Creating Confident, Effective, Creative Problem Solvers

Mary EwartFinal Action Research Round Table Presentation

Seattle Pacific UniversityWinter 2015

EDU 6975

Word Problems…Professor Orion and Professor Polaris are working every night this month at the Mt. Olympus Observatory. On Monday night, during his shift from 8-10 PM, Professor Orion notices 12 new stars. He finds 18 new stars on Tuesday, 30 on Wednesday, 36 on Thursday, and 48 on Friday. Professor Polaris, working the 10-12 PM shift, notices 18 new stars on Monday, 26 on Tuesday, 44 on Wednesday, 52 on Thursday, and 70 on Friday. If the professors continue to spot new stars at the same rate, during what day of the week will their combined total equal the number of days in a year?

5-Step Process• Rubric developed and used all year long

• Focus on process

Where students began….

After the first semester…

Where I went from there…

Centimeter Cube

Activity

Create Connection to Algebra

Direct Instruction

on Table Method

Scaffolded Prompt to Connect

Final Prompt

Asking for Transfer

• Need to verify to be confident

• Don’t have enough strategies to be able to do that

• Focused on systems of equations

• Liquid Mixture Problems

Centimeter Cube Activity

Connection to Algebra

Connection to Algebra

Direct Instruction

Scaffolded Prompt

Final Prompt – Requiring

Transfer

Final Prompt

Final DataConsiderations:• Take Home vs. In Class• Students did not turn it in.• Access to resources

Next Steps Word Problems Daily – Connected to Real World

Focus on 5-Step THOUGHT process

Increased focus on transferring between content and application

Goal: ALL students able to score at least 80% by the end of the year