Step 1: What is the observed impact after the ‘Take Action’ phase?
As I detailed in last weeks blog post, the result of my pre and post number knowledge testing shows a significant increase in number knowledge when comparing children at the beginning of the year to week 7. However, I think it may be a bit rash to claim that this is entirely down to the application of gamification principles to my class program. I will detail why this is below.
In terms of the qualitative interview data I gathered, a number of themes became apparent. Generally, students enjoyed the gamification aspects of the program. One boy stated, "I like the way I can get money for practising my times tables, it makes me want to do it". There did however seem to be a bit of a disconnect between children's mastery of basic number facts, and how readily they use them to solve problems.
Step 2: How is the observed impact different from or similar to the anticipated one?
As a school, we are having a focus on maths for 2019, more specifically children's grasp and use of number knowledge and place value. For that reason, all classes are focusing on pure number in term 1 and introducing strand concepts like geometry and measurement in terms 2-4. This means that the children have been exposed to a lot more pure number work and practice than they would normally at this time in the year. It is for this reason that it is hard to separate out the effect of my study from this whole school policy. A better experimental design would be to keep every aspect of my program the same as last years but include gamification aspects. However teaching in a primary school with all the complicated factors that entail, rarely allows for perfect experimental design!
One major difference in the observed impact versus the anticipated one is how my intervention affected children's sense of agency. This problem is not limited to our school. A Ministry of Education inquiry cycle centring on two schools (Ministry of Education, n.d.) found that a lot of the data shared with children was not particularly 'useful'. One of my interview questions was "What are your next steps?" Most of the children gave answers like "I need to practice my six times tables" or "I need to get faster on my times tables". This is obviously a direct result of the data I had shared with them (the number knowledge tests) and the importance I was placing on the test as a predictor of future learning. As I stated above, however, children often could not use these facts to solve problems, and I would like to have seen more holistic next steps from the children around using their maths knowledge.
Step 3: What is the impact on future inquiry/practice?
This inquiry has made me realise how much the assessments we prioritise will shape children's perceptions of success. In terms of raising children's levels of number knowledge, my inquiry achieved its goals, but children's interview answers around their next steps indicated that they considered number knowledge (a small part of the study of maths) to be the whole of maths.
In her blog 'Creative Maths', Dr Nicola Petty highlights 5 areas that show what mathematicians do. These are:
References
Creative Maths - What mathematician do. Available at: https://creativemaths.net/blog/what-mathematicians-do/
Ministry of Education (n.d.). Primary school teachers use maths assessment to increase student agency. Retrieved from http://elearning.tki.org.nz/Teaching/Snapshots-of-Learning/Spirals-of-inquiry-Maths-assessment
As I detailed in last weeks blog post, the result of my pre and post number knowledge testing shows a significant increase in number knowledge when comparing children at the beginning of the year to week 7. However, I think it may be a bit rash to claim that this is entirely down to the application of gamification principles to my class program. I will detail why this is below.
In terms of the qualitative interview data I gathered, a number of themes became apparent. Generally, students enjoyed the gamification aspects of the program. One boy stated, "I like the way I can get money for practising my times tables, it makes me want to do it". There did however seem to be a bit of a disconnect between children's mastery of basic number facts, and how readily they use them to solve problems.
Step 2: How is the observed impact different from or similar to the anticipated one?
As a school, we are having a focus on maths for 2019, more specifically children's grasp and use of number knowledge and place value. For that reason, all classes are focusing on pure number in term 1 and introducing strand concepts like geometry and measurement in terms 2-4. This means that the children have been exposed to a lot more pure number work and practice than they would normally at this time in the year. It is for this reason that it is hard to separate out the effect of my study from this whole school policy. A better experimental design would be to keep every aspect of my program the same as last years but include gamification aspects. However teaching in a primary school with all the complicated factors that entail, rarely allows for perfect experimental design!
One major difference in the observed impact versus the anticipated one is how my intervention affected children's sense of agency. This problem is not limited to our school. A Ministry of Education inquiry cycle centring on two schools (Ministry of Education, n.d.) found that a lot of the data shared with children was not particularly 'useful'. One of my interview questions was "What are your next steps?" Most of the children gave answers like "I need to practice my six times tables" or "I need to get faster on my times tables". This is obviously a direct result of the data I had shared with them (the number knowledge tests) and the importance I was placing on the test as a predictor of future learning. As I stated above, however, children often could not use these facts to solve problems, and I would like to have seen more holistic next steps from the children around using their maths knowledge.
Step 3: What is the impact on future inquiry/practice?
This inquiry has made me realise how much the assessments we prioritise will shape children's perceptions of success. In terms of raising children's levels of number knowledge, my inquiry achieved its goals, but children's interview answers around their next steps indicated that they considered number knowledge (a small part of the study of maths) to be the whole of maths.
In her blog 'Creative Maths', Dr Nicola Petty highlights 5 areas that show what mathematicians do. These are:
- Work in different ways
- Strive
- Explore
- Reason
- Find solutions
Knowledge of number facts is only a small part of 1 of these areas, yet my children often thought it was the majority of maths. A future target or area for inquiry would be how to enable children to set more overarching goals that better relate to the diverse skills mathematicians in the 21st century need, rather than "I need to get quicker at my 7x tables".
References
Creative Maths - What mathematician do. Available at: https://creativemaths.net/blog/what-mathematicians-do/
Ministry of Education (n.d.). Primary school teachers use maths assessment to increase student agency. Retrieved from http://elearning.tki.org.nz/Teaching/Snapshots-of-Learning/Spirals-of-inquiry-Maths-assessment
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