CLASSROOM ACTION RESEARCH FOR TEACHING

MATHEMATICS IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS

Dr.Kanokrat Kunasaraphan

International College, Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University, Bangkok, Thailand,

E-Mail: [email protected]

ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to investigate compatibility among class levels, mathematics contents,
and teaching and learning strategies of classroom action research conducting in secondary schools. The
participants were 22 graduate students who were in the Practicum course of Mathematics Education
Program, International College, Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University. This course took two semesters (one
academic year) of secondary school. The researcher collected data from 22 theses conducted by classroom
action research method, and then analyzed the data by explaining compatibility among class levels,
mathematics contents, and teaching and learning strategies. The results showed that students applied different
teaching strategies to conduct classroom action research in secondary schools in order to increase students’
mathematics achievement. They were responsible for teaching grade nine to twelve students in different
mathematics contents. Some teaching strategies could be integrated in different mathematics contents and
class levels such as The Geometer’ s Sketchpad ( GSP), Polya’ s four steps and Know-Want-Learn strategy.
Some were applied in the same class level but different mathematics contents such as flipped classroom
model and journal writing. In addition, some mathematics contents, complex number system, vectors in three
dimensions, and analytical geometry could be taught with various teaching strategies. Finally, some teaching
strategies were used in specific class level and mathematics contents including open-ended problems, van
Hiele’ s phases of learning, remedial lessons, 5Es instructional model, programed instruction, one-to-one
tutoring as a small group, Teams Games Tournaments (TGT), think-pair-share learning strategies based on
constructivism paradigm, student Teams Achievement (STAD) technique, contextual teaching and learning
method, discovery learning method.
Keywords: Classroom action research, Mathematics, Teaching strategies

INTRODUCTION
Mathematics is one of the most important fields because it is a foundation in studying other subjects
such as science, physics, chemistry which still rely on mathematical calculations and thinking process. As
stated in the Basic Education Core Curriculum [1] that mathematics is highly significant for the development
of the human mind. It enables a person to think logically and systematically, to analyze various problems or
situations, to anticipate, to plan, to make decisions, to solve problems and to apply mathematics to daily life.
Indeed, mathematics is not only a tool that helps with the accuracy of obtained results in any kind of
problem solving but also an imperative instrument in workplaces, regardless of which line of work that
requires careful thinking and reliable problem solving process.
International College, Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University provides Master Degree of Arts in the
program of Mathematics Education as one of more than ten networking centers serving for the Project for
the Promotion of Science and Mathematics Talented Teachers (PSMT). Students in this project were awarded
scholarships from the Thai government to study in a two-year Master. This project is under the Institute for
the Promotion of Teaching Science and Technology (IPST), an independent authority under the Ministry of
Education, responsible for the development of national curriculum, educational media and tools, standard
and quality assessment on science, mathematics and technology education from elementary to upper
secondary schools. IPST is also tasked with re-training teachers and students, promoting science talents and
advising science education policy. The main objective of this project is to produce highly qualified science
teachers for teaching gifted students in Enrichment Science Classrooms within Thai secondary schools.
PSMT requires students to conduct classroom action research during the period of their Practicum course, 2

© ICBTS Copyright by Author(s) The 2018 International Academic Research Conference in Vienna 433
academic semesters in secondary schools. They took Practicum course in several secondary schools in
Bangkok.
Classroom action research conducted by students in this project is a very beneficial tool for students to
learn most effectively and for teachers to teach most effectively. Action research is an ongoing process of
reflection and action to produce the most effective learning environment possible. [2] defined action research
as an enquiry, undertaken with rigor and understanding so as to constantly refine practice; the emerging
evidence-based outcomes will then contribute to the researching practitioner's continuing professional
development. Those involved in action research generally want to solve some kind of day-to-day immediate
problem such as figuring out ways to improve the teaching of mathematics, or to increase funding [ 3] .
Moreover, [ 4] stated that action research is a type of applied research that aimed to solve an immediate
problem, and the results of the research are restricted to the context in which the research is conducted and
may not be suitable for applying in other situations.
Based on [3], action research involves four basic stages: 1) identifying the research problem or question;
2) gathering the necessary information; 3) analyzing and interpreting the information; and 4) developing and
action plan. [2] referred to [5] who mentioned that action research is participatory research which involves a
spiral of self-reflective spirals of planning a change, acting and observing the process and consequences of
the change, reflecting on these processes and consequences and then re-planning, acting and observing,
reflecting, and so on. There are five advantages of action research offered by [3], which include: 1) It can be
done by almost any professional, in any type of school, at any grade level, to investigate just about any kind
of problem; 2) It can improve educational practice; 3) It can develop more effective ways to practice their
craft; 4) It can help teachers identify problems and issues systematically; 5) It can build up a small
community of research-oriented individuals within the school itself.
According to most classroom action research, researchers apply active learning especially cooperative
learning and other teaching strategies promoting active learning. These strategies can be defined as
instructional activities involving students in doing things and thinking about what they are doing [6]. [6] also
stated that students must do more than just listen. They must read, write, discuss, or be engaged in solving
problems. Significantly, to be actively involved, students must engage in such higher-order thinking tasks as
analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. Students learn more when they participate in the process of learning,
whether it is through discussion, practice, review, or application [7].
To offer guidelines for teaching and learning mathematics and conducting more effectively classroom
action research especially in mathematics, this paper aimed to investigate compatibility among class levels,
mathematics contents, and teaching and learning strategies of classroom action research conducting in
secondary schools.

