Literature Review: Co-Teaching Model

The following literature review is of an article titled, “Co-Teaching as a School System Strategy for Continuous Improvement,” authored by James M. Walsh.  It was published in 2012 by Routledge Taylor and Francis Group.

I want to start this review with some background knowledge as to why I chose to review this article.  My research is based on providing Tier 2 level math interventions in a co-taught setting. I have always considered co-teaching as a Tier 2 level intervention, however I have found that some colleagues and professionals in my field have disagreed, stating that co-teaching is not a researched based intervention.  I chose this article to hopefully answer two questions: 1. Can co-teaching be considered a research based Tier 2 level intervention? & 2. What strategies are most effective in improving student performance in a co-taught classroom?

          The article is written by James Walsh, who has been the Director of Special Education in Howard County Public School in Maryland for 20 years.  He wrote the article to discuss the successes of co-teaching within his district over the past 8 years.  He provided continuous professional development for all schools willing to implement a co-taught model for 6 years.  The training included how to use assessments to guide instructional grouping, effectively using a rotation model between teachers, and scaffolding assignments across the continuum of abilities within the classroom of special education students as well as general education students (Walsh, 2012, p. 30).  

Students with disabilities reported that they learned more and enjoyed the co-taught class more than a separate class taught by a special education teacher alone.  They felt better about themselves and happier about schoo1.  The co-taught model also benefited students without disabilities, who reported that they felt that they learned more due to smaller instructional groups and more opportunities for individual instruction (Walsh, 2012, p. 29).

Student performance also increased over the eight years of implementation for both students with disabilities and those without disabilities.  The percentage of general education students scoring proficient on state testing in math rose from 75% to 88% over the eight years, while the percentage of students with IEPs who showed proficiency rose from 35% to 57%.  Walsh argues that the co-teaching model can help close the educational gap for all students (Walsh, 2012, p. 33).

Walsh concludes that effective co-teaching methods and professional development can be developed into a school district’s policy for effective instructional practices in accessing the general education curriculum that are mandated by IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Act, 2004).  He argues that the mandates laid out by IDEA and No Child Left Behind Act (2006) can all be met by using a co-taught model to provide differentiate content to all students while providing yearly progresses monitoring (Walsh, 2012, p. 33).

Review:

  I think that Walsh’s work greatly supports the use of a co-taught model as a Tier 2 level intervention if implemented with fidelity and while using research based instructional strategies.  To review my questions, I believe that I have found evidence that using a co-taught model may not be directly a researched based intervention, however it may be the most effective vehicle for educators to implement the research based interventions to the maximum amount of students that require them.  A strategy that helps made this model successful is providing ongoing professional development to give teachers the resources they need to be able to progress monitor, plan and implement instructional grouping strategies, and scaffold assignments to meet the educational needs of all students. My hope is that my research helps to promote the idea that a co-taught model can be effective for all students.

References:

Walsh, J. M. (2012). Co-Teaching as a School System Strategy for Continuous Improvement. Preventing School Failure, 56(1), 29-36

Literature Review: Importance of Self-Determination Skills

The following literature review is of Craig Fiedler’s article titled “Self-Advocacy Instruction: Bridging the Research-to-Practice Gap.  It was published in 2007 in Focus on Exceptional Children magazine.

This article focuses on the fundamental psychological need that is based on a person’s free choice.  The author writes that teaching Self-Advocacy skills is a fundamental skill that all people need to have to feel fulfilled and in control on their own life, however many students who are receiving intervention classes develop passive attitudes towards their behavior because their environment has been structured for them (Fiedler, 2007, p.1).

Fiedler explains that students should be encouraged to discover and understand their own interests, preferences, and goals before they learn how to advocate for them.  Then, they should receive instruction on communication.  Communication can include being assertive, persuasive, negotiating and listening (Fiedler, 2007, p. 3) 

The author supports his claim by referencing a study that followed up with students with disabilities after graduation.  Students who received self-determination instruction were better able to succeed in the workplace by showing more flexibility and problem solving with their supervisors to meet their needs in a new environment (Fiedler, 2007, p. 5).

Implications to my study:

The results of my study indicate that self-advocacy student ratings grew more than academic behaviors and growth mindset scores after the intervention interval.  I wanted to learn more about self-determination to see if I could find any insight as to why the students rated their self-advocacy skills so much higher than before the intervention period.  This article helps to explain that self-determination is a fundamental human need.  Therefore if students were feeling as though they did not have any advocacy skills, then even a little bit of practicing may have made a huge difference.  Also, some of the intervention strategies I used involved communication with parents and teachers about their interests and progress.  Fiedler supports that learning about communication and practicing these skills have a direct impact on a student’s self-determination skills.  

