NicholasLacasse

2/21/2016
ContextualFactorsAnalysis

Toeffectivelyteach,teachersmusthaveanunderstandingoftheirstudents.To
understandourstudentsistounderstandtheircommunity,theirculturalbackgrounds,their
families,theirstrengthsandneeds,theclassroomsanddistricttheyareaproductof,andtheir
opinionsonallofthesefactorsthathaveinfluencedtheirgrowth.Therefore,itisrecognizedthat
ateachersworkdoesnotbeginintheclassroombutinanevaluationoftheschoolandthe
communitythatsurroundsit.
PolandRegionalHighSchoolispartofRSU16andservesfamiliesfromPoland,
MechanicFalls,andMinot.Theseareruralcommunitiesthathaveatotalpopulationof11,014
overapproximately83squaremilesofland[10],[14].Thoughthereisalowpopulationdensity
thereisstillsomevariationamongthetowns.Minothasapopulationdensityof88.2/sqmi.
whileMechanicFallshasapopulationdensityof275.6/sqmi[10],[14].WhileIcanexpectmost
studentstoliveinafairlyruralenvironment,therewillbesomelevelofheterogeneityamong
ourstudentsregardingpopulationdensity.Duetothislowpopulationdensity,itcanbeexpected
thattherewillbefewstudentsthatwalktoschool.Moststudentswillrelyontransportationfrom
parentsortheschooldistricttomakeittoschool.Morningswithsnowcouldresultinmany
studentsbeinglateasparents(andpossiblychildren)shoveloutvehiclesanddriveways.
Acrossthethreetowns,manyofthemostsignificantfeaturesappearinPoland:Range
PondStatePark,PolandSpringBottling,PolandSpringInn,andthreeofthefiveschoolsinRSU
16.Theothertwotownsareintermittentlymarkedbylocalbusinesses.Inthesummer,students

mayfindoutdoorrecreationatanyoftheseveralgolfcoursesoratRangePondStatePark.Inthe
winter,theyarenotfarfromLostValley,wheretheycouldskiorsnowboard.Otheryearround
entertainmentcanbefoundintheLewiston/Auburnarea.Thesewilllikelybeexperiencesshared
bymanystudents,potentiallyservingaspointsofengagementandconnectionstothelocalreal
worldtheyknow.Thelocationofthesestudentsputtheminauniquepositiontoappreciateand
relatetobothsmalllocalbusinessesandwellknownfranchises.Lessonscouldbepreparedin
relationtoeithertypeofbusinesstoengagestudents.
Thereisverylittlediversityinthisregion.ThecommunitiesservedbyRSU16eachhave
approximately97%ofresidentsidentifyingaswhite[10].Furthermore,nominoritycomposes
morethan2%ofanyofthosecommunities[10].Betweenafifthandaquarterofhouseholdsin
thecommunityarehusbandwifehouseholdswithchildrenundertheageof18[10].
Approximately30%ofhouseholdshaveindividualsunder18yearsofage[10].Thismeansmost
studentswillcomefromafamilyoftraditionalstructure,butImustbecarefultonotmakethose
assumptionsaboutallstudents.Studentscouldcomefromfamiliesofmanydifferentstructures,
includingthosewithlessthantwoparents.Studentswithlessthantwoparentsorguardians
couldmissschooltowatchforyoungersiblings,takeonparttimejobstosupplementguardian
income(see:Figure1),orhaveexcessivedutiesathome.Theunemploymentrateofthose
regionsallfallaround10%[13],and34%ofhighschoolstudentsreceivedfreeorreducedlunch
in2013[9].Therearemanywaysthatstudentslifeathomecouldimpacttheirhealthand
performanceinschool.Tobemindfulofthis,itwouldbebesttocontinuallypromoteanactive
dialoguewithstudentsandgivethemmeansofconfidentialcommunication.

InSeptember2013,therewere504studentsand47teachers,resultinginastudent
teacherratioof11:1[6].Theschoolusesstandardsbasedgrading(followingtheMaineLearning
ResultsandtheCommonCore).ThroughoutthesemesterIwillneedtocontinuallyevaluateall
oftheirskillstodeterminetheirproficiency.Theonlygradesthatarefinalintheirschoolarethe
standardsthestudentshaveachievedbytheendofthesemester[8].

Figure1

Datafrom[12].

