ACTION RESEARCH PROJECT

Action Research Project

Table of Content

Chapter I: Introduction3

Problem Statement3

Purpose3

Description of the Community3

Description of Work Setting4

Writer's Role5

Chapter II: Study of the Problem7

Problem Description7

Problem Documentation8

Literature Review9

Casuative Analysis21

Chapter III: Outcomes and Analysis22

Goals and expectations22

Expected Outcomes22

Analysis of Results23

Chapter IV: Solution Strategy25

Problem Statement25

Discussion25

Selected Solutions26

References28

Chapter I: Introduction

Problem Statement

The problem in this research paper is that the middle grade students are not meeting the proficiency data in mathematics. (Senge, 2001 p. 27). This paperexplores some statistical conceptions and misconceptions of middle grades students and the implications for representing and interpreting data. Why do these misconceptions persist and what can be done about them? Hawkins and Kapadia (1984) blamed contemporaryeducation because it forces deterministic cognitive strategies rather than supporting the development of concepts in an indeterministicenvironment.

Purpose

The study's purpose is to determine if the students of middle grade are unable to meet the proficiency data in mathematics and to know the basic reasons for this.

Description of the Community

The District has 33 schools serving about 27,000 students. The district employs more than 3,000 people, including 1,700 teachers.

District's mission is to set the standard for the state in world-class education, guaranteeing learning one student at a time. In order to achieve its mission, District will use discoveries from its effective School program to establish benchmarks and to standardize best practices across the district, and it will support the development of innovative practices (LMN Unified, n.d.).

This research project will take place in two middle grade classrooms at the ABC Learning Center. This school is part of District and is located in south LMN. The student population in this K-12 setting is approximately 525 students (Ehrich, 2003). The ethnic distribution of the school is approximately 71% Caucasian, 23% Hispanic, 3% African American, 2% Asian, and 1% other (LMN Unified, n.d.). The ABC Learning Center is ranked by its state as a highly performing school.

The school's mission is to help each student realize the joy of life-long learning and to acquire the ability to extend knowledge by producing original conversation and writing, thinking complexly, solving problems creatively, working cooperatively, and assuming responsibility as a contributor and producer within the community (ABC Learning Center, n.d.).

Description of Work Setting

This research project will take place in two different third grade classrooms at the ABC Learning Center. The student population for this research project is 48 (24 in each of the two classrooms). The students' mathematical skills in each of the classrooms range from meeting standards to falling far below standards.

ABC Learning Center's current standard grammar program is embedded in its adopted reading basal (Ehrich, 2003). Students receive mathematical instruction during the literacy block. each week, students read a book in the basal.

The people involved in this research study will be the two third grade teachers and the 48 students in their classes. The control group in this study (those students receiving the standard mathematical instruction) is a class with 11 boys and 13 girls. The experimental group (those students receiving the XYZ curriculum) is a class of 12 boys and 12 ...