Action Research Project 1

Brooklyn Johnson

EDIT 677

Action Research

Using Nearpod As Interactive Platform for Increased Performance

Introduction

As an educator and current third-grade teacher, I have learned that you have to be

consistent with looking for new ways to deliver instruction over different modalities to try and

improve students' engagement in their learning. I have also learned that all children learn at a

different pace. As the facilitator in their learning, you must be aware of this and know that what

works for one may not work for the other and be willing to change to fit each individual need.

When teachers take this approach, it allows for a comfortable “blended learning” atmosphere

where every student can thrive and strengthen skills that are needed to be successful. When

trying to find ways to engage students in learning, Nearpod is an interactive platform that I found

great to use. Nearpod has so many outlets that drive student instruction such as videos, polls,

collaboration boards, quizzes, etc., and is a great resource to use to target specific skills and

allow collaboration within your classroom. All of this, led me to the research question: Will

Nearpod improve third-grade students' math performance over paper/pencil study guides?

This is something that I feel is very relevant to my third graders. Through observations, small

groups, assessments, and test scores, I have identified that math is a focus area where I want to

see growth. After every module (unit) we complete, we give students a unit test to assess their

understanding. We teach the EngageNY (Eureka Math) curriculum and Zearn as the online

supplemental component. After analyzing the data from the previous three module tests, I
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wanted to see if I incorporated a new review tool to review the standards covered and not just

paper/pencil study guides three days a week during daily math rotations, if it would lead to

improved test scores on the next module test taken. Students would complete the review on

Nearpod using their Chromebooks when they got to that specific rotation for 30 minutes, three

times a week. My students also continued to receive small group instruction based on difficulty

and were still given paper study guides that they completed for homework as additional review

to the Nearpod. This action research was conducted in my classroom of fourteen students (eight

females and six males). They are split into two groups that are based on their achievement levels

and needs. There is a low and high group. These groups change based on skill and performance

levels.

Review of Literature

Prior to gathering data taken from assessments in my class, it was essential that I found

research that had been done in classrooms that used Nearpod. I wanted to make sure before I

made any changes in how I went about reviewing for module assessments that it was going to be

meaningful and also effective. The articles that I found talked about the effects that Nearpod or

other presentations had on boosting student engagement, leading to increased understanding of

the skill assessed.

The article Using Nearpod as a Tool to Promote Active Learning in Higher Education

in a BYOD Learning Environment, involved a virtual case study that took place in Saudi Arabia

during a summer semester. It focused on how using Nearpod affects active learning and aimed

toward female students’ perspectives with a male teacher. By the end of the case study (end of

the semester), students completed a questionnaire regarding Nearpod and how it affected their

learning. The overall description that was left by students was a feeling of being calm and
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satisfied with this new technology. It was also found through this study that Nearpod promoted

student engagement and active learning (Hakami, 2020). With this case study being administered

completely virtual, it allowed me to think about how I would structure my learning platform if

we as a district reverted back to virtual learning to being completely virtual as it was throughout

a short time during the covid-19 pandemic.

The next article Embedding Technology and Assessment into the Music Classroom with

Nearpod was a study done to analyze a collection of students in a music class. It focused

specifically on a special area teacher and how she incorporated Nearpod to have her students

make connections visually to the learning. She focused on one of Nearpod’s features called

“Draw It” which allows students to respond to a given prompt with drawings, text, or images on

a blank background, to see if students' engagement in class discussions and test scores improved

when implementing this app in her classroom. She found through her study that implementing

Nearpod was another way to have her students learn and manipulate content while she collected

data (Dunbar, 2016). The biggest takeaway I took from this article was to always explore all

options/functions of Nearpod to ensure that I know how to administer Nearpod and all its

features to my students to make sure they will be successful in their learning and the use of

Nearpod. I also looked into the specific “Draw It” tool on Nearpod and allowed students to use

this tool to show their understanding by drawing out their explanations as another way of

showing their learning and the connections they are making.

Another article I researched was Real-Time Assessment of Every Student’s Progress in

the Flipped Higher Education Classroom Using Nearpod. This article was about a study that

was conducted that focused on a group of upper-level students that had begun to transition to the

idea of a “flipped” classroom environment, and Nearpod was one of the tools incorporated into
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their daily learning routine. Students had to become comfortable enough to use the app

independently, as well as they began to get more involved in their learning and growth toward

standards when using Nearpod. The data that was collected compared to the prior flipped

learning environment and Nearpod was used showing the student’s scores were increasingly

higher with the technology add-on. To conclude the study, it showed that students benefited from

the use of Nearpod and the interactive aspect of it (Mattei, 2014). I believe that just as the

upper-level students found the app to be beneficial, I believe that it can be just as beneficial and

show growth in my third graders.

