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Action Research Report

Enhancing student engagement through real world open-ended mathematical

questions/investigations

1 Introduction and contextualisation of action research

1.1 Student engagement theory, research and practice

The MeE framework, a psychological model that allows for teachers to evaluate

engagement and motivation levels of students, promotes the need for analysis of

teachers pedagogical practices (Munns, Lawson, O'Brian & Johnson, 2006).

Student individuality is acknowledged and substantive engagement is fostered

across both classroom and school wide levels.

The MeE framework supports an insider classroom, which involves power shared

amongst the teacher and the students. This reflects my views on substantive

engagement, as I believe that management of learning through individual support

strategies heighten students persistence, confidence and their ability to overcome

difficulties (Munns & Woodward, 2006). Intrinsic Motivation is stimulated through

this and has been found to be more academically beneficial to students than

extrinsic motivation (Vialle, Lysaght & Verenikina, 2005). When students are given a

voice in their learning, they are more likely to engage in in-task behaviour, as they

are interested. This leads them to appreciate, value and understand the relevance of

school (Fair Go Project, 2006; Munns, Sawyer & Cole, 2013). I had taken this into

consideration when I developed my focus question, as it is student-centred and

involves substantive engagement.

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For substantive engagement to transpire, student engagement needs to operate at a

cognitive, affective and operative level simultaneously (Fair Go Project, 2006; Munns

et al., 2006). This represents the lower case e within the MeE framework. This

refers to short-term engagement within the classroom, where students are actively

engaged in a challenging task and have positive feelings about it (Fair Go Project,

2006). The upper case E refers to long-term engagement, when students realise

the value of education and become lifelong learners (Munns et al., 2006). Real world

open-ended mathematical questions stimulate each engagement level.

My understanding of the MeE framework has significantly shaped my personal

teaching philosophy, which is largely focused on substantive engagement and

innovative lessons. I believe that a student-centred classroom increases student

curiosity and interest, ultimately promoting intrinsic motivation. While undertaking my

second professional learning experience, I became more drawn to the e and E of

the framework. I find that the teacher plays an essential role in fostering long-term

engagement in students. I therefore integrated this into my focus question, Do real

world open ended mathematical questions/investigations enhance student

engagement?. I believe that real world questions/investigations allow students to

make creative connections between their learning and their everyday lives.

1.2 Innovative pedagogies

Intrinsic motivation and creative learning are innovative pedagogies that frame my

philosophy of teaching. During my first professional experience, I focused largely on

behaviour management, which meant that I relied on extrinsic rewards to motivate

students. Since then I have gained more teaching experience and reviewed literature

surrounding this area, which has helped me to become confident enough to move

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away from extrinsic motivation and focus on intrinsically motivating students through

creative learning.

I wanted my students to challenge themselves and become persistent in problem

solving. I provided a student-centred teaching space, where students were given a

choice of questions and topics. They were given the freedom to find solutions to

maths investigations using different problem-solving strategies of their choice, which

I had taught them. I did not make students feel as though they were under

surveillance or that they were being evaluated (Goleman et al., 1992). This made

them more motivated. I acted as a role model for my students, as rather than telling

them to be creative, I gave them the opportunities to discover and develop their

creativity through the real world open ended investigations I designed (Sternberg &

Williams, 1996). As students enjoyed learning and were determined to find a solution

to the maths investigations, they were intrinsically motivated and completed activities

to satisfy themselves rather than for extrinsic rewards.

These innovative pedagogical approaches have been integrated into my focus

question. I used my knowledge of students personal interests and learning styles to

plan mathematical investigations and lessons that would naturally conjure

imagination, curiosity and creativity. I planned around Csikzentmihalyis (1996)

model of flow, which highlights the mental state in which a person is completely

immersed within the task or activity undertaken. Doing so enabled me to be sure that

all students were challenged according to their abilities and pushed themselves to

find solutions, ultimately evoking intrinsic motivation when students stayed focused

and engaged in the investigations (Sternberg & Williams, 1996).