Theclassroomisa500squarefootareathatisutilized,onaverage,by19personseach
class.Thismeansthateachpersoncouldhavenearly26squarefeetoftheirownspace.Student
spaceisreducedbythemargintheteachermaintainsatthefrontoftheroomtoutilizethe
whiteboardandinpracticethesinglepersondesksthestudentssitatprovidethemwithonly16
squarefeetofpersonalspace.Suchconstraintsshouldnotbeunderestimated,especiallywhenwe
considerthatstudentsmaybeunderthesephysicalconstraintsallday.Tomaintainstudentfocus

andpreventnervesfrombuilding,itisimportanttogivestudentsachancetomoveandstretch.
Physicaldiscomfortcouldleadtofurtherdistractions.Topreventphysicalandmentalfatiguein
theeightyminuteclassblock,Iwouldadvisehavingseveraldistinctshiftsinactivitiesduring
eachlesson.
Beingonthesecondfloorandneartheendofahallway,distractionsoutsidethe
classroomandinsidetheschoolarelimitedanditisoftenappropriatetosimplykeepthe
classroomdooropen.Theopendoorhelpstopromoteanonconstrictiveenvironmentandhelps
tominimizedistractionswhenstudentsneedtoleaveorentertheroom.Duetothevacant
hallway,wecangenerallyallowstudentstotakeashortwalkoutsideoftheclassroomwithout
fearofthembeingcaughtupinsocialactivities.Thesilverdaymathoneclassisfrom
11:3012:50,directlyafterlunch.Thoughthismayhelpthemfocusbecausetheyarenot
distractedbyhungerorsocialneedsthisclassisreportedlymorechatty[1].Thebluedaymath
oneclassisthelastblockoftheday.Thismeansspecialattentiontoclassroommanagement
techniquesmaybeneededtoeffectivelyfacilitatealesson.
Thereareasetofwindowsalongthewalltothestudentsright.Fortunately,theylook
intoanuneventfulwoodedareaanddonotstronglyconteststudentfocus.However,theroom
sharesapartitionwallwithanotherclassroom.Thepartitionallowsenoughnoisethroughthatif
theadjacentclassroomisbeingloud,butappropriatelyso,itcanbeeasilyheardinour
classroom.Atbest,itismaskedbyourownstudents.Atworst,ourstudentsaresilentlyworking
onsummativeassessment.Apotentialwaytocombatthisistousesparingly,ifatall,strategies
whichrequiresilenceintheclassroom.

AllstudentsatthehighschoolareissuesiPads.Thoughmanyofthemhaveaseparate
graphingcalculator,manystudentswilluseDesmosortheverycapable
T I

Nspire
appontheir
iPads.Thismeansthatwealwayshaveapowerfularrayofportabletoolsandcaneasilyconduct
classoutsideoftheclassroom.Thesetoolsgiveextremelydiversewaystoconductthe
classroom.Itallowsustomovetheclassroomtodifferentlocations.Itallowsustoletstudents
downloadusefulvideosforuseathome(iftheydonthaveaccesstotheinternet)orwatchthe
videosdirectlyonline(iftheydohaveinternetaccess).
Theclassroomisalsoequippedwithotherstandardtoolssuchasrulers,metersticks,and
protractors.SucheaseofaccessmeansIcanincorporatethemintomylessonplanswithout
concern.Studentsalsohaveaccesstopersonalwhiteboardsofvarioussizes.Thesecanbe
utilizedinteamactivitieswhereresponsesarenecessary,orasanimpromptudecisionifseveral
studentsarewithoutwritingimplements.
The
PolandRegionalHighSchoolCourseofStudies
reportsthatstudentshavesevenmandatory
studentledparentteacherconferencesthroughouttheirfouryearsatthehighschoolandthat
parentalattendanceisat95%[8].However,MichaelHayashida,ateacherattheschool,reports
thatthereisverylittleparentalinvolvementandheexpectstoreceivenoemailsfromparents
eachweek[1].
AccordingtoPiagetstheoryofcognitivedevelopment,moststudentsofthisageare
equippedtodealwiththeabstractreasoningrequiredforsuccessinafreshmanmathematics
classroom[7].However,manyofthemstilllackfinerexecutivefunctioningskills.Itisnot
uncommonforastudenttoaskforapencil,ortopullanimportantpaper,crumpled,directly
fromtheirbackpackiftheyarecapableoffindingitatall.Toencouragehealthyorganizational

