​​What were the challenges & successes?

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Throughout this action research, the successes outweighed the challenges. But, with every new experience, some challenges did occur. One challenge that occurred in the beginning was my unfamiliarity in creating effective games for the differing levels of my learners. I received some games with my math curriculum, Pearson, but I would find my students growing very bored of these games quickly. The Pearson games also did not challenge my high achieving students. So the challenge occurred when I was creating varied leveled games for my math games station. The process was trial and error. Some games went over very well with my students, while others were too easy or too difficult for them to understand. Finding the correct balance of fun and engaging was a challenge, but led to success once I found that happy medium. Another challenge that occurred was flexible grouping. While taking anecdotal notes, I was able to adjust student grouping according to how they were understanding the material. My students some days forgot to check the board and would go to the incorrect group, which lead to some groups having more students, and other groups having less. After lots of reteaching and practicing, the flexible groups ran much smoother and the successes each group had increased. I also noticed that some of my groups would be more successful if the times they had in rotations were a bit longer. This will be something I implement next year when I do the math workshop model. The major success I had from my action research was the growth that each of my students showed. They all were so confident in what they were doing, it translated to the work they were putting out. It was inspiring to see the excitement to learn each and every day. Their excitement allowed me to become excited to teach them every day. It also motivated me to provide quality learning experiences for them. After all the success my students had after I implemented the math workshop model, I plan on using it as the format for my math instruction for next year as well. The only things I would change would be allowing more time for rotations, having smaller groups to really individualize instruction, and provide more quality games.

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What did I learn as a result of the action research?

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I have gained an immense amount of knowledge this year from my action research. Research allowed me to learn about best practices for differentiating my student learning. That is why I was able to learn how to effectively incorporate the math workshop model into my math instruction. Given the daunting task of differentiating for such differing levels of students, I was able to reach out in my school to find help from other teachers on how to effectively differentiate instruction. I collaborated with the HALE teacher to find more challenging activities for my high achieving students. I collaborated with my grade level team to gain knowledge of ways to help my below level students. Because of my action research, I was able to better understand how to use data to help differentiate daily math groups as well as place students in the group that would best benefit them.

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​How has the action research impacted learning?

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My action research has impacted my students learning in such a positive way. The research I conducted kept displaying the consistent trend of learning through differentiation. My students were able to learn and grow at their own pace and at their own level. The ability for them to excel at their own level increased their desire to want to learn and increased their excitement for math everyday.

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How has the action research impacted teaching?

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My action research plan allowed me to change the way my math instruction was delivered. For my action research plan, I implemented the math workshop model into my classroom. The math workshop model allowed me to meet the needs of all of my first graders. It gave me the opportunity every day to work with leveled math groups and help further their understanding on concepts. The math workshop model also allowed my students to have additional practice on skills they were learning. They were able to practice skills individually, with peers through engaging in math games, and through technology. Seeing the students grow in their skills and confidence allowed me as their teacher to grow as well. I had to continue to push myself to find engaging materials for all of my learners. I had to continue to research and find what other practices I could be using to help further instruction. This action research also allowed me to better understand how to use data to drive my instruction.

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How will this research impact future teaching?

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The world of teaching is always changing and modifying itself to ensure it is inclusive to all. My action research has shown me how beneficial it is to research ways to improve your teaching. Times are constantly changing, and so are the students we are teaching. As teachers, we must continue to grow with our students. I have loved being able to challenge myself this year to be the best teacher I could be for my students. I am empowered and encouraged from this action research to continue to push myself and my teaching to be the absolute best for my students this year, and all the years to come.