CAPSTONE PROJECT: EDIT 6910 - Bold Mathematics



CAPSTONE PROJECT: EDIT 6910Problem Statement and Document DesignSubmitted by: Pamala Bolden5/18/2014Dr. Mark Clauburg, InstructorProject StatementHenry County High School is a public education facility servicing approximately 1,053 students in grades nine through twelve. CITATION Pub11 \l 1033 (Henry County High School, 2011) This school was awarded a School Improvement Grant (SIG) in 2010 and was removed from the state Needs Improvement (NI) List in 2013. After experiencing several years of instable standardized test scores in mathematics, the math department is struggling to maintain a constant growth in scores. The school has experienced several peaks in test scores over the past few years and is expecting a greater decline this year. The drop in test scores is believed to be directly related to poor fundamental skills in mathematics. Based on data collected during recent formative and summative assessments, students have not consistently shown mastery in basic algebra concepts such as solving for variables, factoring trinomials, or graphing linear equations. It is the fundamental skills which allow the students to easily transition from one rigorous concept to the next or from one course level to the next. It has become a critical need to improve and consistently maintain meeting or exceeding scores for all students on state mandated assessment to avoid being a contributing factor to being placed back on the NI list.I am proposing a hybrid prerequisite skills learning module. Prior to delivering instructions on each new unit, teachers will administer a formative assessment on prerequisite skills needed for the unit. Students will be required to show mastery of at least 70% of the prerequisite skills in order to move forward in instructions. Otherwise, students will be required to complete the prerequisite skills module in a differentiated learning center. Students will be allowed to reenter whole group or small group instructions for continued learning upon successfully completing the prerequisite skills module. The hybrid design will allow teachers to “reach and teach students more effectively”. CITATION The13 \l 1033 (The Definition Of Blended Learning, 2013) The design of the hybrid prerequisite skills learning module will be indexed in such a way the students will be able to customize their training on specific skills. Modules may be selected as needed and the same modules may be used for multiple learning units. Therefore, students will get a repeated look at prerequisite skills until they are proficient. It is expected that improved prerequisite skills will result in accelerated learning of more rigorous concepts.Section I: AnalysisPROJECT DESCRIPTION & GOAL ANALYSIS: Henry County High School was recently removed from the state schools’ Needs Improvement list. Mathematics was one of the areas contributing to this designation and the department that is currently struggling to maintain acceptable pass rates. This project is a proposed intervention to address the fluctuation in standardized test scores and the need to stabilize the test scores in the meet or exceed category defined by the state’s Department of Education. The project design is to formatively assess students’ prerequisite skills prior to starting a new unit or concept. Students must demonstrate a mastery level of 70% or better on the prerequisite assessments to continue instructions. Otherwise, they will be required to successfully complete a hybrid prerequisite skill module. The module will be designed to strengthen their fundamental algebra skills in order to successfully complete the more rigorous curriculum. The hybrid model will allow the instructor to facilitate the work of the students completing the module but also free the instructor for differentiated instruction for other students. The online portion of instruction will provide skill practice and assessments specific to prerequisite skills for the current unit. Students showing proficient progress will return to the original course curriculum for continued instructions. “A goal analysis [will] use the needs assessment data to determine goals for the instruction”. (Morrison & et al., 2013, pg. 38) The goals for instruction are as follows:All students demonstrate 70% or better mastery on prerequisite skills.Most students (>80%) demonstrate proficient mastery of unit concepts by scoring 70% or better on summative assessments.Most students (>80%) receives a meet or exceed designation on state standardized assessments. NEEDS ANALYSIS: The problem needing to be addressed is inconsistent test scores on state mandated assessments. The following data is provided by the state Department of Education for Henry County High School. CITATION GaD14 \l 1033 (DOE, 2014)Math I and Math II are two of the predictor courses used in the calculation for the school’s AYP (Annual Yearly Progress). The graphs above clearly shows the inconsistent pattern in test scores over the past three to four years. The rollercoaster trend shows the percent of students passing the state mandated End-of-course test. This information will be used as baseline data for comparing measurable gains. Data collected from formative assessments and interview results from instructors of these courses does indicate an instructional intervention is a viable solution to the problem. I am proposing introducing a prerequisite skills learning module prior to teaching the upcoming concept. This module will be designed to prepare the students with the fundamental algebra skills necessary to