Miguel Solis & Dr. Ivona Grzegorczyk
Abstract
Typically, middle school students like to work in groups and share their work with others. However, contemporary research in mathematics education is showing mixed results for different organization of classroom work, from very positive to very negative as compared with assessments of learners’ performances in various settings. My research project is to study two 6th grade mathematics classes taught using two different methods – one focused on small group work, the other on individual problem solving. Both sections are quizzed on mastery of the mathematical background knowledge appropriate for school curriculum. We collected data on learners’ preferences, engagement and performances on tests and analyze them statistically to assess each group and decide on correlations between student preferences for individual or group work and effectiveness of each methodology. Their performance on specific mathematical concepts is graded in the context of the methodology of teaching and learning they were exposed to. We try to identify various subgroups with different characteristics that benefit for each setting and compare them with members test scores and preferences. Our results show that students preferring individual work or group learn more effectively in their chosen environment.
Details
Session 1
9:30am – 11:00am
Grand Salon
Leave a Reply