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1.3 Action research focus

My initial focus question focused on engagement through inquiry based learning.

After observing and building relationships with my students during my second

professional learning experience, I decided to narrow my attention to mathematics.

Maths lessons most often consisted of completing worksheets that had little

relevance to their own lives. I believe this to be the core reason for their lack of

engagement and negative perceptions of maths. From here I asked myself, how can

I make them more engaged in maths? The answer was to provide them with real

word open ended questions and investigations to see if this made a difference to

their motivation and engagement levels and overall outlook on mathematics.

Real world questions and investigations offer high cognitive investigations in the way

that students construct their own knowledge about how mathematics relates to their

world (Woolfolk & Margetts, 2013). They are able to see the value of mathematics

while enjoying learning, as open-ended investigations encourage students to be

creative and think outside of the box (Sawyer, 2013). By exploring problems that

they are interested in and find important, students are engaged at a highly affective

level. Subsequently, their intrinsic motivation increases as they are given time to

explore a particular investigation and make it their own. This is a crucial key to

student creativity (Goleman, Kaufman & Ray, 1992). By encouraging curiosity and

creativity through open-ended questions that linked with their everyday lives,

students have a more positive outlook on learning (CsIkszentmihalyi, 2000). These

high operative learning experiences are evoked through critical thinking skills that

encourage students to apply knowledge learned in the classroom to their everyday

lives. Evidently, the focus question of this report covers all parts of the MeE

framework, but centres primarily on the small e and how students can take this

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knowledge to make connections to their everyday lives, consequently meeting the

big E of the framework.

2 Methodology

2.1 Research context

I had conducted my action research cycle at Mount Pritchard Public School in a year

2 class of 21 students with mixed abilities. The school is in a low socioeconomic area

and is located near community housing for refugees. I took this into consideration

when thinking of an action research question to make sure students are able to

access necessary resources. Students in my class were academically diverse, which

meant that differentiation was necessary in order for them to work to their full

potential. Most students are excited and enthusiastic, while there were 5 students

who frequently displayed disruptive and challenging behaviour.

My teacher is close to retirement and because of the vast age gap, I found that our

values and practices clashed. She was fond of extrinsic rewards, while I was not.

Worksheets were the focus of most lessons and I disagreed with this because they

were closed-ended and lacked creativity. This was reflected in students

engagement, as they were easily distracted and off-task, particularly during maths

lessons. I decided to change my focus question, which initially centred on inquiry-

based learning across all KLAs, to real world open-ended mathematical

questions/investigations because I believed students would benefit from it the most. I

wanted to see them intrinsically motivated to learn, rather than merely being on-task

in order to receive Dojo points (Munns et al., 2013). I believed that this will also

encourage creativity. My mentor teacher was extremely supportive, flexible and

interested to see how much more engaged they were. She could see that students

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were benefiting and during the second block of my second professional experience,

she made space in the class timetable for my maths lessons. However, my lessons

were often cut short by the speech pathologist, who came into class weekly.

Subsequently, I had to either shorten my conclusions or time for students to

investigate the given problems.

2.2 Procedural description of the completed action research cycle

Planning

I planned to enhance student engagement through real world open-ended

mathematical questions/ investigations that reflect my teaching philosophy. I began

by conducting research into open-ended maths problem solving strategies. I

designed a chart of the different strategies that I believe were best suited for the

class. These included working backwards, revising, checking and evaluating, using

manipulatives, acting it out, finding patterns, constructing a table, list or chart,

drawing a picture or a diagram (OConnell, 2000). I also researched examples of

investigations that I could implement in my class and used them to plan my lessons.