successfully master the upcoming concept. Prerequisite skills’ training is believed to be the most effective solution at this time. LEARNER ANALYSIS: According to Morrison et al., “it is essential…to give attention to the characteristics, abilities, and experiences of the learners – both as a group and as individuals” when designing instruction. (Morrison & et al., 2013, pg. 56) This project will be designed for high school students fifteen to seventeen years of age or students in grades nine through eleven. The student population at Henry County High is culturally diverse serving 78% African American, 12% White, 8%Hispanic, and 2% other. CITATION GaD14 \l 1033 (DOE, 2014) The majority of the student population is believed to be economically challenged based on free and reduced lunch data of the school and although intellectually capable, students lack motivation for academic achievement. Additionally, special needs students with varying degrees of learning disabilities are included in the typical classroom setting. The learning style of the students is primarily visual. Students have been exposed to the prerequisite concepts in prior math classes. Therefore, some prior knowledge transfer is expected in subsequent instructions. Most students have in their possession either a cell phone, iPad, iPod, or tablet generally with internet access. Many students also have internet access at home. However, these devices are used more for entertainment rather than academic advancement. The SIG grant made it possible for Henry County High School to become technology rich therefore; all students have access to various forms of technology at school. The majority of students is comfortable with and enjoys using technology at school. PERFORMANCE GAP ANALYSIS: “For training to be effective, it must address the appropriate problem, not simply its symptoms”. (Morrison & et al., 2013, pg. 42) Therefore, the assessments will be a guide to target performance issues. Formative and summative assessments have shown there is a lack of solid fundamental algebra skills. The lack of motivation, no outside reinforcement (students refuse to do homework), and little to no parental involvement has also contributed to the inconsistencies in performance. The expectation is students have some prior knowledge of basic algebra skills. The prerequisite skills intervention will aim to first build upon and solidify these fundamental algebra skills. It is expected with successful mastery of the basic algebra skills, students will be more confident and motivated to merge back into the regular instruction with an eagerness to succeed. The expected outcome is an increase and stabilization of standardized test scores. CONTEXTUAL ANALYSIS: The types of context are defined by Morrison et al. as “orienting context, which focuses primarily on the learner…instructional context, which provides information about the physical environment, and scheduling of training, [and] …transfer context, which considers the opportunities for transferring the knowledge and skills to new situations”. (Morrison & et al., 2013, pg. 61) Orienting context will be address by using technology as entertainment masking the learning objectives and incentives for added motivation. The learning environment is a typical high school classroom. Most rooms are arranged to accommodate group activities or collaborative learning. This set-up makes it easy for differentiated instruction to naturally occur. The noise level may be moderate at times because the typical class size is twenty-seven students. The lighting in each room is bright but some rooms will vary the lighting depending on individual instructor and student preference. The temperature of the rooms is weather appropriate and usually comfortable. Each room is equipped with Smartboard technology, active slates, at least one student workstation, a flat-screen TV, mounted projector, TI-nspire calculators or other calculators appropriate for different classes, document cams, and access to either a mobile laptop cart or a computer lab upon request which accommodates thirty-two students. Other technology such as student Learner Response Systems, nooks, and teacher’s iPads are also available for checkout through the schools’ media center. UNIT GOALS:The intended goals of the prerequisite skills learning module are as follows:Identify students needing algebra prerequisite skills remediation prior to teaching unit concepts.Provide customized skills remediation as needed.Reassess students’ algebra prerequisite skills to assure 70% mastery.If 70% mastery has not been achieved, one-on-one instructor intervention will be provided. Otherwise, students achieving minimum mastery will be integrated back into either small group or whole group instruction.Students scoring 70% or greater on formative and summative assessments will meet the basic objectives of the module. However, these assessments will be used as key indicators to make educated predictions about how successful students should be on EOCTs. The primary goal will be consistently achieving a meet or exceed ranking on the EOCTs.EOCTs are given only once a year. Therefore, we will use both formative and summative assessments as our just-in-time indicators and predictors. Based on historical data collection of summative assessments, teachers have been able to predict with an approximate one percent margin of error the number of students who would successfully meet or exceed on the mathematics EOCT. TOPIC ANALYSIS: This module will be designed to insert new topics as the needs arise. Many topics may be used