Fiedler, C. R., & Danneker, J. E. (2007). Self-Advocacy Instruction: Bridging the Research-to-Practice Gap. Focus On Exceptional Children, 39(8), 1.

Literature Review: Growth Mindset in the Classroom: Science Scope

Below is a review of Cheska Robinson's article titled, "Growth Mindset in the Classroom," found in the publication Science Scope in 2017.  The article outlines strategies teachers can use in the classroom to promote a growth mindset.

                Robinson writes to an audience of teachers and offers tips that can help promote growth mindset in the classroom community.  The first tip she offers is to teach students about neuroplasticity and how the brain can change by forming new and stronger connections with experiences such as practicing.  She urges teachers to use pictures or videos of what brain activity looks like (Robinson, 2017, p. 18).

                Other ways that teachers can incorporate growth mindset into their classroom norms are to use learning strategies such as free recall and summarization.  She argues that free recall activities in which students list everything they know about a learning objective prime the brain to acknowledge that there is always a starting point to reference when filling in gaps.  She also encourages the use of summary sheets in which students summarize the learning objectives of the previous week.  Both activities encourage students to take ownership of their learning and can build stronger neurological connections in the brain (Robinson, 2017, p.19)

                One big facet of growth mindset is learning from mistakes.  Robinson emphasizes that teachers should normalize mistakes and failures within their classrooms.  Some good strategies that teachers can use are to have posters on the classroom walls that highlight and reflect on the importance of making mistakes, as well as showing encouraging videos of successful people who experienced failures on their road to success (Robinson, 2017, p.19).

                Reframing language is also a big key component of instilling a growth mindset.  Robinson argues that teachers often assume that students with naturally understand expectations around time and effort, however it is imperative that teachers explain these expectations to the students.  Teachers should always stay focused on the process of learning and not just the outcomes.  Other reframing techniques are centered around learning positive "self talk."  These techniques can be made more accessible through posters or visual reminders of how to change our self talk to reflect a growth mindset.  For example, instead of "I give up," a student can use a visual reminder to instead say, "I'll use a different strategy that I learned."  These reframing techniques help students develop self confidence skills and should be encouraged to be utilized everyday (Robinson, 2017, p. 20).

                Students should be given opportunities to track their own progress throughout skill development in order to see their growth and become more empowered students.  As they reach certain benchmarks, they should also incorporate other reframing skills such as stating a learning objective as "I can..."  This reinforces the idea of personal growth and ownership in their individual learning experiences (Robinson, 2017, p. 20).

                Robinson concludes with listing some additional resources available for teachers to use.  Some of the resources include a growth mindset lesson plan within Khan Academy, ClassDoJo, and Train Ugly.  The Train Ugly website offers teachers free lesson plans and a printable survey.

Implications to my study:

It was reaffirming for me to read this article as I have implemented many of these strategies into my daily classroom routine throughout the period of my research study.  I have helped the students reflect on their learning processes, set learning goals, track their own progress, and modeled positive self talk and reframing language.  Another strategy that I have used is to share growth mindset videos through Khan Academy and other resources that reflect personal growth through failures and mistakes. 

I checked out the Train Ugly website and found a lot of useful resources.  I took the survey, which is similar to the survey I created for my research study.  It was a little more user friendly that the one I created, however I believe that my survey was more appropriate for students in a tier 2 level intervention math class.

References:

ROBINSON, C. (2017). Growth mindset in the classroom. Science Scope, 41(2), 18-21

Literature Review: Empowering Teachers in Growth Mindset

The following is a literature review of Fiona Seaton's study on empowering teachers to implement a growth mindset.  The study was published in 2017 in Educational Psychology in Practice. 

Seaton's work revolves around the idea that implementing a growth mindset in schools must first start with the teacher.  She supports that in order for students to succeed with a growth mindset, the teachers must first experience through the experience of a student (Seaton, 2017 p. 43).   She also argues that because appropriate feedback is so important for students to be able to change their mindset, teachers should first be adequately trained to give constructive feedback.   In her study, Seaton provides training sessions to teachers to provide them with a genuine experience in changing mindsets, and appropriate tools to instill practices within the classroom (Seaton, 2017, p.42).