Acting

I displayed the maths problem solving strategies chart at the front of the class and

referred to it each lesson as a visual reminder. I began by first providing students

with several questions, which we answered together, that allowed them to properly

understand each strategy. I also taught them to break down questions by circling the

numbers, underlining key words and italicising the key question in order to ensure

they understand what is expected of them. Teaching students to break down

questions and choose the most appropriate strategy for a certain question allowed

them to develop these skills before putting them into practice (Banchi and Bell,

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2008). Once they began to develop these skills I introduced them to more

challenging questions to suit their different abilities. I implemented homogeneous

collaborative group work in order for students to share their skills and knowledge to

reach a common goal (Applefield, Huber & Moallem, 2000). I provided students with

constructive feedback and scaffolding when necessary for emergent learners.

Observing

My mentor teacher and I observed the quality of student engagement and learning

through their conversations to make lesson adjustments. She had written her

observations in my reflection booklet. This ensured that the open-ended questions

and investigations were substantively engaging all students and were suited to their

needs and abilities (Munns et al., 2006).

Reflecting

My mentor teacher and I orally and in writing reflected on challenges and

achievements after each lesson. I used the MeE framework to reflect on how well I

provided high cognitive, affective and operative learning experiences (Fair Go

Project, 2006). I also shared my thoughts and experiences with the other preservice

teacher, my focus group and teachers each day. This provided me with refreshing

perspectives that I could reflect on. Discussions with my focus group particularly

helped me to reflect on where to go next with my lessons, student engagement and

my research project in general.

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2.3 Collection and use of student data in professional self-reflection

Work samples

I took photos of students individual and group work samples after each lesson. This

data was used as an evaluation of students understanding of the

question/investigation and lesson content, ability to choose most appropriate

problem-solving strategies, collaborative group work participation/skills and

determination to find a solution. Through the work samples I was also able to

understand how each student learns and their learning style, based on their working

out and reasoning or lack of it. From here I made changes to lessons in order to

make sure students are challenged according to their ability (Csikzentmihalyi, 1996).

Records of learning conversations

Throughout the action research lessons, I kept records of learning conversations

among students and between myself and students. I found that overhearing student

conversations was more valuable than when they were aware of my presence, as it

provided me with a more authentic idea of how well they understood the task, how

much they enjoyed it and whether they were challenging themselves. Thus, I was

able to measure engagement levels related to the MeE framework and whether real

world investigations enhanced it.

Observations

I observed students during real world open-ended mathematical investigations. I

moved around the classroom from group to group or student to student and noted

their body language, work products and effectiveness of discussions to determine

their level of engagement. My teacher also wrote down observations in my lesson

feedback. I was able to determine whether students were operatively engaged by

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observing whether they were actively participating in group or individual

investigations. Affective engagement was observed through students enjoyment and

creativity.

Student self-assessment

After the action research lessons, I gave students a self-assessment questionnaire

based on the REAL dimensions of student engagement self-assessment questions

(Munns & Woodward, 2006). The questions encouraged self-reflection and

assessment, as they addressed the thoughts, feelings and actions of students during

their investigations. Additionally, the affective, cognitive and operative aspects of

students engagement and learning were highlighted. I used this data to plan future

lessons, find out who enjoyed individual work and who enjoyed group work, what

they enjoyed and if they found any relevance between the investigations and their

own lives. This allowed me to uncover whether or not real-world investigations

promoted the big E.

3 Key findings and conclusion

3.1 Key findings

Students were unfamiliar with open-ended tasks, as they often completed work

sheets. This was evident during my first open-ended investigation lesson, as I noted,

many students sitting in their seats with blank faces, looking around the room and

tapping their legs while waiting for me to provide them with the answer. I realised

that they struggled to think creatively. Taking this into consideration, I spent time

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teaching them different problem-solving strategies and ways to break down

questions (Figure 1).

Figure 1: Mentor teachers observation 9/10/17

Students often thought the solutions were simple and would give me an answer

immediately after reading the question. From this it was clear that they lacked the

skills and knowledge of investigating open-ended maths problems, as their

worksheets were close-ended and usually had a time limit. I assured students that

finishing first or quickly is not always a good thing for it might mean that the task is

not challenging enough for them.