habitsImustbeamodelofhowtobeorganizedaswellasdemonstratinghowmyorganization
helpsmeaccomplishthingsmoreefficiently.Relatedtothisisastandardnamed
HabitsofWork
.
Itaccountsforturninginhomework,beingpositiveintheclassroom,stayingontask,andbeing
prepared.Moststudents(25)scorehigherinthecontentstandardsthantheir
HabitsofWork
standard.Theschoolusesa4pointscalefortheirstandardsbasedgrading.Twentythreeofthe
studentshave
HabitsofWork
scoresbelowa3.0,andsevenshowasignificantdeficiencywith
scoresbelow2.0(see:figure2).

Figure2

Datafrom[2].

Observationsoftheclassroomhaveindicatedthatthelowscoresinthe
HabitsofWork
standardarenotduetoinsubordinationorunruliness.Instead,itappearsthatthedeficienciesin
thisstandardarecausedfromnotcompletinghomework,andoccasionallydetractingfromthe
learningenvironmentbydistractingothersornotsupportingapositivelearningenvironment.

Throughoutmyunit,Iwillneedtoemphasizetheimportanceofthecompletionofhomework
andtakeextrameasurestoensureitscompletion.Theseextrameasureswilllikelyinclude
bringingstudentstomyroomduringtheiracademicsupportblocktohavethemdothe
homeworkthere.IneffortstosupportapositivelearningenvironmentIwillofferamplepraise
andbequicktocorrectanybehaviorthatdetractsfromthepositiveenvironment.
Math1encompassesthefundamentalsofalgebra,functions,geometry,statistics,and
probability.Thoughthefirsthalfoftheacademicyearwaslargelycenteredaroundalgebraand
functions,skillsfromthosetwodomainswillappearfrequentlythroughoutthesecondhalfofthe
academicyear.Duringmytimethere,studentswilllearnaboutgeometry,statistics,and
probability.Iwillbeteachingtheunitonprobability.
StudentsattendMath1everyotherday.Thetwosectionswehaveareplacedonopposite
days.Thisalternatingschedulegivestimetomakeadjustmentstothelessonafteritsfirst
performance.Furthermore,forstudents,itmaintainsthetraditionalscheduleofalternatingclass
andhomework.Thecompositionofthetwosectionsofthecoursearecomparableeachhave
proportionalrepresentationofstudentsofallabilitylevels.Acrossbothsectionsthereare39
students.Moststudentsaremakingsatisfactoryprogresstowardtheirlearninggoalsearningin
the33.5range.Afewineachclassareadvancedandareearninginthe3.54.0range.Afewin
eachclassalsofallbelowthe3.0markandrequireadditionalsupporttobesuccessfulinthe
classroom.Theclassaverageineachstandardishigherforbluedaystudentsthanforsilverday
students(see:figure3).Strongerstatisticaltechniquesarerequiredtodetermineifthereisan
actualdifferencebetweenthegroups.Thisdiversegroupoflearnerswillrequiredeliberate
differentiation.Therewillneedtobeopportunitiesforstudentstohaveextendedamountsoftime

withamaterial,aswellasampleextensionstosupportacademicrigorinthosewhoeasilygrasp
therequiredcontent.Toimplementthis,thecoreofthelessonsintheunitwillbegearedtoward
studentswhoneedalittlemoretime.Otherstudentswillhaveaccesstoadditionalpracticeor
tieredextensionswithmultiplelayersofdepth.Insomeinstances,tohelpfacilitatethe
differentiationofcontent,theclasscouldbesplitintodifferentiatedgroups.Withtwomath
teachersintheroom,itwillincreaseourabilitytosuccessfullyfacilitatethoselessons.

Figure3

Datafrom[2].

Theclasshascoveredunitsonfunctions,algebra,linearfunctions,andiscurrently
exploringexponentialfunctions.Intheirunitonfunctionsstudentslearnedtodetermineifa
functionislinear,exponential,orinverse.Theywereexposedtothenotionsofdomainandrange
andcanidentifytheindependentanddependentvariableinarelationship.
Theirunitonalgebrapreparedthemwiththemostbasicandvitalalgebraicmanipulation
skillsaswellasconceptualunderpinningsthatwillappearthroughoutmanyfuturelessons.