METHODOLOGY
This research demonstrated classroom action research conducted by graduate students in the program
of Mathematics Education while they took Practicum course in secondary schools
Participants
The participants in this study were 22 graduate students in the program of Mathematics Education,
International College, Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University who conducted classroom action research in
secondary schools in Bangkok by applying a variety of teaching strategies in various mathematics contents
and class levels. Secondary Schools where the students collected data for classroom action research consisted
of Debsirin School, Horwang School, Mahaprutaram Girls' School under the Royal Patronage of Her
Majesty the Queen, Samsenwittayalai School, Satrinonthaburi School, Satriwithaya School, and Suankularb
Witthayalai School.
Instruments
The instruments in this study were 22 theses of graduate students in program of Mathematics
Education, International College, Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University that were revealed the results after
implementing classroom action research in seven secondary schools in Bangkok.
Data Collection and data analysis

© ICBTS Copyright by Author(s) The 2018 International Academic Research Conference in Vienna 434
 The researcher reviewed literature and related studies about classroom action research and Mathematics
teaching strategies as well as 22 theses of the graduate students according to teaching strategies,
Mathematics contents and class levels. Moreover, the researcher observed the class which graduate students
taught as in the course of Practicum. The researcher analyzed compatibility among teaching strategies,
Mathematics contents and class levels.

RESULTS
This study aimed to investigate compatibility among class levels, mathematics contents, and teaching
and learning strategies of classroom action research conducting in secondary schools. The findings revealed
that graduate students conducted classroom action research to increase students’ mathematics achievement
by applying a variety of teaching strategies in different mathematics contents and class levels. They were
assigned to teach students in grade nine to twelve.
Some teaching strategies could be integrated in different mathematics contents and class levels such as
The Geometer’s Sketchpad (GSP), Polya’s four steps and Know-Want-Learn strategy. Some were used in the
same class level but different mathematics contents such as flipped classroom model and journal writing. In
addition, some mathematics contents, complex number system, vectors in three dimensions, and analytical
geometry could be taught with various teaching strategies.
Lastly, some teaching strategies were applied in specific class level and mathematics contents including
open-ended problems, van Hiele’s phases of learning, remedial lessons, 5Es instructional model, programed
instruction, one-to-one tutoring as a small group, Teams Games Tournaments (TGT), think-pair-share learning
strategies based on constructivism paradigm, student Teams Achievement ( STAD) technique, contextual
teaching and learning method, discovery learning method. The results were shown in Table 1.

Table 1
Compatibility among class levels, mathematics contents, and teaching and learning strategies
Class Levels Mathematics Contents Teaching Strategies
Teaching strategies based on Polya’s
Inequalities four steps and Schoenfeld’s behavior
Grade 9 categories
Relations Open-ended problems

Know-Want-Learn strategy
Conic Sections
The Geometer’s Sketchpad (GSP)

The Geometer’s Sketchpad (GSP)

Analytical Geometry
Van Hiele’s phases of learning

Linear equation system and matrix Journal writing and remedial lessons
Grade 10 Matrices One-to-one tutoring as a small group
Programed instruction and journal
Trigonometric Ratios and Applications
writing
5Es instructional model and The
Trigonometric functions Geometer’s Sketchpad (GSP)
Functions Know-Want-Learn strategy
Mathematical word problems in linear function, Polya’s problem-solving approach
quadratic function, and mathematical reasoning
Limits and continuity of functions in pre-
The Geometer’s Sketchpad (GSP)
Grade 11 calculus
Vectors in three dimensions Teams Games Tournaments (TGT)