I made sure to observe and mix with groups and individual students to measure their

engagement levels and discussions. My teacher also made note of how I

encouraged students during lessons and advised them on choosing more suitable

strategies (Figure 2-4). I aimed to promote creativity by acting as a role model for

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students, showing them how to think creatively rather than telling them what to do

(Sternberg & Williams, 1996).

Figure 2: Mentor teachers feedback/observation 23/10/17

Figure 3: Mentor teachers feedback/observation 31/10/17

Figure 4: Mentor teachers feedback/observation 19/10/17

During lesson conclusions, I always encouraged students to share their solutions

and reasoning, which they were excited about (Figure 5). This allowed them to

appreciate different ways of thinking and realise that some problem-solving

strategies are better than others.

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Figure 5: Mentor teachers observation/feedback 12/10/17

I believe that their initial difficulties to think creatively stemmed from previous maths

learning, which either did not challenge them or challenged them too much for their

abilities. During my mentor teachers maths lessons, I often heard students say, I

dont know what to do, Im bored, I dont get it, This is too easy. It was clear that

lack of differentiation was a great concern, as students were all given the same tasks

to complete, regardless of their skills and knowledge. For advanced learners, this

meant that maths tasks were often boring because they were too easy, while

emergent learners had difficulties because the tasks were too difficult for them to feel

motivated. I made sure to differentiate lessons for students with reference to

Csikzentmihalyis (2000) model of flow to ensure each student was challenged

according to their ability in order to remain intrinsically motivated and determined to

complete the task at hand. The different tasks given to students are evident in

Figures 6 - 8. I noticed a positive shift in their confidence and engagement and noted

this observation (Figure 9).

Figure 6: Open-ended mathematical question for advanced learners

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Figure 7: Open-ended mathematical question for middle learners

Figure 8: Open-ended mathematical question for emergent learners

Figure 9: Observation/reflection about action research lessons

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The below work samples (Figure 10 & 11) further confirm that the students were

engaged in finding solutions for their open-ended questions, as even when they

made mistakes they corrected them to find a solution. Figure 11: Student work
sample
Engaging Learning
Experience e
Highly operative:
she worked hard
even though her
answers were not
entirely correct.
(Figure 11)

engaging
Messages
Knowledge:
Figure 10: Emergent learners work Student noticed a
sample
pattern, which she
engaging Messages began to complete.
Ability: by attempting the question for Ability: She then
advanced learners she is challenging realised that she
herself and feels she is capable.
made a mistake
(Figure 10)
and fixed it up.
Usually she does
Engaging Learning Experience e
not like to accept
Highly operative: she worked hard and
that she has made
was in control of her learning
a mistake. Thus,
Highly affective: student took a risk with
she has shown
her learning because she was curious
intrinsic motivation
knows she needs to be challenged
(Figure 11)
(Figure 10)

Syllabus: MA1-3WM Supports conclusions by explaining or demonstrating how answers were obtained.
(Figures 11 & 12)

At first It was clear that students were not reading the questions properly. I showed

students how to break down questions by circling the numbers, underlining the key

words and italicising the main question (Figure 12 & 13).

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Figure 12: Mentor teachers observation/feedback 16/10/17

Figure 13: Screenshots of how students broke down the questions on interactive whiteboard

After breaking the question down as a class I asked students for thumbs up if they

understand the question, thumbs to the side if they are not sure or thumbs down if

they do not understand. This helped me to check for understanding, as they need to

know what the question is asking them in order to find a solution. I wrote down the

names students who I observed usually putting their thumbs down and made sure to

simplify the question again with them at their desks. A conversation between student

B. and I demonstrated that he was working at a higher level than I initially thought. It

was the breaking down and understanding of the question that made him

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unconfident (Figure 14). His work sample (Figure 15) showcases substantive

engagement in the way that he had challenged himself to find all the possible

solutions, show his reasoning and extend the question by changing a key word.

