Reading as a Learning Strategy for Mathematics

In this action research study of 55 sophomore and junior students in my Algebra II/Trigonometry classrooms, I investigated a reading strategy of learning mathematics. Students were given background information about reading and explored the benefits of reading for themselves. Next, students were taught to read their textbook, analyzing one section of the textbook at a time. Throughout the research project, students were given reading guides to fill out during class with whole class discussion following the reading time. I discovered that students are able to read a mathematics textbook with understanding and students who are gone for activities can learn independently. Teacher observations, student surveys, and student interviews provide quantitative evidence of increased student understanding and achievement. As a result of this research, I plan to continue utilizing the reading guides and incorporating reading as a method of learning mathematics within my classrooms.

Making Learning Visible: Peer Review and the Scholarship of Teaching

This is the promotional brochure from the March 2004 national conference, Making Learning Visible: Peer Review and the Scholarship of Teaching. This conference was hosted by the UNL Peer Review of Teaching project and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Collaboration as a Foundation for the Project Approach in Family Child Care

Supporting children's curiosity was considered important at my family child care home. How could we best achieve this? As my assistant caregiver Deb and 1 attended professional development workshops, we began to wonder if the project approach (Helm & Katz 2001) would be an effective means of supporting inquiry and collaborative learning. Before we would commit ourselves, we wanted to learn more. We had many questions. Just what is the project approach? What does it look like? How will it support children's learning? What do we need to be successful with it? The literature suggested many examples of successful projects at child care centers and preschools (Breig-Allen et al. 1998; Harkem: 1999; Beneke 2000; Glassman & Whaley 2000). Our challenge was how to adapt the project approach to our home child care situations.