The final article I researched was Nearpod Use as a Learning Platform to Improve

Student Learning Motivation in an Elementary School. This article focused on online learning

and the effects of Nearpod on elementary students’ learning motivation. In the study, three

classes participated for one week to see if Nearpod improved students’ motivation for learning.

The results showed that Nearpod positively impacted students’ motivation and engagement. The

article also stated, “Nearpod helps to create a competitive atmosphere among the students to

reach a better score among the students keeping their motivation at peak.” The researchers found

that the interactive and gamification qualities of Nearpod helped students stay more engaged in

what they were learning, and it is highly encouraged. Researchers made a suggestion to conduct

a longitudinal study as well to see the effects of using Nearpod and the long-term effects of it in

online learning (Abdullah, 2022).

After researching and reading the articles above, I felt that I was better prepared to be

able to begin with the end in mind when creating a plan of action of how I wanted to roll out

Nearpod and the implementation of it into my classroom to help them prepare for their module
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test at the end of each math unit. After reading these articles, I knew that it would be a great tool

to bring in and it helped me know what methods I wanted to include when implementing it.

Methodology

After reviewing the literature above and further research, I decided the best plan for my

level of learners would be to incorporate a thirty-minute review session on Nearpod three times a

week leading up to the module assessment. All the standards that were being taught and

administered on the exam came from the EngageNY (Eureka Math)/Zearn curriculum that is

used in our school. They are aligned with the South Carolina Career and College Ready

Standards for Mathematics. The end-of-module assessment questions focused on the math

standards and students were asked to show their work in whichever way they chose. I would

teach a regular whole-group math lesson, and then leave a portion of our math block for students

to review skills on Nearpod for the upcoming test. I made sure that the Nearpod content was

related to South Carolina standards and matched difficulty levels to the assessment questions

they were going to see, so I could accurately evaluate which method would increase student

performance.

To gather my quantitative data, I wanted to compare student test scores to previous

module tests earlier in the year that were paper/pencil reviews and study guides versus using an

entirely digital platform for review for the module assessments moving forward. I wanted to

compare the scores of each individual student but also the class as a whole. Along with

qualitative data as my focus, I informally continued to assess students through observations,

student feedback, and class discussions through the Nearpods. I kept a record with each Nearpod

of the responses to the prompts. I also kept up with what was most challenging to the majority. I

wanted my students to be able to deepen and expand their thinking when analyzing a problem to
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be able to get to the answer. Through observation, I was able to get a feel for who was engaged

and able to use the functions in the interactive platform and which ones were still struggling with

it. I allowed students to give feedback on Nearpod during review weeks. I would hang a

two-column anchor chart up where students would fill out a different color sticky note for each

section. In the first section students would write one learning intention/standard/skill they believe

they had mastered for the upcoming test. In the second section they would write a sticky note for

would be to tell another learning intention/standard/skill they really feel like they were still

struggling with and needed more practice, whether it was through more homework or a small

skill group with me, to clear up any misunderstandings they may have. I would also pair a

student that was strong in a certain standard with a student that was still having some

misunderstandings with that standard and allow the stronger student to teach the material to the

other student, which allowed me to informally assess if they had truly understood the content

themselves. I would also have them fill out another sticky note anonymously that allowed them

to provide feedback on how they liked using the interactive digital platform versus paper/pencil

reviews and study guides. Almost all of the students preferred using Nearpod and were very

engaged when using it. Providing my students with voice in how they are learning, really helped

me as the facilitator in their learning know what changes I could make to have them more

engaged and make it more meaningful for the next review.

Analysis

Post implementation of the Nearpod student feedback, informally assessing, and

observations, students were given the module test and I was able to look closely at the data that

was derived from that. I began by looking back to previous module tests that were taken after

paper/pencil reviews and study guides. I used the grades on the tests and found my class average
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along with the individual student average. The data listed below will show students' performance

using the original paper/pencil review and study guides in the first three-module tests and then

below that will show when they took the fourth module tests with the implementation of

Nearpod and the average difference.