Figure 14:
Transcribed
conversation that I
had with student B. I
found out that his
mathematical skills
and knowledge were
better than I thought.

Figure 15: Bs work sample.

Engaging Learning Experience e

High operative: All possible solutions to question
found through the use of patterns. He extended the
questions by changing add, a key word from the
question, to multiply and then subtract
(Figure 15)
Investigation: I am thinking of 2 numbers. When I add them
together, the total is 25. What numbers could I be thinking
of?

Syllabus:
MA1-4NA applies place value, informally, to count, order,
read and represent two- and three-digit numbers

MA1-5NA uses a range of strategies and informal recording

methods for addition and subtraction involving one- and two-
digit numbers

MA1-6NA uses a range of mental strategies and concrete

materials for multiplication and division

MA1-3WM Supports conclusions by explaining or

demonstrating how answers were obtained. (Figure 15)

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For more challenging or abstract investigations I placed students in mixed ability

groups to encourage collaboration and creativity. This proved to be effective, as

students were extremely engaged in their investigation (Figure 16).

Figure 16: Mentor teachers observation/feedback 27/10/17

I appointed a leader in each group. The leaders were students who were easily

distracted, gave up easily or were shy. I had purposely implemented this strategy to

ensure that these students were given a sense of responsibility in managing the

group work and making sure each group member had a role. This was effective, as it

kept the students in task and allowed the shy students to have a voice, which is

mentioned in the self-assessments (Figure 17). They also showed evidence of

engagement in collaborative group work. Students were excited about working with

students they usually would not work well with and were surprised at how much less

distracted they were in the groups I placed them in.

Photos taken of group work from that same maths lesson show that students are

absorbed on their work (Figure 18)

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Figure 17: Student self-assessments

typed up. With the students
permission, I typed up three different
self-assessments after each lesson. I
displayed them on the interactive
whiteboard at the beginning of the
following lessons for students to
discuss and reflect on whether they
had similar or different views,
thoughts and feelings. They also
discussed what they could do better
during the present lesson.

engaging Messages
Place: feel valued as individual and
group learners and feels a sense of
belonging over learning

Knowledge: able to see meaning

and make connections between
investigations and everyday life

Control: acknowledge leadership

role and share control amongst group
members

Voice: even though there were

leaders, they did not act bossy and
instead worked to bring their groups
together

Ability: worked together through

investigation to achieve shared goal

(Figures 17 & 18)

Investigation: students were asked to

find the cost of a BBQ for the 21
students in their class.

Syllabus:
MA1-17SP gathers and organises data,
displays data in lists, tables and picture
graphs, and interprets the results
MA1-1WM describes mathematical
situations and methods using every
day and some mathematical language,
actions, materials, diagrams and
symbols
MA1-2WM Uses objects, diagrams and
technology to explore mathematical
problems
MA1-3WM Supports conclusions by
explaining or demonstrating how
answers were obtained
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(Figures 17 & 18)
18011483 Engaging Learning Experience e
Highly operative: Working hard and in
control of learning. Can see relevance to
own world.
Highly affective: students chose BBQ
question and choose their shopping list
based on what they like and the costs. They
enjoyed it.
High cognitive: students are able to take
their knowledge and skills surrounding
money and data collection/displays beyond
the classroom.

(Figures 17 & 18)

Figure 18: Collaborative group work during real world open-ended mathematical

investigation.

Ultimately, my goal was to enhance student engagement in maths through real world

open-ended questions and investigations. Although students were eager and

curious, it took some time before they truly gained intrinsic motivation to complete

tasks. While they did require some scaffolding and guidance at the end of the action

research, they became much more autonomous, engaged and could see how

questions were relevant to their own lives. The student self-assessments (Figure 17)

shows that they were able to recognise how and where they could use the

information that they learned. The implementation of real world open-ended

mathematical questions has evidently made a significant impact on the quality of

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student work, engagement and performance. When I reflected upon this with my

mentor teacher, she agreed that there was a vast difference in their engagement in

maths lessons.

