Data Analysis Memo

Round 1

Phuong Nguyen
 Round 1 Data Analysis Memo and Round 2 Plan

Research Question
My questions are, “What happens to students' learning in mathematics when I incorporate
technology tools to provide students immediate feedback to help them articulate their
understanding and use teacher guidance to meet their needs? How does feedback influence their
motivation to revise their work?”

Intervention/Innovation
Students learned the properties of similar triangles and used prior knowledge from the previous
chapter to determine missing side lengths. In this round, students investigated patterns within the
two types of special right triangles: 30o-60o-90o triangles and 45o-45o-90o triangles. Pear Deck
was the technology tool used to present the lesson and provide instant feedback. On the first day
of the action research, students discovered a pattern to find the missing side length of 30o-60o-90o
triangles. On the second day, students investigated a pattern to find the missing side length of 45o
-45o-90o triangles. Throughout the lesson, the ‘Pear Deck teacher dashboard’ was used to monitor
students’ progress. The ‘Pear Deck teacher dashboard’ displayed all answers at soon as students
typed them out. As a result, I was quickly able to identify common mistakes made within the
lesson. The feedback provided to students fell into one of the two categories: individual feedback
and whole class feedback. I used Pear Deck’s feedback feature to leave individual comments on
student work. Students were encouraged to refer back to their prior knowledge and to focus on
the patterns discovered in the lesson. For whole class feedback, I used Pear Deck to pull out
samples of students’ work and conduct a whole class discussion. During discussion, I utilized the
strategy of “My Favorite No,” to have students identify mistakes in the samples and correct
them.

Rationale:
Last year, I engaged students with formative assessment using different technology tools such as,
Kahoot, My Favorite No, Google Form and Mentimeter during the last ten minutes of class.
These assessments allowed me to monitor students’ progress and assess their understanding.
However, I realized that monitoring and engaging students during the last ten minutes of class
was not enough. Many students still struggled in understanding the concept. That is why Pear
Deck was chosen for Round 1 of the action research. Pear Deck allowed me to monitor progress
and provide feedback throughout the entire lesson, not just at the end.

Data Collected
 Survey: responses to open ended questions
 Before and after result (students’ work)
 Tally

Data Analysis

 Qualitative Data Analysis Strategies:

Students were giving open ended survey questions on Google Form. Their responses
were sorted into an Excel sheet. I used the “find” function in Excel to determine the
 number of times a code was mentioned. The codes were then grouped into themes. For
example, when asked “how do you feel when you received feedback from Ms. Nguyen
through Pear Deck” the word “motivate” or other phrases that indicated similar meaning
was repeated in multiple responses. As a result, those responses were grouped into the
theme of motivation and given a score of 1. Then an average was calculated to determine
the percentage of students who were motivated by receiving Pear Deck feedback.

 Quantitative Data Analysis Strategies:

Before feedback, student’s individual scores were calculated and compared to their
averages on the exit ticket. Comparing the two allowed me to determine if feedback
allowed students to reach proficiency (76% or above). Throughout the lesson, I tallied the
score before and after feedback. Comparing before and after provided insight to which
students utilized feedback.

Finding
 Qualitative Data
The qualitative data showed that the majority of students (51.5%) showed positive feeling
when receiving feedback through Pear Deck. Instant feedback not only motivated
students to complete their work but also helped them be self-reflective. Building
connections with students can be difficult through distance learning. I was pleased to
discover that my feedback helped the class stay more connected. The survey showed that
feedback gave many students positive feelings, caused motivation, and promoted self-
reflection. However, there were a few students felt negatively towards receiving
feedback. Those with negative feelings found feedback distracting when trying to
complete their work. Other students felt negatively because they believed that feedback
was reinforcing their incorrect answers.
The data also showed that most students (88.42%) were reflective and had positive
attitudes toward whole class discussions on most missed question. However, several high
performing students felt neutral or negatively toward going over the most missed
question. High performing students found review not necessary because they had already
learned the concept. The data showed that high performing students did worse on exit
tickets compared to their before-feedback answers.
These findings suggest that I need to find strategies on giving effective feedback and
prevent students from having a negative opinion towards feedback.