The trainings were offered to schools that showed an interest in growth mindset.  One high school and five elementary schools decided to participate. Data was collected using Carol Dweck's Theories of Intelligent Scale Self form for Adults, which was given to all participants before and after the study.  In  between data collections, participants participated in six training sessions to provide background information pertaining to growth mindset and useful practice strategies (Seat, 2017, p. 44). In addition to the training sessions, participants kept a daily record of three positive thoughts each day about their teaching practices called, "blessings."  This activity was designed to provide a psychological positive feedback loop to address the cognitive dissonance experiences brought on by a shift in one's mindset (Seaton, 2017, p. 44).  A follow up questionnaire was given to participants 3 months after the sessions ended to gain feedback on the usefulness and effectiveness of the training (Seaton, 2017, p. 46).

The findings indicated that the teachers showed a significant increase in their own growth mindset over the instructional period according to Dweck's scale (Seaton, 2017, p. 47).  This quantitative data supports that the instructional sessions worked to shift a teacher's individual mindset.  The qualititative data collected involved random samples of the participant's daily journal, and the follow-up debriefing session to gather feedback about the training.  The teachers reported that the trainings were very useful in their practice (average of 9.25 out of 10), and all participants felt very confident or fairly confident about sharing the concept of growth mindset .  The teachers also indicated that the four most useful areas of the training were a change in feedback language, a change in themselves, implementing the practice, and the impact on students (Seaton, 2017, p. 49).

 Seaton uses this research study to emphasize the importance of training teachers in order for growth mindset to work and make a cultural impact throughout a school.  She argues that the follow up questions given to the participants indicate that a growth mindset and level of actively practicing growth mindset in the classroom were sustained for the three months that followed the instructional period, and therefore training in growth mindset can make a lasting change within a school (Seaton, 2017, p. 54).  She implores schools to take an active role in training teachers when new pedagogical practices are introduced to combat the cognitive dissonance that discourages teachers from sticking with a new implementation.

Implications to my study:

I really liked the practical approach that Seaton takes with her study, and how she supports her methodology with educational psychology research.  As a fairly new teacher of six years, I have seen the look on veteran teachers' faces when a new educational buzzword is promoted in a professional development meeting.   As Seaton points out, this is a part of cognitive dissonance, in which a new idea is trying to replace an old one.  There is always going to be struggle when new practices are introduced, so getting teacher buy-in can be a challenge.  I like how Seaton invited schools to participate and kept it optional, then re-addressed this issue by having participants rate their confidence level of sharing it with other professionals.  Sharing what we do with other professionals is kind of the big idea anyways right?  That is my plan with my research as well. 

I also really like how Seaton invited so much qualititative data in her data collection.  The evidence provided by the participants in their journal entries provided a wide range of experiences of the participants.  Although I am not implementing this strategy exactly, I am inviting my students to share experiences daily that reflect on their strategies, finding their mistakes, and what they have shown growth in.  For every share, the class receives "a point."  This points add up to meet a class goal in order to earn a fun activity, such as going outside to play a game.  I think the process of sharing positive learning experiences also provides a positive feedback loop when instilling a new mindset for academics. 

The limitations of this study in regards to my study is that it is not about student achievement directly, whereas my study involves collecting data from students.  Although it doesn't measure student data directly, Seaton makes a valid argument that changing mindsets within the classroom need to start with the teacher.  I think this article is a great reference for me to use when preparing my presentation of research.

References:

Fiona S. Seaton (2017) Empowering teachers to implement a growth mindset, Educational Psychology in Practice,34:1, 41-57, DOI: 10.1080/02667363.2017.1382333

Growth Mindset: Clinical Applications

This is a literature review of a study conducted by Hans S. Schroder et al.  The title of the study is "Growth Mindset of Anxiety Buffers the Link Between Stressful Life Events and Psychological Distress and Coping Strategies."    It was published in 2017 in the Personality and Individual Differences Journal.

Shroder's work discusses how a growth mindset is correlated with a person's ability to cope with stressful life events and argues that more research is needed in the future in order to understand the clinical implications of having a growth mindset.  Because research has shown that growth mindsets lead to more academic perseverence and healthy academic attitudes, it can be suggested that a growth mindset could also improve one's ability to help with mental health when faced with stressful life events (Shroder, 2017, p. 23).

The hypothesis of this study is that the relation of stressful life events and distress will be stronger among those with a fixed mindset than with a growth mindset (Shroder, 2017, p.24).  To test the hypothesis, they conducted a study among 1682 college students.  The students were asked to take a number of Psychological Assessments.  I appreciate how each assessment was carefully used in order for the study to be reliable and valid. 

