Do math centers improve student growth, engagement and motivation in a first grade classroom?

Seminar Title

Do math centers improve student growth, engagement and motivation in a first grade classroom?

Small Group Math Instruction

1st Grade

1st Grade

Mathematics

All Disciplines

“What are we supposed to do again?” “How much longer until we’re done?” Teachers constantly hear these questions throughout their day. Creating a learning enviornment that encourages students to be self-motivated, engaged and promote academic success can be a challenge for many teachers. It was for me, which is why I decided to investigate on how math stations impact student success. Implementing stations during our math block has been a life changer! My students are now excited for our math block, have learned to work independently and their assessment scores have improved drastically! If you are considering implementing math stations in your classroom and would like to participate in a meaningful discussion regarding the station approach, this is the session for you!

Through my research my goal was to answer the following question: Do math centers improve student growth in a first grade classroom? After reading how math centers impact the classroom in a positive way, I decided to implement them in my first grade classroom. I already meet with the students in small group guided reading groups and have noticed how much the small group learning has improved my students’ progress and engagement. Meeting with small groups allows me to differentiate my instruction to better fit my students’ needs. Throughout my action research I focused on how the students perform academically, their motivation and engagement during our math block. Throughout my research I collected data to have a better understanding whether or not the stations did provide the students with a learning environment that supports engagement, self-motivation and successful learning opportunities in a more efficient way than whole group learning. I collected three different types of data: student survey, pre and post assessment results and comparing post assessment to the previous years data. I discovered students are more engaged, motivated and increased learning growth when learning through stations. I plan to continue to teach my math block through stations. This approach has given me more opportunities to meet my students’ needs and keep learning fun. I intend on expanding my math stations and providing more of a variety of activities for the students to complete at each station.