Q1: How do you feel when you received feedback from Ms. Nguyen through Pear Deck?
Themes % Sample Responses
Positive Feeling 52.63  “Feedback is appreciated. It can [could]
straighten me out if I made a mistake or point
out an easier way to find the answer of a
problem.”
 “I really like it when Ms. Nguyen gives me
feedback because if I got a question wrong, it
helps me understand what I did wrong, and if
I got the question right, it makes me happy to
 see positive feedback.”
 “I feel good knowing if I’m on the wrong or
right track.”
 “I'm glad that I'm actually getting help from
Ms. Nguyen and knows that she checks my
work to make sure it's correct.”
 “When I receive feedback, I feel happy that
someone notices my hard work I guess. With
math its weird, I just try to understand the
problem and end up completing it. If my
answer is wrong, I receive feedback that'll
help me improve. But if its right and I receive
a compliment such as "good job," then I feel
just as happy.”
Reflective 25.26  “It helps me understand or clarify if I got the
answer right or wrong.”
 “It helped me understand what I did wrong
and where to fix it.”
 “Usually when I receive feedback, I have took
a little more time to look at the question
because they are often small mistakes.”
 “I think the feedback is very useful and helps
guide me in the right direction.”
 “It really helps me when I make small
mistakes that I don't notice so I don't keep
repeating them.”
 It helped me learn the subject more throughly
[thoroughly] on things I was confused on.”

Motivate 12.63  “I feel more encouragement and it gives me

more determination.”
 “Confident in my work.”
 “It motivates me to revise my answer to get it
right and be better.”
 “That I can improve on my work.”
 “I feel like I did a good job or I need to do a
better job based on the feedback.”
 “I feel like it helps me a lot to understand
when I was wrong or what I need to fix, and I
feel motivated when she tells me good job
because I know that I am doing it correctly.”
 “It does help me want to get the work done.”

 Build Connection 6.32  “I feel like it's nice that peardeck [Pear Deck]
allows her to communicate to us and helps me
understand the work and my errors better.”
 “It feels like I’m really in class having
someone walk me through each step like a
YouTube video but better cause you can ask
questions.”
 “I feel as if we really are communicating as if
we were back in class.”
 “She cares about our work.”
Negative Feeling 4.21  “I feel kind down knowing that my answer is
not right.”
 “Honestly it’s kind of annoying when I am
trying to work and notifications keep popping
up.”

Q2: Explain how you feel when Ms. Nguyen go over the most missed question on Pear
Deck?
Themes % Sample Responses
Reflective 53.68  “I think it’s a smart way to rethink about past
mistakes in the work we do”
 “This helps me understand the concept better
and make any correction I need.”
 “It helps me learn how some people may
mess up, so I can avoid that.”
 It gives me some time to review over a missed
concept I didn't understand at first.”
 “It helped me by giving me a more in depth
explanation of the question.”
 “I start to understand what I have done
wrong.”
Positive Feeling 34.74  “I feel appreciated. It helps he understand the
concept better since sometimes I get
confused.”
 "Ooooh i get it now.”
 “I feel relieved because I know that I
probably didn't understand how to answer the
question so when she goes over the most
missed one, I know that I'm not the only one
who didn't understand it and she'll help walk
 us through and explain the correct solution.”
Neutral 6.32  “It helps me but not that much. Because it’s
kind of like a little review for the concept.”
Negative Feeling 5.26  “No, not really because I learned the concept
last year.”
 “I already know the concept, so the reviewing
for me isn't necessary. But it does help others
in the class.”

Quantitative Data

Throughout the lesson, scores were tallied before and after feedback. Students engaged with four
problems on Pear Deck. The average percentages of after feedback was higher compared to
average percentage before feedback was given. The data showed that students utilized my
feedback to revised their work. To assess student's understanding, students were given an exit
ticket. The result on the exit ticket shows that providing feedback has improved students’
performance.

