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Full-Text Articles in Education

Catalyzing Change For Equitable Participation, Liza Bondurant, Seema Rivera Sep 2023

Catalyzing Change For Equitable Participation, Liza Bondurant, Seema Rivera

Journal of Practitioner Research

This manuscript discusses the Plan, Do, Study, Act (PDSA) cycles designed to help math teacher-researchers (TRs) create more equitable discourse patterns in their classrooms. Before the first cycle, TRs were asked to complete gender and race implicit assessment tests (IATs). Then, TRs planned and recorded a video of themselves facilitating a math discussion. Next, math teacher educators (MTEs) used the Equity QUantified In Participation (EQUIP) classroom observation instrument to code and analyze the discussion. Subsequently, TRs had an opportunity to reflect on the EQUIP and IAT results and set goals for making their teaching practices more equitable. MTEs provided guidance …


“Math Talks Are Like An Alarm Clock Waking You Up”: Language’S Crucial Role In Mathematics, Gabriella M. Wasser Sep 2022

“Math Talks Are Like An Alarm Clock Waking You Up”: Language’S Crucial Role In Mathematics, Gabriella M. Wasser

Journal of Practitioner Research

Whole group math talks, or number talks, are a common practice to get students talking about their own understanding of mathematical concepts. The purpose of this study was to implement math talks in small group settings to see what would happen, specifically to students’ conceptual understanding as well their general perceptions of math talks. This study took place in a fourth-grade math classroom, and math talks were implemented with the whole class for a week and then moved to small groups for the remaining three weeks of the study. During the study, a pre-and post-assessment was given, field notes were …


Equitable Mathematics Classroom Discourse, Liza Bondurant Nov 2020

Equitable Mathematics Classroom Discourse, Liza Bondurant

Journal of Practitioner Research

In this article the author shares a self-study investigation into how the quality of talk and opportunities to participate are distributed across individual students based on race and gender in her college math class. Readers will learn how to conduct a similar investigation in their classroom. A discussion of ways to use the information gathered from equitable mathematics classroom discourse investigations will follow.


A Framework For Reflective Practice, Diana L. Moss, Claudia Bertolone-Smith, Teruni D. Lamberg Oct 2018

A Framework For Reflective Practice, Diana L. Moss, Claudia Bertolone-Smith, Teruni D. Lamberg

Journal of Practitioner Research

Teaching involves making constant choices and orchestrating interventions that impact purposeful teaching and learning. Finding time to collect information and develop solutions for a teaching challenge can be problematic. Teachers may feel pressure to shift instructional practices without incorporating purposeful reflection. We developed a reflection framework and tested it in a middle grades classroom over a two-week period, and employed practitioner research to investigate the potential of allowing for deep reflection within the middle school structure. We investigated how the framework impacted the teacher’s ability to reflect and adjust based on student learning in the classroom. We conclude that sophisticated …


A Pre-Service Math Teacher's Analysis Of Practice Through The Lens Of Research, Andre Vaquero, Laura D. Sabella Jul 2018

A Pre-Service Math Teacher's Analysis Of Practice Through The Lens Of Research, Andre Vaquero, Laura D. Sabella

Journal of Practitioner Research

Understanding the prior knowledge and schema students bring to a lesson is important (Veenman, 1984), and without that crucial understanding, a teacher can create a gap between what students can actually learn and what the teacher is trying to teach (Schraw, 2006). After a pre-service math teacher realized valuable instructional time was wasted when students could not follow his instruction, he undertook this study to examine scaffolding as a problem of practice. In a high school Algebra 1 class, he taught a series of lessons during a unit on rational functions with a focus on understanding student foundational knowledge and …


Engaging In Practitioner Inquiry And Critical Dialogue To Explore Student Engagement In A Fifth-Grade Classroom, Bailey Brown, Steve Haberlin Jul 2018

Engaging In Practitioner Inquiry And Critical Dialogue To Explore Student Engagement In A Fifth-Grade Classroom, Bailey Brown, Steve Haberlin

Journal of Practitioner Research

Classroom management and student engagement remain a top concern among emerging teachers In this article, we, a preservice teacher in her final internship in an undergraduate elementary education program, and a university supervisor, engaged in inquiry and critical dialogue to explore how various instructional strategies impacted student engagement in a fifth-grade classroom. The teacher collected qualitative data through interviews, photographs, surveys and observational notes and searched for thematic patterns within the data. To further challenge her beliefs, assumptions and perspectives as an educator, the teacher and supervisor participated as critical friends by engaging in reflective dialogue about her practice and …


Shape Shifting: The Impact Of Student And Teacher Choice On Differentiation In A Detracked, Standards-Based High School Geometry Classroom, Kristin M. Weller Aug 2017

Shape Shifting: The Impact Of Student And Teacher Choice On Differentiation In A Detracked, Standards-Based High School Geometry Classroom, Kristin M. Weller

Journal of Practitioner Research

To gain insight into how using differentiated instruction and standards-based assessment supported my students’ learning in a detracked, honors geometry classroom, I employed the methodology of practitioner research to examine and reflect on the development and implementation of a standards-based differentiated unit based on the Pythagorean Theorem. Data collected and analyzed included field notes during classroom activities, student artifacts from classroom assessments and activities, verbatim transcripts from audiotaped student interviews, and practitioner researcher journal entries chronicling significant events and actions taken during the development and implementation of the unit. As I reviewed, analyzed, and reflected upon the data, my findings …


Using Pre-Assessments To Make Decisions About Differentiation In A Detracked High School Biology Classroom, Michelina Macdonald Aug 2017

Using Pre-Assessments To Make Decisions About Differentiation In A Detracked High School Biology Classroom, Michelina Macdonald

Journal of Practitioner Research

This article describes how one teacher used practitioner research to study the role that pre-assessment played when making decisions about student grouping and differentiated instruction within a detracked, honors biology classroom. Much detail is provided in this article describing the study design around a unit on protein synthesis and the steps taken in data analyses to contextualize this study within a practitioner research methodology. The teacher discusses her findings using a claim, evidence, and reasoning framework common in scientific inquiry to illustrate the effectiveness of using pre-assessment to group students for tiered instruction.