Studentsarefamiliarwithslopeinterceptformandareabletoconstructlinesinslopeintercept
formthatmodeladatasetorcreatetheslopeinterceptformfromagraphicalrepresentationof
theline.Studentsalsohavesomefamiliaritywithpointslopeform.Theyhaveexperiencewith
factoringconstantsandsinglevariablesfromequationsbutdonothaveexperiencewithfactoring
quadraticsorlargerpolynomials.Theirexperienceinfactoringwaswithinthecontextofsolving
linearequationsandinequalities.Theseskillswereputtomorespecificuseintheirunitonlinear
modeling.
Theskillsthestudentslearnedinthealgebra,andfunctionsunitswereheavilyrelied
uponintheunitonlinearmodeling.Thelinearmodelingunittookthemathematicalskillsand
focusedonapplicationinrealworldcontexts.ThismeansIcanexpectsomelevelofcompetency
withproblemsolvingandwordproblems,aswellastheabilitytotransferskillstonewcontexts.
Confidenceintheirproblemsolvingabilitiesarebolsteredbyaseriesofproblemsolvingtasks.
Thetasksincludeamathematicalproblemwithinsomecontext,andanaccompanyingtyped
reportontheissue,theirprocess,andtheirsolution.Thoughlinearmodelinginclassroomsis
typicallyformedaroundperfectmodelsthatentirelydescribeasimpletheoreticalscenario,these
studentshavegonefurtherbyexaminingrelationshipsthatarenearlylinear.Throughtheuseof
theirtechnology(predominantlygraphingcalculators,oriPadapps)theyareabletoperform
linearregression.Theirskillsinlinearmodelingarewellestablishedandtheyhaverecently
begunaunitonexponentialequations.Despitestudentsfairlysolidmathematicalskills,thereisa
splitbetweenstudentsenjoymentofmathematicsandnumbers.Thesplitisunfortunatelyskewed
totheright,asseeninfigure4.

Overall,studentshaveagoodunderstandingofwhatexponentialfunctionsareandhow
tousethem.Theyhavemoreexperiencewithexponentialgrowththanexponentialdecay.Some
ofthemarestilltemptedtotryanddescribeexponentialfunctionsusingalinearequationin
particular,slopeinterceptform.

Figure4

Datafrom[3]

PolandRegionalHighSchooldoesanexcellentjobatintegratingtechnology.Duetothis,
studentsareexceptionallyskilledwiththeirtechnology.Allofthemarefamiliarwiththedefault
AppleproductivitysuiteNumbers,Pages,andKeynote.Throughuseinmathclass,students
arealsofamiliarwiththeDesmosgraphingcalculatorapp,andmanyarefamiliarwiththe
TInspire
appontheiPad.Studentsarecapableofprojectingtheirdevicetotheclassthroughuse
oftheprojectorandAppleTV.Theyarealsofamiliarwiththeformativeassessmentplatform
Kahoot!.ThefirsttimetheywerepromptedtodoaKahoot!inthemathclassroomtheywere
eager,engaged,andknewimmediatelyhowtoproceed.Itmadetheformativeassessmentvery

smooth,ifslightlylessinformativethanaplatformthatoffersreportswithfeedbackforspecific
studentsuccess.ThesuccesswiththeKahoot!promptsfutureuseofthetool.Itwillbeaquick
andengagingwaytogetstudentswarmedupfortheclass.Theirfamiliarityandexcitementfor
technologyalsosuggeststhepossibilityofnontraditional,technologycentered,summative
assessment.TheminorchallengeassociatedwiththisisthatthereisastudentwithoutaniPad,
andastudentwithaniPadbutwithoutinternetaccess.Inclass,thiscanberemediedbyallowing
studentstotemporarilyusetheiPadofafacultymember(myself,mymentorteacher,orthe
specialeducationteacher).TheunitonprobabilitywillbeabletomakeuseoftheNumbersapp,
especiallyduringthesectiononprobabilitydistributiontables.
ThestudentsatPolandRegionalHighSchoolareveryskilledinthetraditionalacademic
senseaswellaswiththeirtechnologicalskills.Theirorganizationalskillsleavesomethingtobe
desired,butmostofthemstillfindsuccessinspiteoftheirpoororganization.Theirfamiliarity
withwordproblems,applicationsofcontent,andproblemsolvingexperienceswillallowmeto
engagethemwiththeirinterests.Byshapingalessonscontenttobewithinthecontextoftheir
interests,itwillhelptoengagethemandfortifytheirlearningexperience.
ThroughtheimplementationofastudentsurveyIhavediscoveredmanyofmystudents
interests.Throughoutthetwoclasses,thereissignificantinterestinoutdooractivities,sports,and
thearts.Eachofthosemajorcategoriesarerepresentedfairlyevenlyacrosstheclasses.Across
thesurvey,studentslisted,collectively,countingmultiplicity,atotalof96interests.Someofthe
mostfrequentlylistedinterestsinclude:hunting,fishing,soccer,drawing,friends,music,
animals,basketball,reading,sports,andvideogames.Collectively,thoserepresent49%ofall
listedinterests.Animportantconsiderationisthateventhoughastudentmaynothavelisteda