Planning Next Round

The results from round 1 data showed that feedback gave students positive feelings, motivation
and allowed them to be reflective on their work. However, some students felt negatively toward
receiving feedback. Those who felt negatively found feedback distracting when trying to
complete work. Other students felt negatively because they believed feedback reinforced their
incorrect answers. In the next round, I need to find effective strategies for giving feedback that
students accept and allows for conversations.
High-performing students expressed neutral or negative feeling toward going over the most
missed question. I found it was interesting that data from round 1 revealed that a few high
performing students got lower scores on the exit ticket (posted assessment- after feedback is
provided) compared to their pre- assessment (before feedback is provided). Prior to round 2, I
will research why feedback was less effective on high-performing students.

Literature Connections

Balta, N., & Tzafilkou, K. (2018). Using Socrative software for instant formative feedback in
physics courses. Education and Information Technologies, 24(1), 307-323.

Balta and Tzafilkou (2018) conducted a research study on students’ attitudes towards the use of
an online software called Socrative. The researchers concluded that students generally displayed
positive attitudes towards the program because it was practical, saved time, provided immediate
feedback and allowed opinions to be exchanged (Balta, Tzafilkou 2018). Balta and Tzafilkou’s
(2018) research demonstrate the power of technology tools in helping students develop a positive
perspective. The goal of this research is to determine if similar results can be achieved through
the use of Pear Deck. Pear Deck is a similar online tool that has multiple question types, collects
students’ responses, and allows a variety of responses to be displayed. Utilizing an engaging,
timely and interactive tool will help students develop positive attitudes and become more
motivated learnersdoi:10.1007/s10639-018-9773-8

Clark, I. (2012, June). Formative Assessment: Assessment Is for Self-regulated Learning

[Review of Educational Psychology Review]. 205-249. Retrieved November 1, 2020, from
https://www.jstor.org/stable/43546787

Clark explains that formative assessment can be divided into two categories, assessment for
learning and assessment as learning (Clark, 2012 p.208). The purpose of assessment for learning
is to monitor students’ progress toward the desired goal and close the gap between a learner’s
current status and desired outcome. Clark states that this can be achieved through the process of
sharing criteria with learners, effective questioning and feedback. On the other hand, assessment
as learning is the process where both students and teachers set learning goals, evaluate learning
through communication and self-assess (Clark, 2012 p.208). This research will explore the
impact of using online platforms such as Quizizz and Edulastic to serve as both assessment for
learning and assessment as learning. Quizizz is a student-paced assessment tool that asks
questions in the form of a game. Edulstic is an educational assessment platform that allows
teachers to assign digital tests and worksheets to students. These platforms require solutions to
questions be pre-determined. As a result, they can serve as assessment for learning because upon
completion, students are given an instant status on the progress of their learning. However, not
only can these platforms provide a snapshot into student learning, they can serve as learning
segments on their own. These platforms have features such as preview and flash cards that allow
the teacher to go over commonly missed questions. As a result, these technology tools can serve
as assessment as learning, where the teacher and student can evaluate the class progress as a
whole and provide data that can be used to determine future learning goals.
Fyfe, E. R., & Brown, S. A. (2017). Feedback influences children's reasoning about math
equivalence: A meta-analytic review. Thinking & Reasoning, 24(2), 157-178.
doi:10.1080/13546783.2017.1359208

In round one, the majority of my students reacted positively to the feedback and found it helpful
in guiding them to understand the concept. Data from round 1 also showed that giving feedback
had a positive effect. However, a few high performing students left comments stating that they
did not need the feedback because they learned the concept from the previous course. Data from
round 1 revealed that high performing students got lower scores on the exit ticket (posted
assessment- after feedback is provided) compared to their pre- assessment (before feedback is
provided). The article describes that one possible explanation could be the post assessment being
delayed to the next day. I need to do an experiment in round two to evaluate this possibility.

