My topic of interest for my curriculum research project is student engagement during math class because, as a high school math teacher, I am often searching for different and more interactive ways to keep my students attentive, engaged, and focused. Kearsley and Shneiderman, the authors and creators of the Engagement Theory, describe engaged learning as the process when “all student activities involve active cognitive processes such as creating, problem-solving, reasoning, decision-making, and evaluation” (Kearsley & Shneiderman, 1998). In an effort to get students’ attention better and encourage them to get creative with the class material, I designed lesson plans with individualized learning strategies that promote the use of technology in the classroom and make the course content more relatable and exciting.
From my experience, students are more interested and eager to explore when they have the opportunity to incorporate new gadgets and innovative technological resources into their learning process. As stated by Robin (2016), the use of technology in the classroom is vital because it gives the students the chance to take advantage of their creative talents “as they begin to research and tell stories of their own, learn to use the library and the internet to study rich, in- depth content while analyzing and synthesizing a wide range of information and opinions” (Robin, 2016, p. 19). Moreover, when technology is used strategically and adequately in the classroom, it can improve academic performance and make a positive and significant difference in student engagement and motivation (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, as cited in Watson, 2015).
In addition to including technology, the lesson plans developed contain accommodation options for students who would like to alter their pace, as well as accommodation ideas for teachers doing remote instruction.
Furthermore, the two performance tasks in this unit will encourage students to take ownership of their learning process, and make decisions on the information and format they would like to use. Allowing students to choose an activity of their preference aids their learning and increases their motivation (Whitman & Kelleher, 2016).
The main limitation of this study is the fact the unit and the lesson plans were developed during a time when I am not currently teaching. Because of that, it was impossible to obtain any initial data regarding the tools or technological resources students enjoy and would like to see incorporated into the instruction and lessons. My main goal while designing these lessons was for teachers and students to find them helpful, engaging, and motivating, so students may discover a more enjoyable way to absorb new math concepts and curriculum. Due to not being in the classroom, it was also impossible to assess and evaluate using test scores and observations to ensure the efficiency of the newly-designed lesson plans.
Researching student engagement in the mathematics classroom has taught me many valuable lessons and was an eye-opening experience. Designing interactive lesson plans took me out of my comfort zone and encouraged me to try new things I had not thought of before.
Finding and watching tutorial videos and practice exercises to include in the lesson plans was humbling because it allowed me to follow the same process my students will go through in the future. Creating a website with all of my CR project content was gratifying and made me feel accomplished as an educator. It makes me proud to share what I have done with other teachers, and I hope they will find it useful.
When I started writing this curriculum research project, I saw it as an opportunity to improve my instruction and methodology as an educator. After working on this CR project and writing these lesson plans, I feel better prepared, empowered, and more confident to teach the Algebra 1 course in an engaging way, prioritizing individual learning.