3.2 Short- and long-term implications

In the short term, students were extremely snagged and motivated when solving real

world open-ended questions. They have a firm understanding of a range of maths

problem solving strategies, which they have found helpful. They now have positive

views of maths but this may change if they are forced to return to close-ended

worksheets. In relation to my practice in the short term I have learned that positive

teacher attitudes towards maths greatly influence students attitudes. I will keep this

in mind when teaching.

As my action research spanned over only six weeks, I lacked the time to involve

students in more physical investigations. Without the knowledge of several maths

problem solving strategies and the skill of breaking down questions, it is difficult to

effectively engage in a larger investigation. If I continued to work with the same class

however, I would soon be exposing them to more exciting investigations that

encourage physical discovery and collaboration. Thus, my next step would be to plan

a mathematics trail for students at a local park or perhaps the school.

A major long-term implication for the students is the ability to see the relavence of

their learning and transfer that knowledge in the real world. As for my own teaching

practice, I will continue to plan and implement lessons that spark student curiosity

and interest. I believe that with the proper resources, persistence and determination,

it is possible to make any area schooling relevant to students own world. Creativity

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and motivation spark each other. If tasks are irrelevant and students feel that they

will never need that specific knowledge, then their creative learning will suffer.

However, by arousing creativity through open-ended questions and investigations

linked to the real world, students will continue to see the value in their learning. This

attitude will support their development into lifelong learners. This is linked to my long-

term goals.

As a result of my action research, I discovered the importance of inspiring creativity

and intrinsic motivation in my students. Although it does not happen overnight,

students will eventually become intrinsically motivated when they find learning

engaging, relevant and are able to have a voice in the classroom. I hope to create an

insider classroom through my experiences and knowledge from my action research.

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References

Applefield, J. M., Huber, R., & Moallem, M. (2000). Constructivism in theory

and practice: Toward a better understanding. The high school journal, 84(2).

Banchi, H., & Bell, R. (2008). The many levels of inquiry. Science and

children, 46(2).

Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2000). Beyond boredom and anxiety. Jossey-Bass.

Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1996). Flow and the psychology of discovery and invention.

New York: Harper Collins.

Fair Go Project. (2006). School is for me: Pathways to student engagement. Sydney,

Australia: Priority Schools Funding Program, NSW Department of Education

and Training.

Goleman, D., Kaufman, P., & Ray, M. L. (1992). The creative spirit. New York:

Dutton.

O'connell, S. (2000). Introduction to problem solving: Strategies for the elementary

math classroom.

Sawyer, K. (2013). Zig zag: The surprising path to greater creativity. John Wiley &

Sons.

Sternberg, R. J., & Williams, W. M. (1996). How to develop student creativity. ASCD.

Munns, G., Lawson, J., O'Brian, M. L., & Johnson, K. (2006). Student

engagement and the fair go project. School is For Me: Pathways to Student

Engagement.

Munns, G., Sawyer, W., & Cole, B. (Eds.). (2013). Exemplary teachers of

students in poverty. Routledge.

Munns, G., & Woodward, H. (2006). Student engagement and student self

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assessment: the REAL framework. Assessment in Education: Principles,

Policy & Practice, 13(2).

Vialle, W., Lysaght, P., & Verenikina, I. (2005). Motivation. In P. Lysaght & I.

Verenikina. (Ed.), Psychology for educators. Southbank, Australia: Thomson

Learning.

Woolfolk, A., & Margetts, K. (2013). Educational psychology (4th ed).

Melbourne, VIC Pearson Australia.

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Appendix 1: Focus Group Participation

Messages
in green
are from
me

Note: focus
group
members
mobile
numbers
and names
have been
blacked out
to protect
their
privacy.

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Focus group member

Focus group member

Me

My focus group and I thought it would be a good idea to partner up and mark/check each
others drafts.

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Appendix 2: Ethics Consent Form

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