To test for "Growth Mindset of Anxiety,"  the Implicit Theories of Anxiety Scale (TOA) was used.  This identified each participant as showing either a growth mindset of anxiety or a fixed mindset of anxiety.  Next, to identify what participants has experienced a stressful life event, they administered the Life Events Checklist -5 (LEC-5).  They only considered a stressful life event if a participant indicated that an event happened to them (Shroder, 2017, p.24).

To measure psychological distress, they administered the Posttraumatic Checklist for the DSM-5.  To measure Maladaptive Coping, they administered  the Patient Reported Outcome Measurement System Alcohol Use Short Form, the Drug Abuse Screening Test, and the Inventory of Statements About Self-Injury to determine whether a participant was involved in alcohol abuse, drug abuse, or self harming behaviors (Shroder, 2017, p. 24).

Results:

The results show that the number of stressful life events a person experienced was positively correlated with all other measures of psychological distress except for alcohol abuse.  Also, participants with a growth mindset of anxiety was negatively correlated with all other variables.  When compared to how well stressful life events and anxiety mindset could be compared to predictors of maladaptive coping mechanisms, the mindset of anxiety score showed to be the better predictor than the number of stressful life events (Shroder, 2017, p.24). 

Most importantly, it was found that participants with a fixed mindset of anxiety showed a stronger relationship between stressful life events and maladaptive coping strategies (Shroder, 2017, p.24).  This shows us that having a growth mindset despite experiencing stressful life events may lead to healthier coping mechanisms.   The argument can be made that people who believe that their anxiety can change and situations may improve are more willing to go to counseling, work through stressful events by using a number of strategies, and not base their perception of identity around traumatic events (Shroder, 2017, p 26).

Implications to my study:

  Although I am an educator and not a clinician, I find this research to be fascinating. I think that this study emphasizes the importance of how beneficial it can be to teach students to have a growth mindset.  It could literally save their lives or help find healthy coping strategies when stressful life events happen to them.  Some of my students have already experienced stress full life events and are trying to cope within the classroom on a daily basis. 

My research is focused on how to help struggling students feel more successful in math.  This study kind of puts the idea of this into perspective for me.  It supports the idea that teaching a growth mindset could be considered the priority, rather than teaching to the standard.  I will definitely use this research to discuss the impact that a growth mindset can have outside of the classroom.

References:

Schroder, H. S., Yalch, M. M., Dawood, S., Callahan, C. P., Donnellan, M. B., & Moser, J. S. (2017). Growth mindset of anxiety buffers the link between stressful life events and psychological distress and coping strategies. Personality And Individual Differences, 23. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2017.01.016

Literature Review: How Adults Can Influence a Child's Mindset

The following literature review is of Kyla Haimovitz and Carol Dweck's work titled, "The Origins of Children's Growth and Fixed Mindsets:  New Research and a New Proposal."  This article was published in Child Development in December of 2017.  The work focuses on how parents and teachers with a growth mindset can instill a growth mindset in children.

           The study begins by reviewing what a growth mindset is compared to a fixed mindset.  The authors indicate that the different mindsets are based around two different goals. Growth mindset is focused around the learning process, whereas a fixed mindset is focused around validating one's own ability (Haimovitz, 2017, p. 1850).  The article continues to cover previous research findings that support the evidence that having a growth mindset leads to further academic perseverance and success.  Finally in the introduction, the conversation turns towards how a growth mindset can be socialized within the everyday context of a child's environment.  The authors indicate that although it is easily assumed that teachers and parents who demonstrate growth mindsets themselves will pass it along to children, however research has found that this is not always the case (Haimovitz, 2017, p. 1850).   

           One way that adults can instill a mindset into a child is through their response to success.  In one study where children did well on a fifth grade math assessment, adults were instructed to give different types of feedback.  One group was instructed to give "person praise" such as "you must be smart at these problems."  Another group was prompted to give "process praise" such as "You must have worked hard at these problems."  It was found that students who received the person praise were delighted about their intelligence, however they were more likely to give up when more difficult problems were presented later, demonstrating a fixed mindset.  Children who received process praise were shown to keep trying and be more successful when problems became more difficult because their confidence was based in how hard they worked, demonstrating a growth mindset ( Haimovitz, 2017, p.1851).

