- Year 2017
- NSF Award #1340107
- Registration Teaching Fellow
- First Name Stephanie
- Last Name Hironaka
- Discipline Math
- Institution Mills College
- School Name and District Currently Teaching Oakland Unified School District
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to develop a routine to support metacognitive writing about math in a seventh grade math intervention class. Research shows that students’ metacognitive writing about problem solving and about their opinions on math can support student and teacher learning. Methods of Improvement Science were applied to test and develop the routine, particularly driver diagrams (a representation of a theory of action) and Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycles. Testing took on three phases, the first phase involved a ‘question ticket’ where students write a question for the teacher when they get stuck. The ‘question ticket’ was received with generally low buy-in from students, so the second phase involved developing a reflective writing routine, where over time, students demonstrated a deeper awareness of the role of mistakes, the importance of hard work and other values in math. The final phase involved student annotations on their own math classwork to promote metacognitive reflection on the math task. Revisions to the driver diagram, and challenges in implementing PDSAs are discussed.
