Costa 1

Action Research Project Proposal

MIAA 310
Connie S. Costa
Dr. Sylvia Turner
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Research Purpose:
Im a fake! There, I said it. I truly feel that way when it comes to how I view myself in the
subject area of math. When I look back over my educational journey, during my
elementary years, I didnt really learn math, instead, I did math. During the 1960s,
math was very much skills based and rote. I dont remember ever learning the concepts
behind the math or making meaningful connections to the concepts. It was just drill and
kill, plug the values into the formulas and solve. It is my desire that through my research
and the MIAA program, I will be able to create meaningful lessons that engage my
students and that I will become a stronger teacher of mathematics.

Research Question:
How will making learning mathematics more meaningful and engaging benefit my
students understanding of the concepts being taught?
Subquestions:
1. MIAA 320- How will my implementation of essential questioning strategies create
thoughtful dialogue and meaningful discussions between my students?
2. MIAA 330- How will assessment results help identify student understanding? How
can these assessment results help my students improve their conceptual
understanding?
3. MIAA 340- How will the data collected from various student assessments aide in my
creation and implementation of mathematic lessons that specifically address
intervention, accommodations, and differentiation across the grade spans?
4. MIAA 350- How will the increase in my content knowledge and understanding of
mathematics help me to effectively engage students and increase their
understanding of mathematical concepts in a meaningful way?
5. MIAA 360/370- How will my unit designs meet the needs of my students diverse
learning styles, engage my students, and make what they are learning meaningful?
How will my unit designs focus on the breadth and rigor and the critical
thinking component embedded in the California Common Core Standards?
DATA:
MIAA 310
Through my Action Research Project I will gain exposure to varying grade spans
mathematical content, as well as acquire a deeper knowledge of the concept
progression. This course will also help me develop stronger and heterogeneous
pedagogical strategies for engaging my students.
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MIAA 320
This course will help me develop essential questions and questioning strategies to aide
me in helping my students engage in meaningful discourse. This type of pedagogy will
help me to create a learning environment where student discourse will elevate student
understanding and learning.
MIAA 330
Through this course I will gain a better understanding of various assessment modalities
to evaluate what my students have learned and what they may be confused about. With
the assessment data, my students will be able to better investigate and find solutions to
any misconceptions and errors that may hamper their mastery of mathematical
concepts.

MIAA 340
This course will allow me to make use of the evidence gathered from assessments to
better adapt my lessons to address the diverse learning styles of my students. I will
utilize this information to create engaging and meaningful lessons and make learning
accessible to all my students through differentiation and accommodations.
MIAA 350
Through this course I will build upon my current mathematics understanding and
knowledge in order to expand upon my students understanding and knowledge. In
doing so I will better comprehend the mathematical concepts taught at the K-3, 4-7, and
Algebra One levels and how mastery at each grade level is vital to the command of
each subsequent grade level.
MIAA 360/370
This course is the culmination of my journey towards a mathematics instructional added
authorization. Through this course, I will discover the answer for my research question. I
will design unit lesson plans that will be meaningful and engaging to my students across
all grade spans. The creation and implementation of these meaningful lessons will
connect the mechanical mathematical skill to the abstract concept and beyond. By
doing so, it is my belief that students will become critical thinkers and proficient in the
study of mathematics.
Reflection:
As I have developed this proposal it occurs to me that I have a much stronger
understanding of the MIAA program and the expectations of each course, as well as the
purpose behind teacher action research. I feel that as I successfully complete each
course, I will be one step closer to being an authentic math teacher and not the fake
version that I described in the Research Purpose segment of this proposal. I am excited
to become more knowledgable in this content area and to work collaborative with my
peers towards our common goal of educating our students and preparing them to
become critical thinkers.