Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
Michael Roman
Abstract
experiences, I started to notice that not every student was truly engaged in the lessons.
Students seemed to get into a routine of purely memorization and did not care on the
hows and whys. While this is a short-term solution, long-term it is not an effective
way of learning. It is no secret that if students are not being engaged in the lesson, they
will not want to learn. This is exactly the case with mathematics. To find a solution to the
at the Bronx High School of Science. I determined that the inquiry based model was the
most effective for engaging students and in turn increasing student achievement and
motivation. Although I was not able to teach a full lesson, I was able to work with a small
them learn as effectively as possible using the inquiry based model. My findings support
the usage of inquiry in mathematics classes. Moving forward, I would like to teach a full
Introduction
international test called the Program for International Student Assessment, or PISA
or OECD, students from the United States declined in average mathematics scores and
ranked behind thirty-six different nations. Mathematics remains the subject that United
States students comparatively achieve the worst in and American students continue to
score below the OECD average. To combat these low mathematics scores Jon Star, a
Harvard education professor, suggests that high school teachers should strive to ask
their students better questions, wait longer for students to come up with answers, think
about project-based problems that would challenge their students more, and be more
reflective about their teaching practice. (Harrington, 2016). I agree with Stars solutions
to the mathematics scores problem; I believe students need to be more engaged and
challenged by their teachers to effectively learn mathematics or any school topic for that
matter. While researching signature pedagogy styles, inquiry seems to address all the
points that Star brings up and is the pedagogy I hope to implement in my future
classroom.
the actual content on the field. There are, however, different types of an inquiry
classroom one could set up in their classroom. One type is guided inquiry. In guided
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inquiry, during the explore stage of inquiry, learners are only given a question. The main
goal for students is to design the method of investigation and then test the results. One
other type of inquiry is conformational inquiry. This is where the students are given the
questions, the method of solving the questions, and the result, and they must confirm
the result for themselves. This allows students to reinforce established ideas and
inquiry is where the student is given the questions and the method of solving the
questions. They must find the result for themselves. The goal is to provide one
explanation that is already supported by the evidence gathered during and through the
investigative process. Finally, open inquiry is where the learners must form their own
questions, design their own investigative methods, and then carry out the inquiry itself.
Although the idea of inquiry pedagogy seems like it will be effective in the
classroom, we need to look at examples of it in action and see how it affects students.
We need to see proof that students are benefitting from inquiry investigations. There are
2010). Each curriculum was implemented into two eighth grade pre-algebra classrooms.
The study was based on data collected before and after each of the two units of study.
Fifty-two suburban eighth grade students represented the sample population. This study
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marginally better than the students in the traditional mathematics classroom. From the
pre-test to the post-test, the mean scores of students increased nine points in the
inquiry model. The results clearly showed that inquiry-based mathematics instruction is
effective in improving students understanding and comprehension. One reason for the
scores being higher in the inquiry based classroom is because students are encouraged
to investigate and search for patterns without teachers directly giving them formulas and
rules. If instructors were only to give their students formulas and rule, then they are not
required to understand how and why the algorithms work, but instead only need to
memorize them. This is obviously a problem for students because they will have
difficulty applying what they learned to different and more complex problems going
forward.
students achievement and performance, but we also we need to look at the effect it has
on student attitude and motivation; we need to make sure students are motivated to
learn through inquiry and not purely memorizing the material. Another study I looked at
and Achievement: A Meta-Analytic Study, looks at just that. This study looks at all the
studies published on the effects of inquiry and other innovative teaching methods in
mathematics and science, and then reports them and makes conclusions; it provides a
2016). Based on the results, the study found that inquiry and other innovative teaching
methods had a positive effect on student attitude. The study found positive effects on
Overall Attitude, General Interest, and Career Interest. This is important, especially in
mathematics, because one of the main issues for students learning mathematics is lack
of interest. The study did also consider the effect inquiry and other innovative teaching
styles has on student achievement; there was a large and significant effect found. The
value the study based its criterion on is much higher in inquiry classrooms than the
typical value for achievement reported in other studies for non-inquiry classrooms.
