly exit slips were a great way for me gather data about students’ experiences and gave them opportunities for feedback about various math activities, including different math games. I asked students which games they liked and games they didn’t and why. The exit slips also provided me with a quick assessment of student understanding and mastery of particular math concepts. If students were able to explain and articulate the math behind the various games they were playing, then their conceptual understanding was demonstrated.
Data Analysis:
Surveys: Data collection was an ongoing endeavor for me throughout my action research project. The quantitative data that I collected from my students’ surveys was entered into an excel spreadsheet. After entering student data, I created different graphs and tables to provide a visual representation of various trends that appeared among student’s attitudes, self concepts, and feelings about math. When analyzing my students’ surveys, I color coded the results of their surveys according to different categories or trends that have emerged. I also made note of various themes that emerged within the surveys, student interviews and exit slips.
Student observations: During student observations I focused on student engagement levels, and tallied in the form of a frequency table, all “on” verses “off” task comments spoken within a 20 minute period of time. I conducted this observation and frequency table with the same students in two different learning contexts, one while playing a math game and the other while answering a set of problems out of our CPM book. I compared the results of “on” verses “off” task comments between the two different contexts. I did this on two different occasions.
Student Interviews: Interviewing my four focus students provided me with valuable feedback about their experiences in class. I carefully tracked their attitudes, engagement and progress throughout the semester. I also pulled student quotes that correspond with both qualitative and quantitative data collected, looking for themes, trends and connections between attitude, engagement and achievement. These quotes added depth and student voice to my research and findings. I transcribed and/or logged the interviews on the following weekend.
Student Observations, Anecdotal and Field Notes: I transcribed relevant parts of the audio recordings I gathered from students’ conversations and interviews. I also transcribed audio tape recordings of students “on” verses “off” task behaviors and dialogues and compared results from the same group, or math team across a variety of learning contexts (math games, CPM problem set, ext.) Weekly, I read over my field notes journal and observations, “cooking,” or analyzing, my notes and adjusted the direction of my research accordingly.
Student Work Sample, Exit Slips, and Journal Entries: I analyzed exit slips, journal entries and student work samples in order to assess whether or not the objectives of the lesson were met. By looking at student work and quick assessments such as exit slips, I could see whether or not students mastered the concepts being taught and decide if they needed further practice, or if they were ready to move on. This helped to guide my instruction in the classroom. Examining and assessing these also allowed me to make connections between student achievement and math games. I compared how students demonstrated what they learned from days they played math games along with other learning experiences. I also compared their mastery of math concepts across the board. Since I had students give me feedback on various math games, including a self assessment of how well they mastered a particular concept while playing the game, I was able to judge how effective certain math games were in teaching various concepts.
Examining change over time: In order to help answer my essential question, How do math games affect student engagement and achievement?, I needed to compare student’s attitudes and engagement levels overtime in order to measure any changes that occurred. I examined the beginning and end of the semester math analogy assignment, results from both student surveys and various anecdotal records and notes on my focus student’s engagement patterns and levels.
