An Exploration of Active Learning in a Calculus I Classroom : An Action Research Study During COVID-19 Era
Open Access
- Author:
- Kiani, Maryam
- Graduate Program:
- Lifelong Learning and Adult Education
- Degree:
- Doctor of Education
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- December 03, 2020
- Committee Members:
- Robin Redmon Wright, Dissertation Advisor/Co-Advisor
Robin Redmon Wright, Committee Chair/Co-Chair
Elizabeth Jean Tisdell, Committee Member
Reuben Selase Asempapa, Committee Member
Triparna B Vasavada, Outside Member
Elizabeth Jean Tisdell, Program Head/Chair - Keywords:
- Active Learning
Calculus I
COVID-19
Action Research - Abstract:
- ABSTRACT The purpose of this action research study is to explore how learners and the instructor experience learning Calculus One (Calculus I) when active learning is implemented in a face-to-face and virtual classroom. As such this was a flipped classroom, so chosen because the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics recommended changing traditional methods to an approach that utilizes a more constructivist approach that promotes active learning. The theoretical framework for the analysis was grounded in constructivism and supported by a community of mathematical inquiry. The study used an action research methodology that makes use of an ongoing cycle of planning, acting, observing, and reflecting while collecting and analyzing data as the course and study unfolded. It took place in a Calculus 1 class in Spring 2020 over a 15-week semester. The first half of the class was face-to-face but due to COVID-19, the second half took place over Zoom. Data collection consisted of questionnaires, minute papers, end of semester interviews, researcher journal, and faculty evaluations. Given the unexpected challenges of COVID 19 and its required move to remote teaching in the second half of the class, the findings of the study were grouped into two chapters: one on the face-to-face flipped classroom and the other on the virtual flipped classroom. While students faced many challenges in the virtual classroom, they acknowledged that both flipped learning environments provide ways to improve peer-to-peer collaboration, support student-to-teacher interaction, and increase student responsibility in learning. Data analysis resulted in findings also indicate that flipped learning engages students in active dialogue, increases mathematical discourse, and creates a community of mathematical inquiry. The dissertation concludes by highlighting implications for theory, practice, and further research.