Jug, R., MB, BCh, BAO, Jiang, X. S., MD, & Bean, S. M., MD. (March 14, 2018). Giving and
Receiving Effective Feedback. A Review Article and How- To Guide, 143, 224-250.
doi:10.5858/arpa.2018-0058-RA

The survey for the round 1 research revealed the perils of praise. One student commented that
praises such as “good job” or “keep up the good work” made her feel good the first couple of
times but felt tired after repeating hearings. I reflected on my teaching practice and noticed that I
have repeatedly and incorrectly used praise. This article has helped me realize why I should
avoid using excessive praise and provided alternative strategies for giving students’ feedback.
Feedback should not go in one direction, but it be a bidirectional conversation, where discussion
is welcomed. The articles recommend several feedback strategies but in my second round, I will
implement the Ask- Tell- Ask method because of its simple implementation. 

Roschelle, J., Rafanan, K., Bhanot, R., Estrella, G., Penuel, B., Nussbaum, M., & Claro, S.
(2010, August). Scaffolding group explanation and feedback with handheld technology:
Impact on students' mathematics learnin [Review of Educational Technology Research
and Development]. 399-419. Retrieved November 1, 2020, from
https://www.jstor.org/stable/40929363?seq=1&cid=pdfreference#references_tab_contents

The result of the study showed that students using TechPALs achieved higher results than those
in the control group. The researchers theorized that participants using TechPALs had better
results because they were provided group feedback and had opportunities for social processing.
In this research, Google Interactive Slides will serve as the technology tool that allows students
to work as a group. Interactive Slides is a strategy where a team of students work on a Google
slide simultaneously. The slides will have objects that can be moved, manipulated and typed
upon. Students will have to communicate and coordinate among themselves to solve math
problems. Google Interactive Slides provides opportunities for students to interact socially
through a virtual format and allows feedback to be received as a group.
Sidney, P. G., & Alibali, M. W. (2014). Making connections in math: Activating a prior
knowledge analogue matters for learning. Journal of Cognition and Development, 16(1),
160-185. doi:10.1080/15248372.2013.792091

It’s important to choose prior knowledge that aligns with the current learning goal to help
students improve their understanding. If students were free to make any connections they noticed
between the prior knowledge and current learning concept, they may make unhelpful links.
Therefore, the teacher needs to highlight specific connections in order to guide students and
avoid misconceptions. Since the majority of my students are visual learners, the prior knowledge
presented to students will include visual elements. When providing students feedback in round 2,
I will utilize videos and diagrams to promote conceptual understanding.

