Quantitative Literacy and Co-Construction in a High School Math Course

Abstract

This article reports some of the key findings from a practitioner-action research study that analyzed the impact of co-construction on students' quantitative literacy (QL) and attitudes towards mathematics. Coconstruction is a process where students work alongside their teachers to plan units, lessons, and assessments, and this approach was chosen because of its potential to help students advocate for the specific mathematical contexts that would best develop their QL. This yearlong study took place in a public high school, with forty-five students in two different classes participating. Students formally contributed to the development of the course by completing written questionnaires and participating in large-and small-group discussions, and they contributed informally through their participation in class, performance on assessments, and reflections on various assignments, which I considered in field notes and a research journal. I used the constant comparative method to analyze these data, and I arrived at three key themes: (1) co-construction recast traditional roles in the classroom, while still serving as an important form of instruction in itself; (2) developmentally appropriate assignments triggered students' situational interest, while individualized co-construction proved somewhat effective at developing individual interest; and (3) the co-construction process challenged the way I used to think about mathematics teaching, as students and I reconsidered the content, technology, and classroom practices that would best develop students' QL. This study fills an important gap in the QL and co-construction literature, and it also has important implications for mathematics practitioners, and for practitioners who want to give students more of a voice in the classroom.

Co-Constructing Power Relations in a Community College Mathematics Classroom

“…Student participation is necessary in co-construction and thus I created structures and activities for co-construction to occur regularly (Ahlquist, 1991;Evans et al, 2006). Darryl indicated that co-constructing policies invited students to participate in other components of the class (Russo, 2015). I was hoping that co construction would create opportunities for students to participate who normally wouldn't participate, something that was affirmed by Carrie and Juanita (Chen, 2016;Clarke, 2004;Langer-Osuna, 2007;Mueller, 2009;Russo, 2015).…”

“…The exceptions are senior level elective courses which can vary by high school. Russo (2015) conducted practitioner action research in his quantitative literacy course for high school seniors who struggled in Algebra. In this elective course, he utilized co-construction to develop the course and had several findings: students and teachers needed time to adjust to a co-constructed classroom and co-construction resulted in increased participation, interest and ownership of learning.…”

“…Additionally, the students reported being prepared for the exam as they were required to be experts of differing chapters. The faculty member, the first author of the article, did not give in to student desires of being spoon fed information and committed to the process (Russo, 2015). She found that students were accountable to each other as they had to collaboratively make decisions.…”

“…Research has been conducted in math classrooms across K-12 settings investigating co-construction of mathematical content with positive outcomes (Chen, 2016;Langer-Osuna, 2009;Mueller, 2009;Russo, 2015). There have been times where mathematics classrooms have co-constructed non-mathematical learning in the form of deficit views of students (Hand, 2010;Heyd-Metzuyanim, 2013).…”

“…One of the benefits o f doing so is that co-construction gives students power to inform the classroom and their learning environments. As written in the literature review, scholars have studied co-construction in mathematics classrooms, mostly in K-12 settings, pointing to an increased reporting o f student engagement (Chen, 2016;Clarke, 2004;Mueller, 2009;Russo, 2015). A missing link in the research is the use of co-construction in community collcge mathematics classrooms which this study looked to investigate.…”