Mathematical Growth in Different Learning Environments

Hana Neff
Palmyra Area Middle School and Lebanon Valley College

Introduction Results Application to Future Teaching

I focused my project on mathematics instruction and how growth is affected based on different learning I chose to focus my project on math and special education because I am the most interested in those
environments. I decided to focus my project on two areas of personal interest: math, which has always been two areas of education. I wanted to look further at how students learn math and progress through
my favorite subject throughout school, and the special education setting, which I have grown to love the content. I also wanted to see how students with special education needs learn and progress
throughout my time at LVC. I wanted to see how different instructional settings affect mathematical growth through math content. I found that students in the inclusion class progressed the most, followed by
and progress. I was curious to determine if different instructional settings affect learning equally: “Students the general education and resource room classrooms, respectively. The results taught me how to
with learning disabilities are often excluded from conversations about … equitable mathematics instruction” teach and plan better for students of all ability levels. The students in the resource room received
(Wilson & Hunt, 2022). more individual instruction and moved at a slower pace than their peers. These students had, on
average, lower test scores and less growth over the chapter. The findings can conclude that students
I completed the first half of my student teaching semester at Palmyra Area Middle School in a 7th-grade with disabilities need accommodations and modifications to help them succeed to the best of their
learning support classroom. Throughout this placement, I worked with students in different settings of math ability.
and ELA classrooms. I decided to focus my project on math and the different learning environments
Palmyra offers its students. Palmyra delivers math instruction in five different settings. They are intensive The overarching knowledge I learned from this project is that growth rates vary among different
learning support, resource room, inclusion, general education, and advanced. I focused my project on the populations of students. I expected students with special education needs to have growth rates that
middle three areas, because I taught the resource room class, aided in the inclusion class, and received data differed from their neurotypical peers. However, I expected the setting and instructional delivery to
from the general education class to further my data collection. help them bridge the gap between them and their peers. This conclusion shows that special education
teachers have the challenge to teach their students and meet their varying needs simultaneously. The
The resource room classroom contained eleven students with an IEP that qualified them for the resource results helped me learn more about students with special needs and how they learn and progress
room setting. The inclusion classroom included seventeen students of various abilities. Five students in this through content.
classroom had an IEP, but their LRE (least restrictive environment), placed them in an inclusion setting. The
general education class I collected data from contained sixteen students.
Chapter 1 Timeline

Each class improved their mean score from the mid-quiz to the test. The graph also shows that 1.1 -
1.4/1.5 -
scores became more similar among students from the mid-quiz to the test. The interquartile range of Integers 1.2 - 1.3 -
Multiplying
Intro and Adding Subtracting Mid-Quiz Review Test
each class is smaller for the test data than the mid-quiz data, meaning the scores are more clustered & Dividing
Absolute Integers Integers
around the mean. Overall, the students in all three classes improved their mathematical knowledge Integers
Value
by performing better and more similarly to each other on the test than the mid-quiz.

Self-Reflection

Wilson, J., & Hunt, J. H. (2022). Marginalized within the margins: Supporting mathematics meaning making I chose my research topic based on my interest in math and special education. Through collecting
among students with learning disabilities. Journal of Mathematical Behavior, 67, N.PAG. https://doi. and analyzing my data, I further realized that these two topics interest me greatly. My placement at
org/10.1016/j.jmathb.2022.100982 Palmyra Area Middle School in 7th-grade learning support showed me that I looked forward to
teaching math and enjoyed providing extra support to students. I enjoyed working with students in
smaller groups or individually to help answer their questions and help them make sense of what they
are learning. I looked forward to the moments when students challenged me to explain concepts in
Objectives new ways because they needed help understanding. I strived to help students truly understand and
not just “get by” in the content. Math skills, specifically, builds on each other, so it is essential to give
students a strong foundation and build genuine understanding.
I recorded and analyzed the mid-quiz and test for Chapter 1. I looked at both assessments for each student
and found a percentage of growth from the mid-quiz to the test (pictured below). I then compared the Regarding my research, I enjoyed collecting, organizing, and analyzing my data. I displayed my data
percentage of growth of each student within and across the three instructional settings. in multiple graphs to show what I found. The graphs helped me to draw conclusions about student
growth and progress. I enjoyed analyzing the graphs to figure out trends and make conclusions.
I wanted to see how the students grew and progressed based on the three settings. I expected the average test
scores of the learning support students to be lower than those of the regular education students due to the
students in the learning support classroom having disabilities and IEP needs. I wanted to see how each setting
helped each child learn and improve. I wanted to see an equal, or close to equal, percentage of growth between Acknowledgments
the three settings. I feel that each student should have an equal opportunity to learn, so I wanted to see if I
could determine the validity of that statement.
Assessment Data I want to thank my host teacher, Mrs. Bethany
Resource Room Inclusion General Education Garber, for allowing me to be a part of her classroom
for eight weeks of my student teaching semester, as
well as being an instrumental part of my teaching
career.
I would also like to thank the general education math
teacher, Mr. Dakota Johnson-Ortiz, for including me
I looked at the percent change of the students in each class and each class as a whole. The student in his classroom and providing valuable data that I
percent change graph showed that students in all three classes had a mean that fell roughly between used to complement the data I collected.
10% and 20%. This data means that all three classes, on average, improved their assessment scores. I would also like to thank the Palmyra Area Middle
The average percent change growth graph reiterates that conclusion and shows a more distinct School 7th Grade Sharks team for welcoming me.
average percent change and comparison. The student percent change graph also indicates that each
class had high outliers, showing that individual students significantly improved their assessment I would also like to thank the wonderful 7th grade
scores. The interquartile ranges of each class look different, with the resource room having the students who helped me to learn so much everyday
largest, followed by the inclusion class, and then the general education class. This data signifies that and welcomed me into their school community.
the students in the general education class had growth rates similar to their peers. In contrast, the Lastly, I want to thank my supervisor, Ms. Maryellen
resource room class had more variance concerning individual student growth. Brown, for guiding me through my project.