for multiple units giving the students repeated exposure and reinforcement. The initial topics will be prerequisites skills common to most units. Each topic can be completed within 30-60 minutes. The topics are as follows:Simplifying Expressions with IntegersAdding IntegersThe Rules for Adding IntegersWhen the integers have the same signs, add the integers and keep the sign.When the integers have different signs, subtract and keep the sign of the integer having the largest absolute value.Subtracting IntegersThe Rules for Subtracting IntegersRewrite all subtraction problems as additionsSubtracting is the same as adding the oppositeMultiplying IntegersThe Rules for Multiplying IntegersIf both integers have the same sign, the product is positiveIf both integers have different signs, the product is negativeDividing IntegersThe Rules for Dividing IntegersIf both integers have the same sign, the quotient is positive. If both integers have different signs, the quotient is negativeSimplifying Expressions with Rational Numbers (Fractions)Multiplying Rational Numbers (Fractions)Multiply all numerators togetherMultiply all denominators togetherDividing Rational Numbers (Fractions)To divide by a fraction, multiply by its’ reciprocalAdding and Subtracting Rational Numbers (Fractions)The LCD – The Least Common DenominatorYou must have the same denominator for both fractionsFind the prime factorization of each numberSolving Multi-Step Linear EquationsA multi-step equation is an equation requiring more than one step to solveCombine like termsTerms with the same variables, with the same powersRewrite terms with equivalent expressionSolve for the variableUndo the current operation to solve for the variableDivide to reverse multiplication (or reverse)Subtract to reverse addition (or reverse)Check the solutionReplace all variables with the solution and solvePROCEDURAL ANALYSIS: The following procedure will guide the learner through each step of the process.Step: Student will…CueFormatively assess prerequisite skillsDemonstrates 70% mastery of skillBe assigned topic(s) for remediation <70% mastery on prerequisite skill Receive iPad assignment from instructorLaunch Elevated Math AppSelect topic for remediation (if multiple topics, the topics may be selected in any order)Topics will be named according to prerequisite skill(s)Hold the iPad in the portrait position to display the toolbar and interactive white boardWide screen, calculator, eraser, screen eraser, and color pencils icon along with the white board should display *View animated introduction cartoon*optionalBegin lesson by selecting (touching) the guided practice tab on the navigation barControl the pace of the lesson by tapping the screen to play or pause instructions. Use index finger to write/solve problems on interactive white board. Tap replay to repeat steps or entire lesson.The lessons are narrated giving full instructions and answers. Some instructions will have an auto pause for student to work on interactive white board, tap screen to resume lesson when readyProceed through all guided practice instructionsRe-assess prerequisite skills to demonstrate successful mastery >70% masteryReenter regular instruction at appropriate pointINSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVES: Instructional objectives of this module are as follows:Students needing remediation of prerequisite are identified. (Cognitive Domain: Demonstrate less than 70% mastery of skill)Customized skills remediation provided. (Mixed domain: Cognitive – solve equations and Psychomotor – accurately performs steps to solve problem using interactive white board)Reassessment of algebra prerequisite skills to assure 70% mastery. (Cognitive Domain: Demonstrate a minimum of 70% mastery of skill)One-on-one instructor intervention. (Affective domain: Listen to instructor for other strategies or options to achieve 70% mastery)A visual model for the Procedural Analysis is shown in Appendix 1. INSTRUCTIONAL SEQUENCING AND STRATEGIES:Instructional sequencing will be customized and determined by the needs of each student. Formative assessments will be given at the introduction of each new unit. Students performing below the prescribed mastery level will be assigned the skill modules to be completed. The modules can be completed in any order. However, the content of the individual modules are pre-sequenced but target skills can still be remediated in random order or as a need dictates. References BIBLIOGRAPHY DOE, G. (2014). Henry County High School. Retrieved May 10, 2014, from GreatSchools: County High School. (2011). Retrieved May 5, 2014, from Public Schools K12 was provided in part by the U.S. Department of Education: , G. R. (2013). Designing Effective Instruction, Seventh Edition. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.The Definition Of Blended Learning. (2013, Jan 18). Retrieved May 5, 2014, from Te@chthought: 1Instructional Design Process Flow Chart-16329152400NoNoAssess student prerequisite skills for unitDoes student demonstrate 70% mastery? Assign modules for remediationComplete remediation modulesOne-on-one instructionYesReassess prerequisite skillsDoes student demonstrate 70% mastery? YesNoNoAssess student prerequisite skills for unitDoes student demonstrate 70% mastery? Assign modules for remediationComplete remediation modulesOne-on-one instructionYesReassess prerequisite skillsDoes student demonstrate 70% mastery? Yes23342605164455Enter regular concept instructionEnter regular concept instruction29228142759075 ................
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