The Impact of Blended Learning with Khan Academy and Projects on Motivation in a Mathematics Classroom

The Impact of Blended Learning with Khan Academy and Projects on Motivation in a Mathematics Classroom A dissertation submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Cincinnati in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education In the Department of Curriculum and Instruction in the College of Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services by Lori A. Cargile B.S., Spelman College, 1991 M.A.T., Emory University, 1996 Committee Chair: (Marshella) Shelly Sheats Harkness Ph.D. Date of defense: March 29, 2018 Abstract This study used qualitative methods to investigate the impact of blended learning with Khan Academy and Project Based Learning on student motivation and attitudes towards mathematics instruction. The perspectives of 11 students and their teacher in one geometry class of students in a high poverty urban high school were explored. The Station Rotation model of blended learning was implemented over ten class periods. The students rotated daily between three stations: teacher’s station, Khan Academy, and project station. The major findings show the students and the teacher perceived the blended learning instructional model as providing increased opportunities for discourse, personal attention, and choice when compared to whole group instruction prior to the study. These additional opportunities positively impacted student motivations and attitudes towards mathematics instruction. Further, the students valued self-paced learning, using mathematical tools, and the novelty of the blended learning environment. All 11 students preferred the instruction they received in the teacher’s group and in the project group to the instruction they received prior to the study. Eight of the 11 students perceived Khan Academy’s built-in points and badges system as mounting evidence of their mathematical capabilities resulting in increased confidence and inspiration to continue doing mathematics. The students saw personalized discussions with their classmates and the teacher as being integral to learning mathematics. Each of the components of Ryan and Deci’s (2000) Self-Determination Theory, learner needs for feelings of competence, relatedness, and autonomy, were addressed during the study. ii iii Dedication My dissertation is dedicated to the many family, friends, classmates, professors, and colleagues who supported me on my doctoral journey. Thank you for believing in me. iv Table of Contents Abstract ii Dedication iv Table of Contents v Chapter 1: Introduction 1 Significance 5 Purpose 7 Theoretical Frameworks 8 Summary 12 Chapter 2: A Review of Pertinent Literature 13 Emergence of Online and Blended Learning 13 Key Terms 14 Blended Learning 14 Flipped Learning 15 The Khan Academy program 16 Method 18 Theoretical Frameworks 21 Blended Learning Categories 23 Blending with Khan Academy 23 Blending with Other Tutorial Programs 37 Blending with Non-Khan Academy Instructional Videos 43 Blending in Higher Education 47 Discussion 48 Conclusions 53 Chapter 3: Methodology 55 The School 56 The Teacher 59 Ms. Sunflower’s Teaching Style 60 Ms. Sunflower’s Teaching Team 61 The Curriculum 61 Introduction of Khan Academy to Students 62 Growth Mindset 62 Lab Rotation Model 64 Research Design 65 The Students 65 Station Rotation Model 66 Planning 67 Student Groups 68 Rotations 70 v Stations 72 Teacher’s Group 72 Khan Academy Station 73 Project Group 74 Data Collection 75 Interviews 76 Written Surveys 83 Data Analysis 83 Chapter Four 84 Confidentiality 84 Chapter 4: Findings 86 Limitations 87 African American and Poor 87 Struggling Students and Students with Identified Disabilities 89 My Role as Mentor, Researcher, and Teacher 91 Learned Helplessness 94 Introduction to Khan Academy 95 Themes from the Pre- Written Surveys and Interviews 99 Hard Work Equals Success 100 Small Groups, Projects, and Computer-Based Instruction 103 The Khan Academy Program 107 Khan Academy Versus Other Online Tutorials 109 Khan Academy’s Energy Points and Badges System 111 Observations During Implementation 112 First Round 113 Mastery Learning 119 Khan Academy Usage Data 122 Post- Perceptions 125 Khan Academy Station 125 Highest Users Maya and Vanessa 126 Maya 126 Vanessa Biggs 130 Demarkus Johnson 132 Remaining Eight Participants 134 Khan Academy’s Energy Points and Badges System 137 Recommendations to Improve Khan Academy 139 Teacher’s Station 142 Project Station 145 Station Rotation Instructional Strategy 149 Summary 154 vi Chapter 5: Discussion 156 Major Findings 158 Station Rotation 158 Khan Academy Station 159 Project Station 160 Role of Discourse 160 Connections to Previous Research and Literature 161 Challenges 164 Unexpected Findings 168 Conclusions 170 Research Questions 172 Future Research and Professional Development 174 Implications 175 References 176 Appendix A: Principal Letter 190 Appendix B: Teacher Consent 191 Appendix C: Parent Letter 194 Appendix D: Parent Permission 195 Appendix E: Youth Assent 199 Appendix F: Teacher Station Procedures 200 Appendix