             So why do adults use person praise at all?  Well, the authors explain that many parents and teachers choose to use person praise to boost self-confidence in children, especially those who show signs of low self-esteem (Haimovitz, 2017, p. 1852).  This can backfire, as children who struggle with self-esteem may feel better in the moment, however when a challenge is presented, they again fall into shame about their poor performance.  Along the same lines, some adults choose to praise effort more than outcomes.  Although praising effort is important, the authors argue that doing do teaches the children that they do not need to succeed at a task and may not seek out more effective strategies for the future.

            It is just as important to praise the process when the outcome is failure, as it is to praise the process when children are successful.   The authors support that parents often believe failure is either motivating or demotivating (Haimovitz, 2017, p. 1853).  This means that some parents believe that failures can be motivational through reflection of the process and can set children up for success in the future, whereas some parents treat failures as a hurtful part of the learning process.  A good example of this was a study of how children responded when asked what do their parents care about in regards to school performance.  A growth mindset response would be, "My parents care more about how hard I work than the grades I get."  I fixed mindset response would be, "My parents care that I am on the honor roll" (Haimovitz, 2017, p. 1853).   The authors then reiterate the importance of how a parent responses to a child who brings home a failing grade.  To instill a growth mindset, a parent should practice asking the child on their work habits, what strategies are currently being used, and help their child make a plan to use new strategies in the future.  Finally,  the process of normalizing struggles can have a great impact on the future success of the child.

            What can a teacher do to promote a growth mindset within the classroom?  One way to promote a growth mindset is to make sure to check in with individual students to recognize their progress regardless of academic levels.  Rewarding students who finish quickly and always show the best work in the class promotes a fixed mindset in all of the children (Haimovitz, 2017, p. 1853).   Instead of focusing always on the outcome, teachers need to focus on the learning process.  Instead of praising a child for the right answer, ask students to reflect on their thinking process towards solving a problem, regardless of whether they got the correct answer.  Students should be given opportunities to share their thinking with others so that the process of learning is emphasized.  Students should also be given chances to revise their work so they can reflect on their own process towards success (Haimovitz, 2017, p. 1854). 

           What should a teacher avoid doing when trying to promote a growth mindset?  Grouping students who struggle has negative impacts on attaining a growth mindset, therefore tracking should be avoided when possible.  Students benefit from different levels of thinking when the thinking is shared.  Also, teachers should avoid lowering the expectations for students who struggle, as this can communicate to the student that the teacher does not believe he or she can accomplish the original task (Haimovitz, 2017, p. 1854).

          Creating a growth mindset classroom environment takes some focused effort as a teacher.  To do so, teachers should have classroom discussions on how struggle and frustration are natural and useful, as well as why they are useful.  Teachers should instill a team effort, meaning that the teacher and the students are all responsible for everyone's learning in the classroom.  Relaying a message that all the student needs to do is work hard and study better will not promote a growth mindset, as it focused only on solving the problem, bypassing the process of how a problem can be solved (Haimovitz, 2017, p. 1854).

            How can growth mindsets be promoted throughout a community?  The authors share the story of schools throughout the country that have adopted an educational model based in growth mindset, called expeditionary learning (EL).  In these schools, students are focused on individual learning goals and their individual processes of learning.  Each school holds a celebration of learning in which students share their quality work and learning experiences with community members.  They celebrate their learning mistakes and share with the community how the mistakes lead to successful outcomes.  These practices may help to normalize growth mindset within families and communities (Haimovitz, 2017, p. 1855).

          In conclusion, the authors advocate for adults to focus more on coaching children through processes after successes and failures, rather than simply focusing on motivation strategies.  This is especially true for students who struggle in the classroom.  A child's belief will usually predict the outcome of behavior, so it is important to start with changing their beliefs about what they can accomplish. The authors argue that this shift in responding to children takes practice and professional development.  Many teachers are under pressure to teach to the standard rather than teach for understanding.  Standardized testing can lead to situations where teachers do not feel they have the time to teach practices that promote a growth mindset, however research has shown that students with a growth mindset often perform higher on college admissions tests.  The authors also argue that academic pressure can lead to a number of mental and emotional health issues in children (Haimovitz, 2017, p. 1857).  They conclude with a call to action for policies to consider the importance of emphasizing growth within the educational system in order for all students to obtain and experience high quality education.

Implications to my study:

           This article was amazing to read!  I even told my husband that I wanted him to read it for future parenting skills!  I already understood how beneficial it is for students and teachers to adopt a growth mindset, but this article helps me understand how to instill a growth mindset in children.  It also emphasized the importance of how parents, as well as teachers, respond to successes and failures in children. 

