Reflection
What was learned...
The most obvious observation I gathered from this study, is that students are much more engaged in math when station style teaching is implemented compared to whole group teaching. The data showed that almost all students were engaged during math stations throughout the majority of the study. Students required fewer re-directions throughout stations.
I also learned student engagement can greatly affect students feelings towards what they are learning.Prior to this study, students were not excited about math, and often complained during whole group instruction. It was continually difficult to keep students engaged and on task. Once the study began and stations were implemented on a daily basis there was a huge shift in students' attitudes. Students were excited for math and expressed interest in wanting to complete all of the stations.
Successes & Challenges
Implementing stations during math was overall very successful. The study resulted in a substantial increase in student engagement, which was the purpose of the study. With an increase in engagement also came an increase in positive attitudes towards math. I would also consider this a great success.
Students were also able to successfully move through the stations independently. Management was a concern of mine prior to implementing this study. It was encouraging to be able to trust my students to self-monitor and work together respectfully.
There were some challenges in implementing this study. The biggest challenged was time management. Each station lasted ten minutes with about a minute of transition time between each. Combined with a short ten to fifteen minute whole group lesson, it could be difficult to fit everything in at times. This challenged forced me to be aware of how much time was being spent on things such as transitions, getting materials, explaining directions, etc. Although this could be difficult, it was a challenge that improved my overall teaching and time management.
Another challenge that was often faced, was preparing all of the necessary materials for each station. Because the students were grouped by ability, many of the activities planned for seat work were differentiated to meet the needs of each group. Finding these differentiated activities and getting them all in place was very time consuming. It was also challenging for students to take care of the materials used for hands on or math games, which resulted in much time being spent reorganizing these things.
Impact
Student learning was greatly impacted by this action research. The students were placed into groups based on ability. This allowed for instruction throughout the stations to be differentiated to meet the individualized needs of each group. Stations allowed me to meet with every student in a small group setting, which increased my ability to assess students needs and their level of understanding with the material. This assessment guided my instruction and in turn, gave students a better chance at success. I was able to have more meaningful conversations with each group of students, that would not have been possible in a whole group setting.
Student learning also increased as students engagement increased. Students looked forward to math each day and made the material they were learning fun and interesting. Students were more actively involved in their learning and were given more opportunities to engage and participate in the learning.
This action research study also improved students' collaboration skills, which is a 21st century skill. Students worked every day in small groups as they moved through each station. The Hands On station required students to work with a partner or partners by playing math games. Students had to learn to collaborate with one another in selecting which game they wanted to play, following the rules of the selected game, and assisting each other when needed. Being able to work well in small groups and collaborate with others is an important skill that we must begin teaching our students in the primary grades.
Impact on Student Learning
Impact on Teaching
One of the main reasons I selected math stations as my action research was to improve my own abilities and confidence in math instruction. Math has consistently been the area that I feel the least confident in teaching. I found I struggled to keep my class engaged when teaching math, particularly during whole group instruction. I also experienced difficulty in differentiating instruction through whole group. I had many students who needed further interventions with the content as well as students who could benefit from extension of the content. These were all frustrations of mine and I was determined to find a way to improve this area of instruction.
I found that stations have been a great solution to these struggles. Incorporating math stations have increased student engagement and attitudes toward math, which has help increased my level of confidence in teaching. Stations also allow me to work more closely with the content and provide students with a hands-on way of interacting with the curriculum. With stations, my teaching is able to be more easily differentiated. This has given me the opportunity to provide students with individualized instruction, allowing for interventions and extensions. Stations have relieved several of the issues I was experiencing in terms of my challenges with whole group math instruction. I will continue to teach math, using stations, as we finish this school year as well as in the future.
Impact on Professional Growth
This action research study has helped me grow as a professional. Prior to this study, I felt uneasy about teaching math. I had attempted to implement stations throughout the year, with little success. I was unfamiliar with how to coordinate stations and what types of activities would be engaging and appropriate. This study allowed me to gain knowledge on what research supports as best practice for strategies to implement throughout math stations. Being able to research and discover what other professionals find effective is a great way to learn and grow in any field, especially teaching. Moving forward, I will continue to research best practices to help improve all areas of my instruction.