Stats

Number of Students Assessed: 14

Paper/Pencil Assessment Scores: Modules 1, 2, 3

Student Module 1 Test Module 2 Test Module 3 Test

Scores Scores Scores

A 49 73 76

B 86 86 88

C 92 92 91

D 85 80 90

E 88 94 97

F 81 85 89

G 77 86 96

H 63 59 70

I 71 86 81
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J 85 86 75

K 55 59 66

L 82 90 99

M 77 66 76

N 61 62 80

Average of Module 1 Test: 75%

Average of Module 2 Test: 79%

Average of Module 3 Test: 84%

Stats

Number of Students Assessed: 14

Nearpod Review Assessment Scores: Modules 4

Student Module 1 Test Module 2 Test Module 3 Test Module 4 Test

Scores Scores Scores Scores

(Nearpod

Review)

A 49 73 76 88

B 86 86 88 92

C 92 92 91 97
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D 85 80 90 94

E 88 94 97 97

F 81 85 89 92

G 77 86 96 99

H 63 59 70 84

I 71 86 81 92

J 85 86 75 94

K 55 59 66 82

L 82 90 99 94

M 77 66 76 84

N 61 62 80 84

Average of Module 4 Test (Nearpod): 91%

Analyzing the overall results, it is evident that students were more engaged and motivated

to review for their test when using an interactive platform such as Nearpod. Students loved using

Nearpod and asked if we could use it not only in math but for other reviews for assessments in

the future. Students loved the fact that they were able to collaborate with their peers and share

their learning and even at times be the “teacher” to another peer that may have an area that was

of concern. They were able to use Nearpod to work on specific standards/skills in an interactive

way and it was great to see through student feedback that they were able to tell and voice the
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area they were lacking in and needed help with. Through the students self-reflecting throughout

the process, they were so excited to see what they scored on the assessment and I even allowed

them to see the comparison of the test that was taken after the implementation of Nearpod in

comparison to the other three module tests they had taken previously. Looking through all the

data, it was evident to see that my students’ average on the Module 4 assessment surpassed the

averages for the other three module tests. After these findings, I plan to continue to incorporate

Nearpod reviews to see if it continues to raise averages on module tests. I will also in the future

try to incorporate it into other subject areas as well. I do understand that some students still learn

best when they have paper/pencil copies of reviews/study guides so I will continue to keep these

as an option for students to do for homework as well if needed.

Findings

After analyzing the quantitative and qualitative data, I found through my results mirrored

what I was originally thinking would happen. Taking a glance at the data above, it is clear to see

students' scores improved a significant amount from the original assessments to the Nearpod

review based assessment. Looking at the data, the average as a whole class increased 16% from

the first module test, 12% from the second module test, and 7% from the third module test.

Nearpod allowed my struggling students to be able to show a representation of their work in

other ways that allowed them to understand their answer and be able to explain it. This I believe

really helped them when it came time to take the assessment. Allowing students to self reflect as

well and voice what they were struggling with, I believe led them to want to master it before the

assessment because they were so excited to see their score on the assessment. Using all of the

above data, it led me to know when different modalities are present in learning, students are able

to learn in a way that is best for them. I also still gave an option for paper/pencil study guides as
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well, because I knew some of my students still felt as though they needed it as well to review for

the upcoming test. As you can see from the data above though, the overall class test scores

increased using Nearpod. Looking through the test scores, there was pretty much a consistent

steady increase and then some stayed consistent. This showed that some students no matter

which way they review will pretty much score the same, and these are typically more of high

flyers. It was very evident when students were doing the Nearpod review that there was a sense

of engagement, motivation, and collaboration. It created a climate and culture in the classroom

that I never saw with paper/pencil review. Reviewing over student feedback, all students said

they loved using Nearpod and wanted to use it for more reviews. Moving forward with my action

plan, I would like to provide Nearpod opportunities in other subject areas as well as I see it

created a comfortable, engaging, and motivating learning environment. I would like to see if

using Nearpod before other assessments, if I will see the same type of results.
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References

Abdullah, M. I., Inayati, D., & Karyawati, N. N. (2022). Nearpod Use as a Learning Platform to

Improve Student Learning Motivation in an Elementary School. Journal of Education

and Learning, 16(1), 121-129.

Dunbar, L. (2016). Embedding Technology and Assessment into the Music Classroom with

Nearpod. Gene Hakami, M. (2020).

Hakami, M. (2020). Using Nearpod as a Tool to Promote Active Learning in Higher Education in

a BYOD Learning Environment. Journal of Education and Learning, 9(1), 119-126.

Mattei, M. D., & Ennis, E. (2014). Continuous, Real-Time Assessment of Every Student’s

Progress in the Flipped Higher Education Classroom Using Nearpod. Journal of Learning

in Higher Education, 10(1), 1-7.