            The biggest influence this has on my research study is how to guide my responses for children who are struggling in math.  It gives me the opportunity to practice these strategies, such as checking in with individual students on their growth, asking more open ended questions for students to review their strategies, and ask students to explain their thinking.  

             As I was writing this review, I was sure to include all of the teaching tips that I plan on using throughout my research study.  I was also cognizant of including the "don'ts" of teaching.   One pitfall I can definitely relate to is the urge to use person based praise with a student who is struggling with low self-esteem.  It is also difficult to refrain from saying "You are so smart!" when I truly want to acknowledge a student's "gifts."  I know it will take a lot of re-framing and practice, but I believe that in doing so, it will not only benefit my research study, but make me a more effective teacher for years to come.

References:

Haimovitz, K., & Dweck, C. S. (2017). The Origins of Children's Growth and Fixed Mindsets: New Research and a New Proposal. Child Development, (6), 1849. doi:10.1111/cdev.12955

Literature Review: The Power of Choice

This is a review of an article titled, "Optimizing the Power of Choice:  Supporting Student Autonomy to Foster Motivation and Engagement in Learning."  It was written by Miriam Evans and Alyssa R. Boucher, and published in 2015 by the International Mind, Brain and Education Society and Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

This article focuses on the importance of student choice and how students can show increased engagement in learning activities when they are able to make choices about their learning that are relevant to their personal values.  The authors introduce this idea by stating that all children are born with curiosity and intrinsic motivation to learn, however they lose this motivation through time when they are always told what to learn and how to show it (Evans, 2015, p. 87).  Basically, the process of learning stops being fun and students stop asking their own questions because they lose the sense of choice.

To better understand human motivation through choice, we look at the self-determination theory of motivation which promotes autonomy in increases intrinsic motivation (Evans, 2015, p. 88).  The self-determination theory states that autonomy comes from a feeling in which someone has choice and engages in self-directed activities that are aimed at meeting a goal. A teacher can promote autonomy by allowing students to have choice in order to promote these self-directed activities.

In order for a teacher to provide appropriate choice to students, the teacher must focus on what is relevant and meaningful for the students.  Available choices should relate to the personal values and interests of the student.  The authors also note that extrinsic motivation can also lead to intrinsic motivation when choices are given and students are self directing their learning (Evans, 2015, p. 89).

Another important key to providing students with choices are to provide choices that enhance competence.  In order for students to succeed, they must feel that they are capable of successfully completing the task they are choosing.  The resources provided must be appropriate and task demands must be reasonable.  If the task is too easy, the students will get bored.  If the task is too difficult, the student will most likely become frustrated and lose motivation (Evans, 2015, p. 89).

The amount of choices should also be limited to a manageable amount for both the teacher and student. If a student has too many options to choose from, it may be too overwhelming.  We experience this when we look at a menu with too many options and feel overwhelmed when deciding on what to order (Evans, 2015, p. 90). 

Some teachers struggle to embrace the idea of giving students more choices, even though they believe in doing so.  One strategy is to be well prepared before hand, limiting the amount of choices to a manageable amount, providing appropriate resources for students, and promoting student interests to maintain student motivation (Evans, 2015, p. 90)

Implications to my study:

I appreciate how straight forward and honest this article is about promoting student choice.  I often find myself wondering where the curiosity in my students disappeared to.  The authors make a good argument that many students lose motivation through their years at school because they are no longer asking questions, only answering them. If we always tell the students what they need to learn, then they don't need curiosity. 

I am focusing on increasing the academic attitudes in Tier 2 level math classes.  Although I am not directly measuring curiosity, I am interested in student motivation and academic behaviors.  The self-determination theory of motivation encompasses the idea that providing opportunities for autonomy can lead to increased motivation levels.  This article focuses on providing students with choices in how they engage with material.  I want to look at providing students with a few choices in how they want to engage with resources that are available to help them meet learning goals they set for themselves.  This article provides a great rationale for why incorporating choices into my study is important This article also provides guidelines in how to do so, such as limiting the number of choices and focusing on how the resources they are choosing from should meet them at their learning level for maximum engagement. 

References:

Evans, M., & Boucher, A. R. (2015). Optimizing the Power of Choice: Supporting Student Autonomy to Foster Motivation and Engagement in Learning. Mind, Brain, And Education, (2), 87. doi:10.1111/mbe.12073