In the search for the effectiveness of inquiry, we must also look at the
effectiveness of the models used to teach inquiry. One model is called the 5E Learning
Cycle Model. The name of the constructivist learning cycle comes for the five different
phases; engage, explore, explain, expand, and evaluate. In the study The Effect of 5E
and the Permanence of Their Knowledge, researchers examine the effect the 5E model
the experiment, there were two randomly assigned groups. One was the experiment
group and the other one was the control group. The students in the experimental group
took the trigonometry where the 5E learning model based on the constructivist approach
was used. The students in the control group took the same course without the 5E
learning model and were taught by their mathematics teacher in an environment where
the activities of traditional mathematics curriculum are used. The working group of this
research consists of forty-nine students in 10th grade. In the experimental group, there
are twenty-five students (thirteen girls and twelve boys) and in the control group, there
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are twenty-four students (twelve girls and twelve boys). The pre-test determined that
there was so statistical difference between the two groups in mathematics achievement
and trigonometry achievement before the study. The results of the research found that
the 5E learning cycle model effects both students achievement and the permanence of
and control group students scores on the post-test, which was used to determine
model based on the constructivist approach had higher scores on the post-test and
were more successful in the course than students in the control group. Another
significant statistical difference was determined between the two groups one the
knowledge permanence test. Again, the experimental group was more successful and
performed better than the control group. Not only does this show inquiry is effective in a
mathematics classroom as far as achievement goes, but it is also effective for retaining
Classroom Observations
observing teachers whilst they teach their classes. This semester I observed at the
Bronx High School of Science. It is a selective public high school in New York City that
is ranked among the top fifty high schools in the country as well as among the top few in
New York State. During my field hours, I observed in four different classes; a science
is not a course I have a strong background in, I will focus on the Advanced Placement
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Calculus. In this class, inquiry was heavily featured. Therefore, we can look at the effect
inquiry has on this high school mathematics classes. The type of inquiry used in these
classes was structured inquiry. Students were often asked questions and given the
means of investigation. However, they had to discover the results in their investigations.
The students also had to present their results. Surprisingly to me, the students were
extremely engaged. The teachers would tell the students to share their answers with the
class. It seemed all the students were raising their hands and volunteering to speak,
they seemed eager to contribute as if it were not just a chore. Not only were students
learning but they were being motivated to learn. The teachers were involved in making
sure every student was participating and completing their work such as the Do Now.
Students were in charge of determining the goals and the aims of the lessons
themselves. The lessons were extremely student-centered, and the teacher reviewed
what the students learned at the end. It was evident that the students were effectively
worksheets. This example clearly shows inquiry learning as engaging the students to
Constructing a Plan
However, in Advancement Placement Calculus I was able to work with a group of four
students several times throughout my time observing. My goal was to help these
students learn as effectively as possible. In order to properly accomplish this goal, I had
to devise a plan for when I talked with these students. Since my research has pointed
me in the direction of inquiry being the best pedagogy for mathematics, I would like to
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engage the students while helping them and focusing on the students, especially
because the main problem in mathematics is that students are not being engaged and
meeting with them. I plan to point students in the right direction of the question, but not
simply tell them the answer. I will do this by asking guiding questions. For example,
during the quotient rule of derivatives lessons, if students are struggling with the
concept, I will tell them to review the notes they took and ask them to tell me the first
functions. The students will then explain that the derivative of a quotient f(x)/g(x) is
equal to [g(x) f(x) f(x) g(x)] / [g(x)] ^2, where f(x) is the numerator, g(x) is the
denominator, and f(x) and g(x) are the derivative of the functions respectively. But it is
important that for the students to effectively learn that they explain how the process
works. Another part of my plan is that when I see students with incorrect answers, I will
ask them to explain their thought process and work to see how they got their answer.
