To view the video summary of my action research project, click here.
Precis of my action research project.
For my culminating project, I began adding a writing component to my precalculus class. I have frequently heard that putting ideas into one’s own words is a good way to help synthesize knowledge. I have also heard anecdotal accounts of teachers who do writing with their students and report increased ability to communicate mathematically. The ability clearly to explain one’s thinking is a common shortfall among high school students, but is a vitally important life skill. Therefore, I thought that adding writing to my class would be a worthwhile experiment.
I did not find much research on the effectiveness of writing in increasing student comprehension, but I did find many first-hand reports of teachers who had implemented this in their classrooms and were pleased with the impact on their students. Particularly useful in this was Jane Countryman’s Writing to Learn Mathematics, although I also found helpful suggestions in a variety of articles published in Mathematics Teacher. I also discussed writing in mathematics with Kelly, a fellow student who has added writing to her 7th grade math classes. I discussed my project also with my colleagues who also teach academic precalculus. Although they have never specifically included writing, they were very useful in suggestions for question topics.
My initial idea was to implement a journal, which in my vision was really just a collection of writing assignments. After reading Countryman, I learned that a journal can be so much more than that, so that while I went (for this year) with my idea of the collection of writing assignments, I am contemplating adding a full-fledged journal in the future. In addition to the “reflections” at the end of class, which was how I began, I added bell-ringer writing assignments and writing questions on quizzes. I hope to continue by adding writing assignments to students’ homework, and in general increase the frequency and variety of the writing.
One thing that I struggled with in this assignment was giving prompt and meaningful feedback. I learned some important lessons about how to begin, or how not to begin, writing with my students. In fact, once I got started “doing” the writing, most of what I learned was what not to do. I have used my own reflections to strive for continuous improvement in the process.
Also, at the suggestion of Dr. Appelbaum, I began writing with my students during the end-of-class reflections. When I first shared this with my students, they thought it was pretty funny, but their responses to the questions I raised in my writing were extremely helpful and informative.
Fom this action research project, I have gained insight into how writing can have an impact in the math classroom. By trying to put their ideas into words, students were confronted with occasions when their understanding was less than complete. By reviewing their writing, I was able to get a better idea of the depth of understanding that individual students had achieved. I am continuously learning how to better pose my questions, and refining the process of reviewing and responding to the students’ writing. Because I believe this has been a valuable experience for me, I created a short video about my experiences in which I describe my successes and my failures, and offer tips and tricks that I have learned. I share some examples of my students work, and ideas that I have for the future. Also, I have posted the list of resources that I found most helpful for practical suggestions in my endeavor. Finally, I added a blog so that I can continue documenting my experiences next year, so that I can document my writing rollout from the beginning. I hope, via the blog, to get some feedback from my fellow teachers and any other interested parties.
Finally, in moving forward, I hope to connect with other teachers who may be pursuing writing in high school mathematics classes. I would like to share my experiences, as well as get insight into other teachers’ experiences. Towards that end, I plan to attend some meetings of the ATMOPAV and see if I can form connections with other high school teachers. These teachers would be a potential audience for my action research project, and could share comments on my blog.
I did not find much research on the effectiveness of writing in increasing student comprehension, but I did find many first-hand reports of teachers who had implemented this in their classrooms and were pleased with the impact on their students. Particularly useful in this was Jane Countryman’s Writing to Learn Mathematics, although I also found helpful suggestions in a variety of articles published in Mathematics Teacher. I also discussed writing in mathematics with Kelly, a fellow student who has added writing to her 7th grade math classes. I discussed my project also with my colleagues who also teach academic precalculus. Although they have never specifically included writing, they were very useful in suggestions for question topics.
My initial idea was to implement a journal, which in my vision was really just a collection of writing assignments. After reading Countryman, I learned that a journal can be so much more than that, so that while I went (for this year) with my idea of the collection of writing assignments, I am contemplating adding a full-fledged journal in the future. In addition to the “reflections” at the end of class, which was how I began, I added bell-ringer writing assignments and writing questions on quizzes. I hope to continue by adding writing assignments to students’ homework, and in general increase the frequency and variety of the writing.
One thing that I struggled with in this assignment was giving prompt and meaningful feedback. I learned some important lessons about how to begin, or how not to begin, writing with my students. In fact, once I got started “doing” the writing, most of what I learned was what not to do. I have used my own reflections to strive for continuous improvement in the process.
Also, at the suggestion of Dr. Appelbaum, I began writing with my students during the end-of-class reflections. When I first shared this with my students, they thought it was pretty funny, but their responses to the questions I raised in my writing were extremely helpful and informative.
Fom this action research project, I have gained insight into how writing can have an impact in the math classroom. By trying to put their ideas into words, students were confronted with occasions when their understanding was less than complete. By reviewing their writing, I was able to get a better idea of the depth of understanding that individual students had achieved. I am continuously learning how to better pose my questions, and refining the process of reviewing and responding to the students’ writing. Because I believe this has been a valuable experience for me, I created a short video about my experiences in which I describe my successes and my failures, and offer tips and tricks that I have learned. I share some examples of my students work, and ideas that I have for the future. Also, I have posted the list of resources that I found most helpful for practical suggestions in my endeavor. Finally, I added a blog so that I can continue documenting my experiences next year, so that I can document my writing rollout from the beginning. I hope, via the blog, to get some feedback from my fellow teachers and any other interested parties.
Finally, in moving forward, I hope to connect with other teachers who may be pursuing writing in high school mathematics classes. I would like to share my experiences, as well as get insight into other teachers’ experiences. Towards that end, I plan to attend some meetings of the ATMOPAV and see if I can form connections with other high school teachers. These teachers would be a potential audience for my action research project, and could share comments on my blog.