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Ramping Up Math Skills:

Motivation through Friendly Competition. Ramping Up Math Skills:. Miss. Sarah Ramp 3 rd Grade Warner Elementary. Setting the Scene. Third grade is when students start learning multiplication and division 3 rd Grade Math GLCE N.FL.03.11 : Find products fluently up to 10 x 10…

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Ramping Up Math Skills:

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  1. Motivationthrough Friendly Competition Ramping Up Math Skills: Miss. Sarah Ramp 3rd Grade Warner Elementary

  2. Setting the Scene • Third grade is when students start learning multiplication and division • 3rd Grade Math GLCE N.FL.03.11: Find products fluently up to 10 x 10… • Class had “Times Club” already set up, but the majority of students were not passing and moving up “Clubs”

  3. The Problem • The students not knowing their multiplication facts was causing math to take longer than it should have: • Spending more time on problems • Class time was being used to wait for them to make calculations instead of focusing on the new processes and methods • Students were get problems wrong because of calculation errors

  4. The Solution Motivate them to learn their multiplication facts! But how?? Bribery? Punishment? Rewards? Trinkets? Candy? Competition!

  5. Research on Games and Competition • Competition has a negative affect: • “A positive classroom environment of safety and security may be spoiled … Competition belongs on the athletic field, but not in the classroom.” (Self, N.) • “Competition is a recipe for hostility.” (Kohn) • “Competition is to self-esteem as sugar is to teeth” (Kohn) • Competition encourages cheating and causes some students to give up before even trying because they feel hopeless at being able to win. (Self, N.)

  6. Research on Games and Competition • More negative affects: • The best amount of competition for children is “none at all, and the very phrase ‘healthy competition’ is actually a contradiction in terms.” (Kohn) • “…some things are inherently destructive. Competition, which simply means that one person can succeed only if others fail, is one of those things. It's always unnecessary and inappropriate at school, at play, and at home.” (Kohn)

  7. Research on Competition and Games • Competition has positive effects: • “the results suggesting that competitive games lead to negative outcomes might only be true in contexts characterized by already high levels of competition… First, competition and aggression are not synonymous… Second, cooperation is a prerequisite to competition—in other words, children need to cooperate in order to compete.” (Zan) • “In the classroom, winning is not predicated on someone else losing. Students can achieve success without others failing, or students can fail regardless of how well [others do].” (Williamson) • “Through toys, games, role plays, and imaginative use of equipment and materials, children develop physically, intellectually, linguistically, emotionally, and socially.” (Rivera) • Games help children develop self-control and social skills as well as promote taking turns, strategic thinking, and problem solving. (Rivera)

  8. Research on Competition and Games • More positive effects: • “Through games and activities, a skilled teacher can introduce something unknown to a hesitant learner and allow the student to practice until mastery is achieved. Structured classroom play can appeal to all styles of learners: visual, aural, and kinesthetic… Play can enliven that which seems uninteresting, add humor, and infuse creativity into rigid and dry topics.” (Rivera) • “There is no doubt that one way to generate children’s interest in mathematics and science is through their favorite activities or games,” because “instinctively, kids crate games to help make sense of the world around them” (Williamson) • “Research has shown that some group games are excellent vehicles for promoting intellectual reasoning, especially in the area of mathematics.” (Kamii)

  9. Research on Competition and Games • Instead of competition: • Change the focus of the activity to validate “each students strengths as an individual and contributions as a team member” • Alleviate fears of failure, ridicule, disappointment, and embarrassment • Celebrations of all instead of winnings for only a few • Guide students to individual goals • Have students compete against the clock—not each other (Self, N.)

  10. Friendly Competition • Played 5 different games over 3 weeks • Created a bulletin board to visualize progress • For every game: • Emphasized positive encouragement • No tolerance policy of negativity • Everyone could be a winner • Main goal to improve math facts speed and accuracy • Predetermined time limit

  11. Bingo Choices 0 1 4 9 16 25 36 49 64 81 100

  12. Bingo Choices 0 1 4 9 16 25 36 49 64 81 100

  13. Fact Swat 24 90 6 28 4   20 72 15 9 54 21 36 12 0 7 10 18 32

  14. Around the World

  15. Times War

  16. Bus Stop

  17. “Going for Gold” Bulletin Board

  18. Collected Data: Times Club

  19. Overall

  20. Overall

  21. Individual Before Slope: 3.17 After Slope: 1.91 Minor Decline

  22. Individual Before Slope: 5.17 After Slope: 0.00 Huge Decline

  23. Individual Before Slope: 0.00 After Slope: 7.21 Huge Improvement!

  24. Overall t-Test Before Slope Mean = 2.489489028 After Slope Mean = 3.617198376 P(T<=t) one-tail = 0.041739231 Since 0.0417 is less than 0.05, we can be confident that the difference was not due to chance

  25. Student Survey Favorite Games: #1. Bus Stop #4. Times War #2. Around the World #5. Bingo #3. Fact Swat

  26. Student Survey

  27. Student Survey

  28. Student Survey

  29. Student Survey

  30. Student Survey

  31. Conclusion Friendly competition in the classroom did help the class with multiplication facts, in terms of both motivation and mastery. However, a few students were not positively effected by the competition, so more investigating still needs to be done

  32. Action Plan • Continue to use all games except Bingo • Play games less frequently • Use as rewards • Use after disappointing Times Club tests • Continue updating “Going for Gold” bulletin board • Continue to monitor student progress

  33. Sources • Self, Nancy S. “Build a Positive Classroom Environment: Avoid Competition!” Childhood Education 85.5 (2009): 306-I(4). General OneFile. Web. 23 Feb. 2010 • Kohn, Alfie. “The Case Against Competition.” Alfie Kohn. Web. 25 Feb. 2010<http://www.alfiekohn.org/parenting/tcac.htm>. • Coleman, James S. “Academic Games and Learning.” John Hopkins University. FirstSearch. Web. 23 Feb. 2010 • Rivera, Miquela. “The Powerful Effects of Play in a Child’s Education.” The Education Digest 75 no2 (2009). FirstSearch. Web 23 Feb. 2010 <http://0-firstsearch.oclc.org.library.albion.edu/WebZ/DARead?format=HTML:dbname=WilsonSelectPlus_FT:wildSici=0013-127X+200910+75+2+50+%3F%3F%3F:sici=0013-127X%28200910%2975%3A2%3C50%3ATPEOPIACE%3E::sessionid=fsapp1-34884-g61bc6ix-juvbyp:entitypagenum=1:0>. • Williamson, Keith M. and Lee Land, Beverly Butler, Hassan Ndahi. “A Structured Framework for Using Games to Teach Mathematics and Science in K012 Classrooms.” The Technology Teacher 64 no3 (2004): 15-18 N. FirstSearch. Web 23 Feb. 2010 • Zan, Betty and Carolyn Hildebrandt. “Cooperative and Competitive Games in Constructivist Classrooms.” The Constructivist. Vol. 16, No. 1. University of Northern Iowa. Web. 23 Feb. 2010 < http://www.odu.edu/educ/act/journal/vol16no1/zan.pdf>.

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