This way they can reflect on their work and see what they did incorrectly. My plan is a
form of inquiry because of the way it engages students. It is like the engage and explore
phases of the 5E model because I will be asking students questions to get them
involved in the lesson. The only difference is that instead of being engaged by the
lesson, students will be engaged by their own work. Another part of my plan is the
attitude and atmosphere that will be established when working with the students. I want
students to feel comfortable and for them to feel that learning mathematics can be fun. If
immersed in learning.
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During my observation hours at the Bronx High School of Science, I was able to
work with a group of four students in the Advanced Placement Calculus class. The class
consisted of mostly twelfth graders. During the day students learned the quotient rule, I
worked with them once their lecture was over and while they were working on a
worksheet. I started off working with the students by quickly reviewing the process of
taking the derivative of a function. The students all seemed to remember the concept
well, so I moved forward into the next step which was taking the derivative of a quotient.
I asked students to walk me through the process. One of them struggled to remember,
but was quickly reminded when they had looked at their notes. While reviewing the
process, I had each student tell me a step respectively on how to find the derivative of a
quotient of functions. This way every student was engaged. The students seemed to
enjoy this way of review because they felt they were working together to help each
other.
asked the students to give me one example in which the quotient rule is the proper
method of solving. Once a student shared their example, I had each student solve it to
make sure everybody understood the rule. I then asked for one student to walk through
with the others how they applied the quotient rule to the problem. Once every student
understood the process behind solving it, we moved on to the worksheet. I told the
students to work on the worksheets collaboratively and ask each other questions.
However, I did not go through the worksheet with students. I was there for students to
ask me questions. Several times students asked me if they did the problem correctly, to
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which I would have them explain their work and thought process to me. If they made
any mistakes they would realize them once they were tasked with explaining the
answer. When the period was nearing completion, I asked students if they had any
more questions. Once everything was clarified, that was the end of the day.
Reflection
I am glad to have been able to work with such wonderful students and teachers
at Bronx High School of Science. It was a great experience being able to work hands on
with high school mathematics students, the same group I would like to teach in the
future. I enjoyed the pleasure of being able to help these students learn, as well as the
challenges associated with the process. One challenge I had was finding a balance
between work and fun. I wanted students to enjoy what they were doing, but they also
needed to be working and not just goofing around. In order to combat this, I let students
have some freedom by working collaboratively, but I checked in with them to make sure
I was also pleased to see how inquiry worked in actual classrooms. The students
were always enthusiastic about learning. This teaching style seems to me to be the best
pedagogy when it comes to teaching mathematics, and my field hours solidified that
stance. Going forward, I plan on doing more research on the effect inquiry has on
student learning. In my future classrooms, I hope that inquiry based learning can bring
students the same passion for learning as the ones in Bronx High School of Science. I
also plan on becoming a tutor, so I would love to see how inquiry based learning works
in one-on-one settings.
Conclusion
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Since I was in elementary school, mathematics has been such an important part
of my life and for the most part has been my favorite subject to learn and teach to
want to engage them in the subject and have them be fascinated by their investigations
on the topics. My research on the issue as well as my field hours at Bronx High School
of Science have led me to believe that inquiry based teaching is the most effective
everything that a lot of mathematics students are not being exposed and this is the
reason for the lack of student engagement and in turn the performance drop offs.
Moving forward from this paper, I would like to keep focusing on inquiry as my
major pedagogy. I would like to continue to research studies on the topic and see how it
affects students performance and attitude. I would also like to use different styles of
inquiry during my future observation hours and student teaching to get a bigger sample
size of how the pedagogy works in mathematics classes first hand. I will continue to
construct plans, and hopefully be able to teach a full lesson, using inquiry to get
students to be engaged. If we implement inquiry into our lessons, I believe that students
will be immersed in the lesson and in turn have higher success in achievement and
academic motivation.
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Sources
Harrington, Theresa (2016). U.S. math scores decline on international test of 15-year-
olds.
Savelsburgh, Elwin, & Rietbergen, Charlotte (2016). Effects of innovative science and
study.
Kacar, Ahmet (2013). The Effect of 5E Learning Cycle Model in Teaching Trigonometry