WICKED PROBLEM PROJECT - PART A - A NEED OR AN OPPORTUNITY

1. What is the important educational need that you are seeking to address?

I teach an Integrated Geometry Strategies math course to 10th graders. Strategies is a math support class that students take in addition to their regular math class if they historically have trouble with math. With this being a remediation class, I have a collaborative teacher assist me in helping our students gain a better understanding of the concepts required of them. We do a lot of previewing and re-teaching of material but also allow students to play review games and complete projects. My collaborative teacher and I have tried many differentiated instruction ideas, however, we have not been able to fully engage our students to learn the curriculum which in turn produces behavior issues.

2. How you plan to address this educational issue with technology?

I have found that games work well with my group of students because of their competitive nature and the motivation they get from winning. However, I feel that students are only engaged in these activities based on winning and not on the learning. I want to come up with a way to assess my students’ learning but also keep them engaged in an activity. This is where technology comes into play. From doing research and having discussions with colleagues, I decided to utilize student response devices with my group of strategies students in order to engage them in learning the curriculum. I will also be able to see directly if their engagement effects their learning based on their results from the response devices.

3. Logistics of solution

I will use the response devices during the last week of instruction with my Integrated Geometry Strategies students. I have access to a class set of CPS response devices, so each student will have their own to use in my classroom. They will see each multiple-choice question appear on my smart board, have a limited amount of time to answer the question, and lock in their results by sending their answer via the response device. The questions that students will be answering with the devices will be review questions for their math final exams the following week. I will tell the class that the use of this technology will be contingent on their appropriate behavior in class and while using the devices.

4. Relevant research and resources

The research that I located has helped me to understand what a student response system is, how they are used in classrooms, and what effect they have on student learning, which will help with the implementation of my project. I was recommended a few of the resources by my CEP 812 instructor, Susan Wright, and found a few of my own by searching through the MSU Library and google’s Scholarly Articles .

Roger C. Lowery, a Ph.D. from UNC Wilmington, wrote a paper titled “Teaching and Learning with Interactive Student Response Systems: A Comparison of Commercial Products in the Higher-Education Market”. He suggests that this technology is designed to “create an engaging and inviting learning environment that will maximize active learning” and student participation. In his paper, he mentions the main benefits for using the student response devices: they improve student learning and teaching effectiveness. Dr. Lowery quotes other’s research on the topic which concludes preparation and alertness are increased and that participation comes from all students when using the devices. Even though Dr. Lowery conducted his research in a college setting, many of the benefits the student response devices produce with that age group can be shared with high school students.

Another source that focuses on use of the student response devices is “Teaching with Student Response System Technology: A Survey of K-12 Teachers”. This research was created based on a questionnaire for K-12 teachers about their experience with the response system. One main finding that I will be taking into account with my Wicked Problem is the type of value I place on the technology. According to the authors, “teachers who valued the system for its feedback to them and time-saving affordances would use it for judging whether students had mastered particular concepts, while teachers who sought to increase student attention and stimulate discussion would tend to use data from the system formatively to adjust their instruction.”

The last resource I chose is “Classroom Response Systems: A Review of the Literature” by Carmen Fies and Jill Marshall in which the authors discuss the various evaluations others have created on the student response devices. Some of the benefits that were included in this review were that classes that used the devices were “more interactive, more engaging, and more enjoyable”. It was also noted that teachers and students became “more aware of the condition of the students’ understanding, ultimately leading to more responsive instruction and to better understanding”.

Overall, the resources encouraged me to go forward with my Wicked Problem Project in hopes that I see positive changes in my students behavior, engagement, and understanding of the curriculum.

5. A plan for the portion you will implement during this course and the portion you will implement after this course completes.

Since my school year will be over May 27, my students will be using the devices for the majority of each day’s lesson during the last week of instruction, May 16 - 20. During the first few days, students will be working independently to answer questions I pose on the Smart Board to gain an understanding of how to use the devices. This will also allow me to evaluate the progress and learning of my students individually and offer additional instruction if needed. As a reward for good behavior and participation in the independent response lessons, I will conduct a game in which students will work in teams to answer questions during the last day of instruction. Seeing as my school year culminates prior to the end of this course, I plan to implement lessons that utilize the student response system more regularly with my strategies students next school year in order to better engage them in learning the curriculum.

6. How would you know you were successful?

To evaluate the success of this plan, I will have to look at several facets including my students’ learning and my effectiveness as a teacher due to the student response devices. The evidence that will tell me if this plan was a success is the engagement and motivation of my students to learn the curriculum. I will be able to tell if students are engaged if they actively participate, seek to understand why they got a problem incorrect, and get excited to use the technology. By using this system, I will be able to monitor my students’ individual responses and track their progress and students will get immediate feedback. I will also be able to tell when a majority of students have a misconception about a question and can address it on the spot.