REFLECTION
Successes
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100% student growth in achievement and engagement
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Increased confidence in math ability from students
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Increased confidence in my ability to differentiate to meet diverse student needs
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Expansion of assessment strategies and instructional resources
Challenges
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Fidelity to flexible grouping​
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Group size
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Finding the right level of differentiation for each group
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Accommodating pacing due to schedule changes
Impact on Student Learning
Prior to implementing my action research, students were learning math as a whole group. It was difficult for me to meet the diverse needs of my students this way. As a result of this action research, student achievement and engagement increased. As already noted in my data analysis, 100% of my students made growth when comparing the unit pre-test to the post-test. In addition, 100% of students also made growth in their observed level of engagement during differentiated math instruction.
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Along with improving their math achievement and engagement, students grew in many other skills. Through the implementation of differentiated math instruction, students learned how to better collaborate with their peers. This model of instruction provided students with many opportunities to work closely with classmates, thus exposing them to multiple perspectives which enhanced the culturally responsive learning environment that was established in my classroom. In small groups, students would engage in math talks and discuss various ideas and approaches for problems which resulted in building a higher understanding from one another. While I was working with a small group, the remainder of the class was improving on their problem solving and independent thinking skills. Prior to this study, it was common for students to need assistance during our math block, especially on the independent practice pages. At the conclusion of this study, students learned how to better access their resources to solve problems or utilize peer help in the classroom.
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Impact on Current Teaching
During this action research period, I learned how to implement change in the classroom, intentionally plan lessons with students’ needs in mind, use data to inform my instruction, seek out enrichment opportunities, become more aware of student behaviors, and increase engagement. Prior to beginning this study, my math lessons consisted of curriculum practice pages, textbook examples, and using the scripts from the manual to teach new content. I used little to no differentiation and very rarely deviated from the manual. When I began implementing differentiated math instruction, I started seeking out additional resources and activities to provide support and enrichment when needed. I found worksheets that were at the appropriate level for each group of students to complete independently. Before my study, I was able to observe behaviors and note student needs. However, this study gave me the tools to identify strengths and weaknesses and use data to intentionally plan for each diverse student. My current teaching was also impacted by continuous reflections and flexibility through instruction and assessments. Instead of only reflecting at the conclusion of a lesson, my action research forced me to continuously reflect throughout the entirety of the lesson. This allowed me to be flexible and make the changes necessary in the moment to meet the needs of my students.
Impact on Professional Growth
Over the duration of this action research, I experienced professional growth as an educator in addition to the growth observed from my students. Throughout the study, I was continuously collaborating with other stakeholders internally and externally to transform the learning environment and provide students with the strategies and means necessary to achieve academically. I collaborated with a math specialist in my building to push and enrich my higher-level students. I collaborated with my grade level partner to design lessons to meet the needs of all types of learners. I collaborated with my CADRE associate and had her help me with data collection, leading workstations, and creating flexible groups throughout the entirety of the study. My associate was also there to support me when I had questions or encountered difficulties during my study. I conversed with other CADRE peers who were also conducting a study on differentiated math instruction to help me seek out ideas and strategies that best supported my population of students. This collaboration and communication with internal and external stakeholders provided me with key ideas, workstation activities, instructional methods, and data collection techniques. All these factors impacted my professional growth because it taught me how to seek help, receive criticism, and develop a growth-oriented mindset while ensuring academic achievement for my students.
What was learned
Throughout my action research, I learned I had to be flexible. I developed my action plan prior to introducing differentiated math instruction, but I quickly realized that I needed to adapt in order to meet the needs of my students and changes in schedule. For example, there were several snow days that impacted my original schedule. With this in mind, I had to adjust in order to accommodate the pacing guide while ensuring I covered all necessary materials. I also had to be flexible in the moment. For example, when planning for my above level group, I curated general lessons that I believed would enrich them within their zone of proximal development. However, there were several times during my data collection period in which I had to adjust and deviate from my plan in order to account for their needs based on observations.
As a result of this action research, I also learned that small groups for my population of students significantly impacted their learning. Moving from whole group instruction for an hour to guided math rotations lead to increased engagement from all of my students. In the whole group setting, I encountered a lot of behavioral issues. When I made the adjustment to a whole group mini lesson and small group instruction, I discovered that stamina increased due to the constant movement from one rotation to the next. This level of increased engagement directly impacted student achievement.
Questions that still remain
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If my action plan occurred during another math topic such as geometry or long division, would student achievement still increase?
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What effect did a pandemic and interruptions have on the impact of student achievement?
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Does group size matter when working with small groups?
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How would student learning differ if I started my action research at the beginning of the year?
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changes, modifications, and refinement
Changes
In the future, I would like to create four ability groups rather than three. Although I was able to differentiate for each particular group, I found that there was still a wide range of abilities even within my small groups. Also, I found that my smaller groups of four to five performed better and stayed on task more compared to my groups with six students. If I divided my students into more groups with fewer people in each, I would be able to be more intentional with my planning for differentiation and have more control over the behaviors in each group.
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Modifications
In the future, I would like to stick to flexible grouping. I began my study with full intention to base groups solely on ability. However, I quickly realized that this was not possible for my population of students due to some students being unable to work with one another. Therefore, the adjustments I did make to my groups over the course of the action research were based on ability as well as personality. I had some students who I did want to group differently, but ultimately made the decision to keep them where they were because I knew that was the best group for them to stay focused and on task.
Refinement
In the future, I would like to collaborate more with my grade level partner. I would like to see what the data would have shown from both of our sections when comparing the pre and post-tests. This would give a clear indicator of whether or not the implementation of differentiated math instruction is more effective compared to whole-group lecture, which my teaching partner utilized. Comparing these data points would have allowed us to see the true impact research-based strategies, such as differentiated math instruction, have on student achievement and engagement.
Future Thoughts and interactions
Moving forward, I will remain more positive when addressing needs in my classroom. Instead of approaching the diverse needs of my students with fear of failing, I will use my knowledge and resources and make it an opportunity to grow and improve. I will also continue to seek out new opportunities to create the best learning environment for my students. I will use my desire to be a lifelong learner to keep up with research-based strategies and find ways to continuously implement them into my classroom. The interactions I had throughout this study allowed me to gain new perspectives and build relationships. I plan to continue to broaden my interactions with my community of mentors and peers.
Impact on Future teaching
Performing action research will impact my future teaching in many ways. When I see a need in my future classrooms, I know I can implement action research to address it. In the future, I hope to become more confident at identifying a need and actively pursuing a change. My future teaching will be purposeful to improve student learning and incorporate a variety of teaching strategies. It will also be impacted by reflection. Action research showed me how impactful effective reflection is in the classroom. Prior to my research, reflection used to only occur at the end of a lesson, end of the day, or even the end of the week. Now, continuous reflection takes place throughout each lesson and serves as a method to guide my instruction. Action research confirmed for me that my growth as a teacher will never stop.