specificinterest,itdoesnotmeantheyarenotinterestedinthatthing.Inthatsense,this
particulardataservesasguidelinesandnotasstrictrules.Theselargercollectiveinterestscould
beusefultopicstodesignproblemsaround.
Sportsofanykind(namelysoccer,andbasketballforthisgroupofstudents),andvideo
gameshaveespeciallyobvioustiestoprobability.Bothoftenuseprobabilitiesinpercentagesor
decimalsanditisnaturaltowonderaboutthelikelihoodofaseriesofeventsoccurringorifat
leastoneoftwothingswilloccur.Itcanbeassumedthattherearelikelysomecultural
commonalitiesbetweenourstudents.Forinstance,itislikelythatourstudentshaveplayedmany
gamesthatinvolvechance:Monopoly,Parcheesi,Scrabble,andmanymore.Thesecanbea
springboardtounderstandingorserveasmotivationforstudents.
Thoughthesetopicsmayhavegeneralappealtomany,itisnotablethatsomestudents
maybeleftoutorrequireatopicalconnectiontheycaremoredeeplyabouttobecomeengaged.
Thisisparticularlyapplicabletostudentswhotendtocarelessabouttheiracademic
responsibilities,orareverydistractible.Bymeetingthemontheirownground,Icanmakea
studentwhonormallystrugglesfeellikeanexpert,andIcandeeplyengageastudentwho
normallyfindsitdifficulttobemotivatedtolearnaboutmathematics.Thesesingularbutpotent
interestslistedbystudentsinclude:slavery,civilwar,cars,Egypt,racing,andtechnology.
Studentsinterestsinthesetopicsmayinfluencetheircontentknowledge,andhowtheyperceive
newcontentknowledge.Forinstance,thecarenthusiastintheclassroommaynotthinkhe
knowsmuchaboutalgebraandratios,buthasanintuitivesenseforgearratios.Itislikelythat
theinterestsstudentshavelistedrelatetothestyleofthinkingtheyperform.Avisualthinker
maybemorelikelytoappreciatedrawing,andalogicallearnermaybemorelikelytoappreciate

puzzles.Thoughinterestscanbeinsightful,itismoremeaningfultospecificallylearnabout
studentslearningstyles.
Studentslearningstyleswereassessedthroughamultipleintelligencessurvey.The
multipleintelligencesaddressedinthisparticularsurveyincluded:verbal,logical,visual/spatial,
interpersonal,musical,naturalistic,kinesthetic,andintrapersonal.Thesurveyresultsshowthat
nearly70%ofindividualshadkinestheticormusicalastheirsinglestrongestintelligence.
Thoughvisualspatialisonlythetopratedintelligenceinjustover10%ofrespondents,it
appearsinthetopthreeintelligencesof62%ofrespondents(see:figure5).

Figure5

Figure5depictsthefrequencywithwhichamultipleintelligencewaswithina
studentstop3intelligences.Datafrom[3].

Verbalappearedinthetopthreeof28%ofstudents,andwasonlyscoredabove30raw
points(outof40)by24%ofstudents(see:figure6).Thoughthismaysuggestthatthesestudents

donotlearnbestthroughverbalexplanations,italsoindicatesthatstudentsneedsupportand
practiceatdevelopingtheirverbalskills.
Theleastrepresentedintelligencesintheclassroomarelogical,andnaturalistic,both
appearinginthetopthreejustbelow7%ofthetime,andstudentsscoringabove30rawpointsat
3.5%and13.8%ofthetimerespectively.Thoughthismayseemtoindicatethatconnectionsto
naturemaynotbeintrinsicallymotivatingforstudents,itisimportanttorecognizeourprevious
conclusions.Thoughconnectionstonaturemaynotbeintrinsicallymotivatingtomany,itcanbe
deeplymotivatingtoafewselectstudents.