© ICBTS Copyright by Author(s) The 2018 International Academic Research Conference in Vienna 435
 Flipped classroom model
Think-Pair-Share
Learning strategies based on
Complex number system constructivism paradigm
Student Teams Achievement (STAD)
technique
Statistics Flipped classroom model
Contextual teaching and learning
Basic statistics
method
Probability Discovery learning method
Frequency distributions of data, graph of
Grade 12 frequency distributions of data, measures of Know-Want-Learn strategy
central value and measures of dispersion

Classroom action research conducted by graduate students in Mathematics Education, International

College, Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University followed the cycles according to [ 5] ’ s model; plan, act and
observe, and reflect, shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1
Action research model

CONCLUSION AND FUTURE WORK

The objective of this study was to investigate compatibility among class levels, mathematics contents,
and teaching and learning strategies of classroom action research conducting in secondary schools. The
participants in this study were 22 graduate students who were in Practicum course of Mathematics Education
Program, International College, Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University. This course lasted for two semesters
( one academic year) of secondary school. The researcher collected data from 22 theses conducted as
classroom action research, and then analyzed the data by describing compatibility among class levels,
mathematics contents, and teaching and learning strategies.
The results demonstrated that students applied a variety of teaching strategies to conduct classroom
action research in secondary schools in order to increase students’ mathematics achievement. They taught
grade nine to twelve students in different mathematics contents.

© ICBTS Copyright by Author(s) The 2018 International Academic Research Conference in Vienna 436
 Some teaching strategies could be integrated in different mathematics contents and class levels such as
The Geometer’s Sketchpad (GSP), Polya’s four steps and Know-Want-Learn strategy. Some were used in the
same class level but different mathematics contents such as flipped classroom model and journal writing. In
addition, some mathematics contents, complex number system, vectors in three dimensions, and analytical
geometry could be taught with various teaching strategies.
Lastly, some teaching strategies were applied in specific class level and mathematics contents including
open-ended problems, van Hiele’s phases of learning, remedial lessons, 5Es instructional model, programed
instruction, one-to-one tutoring as a small group, Teams Games Tournaments (TGT), think-pair-share learning
strategies based on constructivism paradigm, student Teams Achievement ( STAD) technique, contextual
teaching and learning method, discovery learning method.
Likewise, the results of [8]’s research found that flipped classroom and cooperative learning methods
could make students’ engagement higher than traditional classroom. Students revealed on the interview that
using flipped classroom and cooperative learning methods were able to make learning statistics fun and
challenging. Furthermore, according to the findings of this study, there were various teaching strategies
helped students improve their mathematics learning achievement in secondary schools. Teachers should
consider and have a plan to integrate teaching strategies, especially cooperative learning or other active
learning strategies in their classroom in order to promote students’ achievement.
The future researcher should conduct classroom action research for teaching other subjects and other
levels of education such as primary schools and university. Also, they should make an in-depth observation in
classroom for obtaining more details

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to express my sincere thanks to Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University for invaluable help
throughout this research.

REFERENCES
[1] Ministry of Education Thailand, (2008), Basic Education Core Curriculum, Page 62, The Agricultural
Co-operative Federation of Thailand., Limited., Bangkok.
[2] Koshy, V. (2005). Action research for improving practice. Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE.
[3] Fraenkel, J. R., Wallen, N. E., & Hyun, H. H. (2012). How to design and evaluate research in education.
(5 th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
[4] Thaweerat, P. (1995). Research method in behavioral and social science. (6 th ed.). Bangkok:
Educational and Psychological Test Bureau.
[5] Kemmis, S., & McTaggart, R. (2005). Participatory action research. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln
(Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (3nd ed., pp. 567-607). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
[6] Bonwell, C. (2010). Active learning: creating excitement in the classroom. Active Learning Workshops,
CO.
[7] Grunert, J. (1997). The course syllabus: A learning-centered approach. Bolton, MA: Anker
Publishing Co, Inc.
[8] Khairiree, K. (2017). Flipped classroom and cooperative learning method in business statistics,
Proceedings / Academic Conference on Educational & Social Innovations AC-ESI-2017, December
2017, Pp. 259-268.

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