Quality, Meaningful Educational Experiences: An Auto-Biographical Case Study of Algebra 1 Students at a Small Urban High School
Location
Boston 1
Session Format
Presentation
Abstract
This auto-biographical case study was conducted to examine the classroom experiences from the lens of the researcher as well as the perception of those experiences from the perspective of both the teacher and the student in an effort to identify the quality, meaningful educational experiences that lead to a greater development of algebraic thinking and an increase in self-efficacy among students who had previously demonstrated a struggle in the mathematics classroom. My inspiration for this study was my personal experience as a student in this same district who also struggled to develop algebraic thinking, particularly in Algebra 1.
Data was collected through teacher surveys, teacher and student interviews, student self-efficacy surveys, and classroom observations. In response to the results of the classroom observations, teachers were provided with professional learning and support in an effort to provide students with instructional experiences that lead to the development of algebraic thinking. Classroom observations were used to determine of the lesson was teacher focused or student centered and also whether the assignment was computational of procedural.
Keywords
Algebra 1, algebraic thinking, culturally responsive pedagogy, self-efficacy
Professional Bio
My name is Marya Ray, and I am currently an EdD candidate at Georgia College & State University. I earned my BS in Special Education and my MEd in Middle Grades Education with a focus on mathematics from Georgia College & State University. I am currently a high school mathematics teacher at Baldwin High School in Milledgeville, Georgia.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Ray, Marya D., "Quality, Meaningful Educational Experiences: An Auto-Biographical Case Study of Algebra 1 Students at a Small Urban High School" (2024). Georgia Educational Research Association Conference. 28.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/gera/2024/2024/28
Quality, Meaningful Educational Experiences: An Auto-Biographical Case Study of Algebra 1 Students at a Small Urban High School
Boston 1
This auto-biographical case study was conducted to examine the classroom experiences from the lens of the researcher as well as the perception of those experiences from the perspective of both the teacher and the student in an effort to identify the quality, meaningful educational experiences that lead to a greater development of algebraic thinking and an increase in self-efficacy among students who had previously demonstrated a struggle in the mathematics classroom. My inspiration for this study was my personal experience as a student in this same district who also struggled to develop algebraic thinking, particularly in Algebra 1.
Data was collected through teacher surveys, teacher and student interviews, student self-efficacy surveys, and classroom observations. In response to the results of the classroom observations, teachers were provided with professional learning and support in an effort to provide students with instructional experiences that lead to the development of algebraic thinking. Classroom observations were used to determine of the lesson was teacher focused or student centered and also whether the assignment was computational of procedural.
