Student Engagement in MCLEs
Undergraduate research team member Sarina Simons recently shared her analysis of student engagement during MCLEs.
Engagement in a classroom is always a topic of conversation in a math classroom. Over the course of the semester, I observed two lessons in six public high school math classrooms, with the goal of isolating key characteristics of a high engagement math class. The purpose of this study is to observe the lessons and analyze student interviews and post surveys to better understand the differences in students engagement in MCLEs and Non-MCLEs. I noticed that students were generally more engaged in the MCLE lessons than the lessons that were randomly selected in the same classes (non-MCLE). After listening to student interviews and analyzing post-class surveys, I recognized that the Mathematics Story Framework is the key to students being engaged in the classroom. Students were curious and therefore able to understand more in the MCLE classes because of its contrast to the routine classroom notes. Based on this evidence, teachers should adopt these MCLE lessons because they provide experiential learning which allows students to be more engaged and better understand the topic.