Introduction:

Motivating students, particularly in traditionally challenging subjects like math, is a persistent concern for educators. To address this issue, I propose a collaborative research project with a fellow math teacher to explore effective strategies for boosting student engagement and achievement.

Areas of Concern:

• Declining standardized test scores: Nationally, math scores have stagnated or declined in recent years, raising concerns about student preparedness for college and careers.
• Student disengagement: Many students find math boring or irrelevant, leading to a lack of motivation and participation in class.
• The achievement gap: Minority and low-income students often score lower on math assessments, highlighting an equity issue in math education.

Research Focus:

This research project will focus on identifying and evaluating evidence-based strategies to motivate high school math students. We will gather data through a combination of methods:

• Review of existing research: We will analyze peer-reviewed studies and educational resources to identify effective practices for boosting student motivation in math.
• Teacher surveys: We will survey math teachers in our school district to gather insights into their current practices and perceived challenges related to student motivation.
• Student surveys: We will conduct anonymous surveys with a sample of high school math students to understand their attitudes towards math and preferred learning styles.
• Classroom observations: With parental consent, we will observe math classes in different settings to document current teaching practices and student engagement levels.

Timeline and Sample:

• Month 1-2: Literature review, development of survey instruments, and teacher recruitment.
• Month 3: Conduct teacher and student surveys, and classroom observations.
• Month 4-5: Data analysis and identification of effective motivational strategies.
• Month 6: Dissemination of research findings to colleagues and development of a professional development workshop on motivational strategies for math teachers.

Resources:

• Existing research literature on student motivation in math education.
• Educational databases and professional development resources.
• Collaboration with school administration and math department colleagues.
• Access to student data (anonymized) and parental consent for classroom observations.

This collaborative research project has the potential to yield valuable insights into effective strategies for motivating high school math students. By combining data from various sources, we can create a data-driven approach to address a critical concern in the field of math education. The findings of this research can be shared with colleagues through professional development workshops, ultimately leading to improved teaching practices and increased student engagement and achievement in math classrooms.