Being flexible and able to adapt is an important part of being a teacher. When I first began this action research study, my initial intent was to focus on students' fact fluency. As I began my action plan, it quickly became apparent that all of the researched strategies were working to increase student engagement. In this moment, I grew as a professional as I forced myself to be flexible and adapt to the needs of my classroom. It was obvious that my students had been struggling to remain engaged during math and that stations may be the answer to increasing the level of student engagement. I made the professional decision to change my study to instead determine if stations would increase student engagement, rather than increase student scores on a timed math test. My students would receive many more benefits from being actively engaged during math rather than being able to complete math problems quickly. This action research study allowed me to self reflect which promoted growth in my professional career.
Changes for the Future
To continue effectively implementing math stations in the future, there are a few changes or modifications that would be beneficial. One modification I would like to make for future use would be how I display what groups the students are in and how they are rotating. During this study, students names were placed on a note card corresponding to their groups, which were movable via a clothes pin. This method worked well enough, however it caused longer transitions to have to manually move each note card. I would like to explore options of possibly using an electronic version of the M.A.T.H. chart to make transitions run more smoothly and quickly. This would hopefully allow for more time to meet with each group.
A second modification I would like to make would be better organization and storage of the materials used for the stations (games, flashcards, etc.). I stored all of the materials for the math games in a basket that was located at the front of the room. Many games required playing cards which were kept in a plastic Ziploc bag. I often found that these materials were difficult for the students to keep organized and in good working condition. Many times bags would rip and need to be replaced which caused some pieces to get lost or mixed with other games. Better organization of materials could also aid in decreasing transition time as it would allow students to clean up their station more quickly.
One last change I would make is being more flexible with my grouping. The way students were organized into groups was intended to be flexible, meaning students could move from one group to another based on their individual abilities and needs. However, it was very rare for a student to ever switch groups. Based on continuous assessments, most of the groups remained stagnant because students' abilities increased at similar rates. My middle two groups were pretty closely related in terms of ability. The students in these two groups may have benefited from movement within their grouping, allowing students to work with others who may bring different strengths and strategies to the group.
Additional Connections
This action research study directly connects to the five core propositions of teaching. In choosing to complete this action researching study, I am meeting the first core proposition. This study asked me to find an area of growth in my classroom and research and implement ways to improve that area. Implementing strategies to meet the needs of my class is being committed to my students and their success. In order to find what our students need to improve, we must know our students and know their needs. I knew my students were lacking engagement when I was teaching math. Choosing to implement math stations was in response to what I knew my students needed as learners, which meets the second core proposition. Assessing our students and collecting data based on our study, meets the third core proposition. Working with students in stations allowed me to more easily assess my students and meet this proposition. The fourth core proposition highlights how teachers must think systematically about their teaching practices. When decided what area of growth my students have, I also reflected on what areas of my teaching I wanted to grow. I recognized my struggle in feeling confident in teaching math and aligned my needs with the needs of my students. Finally, this capstone project allows myself and my C.A.D.R.E. cohorts to be a part of a learning community, which is the fifth core proposition. As members of C.A.D.R.E. we shared our ideas and strategies for success with one another. I was able to gain immense insight into what strategies work for others for math instruction in their own classroom and apply those strategies into my own study.
This study also connects with the INTASC teaching standards. The first standard focuses on the development of the learners. For this study, I found an area of growth and research ways that would be developmentally appropriate to help improve that specific area, which was engagement during math instruction. Math stations were appropriate for first graders, were an engaging way to practice the material, and still offered challenging activities for the students. The second standard recognizes that students are diverse and individual learners. Implementing math stations as part of my research study allowed me to differentiate my instruction to better meet the diverse needs of all my students by working with them in small, ability leveled, groups. The third standard refers to creating a learning environment that supports both individual and collaborative learning. Stations met this standard through the At Your Seat, Technology and Hands On stations. During the At Your Seat and Technology stations, students had to work independently to practice skills. During the Hands On station, students had to work with their group members to play math games. Standard four notes that teachers should understand the concepts, tools of inquiry, and disciplines of learning experiences and make them accessible to students. I believe the structure of stations met this standard, especially through the Meet the Teacher station when students met directly with me. The fifth standard discusses applying content which was done throughout all four rotations of math stations. This study met the sixth standard of assessment by allowing formative and summative assessments administered in small groups. Math stations were well thought out and instruction was planned on a daily basis, which meets the seventh INTASC standard. As indicated in my research study, there were several different instructional strategies implemented throughout the math stations. These strategies meet the eighth standard. The ninth standard is that teachers engage in ongoing professional learning, which is met by being a member of our masters program and completing this action research study. Finally, the tenth standard indicates that teachers seek to collaborate with their colleagues, other school professionals, etc. which was done all throughout this research study to better guide my research and actions taken.
