After establishing a starting point grounded in theoretical frameworks and lenses in which to conduct my inquiry, I began my own classroom research keeping in mind my goal to promote the best sense of engagement amongst the students. Throughout this inquiry, one could define engagement as any active participation and collaboration by a student. Some of the ways I observed student engagement was through volunteering solutions or processes, asking questions of peers, asking questions of the teaching team, assisting another classmate, communicating in large group discussions, communicating in small group discussions, and volunteering to demonstrate and explain their mathematical work. By accounting for such a widespread set of behaviors, I hoped that each student could find a way to “participate” in a meaningful way that worked best for them. There is not one singular way that students learn, so consequently there is not a singular way to demonstrate that knowledge. The following pages provide context and analyses of the key artifacts I collected over the course of my year-long inquiry. These artifacts include a variety of observations conducted by myself, my Penn Mentor, or other colleagues; additionally, these artifacts include student surveys and reflections on the seating arrangements that were tested in the classroom. These artifacts deepened my understanding of the learning that occurred in my classroom, on both individual and whole-class levels. Through analysis and examination, I have been able to modify my practice in order to best serve the students in a collaborative learning space.
The following artifacts follow my the exploration of my inquiry question chronologically, beginning with a participation chart in the initial seating arrangement. Each new seating arrangement was tested over a period of two weeks to provide some adjustment time for the students. Students began by initially sitting in groups of four students with desks facing each other. This arrangement was followed by a double-layered U-Shape around the classroom with students facing towards each other. The third arrangement tested was an arrangement of pairs of students with desks directed towards the front boards. The students then returned to the groups of four arrangement. All arrangements can be seen in the floor plans below.
The following artifacts follow my the exploration of my inquiry question chronologically, beginning with a participation chart in the initial seating arrangement. Each new seating arrangement was tested over a period of two weeks to provide some adjustment time for the students. Students began by initially sitting in groups of four students with desks facing each other. This arrangement was followed by a double-layered U-Shape around the classroom with students facing towards each other. The third arrangement tested was an arrangement of pairs of students with desks directed towards the front boards. The students then returned to the groups of four arrangement. All arrangements can be seen in the floor plans below.