ROUND TWO RESEARCH PLAN

Round 2
Context
Brief info
I am a math teacher at a large and comprehensive high school with a 2019- 2020 estimated student population of
about your
school, subject, 2,250. The student population from our residential area reflects the ethnic, cultural, and economic diversity of our
grade, class, community. Students in my Integrated Math 2 class span multiple grade levels from freshman to senior.
students
Research 1. What happens to students’ learning in mathematics when I incorporate technology tools to provide
Question(s)
students immediate feedback to help them articulate their understanding and use teacher guidance to meet
(If you have
more than 1 their needs?
research
question- 2. How does feedback influence their motivation to revise their work?
highlight the
RQs that are
most relevant
to this round)
CONNECTIONS
Based on the data collected from round one, I noticed many students who received feedback showed positive
Briefly explain feelings, were motivated and reflective about their work. However, some students felt negatively toward receiving
what you feedback. Those who felt negatively found feedback distracting when trying to complete the work. Other students
learned in felt negatively because they believed that feedback reinforced mistakes on their work. In this round, I will find
Round 1 Data
Analysis that
effective strategies for giving feedback and implement those methods in my teaching. Effective feedback strategies
informed your will encourage students to accept feedback and promote conversation.
decisions for High-performing students expressed neutral or negative feeling toward going over the most missed question. Data
Round 2. from round 1 revealed that a few high performing students got lower scores on the exit ticket (posted assessment-
after feedback is provided) compared to their pre- assessment (before feedback is provided). I’ll explore why
feedback was less effective for high- performance students and find strategies to help those students perform better.
 Round 2
Round 2
Intervention/
Innovations
In this round, students will be placed in breakout rooms and will be working with team members to complete a
task. Three concepts covered in this round will be determining the sum of interior and exterior angles in a polygon,
This is your calculating the circumference and area of a circle, and applying their knowledge of the area of a circle to determine
general lesson the area of a sector. The technology tool used to present the group activity will be Google Slides. The Google
or lesson series
plans in
Slides will include the task and group numbers will be labeled. Their group (slide) number corresponds to a
response to this breakout room number. For example, if students are in breakout room number one, that means one is their group
question: How number. The breakout norms will be reviewed with students before putting them in the breakout room. I will
will you monitor students' progress and provide feedback on Google Slides. The feedback provided to students will fall into
organize
learning
one of the two categories, group feedback and whole class feedback. The feedback will encourage students to focus
experiences for on their progression, help them articulate their understanding, and motivate them to complete the task. Google
students that Slides displays all groups’ answers at the same time students are completing the assignment. Thus, I will be able to
address your quickly identify any common mistakes made within the activity. I will use the Google Slides “text box” features to
research
questions(s)? leave written feedback on their slide or join them in their breakout rooms to provide feedback verbally. When
giving feedback, students will be encouraged to refer to prior knowledge that aligns with the current learning goal.
Cite sources as I will utilize videos and diagrams to promote conceptual understanding and avoid misconceptions. For whole class
needed feedback, I will use results received on Google Slides to pull out samples of students’ work and conduct a whole
Attach class discussion. During discussions, I will utilize the strategy of “My Favorite No,” to have students identify
additional mistakes in the samples and correct them.
lesson artifacts
(optional) When I give students feedback with the group or whole class, I will observe and use tallies to collect data.
Throughout the learning segment, I will mark the number of groups who discovered the correct answer, groups that
did not, and groups who revised answers using feedback. To ensure students have understood the concept, I will
give students similar questions on the exit ticket. Then I will compare the before-feedback results and exit tickets to
track students’ growth. 

At the end of this round, students will be given a survey on how providing immediate feedback using Google
Slides has helped them articulate their understanding and the feedback was used to meet their needs. Students will
also be asked how feedback has influenced their motivation to revise their work.

Week 1: Determine the sum of interior and exterior angles in a polygon:

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/14g5xz6iCnw2rwi3iXaLuI84MOLCXpy2dRPWGJptkRdY/edit?
usp=sharing

Week 2: Calculate the circumference and area of a circle:

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1KLvNJk2cinyTWoTd4JrjXigw8SWTjQDtuTQvixWYPog/edit?
usp=sharing

Week 3: Calculate the area of a sector: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/11OWZEMZNRdti_bfc6zPWC-

ENLoPfNXdE63f7IH6F5Ko/edit?usp=sharing
 Round 2

Round 2 Data
to be collected
 Survey: responses to open ended survey questions
 Before and after result (students’ work)
What are the  Tally
data/artifacts
that you will
collect? Survey (scale 1-5)
e.g.: Student
work?
Notes from
observations?
Interviews?
Video?

 Qualitative Data Analysis Plan:

