Drexel University

Master of Science in Learning Technologies Graduate Cooperative Education Final Co-op Plan FORM

Name:

Maureen Maikner

Phone #:

6107801507

Please complete this Final Co-op Plan and submit by the course due date. Statement of Purpose

The purpose of my co-op experience is to assess student learning through their reactions to mathematics as they use social media outside of the classroom. I want to focus on this particular problem because assessment is often hard to compile because students in a mathematics classroom do not participate. I hope that by incorporating social media out of the classroom students will respond; thus giving the instructor more tools to assess with.
Professional/Personal Learning Objectives (at least three) Objective One: To present findings to division, college, and/ or at a conference. Objective Two: To identify more ways to diversify the mathematics classroom experience and instructional methods. Objective Three: To enhance my ability to recognize student thoughts to mathematics as they respond. Strategically Planning your Co-op: Goals, Objectives and Timeline for Deliverables Goal One: Encourage use of social media outside of the mathematics classroom. Objectives: 1. Establish mandatory discussion board postings for students each week. (Each week until November) PROMPT

Directions: Once you post your mathematics topic/idea to a social media platform, you need to tell me and other students a few things. (Complete) 1) The first: Where can we find it? Do you have a link where others can view it? This serves as a proof to me that you have actually done it. If you cannot find a link, then take a screenshot/ or picture of your posting and post it here. 2) The second: How does it relate to mathematics? Now, I am not asking for a book or a proof or anything. I just want to know how you THINK your post relates to mathematics. Please at least provide a few sentences.
2. Provide opened survey at the end of the project. (November) Page 1

PROMPT a. Give a general response, what did you learn from your postings every week? b. How do your postings of mathematics connect to the mathematics we have studied thus far in this class?

Goal Two: Analyze student engagement and assessment of social media use. * Objectives: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Examine social media postings each week. Uncover any similarities on what is chosen to post by the students. Note any retweets or shares done by students that are in the class or outside of the class. Examine discussion board postings each week. Look and account for operation usage, authentic situation, informal and formal vocabulary, and area of mathematics in the discussion board. 6. Note any possible communication between students present on discussion board. 7. Compare student participation of weeks that are graded and those that are not. *All objectives have a timeline that is ongoing up until compilation of the final paper is complete. Finalized Theoretical Framework / Projected Outcomes and Evaluation Plans Because students are hardly transferring their feelings and reactions of mathematics and are feeling as if there is no authenticity in learning it, assessment of student reactions, thoughts, feelings, strengths and weaknesses becomes difficult. However, social media is the new tool today in education. It is believed that some social media when implemented correctly into the classroom provides a form of assessment by accessing engagement, motivation, and a problem solving based approach. Studies have shown that students are more likely to find content areas given that social media is at their fingertips and that within that content area there exists a common interest. Classrooms that are incorporating social media projects have instructors seeing more involvement in discussion about their discoveries and what they found with other students. Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, with the help of hastags can help to track the progress of posts. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of social media in accordance with assessment and engagement, student work will be a major portion of evaluation. In a class MAT 125 Fundamentals of Mathematics where future elementary education students are learning how to teach and the development of content, students will be involved in the social media project. Students will post each week to the social media are of their choice and identify where they have found mathematics in their daily lives. They will then have to post to the discussion board discussing how what they found relates to mathematics. Student work corresponding with to a discussion board and their actual posts will also be used. In addition, an open-ended survey will be used. The hope is that students will post and will elaborate on their posts because utilizing social media and the mathematics discovered encourages participation. In addition, if others students find their post interesting they may respond. This is further engagement and assessment. Lastly, the hope is that students will be able to briefly describe, using their mathematical knowledge, how what they found connects back to mathematics.

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List of Mentors and Participants Involved in your Co-op Participant Name Julie Labbiento Job Title / Position Professor Of Mathematics Role In Co-op Assisting in discussing and analyzing of information Assisting in developing ideas for possible presentation to division.

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