I decided to shift my focus to student engagement and how students are achieving.

On February
3rd, I noted in my inquiry notebook:
Today math centers went well. Im wondering if students are more engaged in math during
instruction and their independent work time. I feel that whenever I walk around during
centers, the tables that have manipulatives like the dice or cubes are focused but then began
to not use them appropriately. Whenever there are groups that have white boards or dry
erase sheets, they seem to do their center for a bit, and then begin to doodle. Im wondering
if altering the center tasks will help.
After this noticing in my classroom, I decided to look and see just how disengaged students were
during their center time. Since this was only a noticing, I wanted more
concrete evidence on how off task students were. On February 4th, I
asked my mentor to come in and assist as I observed how frequently
off task behavior occurred during center time. In the figure to the right,
I noted how often each behavior occurred over a span of 17 minutes.
After looking at these numbers, I was surprised by how often these
behaviors occurred and how many times. I noted in my observation

Behavior

Frequency

Talking to
neighbors
(not about
math)
Getting out of
seat to walk
around
Not using
manipulative
appropriately

18

12
15

notebook during that collection time, the off task behavior seems to be occurring by the same
eight students. These eight students were all in two separate center groups. I saw that the whole
class was not disengaged just my lowest group and my highest group. Because of this, I focused
in on their current center they were working on. For my lowest group, they were working on
ways to show a number using tens and ones. In this center, students would get two dice and roll
them. They would place one dice in the tens box and one in the ones. They would then show how

many tens, how many ones, and write the equation.

Example is shown to the left. I decided to
interview one of the students from my lowest/focus
group, Sophia.

Me: How do you feel about your tens and ones

center?
Sophia: I like it. I just get confused when Im doing it.
Me: Can you explain that more?
Sophia: So when I roll my dice, I pick one and put it in the tens and then put the other one in
the ones. I draw the ten sticks and the one guys. But then I get lost. I cant remember how to
write the equation and what it equals.
After my interview with Sophia, I saw that the reason she was off task was because she did not
have a clear place to record her equation thinking
on her sheet. Because of this, I decided to alter the
center so that it provided more support with their
group. I altered the sheet so that it provided an
area where they could write down how many tens
and ones they had and then form the equation to
show it.
With my higher group, I decided to have a student conversation with the group and they
told me they were bored with the center because they had done it so many times and needed
more of a challenge. They were also working on tens and ones but showed the different ways to

break apart a number. Example of student work is shown to the left. For example, if the number
was 44, it could be represented by combining 4 tens and 4
ones, 3 tens and 14 ones, 2 tens and 24 ones, 1 ten and 34
ones, and 44 ones. Their particular center had about 4 set
numbers and they had to choose the cards that represented the
equation and match it with the correct number. They had this
center for about a week and a half so it was time for a change.
I still wanted them to work on tens and ones, but they needed
that practice deepening their understanding of breaking apart
numbers. I decided to take the tens and ones center I had for
my lower group and use that for my highest group. Except
with the higher group, they would roll two dice and then
make a two-digit number. They would then show all the different tens and ones combinations
possible to make that number. After each time they wrote one
equation, they would erase a ten stick and add ten ones to the one
side. They would then count how many tens and ones were and write
the equation. Student work is shown to the left. It allowed for
constant variety using the dice and challenged their thinking on the
current topic we were learning about in class.
Over the next few days, I kept modeling and practicing being in a center group and what that
looks and sounds like. The following week, I began to see if that helped with students being
more engaged because I made the centers more structured and changed the way they looked for

my two off task groups. On February 9th, I observed those specific groups to see if those changes
had made an impact in student engagement. In my observation notebook, I noted:
Each group is so into their center and is using their math talk strategies with their
tablemates. Ivys group is talking about their work and asking each other questions about
how they solved their problems. My higher group is so focused and is asking questions when
they become challenged. One of the students is putting his answers into word problems in his
math workbook.
During my observation, I was so impressed with how intently and focused they were on their
work. By adding additional support and allowing for more openended answers, the groups were more engaged in their learning
and not as off task. I had my mentor come in on February 10th, so
that I could tally how often the off task behaviors occurred after
the supports had been implemented. In the figure to the right, it is
clear the behavior had vastly decreased since the first time I
collected data the previous week. There was only one instance

Behavior

Frequency

Talking to
neighbors
(not about
math)
Getting out
of seat to
walk around
Not using
manipulative
appropriately

1
0

where a student had a conversation not related to math. One student got out of their seat to walk
around and all the students were using their manipulatives appropriately. That was an immense
difference compared to the 18 times students were talking to neighbors, 12 times they got out of
their seat, and 15 times they were not using their manipulatives appropriately. Later on in the
week, I noted in my inquiry notebook on February 12th that students are extremely engaged in
their center and working collaboratively with one another. Altering the centers helped aid in
student engagement and reduce off-task behaviors.

Throughout the remainder of February, students seemed to be engaged and using their
math talk strategies they were taught. Once on February 25th, we reviewed our math talk
strategies and practiced it during an inquiry based lesson about greater than and less than. On
February 26th, I noted that students were communicating clearly with one another during their
centers and using open-ended questions with one another when sharing their thinking at their
table. With the engagement and math talk consistently being fostered in the classroom, I wanted
to look at if and how my focus students had academically improved over the course of the center
implementation.