Running head: ACTION RESEARCH 1
Action Research
Grand Canyon University:TCH 539
, ACTION RESEARCH 2
In an effort to analyze various interventions on mathematical problem solving
achievement with ELL students, data is collected and will be analyzed to determine which are
effective to put into future practice. This essay will outline the data collection process for each of
the three research questions listed at the end, and rationale for selecting these methods.
Research will be conducted with middle school students in grades six through eight that
are identified as requiring math intervention based on set criteria from the school district which
is: seventh percentile or below on the math MAP assessment, tenth percentile or below on the
FastBridge assessment, and score of at least 4.3 on the ACCESS listening assessment. From that
criteria, the forty lowest scoring ELL students will be placed in groups of up to five students,
meet two to five times per week, for twenty-five minutes per session. They will follow the math
intervention program which includes problem solving but special focus will be on this skill for
the entire school year. Additional instruments for data collection will include mathematical word
problems from the district math program used as a pre and post assessment for the paraphrasing
method in question two.
Data collection will vary for each research question. However, the following is standard
for all questions: Students are randomly placed in math intervention groups based on when they
have math class. The intervention occurs during the last twenty-five minutes of a ninety-minute
math block. Groups meet privately at a round table outside their math classroom.
Research question one examines the effects of the number of sessions of intervention. At
the beginning of the school year students are given a baseline assessment in a program called,
FastBridge, to determine gaps in math skills which will be embedded in problem solving
activities. This will be repeated monthly to adjust skills.Then, students will attend arandomly
determinednumber of sessions from two to five sessions per week. The randomness is due to
Action Research
Grand Canyon University:TCH 539
, ACTION RESEARCH 2
In an effort to analyze various interventions on mathematical problem solving
achievement with ELL students, data is collected and will be analyzed to determine which are
effective to put into future practice. This essay will outline the data collection process for each of
the three research questions listed at the end, and rationale for selecting these methods.
Research will be conducted with middle school students in grades six through eight that
are identified as requiring math intervention based on set criteria from the school district which
is: seventh percentile or below on the math MAP assessment, tenth percentile or below on the
FastBridge assessment, and score of at least 4.3 on the ACCESS listening assessment. From that
criteria, the forty lowest scoring ELL students will be placed in groups of up to five students,
meet two to five times per week, for twenty-five minutes per session. They will follow the math
intervention program which includes problem solving but special focus will be on this skill for
the entire school year. Additional instruments for data collection will include mathematical word
problems from the district math program used as a pre and post assessment for the paraphrasing
method in question two.
Data collection will vary for each research question. However, the following is standard
for all questions: Students are randomly placed in math intervention groups based on when they
have math class. The intervention occurs during the last twenty-five minutes of a ninety-minute
math block. Groups meet privately at a round table outside their math classroom.
Research question one examines the effects of the number of sessions of intervention. At
the beginning of the school year students are given a baseline assessment in a program called,
FastBridge, to determine gaps in math skills which will be embedded in problem solving
activities. This will be repeated monthly to adjust skills.Then, students will attend arandomly
determinednumber of sessions from two to five sessions per week. The randomness is due to