Figure6

Arawscoreof40isthehighestpossibleforanycategory.Datafrom[3].

Themostsignificantinformationgatheredfromthemultipleintelligencessurveyisthe
significantrepresentationofkinestheticandvisual/spatiallearners.Inparticular,93%ofstudents
haveeithervisual/spatialorkinestheticintheirtopthreeintelligences.Theseresultsindicatethat

theimplementationofmanipulativestofurtherinstructionwillbeessentialtotheengagement
andsuccessofthisclass.ItalsosuggeststhatIshouldinvestigateappropriatestrategiesfor
includingtheseintelligencesinassessment.Forexample,allowstudentstoconveytheir
understandingthroughsketches,bymakingphysicalmodelthatdescribestheirideas,orevena
videothatallowsthemtoexpresstheirunderstandingthroughmanipulatives.Withtheuseof
theiriPads,theseallbecomeeasyfeatsthatcanbeseamlesslyintegrated.Theresultsofthe
multipleintelligencessurveyissupportedbyadditionalquestionsposedtothestudentsduring
thesurvey.
Afreeresponsesectionofthesurveyaskedthemtolistsomethingateachercandothat
wouldpreventthemsucceedingintheclassroom,andtwothingsateachercoulddotohelpthem
succeedintheclassroom.Studentswerelargelyinfavorofgroupworkandaccesstotheirpeers,
with41%ofstudentsreportingsuchpreferences.Othercommonitemslistedasbeinghelpfulfor
theirsuccessincludedindividualwork,teachersupport,theoptiontolistentomusic,andhands
onactivities.Topromotetheseselfreportedsupports,Iwillemphasizetheuseofmanipulatives
andprovidediversegroupings(individual,pairs,smallgroups,classdiscussion).Itistypicalin
theclassroomforstudentstolistentomusicifthesettingisappropriate.Duetothiswell
establishedroutine,itwillbeeasytoimplementintotheclassroom.Cooperativelearning
strategiessuchasthethinkpairsharewillbeimplementedtoencouragethediversegroupings
thatstudentsdesire.
Thequalitymostcitedasundesirablewasateacherthattalkstoomuch.Thisreinforces
recentprofessionaldevelopmentatPolandRegionalHighSchoolthatfocusesontheratioof
studenttoteachertalk.Studentsreportingthisqualityaccountsfor25%ofallreported

hindrances.Tocombatthis,Ishouldreducedirectinstructionaltimewhenappropriateand
replaceitwithgroupdiscoveryorothercooperativelearningstrategiesthatkeepstudentsasthe
primaryagentsintheclassroom.Thenextmostcommoncomplaintsincludenotexplaining
thingswell,goingtoofast,orgoingtooslow.Thoughthesearevague,blanketstatementsthat
areoftencitedasdifficulttoworkwith,Iproposetwosolutions.Tocombatpoorexplanations,
formativeassessmentwillbeacontinualprocess.Exitticketswillcheckforunderstandingatthe
endoflessonsandmethodssuchas123(aselfreportedrepresentationofunderstanding)will
informandinfluenceinstruction.Topreventgoingtoofastortooslow,itisimportantthat
studentsstaytheprimaryagentsintheclassanddifferentiationisincorporated.Developing
extensionsofcontentwillbecriticaltomaintainengagementandacademicrigorinallstudents.
Thestudentsurveythatwasconductedhasgivenmepowerfulinsightsintomyindividual
students.Havingtwosectionsofmath1,thesurveyresultsaresplitbetweenthetwoblocks(H
blockandDblock).Moststudentsparticipatinginthesurvey,butothershavemanagedtoelude
itsomeintentionally,othersinnocently.Unfortunately,thestudentsthatwouldeludethe
surveyarethesamestudentswhowouldeludeotherhomeworkandduties.Itistherefore
difficulttogetthemtotakethesurveyathome,andinefficientforustomakethemdothesurvey
intheiracademicsupportblockwhereacademicinstructiontakesprecedence.Thevastmajority
ofstudentshavetakenthesurvey.TheresultsofthesurveycanbefoundinaddendumAand
addendumB.
Theoverwhelmingmajorityofstudentsscoredhighlyinkinesthetic,interpersonal,
intrapersonal,andvisual/spatialintelligences.Immediately,thisinformsmeIshouldbeusinga
varietyofgroupingstrategiestosatisfythesestudentsinterpersonalandintrapersonal