Data Analysis
Plans
Student will be giving open ended survey on Google Form. Their responses will be sorted into an Excel
sheet. I will use “find” function in Excel to determine the number of times a code was mentioned. The
What are your codes will then group into themes. For example, when ask “how do you feel when you receive feedback
data analysis from Ms. Nguyen through Google Slides” the word “motivate” will repeat in multiple responses. As a
strategies for
qualitative data
result, those responses will be grouped into the theme of motivation and given a score of 1. Then an
(e.g., coding, average will be calculated to determine the percentage of students who were motivated by receiving
memos) feedback through Google Slides.
Explain your
analysis plans
specifically for  Quantitative Data Plan:
the data in this Before feedback, student’s individual score will be calculated and compare to their average on the exit
round ticket. Comparing the two will determine if feedback allowed students to reach proficiency. Throughout
the lesson, I will tally the score before and after feedback of each individual group of students. Comparing
What are your
data analysis before and after will provide insight to which group of students utilized feedback. Students will also be
strategies for given a closed ended survey response on a Likert scale from 1 (Strongly Disagree) to 5 (Strongly Agree).
quantitative
date (e.g.,
descriptive
statistics)
Explain your
analysis plans
specifically for
the data in this
round
 Round 2
Fyfe, E. R., & Brown, S. A. (2017). Feedback influences children's reasoning about math equivalence: A meta-
Literature
analytic review. Thinking & Reasoning, 24(2), 157-178. doi:10.1080/13546783.2017.1359208
Source(s)
cited in APA
In round one, the majority of students reacted positively to the feedback and found it helpful in guiding them to
Cite any
sources here
understand the concept. Data from round 1 also showed a positive effect in giving feedback. However, a couple of
and briefly high performing students left comments stating that they did not need the feedback because they learned the
describe how concept from the previous course. Reviewing data from round 1 showed that a few high performing students got
the literature lower scores on the exit ticket (posted assessment- after feedback is provided) compared to their pre- assessment
will be
leveraged to
(before feedback is provided). The article describes one possible cause could be that post assessments were delayed
inform your to the next day. I need to do an experiment in round two to evaluate this possibility.
research
questions,
intervention,
data collection Jug, R., MB, BCh, BAO, Jiang, X. S., MD, & Bean, S. M., MD. (March 14, 2018). Giving and Receiving Effective
and analysis Feedback. A Review Article and How- To Guide, 143, 224-250. doi:10.5858/arpa.2018-0058-RA
plans.

The survey for the first-round research revealed the perils of praise. One of my students commented that praises
such as “good job” or “keep up the good work” made her feel good the first couple of times but then she felt tired
of hearing it every day. I reflected on my teaching practice and noticed that I have repeatedly and incorrectly used
praise. This article has helped me realize why I should avoid using excessive praise and provided alternative
strategies for giving students’ feedback. Feedback should not go in one direction, but it be a bidirectional
conversation, where discussion is welcomed. The articles recommend several feedback strategies but in my second
round, I will implement the Ask- Tell- Ask method because of its simple implementation. 

Roschelle, J., Rafanan, K., Bhanot, R., Estrella, G., Penuel, B., Nussbaum, M., & Claro, S. (2010, August).
Scaffolding group explanation and feedback with handheld technology: Impact on students' mathematics
learnin [Review of Educational Technology Research and Development]. 399-419. Retrieved November 1,
2020, from https://www.jstor.org/stable/40929363?seq=1&cid=pdfreference#references_tab_contents

The result of the study showed that students using TechPALs achieved higher results than those in the control
group. The researchers theorized that participants using TechPALs had better results because they were provided
group feedback and had opportunities for social processing. In this research, Google Interactive Slides will serve as
the technology tool that allows students to work as a group. Interactive Slides is a strategy where a team of students
work on a Google slide simultaneously. The slides will have objects that can be moved, manipulated, and typed
upon. Students will have to communicate and coordinate among themselves to solve math problems. Google
Interactive Slides provides opportunities for students to interact socially through a virtual format and allows
feedback to be received as a group.

Sidney, P. G., & Alibali, M. W. (2014). Making connections in math: Activating a prior knowledge analogue
matters for learning. Journal of Cognition and Development, 16(1), 160-185.
doi:10.1080/15248372.2013.792091

It’s important to choose prior knowledge that aligns with the current learning goal to help students improve their
understanding. If students were free to make any connections they noticed between the prior knowledge and current
learning concept, they may make unhelpful links. Therefore, the teacher needs to highlight specific connections in
order to guide students and avoid misconceptions. Since most of my students are visual learners, the prior
knowledge presented to students will include visual elements. When providing students feedback in round 2, I will
utilize videos and diagrams to promote conceptual understanding.