Professional Inquiry Project Proposal

Tanner Lesh
September 2022

Research question:
Does team-based learning through classroom games increase student engagement in
Math?

Why I am researching this (Rational):

In my experience as a student teacher, I have discovered traditional math classes are not
interesting to students. As teachers we continually give students math drills without allowing
them to taste the enjoyable part of discovering Math. It is like giving students basketball drills
without ever letting them play basketball. My goal is to help students see the fun side of math
and increase time on task with accountability to a team.

How will I know if this is affective

Student interviews: Student interviews will be conducted at the end of each unit with 1-2
students. A series of prepared questions will be asked about how a specific activity compares to
math learning they have done in the past and how they may have felt about their team. A
limitation of this measure may be that students have experienced limited classroom time
Student time on task: I will take note of the time that students are spending working towards
goals in their game by taking personal note and asking the opinion of my teacher mentor while
in the classroom to look to see if students are disengaged with learning.
Keeping to the timeline: A potential pitfall to this style of student directed learning is that it will
be hard to keep up with necessary timelines. I will compare my students’ progress to that of
other teachers who are teaching the same course to see if the curriculum is being kept up with.
One potential limitation is that I am not a controlled variable and if we are not keeping up, it may
be because of me, the teacher, rather than the method of delivery.

Key Strategies

Students working in teams will be required to work with their peers, help teach other
students in their teams, and with a sense of team responsibility. Students who typically may be
reluctant to complete their work are now part of a team of peers depending on them.
Games will allow students to learn at their own pace and create room for challenging
enrichment activities for students that work through required learning material more quickly. The
goal is also to have more time in class for students to work on tasks that will help their learning
and equip them with resources to help them learn the math they need. I am anticipating time
freed up to allow for planned and reactive mini lessons within teams or groups of students while
other students are actively engaged in a competitive learning process.
Timeline
September:
- Focus on classroom culture and introduce games to students during the more simple
divisibility Unit
- Ensure the games will indeed work for the learning of students (It has worked well so far)
October:
- Reflect on the previous game for divisibility, find the potential issues with the game and
look for ways to improve the game, adding in an increased variety within games. (ie.
Powerups and Sabotaging)
- Create Website with structure of games and gamification
November:
- Continue to improve the game, adapting as games go along.
- Refine the website and rethink presentation structure if necessary
December:
- Deliver the most refined scenario game to students and Present Findings in the PIP
symposium

Hypothesis:
By creating a way for students to collaborate, students will be more engaged in learning,
seeing the value and excitement in learning math concepts. Students will see that you do not
need to be a ‘math wiz’ to enjoy math.

How Findings will be shared

Finding will be shared through a website and presentation that will make resources
readily available for other students to use in the future. The website will include resources and
discoveries on successful and unsuccessful aspects of the process through a win/lose page. It
will also include resources created and a blog that will be part of an ongoing process of inputting
information. This blog will likely take the form of a post scenario or unit reflection as I finish
different units throughout Math.
 Works Cited

Matera, M. (2015). Explore like a pirate: Engage, enrich, and elevate your learners with
gamification and game-inspired course design. Dave Burgess Consulting, Inc.

Description: This book covers methodology for gamification in learning through

instruction of learning material, managing ongoing teams and creating more
in-depth scenario games

Meehan, J. (2019). Edrenaline Rush. DBC Inc.

Description: This book covers anecdotal experience from a number of teachers

including the author, Meehan with a focus on engaging, multi-class game ideas for
students. Most games reccomended in the book are team based games. It provides a
detailed description to help implement team based games.

Nair, S., Mathew, J. Evaluation of Gamified Training A Solomon Four-Group Analysis of

the Impact of Gamification on Learning Outcomes. TechTrends 65, 750–759 (2021).
https://doi-org.ezproxy.uleth.ca/10.1007/s11528-021-00651-3

Description: This is a study that concludes that the impact of gamification for
study can increase the ability for students to meet learning outcomes. It suggests that
gamification increases learner motivation, therefore increasing learners’ knowledge gain
from an activity.

Thompson, B. M., Haidet, P., Borges, N. J., Carchedi, L. R., Roman, B. J. B., Townsend,
M. H., Butler, A. P., Swanson, D. B., Anderson, M. P., & Levine, R. E. (2015).
Team cohesiveness, team size and team performance in team-based learning
teams. Medical Education, 49(4), 379-385. https://doi.org/10.1111/medu.12636

Description: This is an article that takes medical students as a study group to see
if team-based learning improves test scores. The article finds that increased
group size and cohesion has a positive relationship wth increased performance.