G: Circle Similarity Handout 202 Appendix H: PowerPoint Slides 203 Appendix I: Project 214 Appendix J: Khan Academy Playlists 219 Appendix K: Written Survey 221 Appendix L: Interview Protocols 223 Appendix M: Institutional Review Board Approval 228 vii Chapter 1: Introduction Mathematics captured my attention long ago. Its patterns, mystery, and logic satisfied my natural curiosity. In my youth, mathematics helped me to understand how things worked in the world around me. My attraction led me to earn a bachelor’s degree in mathematics. I later decided to teach and earned a M.A.T degree and teaching licensure in 4-9 mathematics and science. Most of my 10 years as a classroom teacher were spent as a 7th – 9th grade mathematics teacher in an urban school district. I learned early in my career that many of my students despised the subject that I liked. At the beginning of each school year my school hosted an Open House for students and parents to meet their new teachers for the upcoming school year. Countless parents shared their disdain for mathematics with me. Their comments were often statements like, “I hate math and was never good at it.” The student would often follow with a comment like, “Math is my worst class; it was so boring last year.” The negative comments about mathematics unfortunately often pervaded my first conversations with parents and students. I combated the rampant student dislike for mathematics by aspiring to make my instruction fun and meaningful. I attended nearly every professional development offered for mathematics educators and learned about the most recent instructional strategies like inquiry, cooperative learning, high level questioning, and so on. Student learning in my classroom increasingly became more active and less passive. I strived to incorporate activities and projects into each unit of instruction. The projects included real world investigations that required students to connect mathematics with the world around them. My hope was that students would gain the same zest for mathematics that I had. 1 Many of the projects required the students to collaborate, collect data, analyze data, design, and communicate their findings. One project that the students were fond of required them to design a city park. The students learned scale and how to work within real world constraints. Another fun project required the students to conduct surveys on their peers to learn about the typical habits, likes, and dislikes of teenagers. They learned about the measures of central tendency through the analysis of real data. I heard comments from other teachers about how my students were talking about their mathematics projects in their classes. Parents told me that their children enjoyed and looked forward to my class. The war was won I thought! But, then reality set in. A battle was perhaps won, but the war was still lost. Parent conferences were held quarterly for several hours in the evening. Each child and his or her parent met with each teacher in the teacher’s classroom to discuss progress, grades, and, occasionally, behavior. As each set of parents met with a teacher, the waiting parents sat in chairs lined up in the hallway by the teacher’s door. After each parent meeting, I looked in the hallway to see how many parents were waiting to meet with me. It was shocking. My line usually went from my door to the next teacher’s door and sometimes past the next teacher’s door. I noticed the other mathematics teachers in my building had similarly long lines. The Algebra I teacher’s line was usually the longest of all the mathematics teachers. The lines for the other content teachers were usually less than half of the mathematics teachers’ lines. It was obvious that mathematics was the most concerning subject. In the conferences, my students who were doing well usually expressed favor for mathematics, but sometimes the parents would ask how their children were being challenged. The students who were not doing well expressed their preference for my active teaching style but complained of not receiving the one-on-one attention they needed. Students sometimes added 2 that they attended my after-school tutoring sessions but did not receive help on the topic that they did not understand; they would explain that the other students at the sessions had different needs. Their individual questions remained unanswered. Sometimes a parent would ask if I could meet one-on-one with his or her child. My answer was always the same. I would explain that I already gave up lunch at least once a week to help students in small groups and stayed after school at least once a week for an hour of tutoring. My afterschool sessions usually contained anywhere from five to 30 students. Some students attended to get help on the homework that was due that week, others had questions or needed assistance on a topic that was taught in class that week, a few needed more time to work on a project, and there were always at least one or two students who had missed a class session and had come to make-up the missed work.

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