intelligences.Thekinestheticandvisual/spatialintelligenceisanindicatorthathandsonwork,
graphicorganizers,drawings,anddiagramswillhelpthemunderstandideas.Nearlyhalfofthe
studentsareinterestedinorparticipateinsports.Relatingthecontenttosportsprovidesboth
reallifeexamples,motivatescontent,andengagesstudentswiththeirowninterests.
Wearealleachofusaproductofourenvironment.Tounderstandourselvesorotherswe
mustalsounderstandtheirenvironmentandtheirperceptionofit.ThestudentsatPoland
RegionalHighschoolareresidentsofruralMaine,andmanyofthemhovernearthepoverty
line.Thereissignificantvarianceintheamountsofsupportstudentsreceiveathomeandaccess
totheinternetortechnologyshouldnotbeassumed.Thoughmostareabletothinkabstractly,a
significantportionofthemalsolackexecutivefunctioningskillsthathelpthembesuccessfulin
theclassroom.Theirimpressivegraspoftechnologyandstrongalgebraskillswillbereliedonin
ourunitonprobabilityandgiveusaccesstomanydifferentavenuesofexploration.The
studentswidespreadloveofgamesofallkind(sports,videogames,boardgames),their
appreciationofhandsonactivities,andtheiraptitudeforgroupworkprovidetheperfect
combinationofattributestokickoffaunitonprobability.

AddendumA:SurveyDatafromDBlock
Visual
Spatial

Student Verbal Logical

Interpersonal Musical Naturalistic Kinesthetic Intrapersonal

S1

20

28

33

27

38

31

34

30

S2

33

29

39

32

39

31

29

39

S3

26

21

25

21

19

21

28

33

S4

20

23

30

33

31

18

37

30

S5

25

21

25

29

21

21

25

29

S6

18

22

22

27

29

25

24

24

S7

S8

S9

25

28

34

29

21

17

37

27

S10

18

23

28

25

30

24

32

23

S11

S12

24

24

30

32

31

26

34

33

S13

S14

S15

S16

24

24

24

24

24

24

24

24

S17

31

29

31

32

40

32

31

36

S18

23

27

30

30

37

26

37

32

S19

23

21

34

26

29

22

31

30

S20

25

28

36

35

39

26

30

31

20

28

33

27

38

31

34

30

S21

Student Interest1

Interest2

Interest3

Interest4

Interest5

Interest6

S1

Hunting

Soccer

Fishing

Running

S2

Technology

Monopoly
(b/c/
strategy
andmath)

Photography Music

S3

Baseball

Building
models

S4

Softball

Painting

Puzzles

Lordofthe
Rings

S5

Basketball

Soccer

PrettyLittle
Liars

Camping

S6

Soccer

Swimming

S7

S8

S9

Racing

Basketball Working

S10

Cheerleading Drawing

Painting

Animals

S11

S12

S13

S14

S15

S16

S17

Running

Gardening Hiking

Flute

S18

Sports

S19

VideoGames Golf

Arrow(TV)

Nature/Animals

S20

Car
Enthusiast

Hunting

Fishing

Skiing

Soccer

Video
Games

CoCurricular1

CoCurricular2

CoCurricular3

Soccer

SRB

Golf

Cooking

Baseball

Softball

Basketball

Soccer

Cheer

Chorus

Soccer

Basketball

SRB

Football

Baseball

PolandRegionalGolf

WorksCited
[1]Hayashida,Michael."InstructionalStrategiesandClassroomManagement."Personalinterview.29
Jan.2016.
[2]JumpRope.Digitalteachergradebook.2016.
[3]Lacasse,Nicholas.
StudentInsightSurvey.
2016.
[4]MaineDepartmentofEducation
ResidentExpendituresbyBudgetCategoriesFY20132014(Per
PupilAmounts)
<http://www.maine.gov/education/data/indicators/14rcfpp.pdf>Retrieved20
December2015.
[5]MaineDepartmentofEducation
ResidentExpendituresbyBudgetCategoriesFY20132014(Total
Amounts)
<http://www.maine.gov/education/data/indicators/14rcftotals.pdf>Retrieved22
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