Introduction
School principals are increasingly using data to inform decisions. Accurate data can positively influence plans for students, teachers, and parents or guardians. Principals use data to decide on issues that shape school culture and the behavior of the subordinates, besides improving students’ learning outcomes (Sun et al., 2016). The case involving Mr. Martinez, a new high school principal with underway plans to review one of the mathematical units—so-called linear equations for 9th-grade students, is an ideal example where data can be used to make substantial changes.
Revies Accomplishment, and Goals
The main goal of this instruction overhaul is to ensure young students can write and solve linear inequalities, functions, and equations. Concerning the unit, 9th grade has always faced challenges in two topics, namely (1) Forming linear equations from word statements and (2) Solving linear equations. Problems encountered in these topics arise because teachers do not apply the balance model—exemplar teaching approach that should be embraced by educators. Why do instructors need to employ a balance model? As noted by Otten et al. (2019), the balance model is deemed suitable for laying a conceptual basis for forming and solving linear equations. 9th-grade students are experiencing the concept of linear equations for the first time.
Survey Results
High Areas Needs
A significant component of learning linear equations often regarded as high areas of need is solving them. Within the grade nine curriculum, solving linear equations is one of the foundational needs, granting students an opportunity to transit from reasoning with numbers to reasoning with unknowns (Otten et al., 2019). Learning how to solve linear equations make student their thinking about the relationships among measures and numbers to think about sets of measures and numbers, represent relations and describe them, and compute numerical answers.
Low Areas Needs
Writing linear equations represent low areas of need, especially digesting word statements to derive equations, as affirmed by Saraswati et al. (2016). Word problem involving linear equations can be tricky and often requires regular practice to convert English statements into a mathematical sentence. Most students not only face the challenge of identifying linear equations but are also finding it difficult to interpret them (Samuel et al., 2015). This challenge has conspired many cases of misrepresented linear equations.
Action Plan
Table1: Action Plan
Teachers’ Believes and Thoughts
Teachers believe that consensus models are meaningful when delivering mathematical concepts. Therefore, they have always communicated ideas in various representations, including pictures, manipulatives, symbols, diagrams, and narratives. Indeed, this kind of representation is perceived to be concrete and can be understood by many 9th-grade students. As explained by Zeljić et al. (2016), neither abstractness of the mathematical content nor the cognitive development of students is considered important when choosing how to present instructions. In learning linear equations, students shift from learning through an arithmetic approach to a problem-solving approach and teachers believe making the same adjustment creates incremental learning among students. Cognizant of the differences among students, teachers apply the balance model to aid in teaching and learning linear equations.
Concerns
The teaching of linear equations is associated with various concerns. First and foremost, many grade 9 students are unable to derive linear equations from word problems. Others cannot interpret already written linear equations (e.g., misinterpreting (=) as an equal sign rather than a relational symbol). In addition, grade nine students find it challenging to solve linear equations, especially the ones with negative numbers (Otten et al., 2019). These issues limit what students and teachers can achieve during classroom instruction.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the instructional overhaul is instigated by the underlying needs of curriculum stakeholders, especially teachers and students. For Mr. Martinez to change linear equations topics, information from key stakeholders is needed to guide him in making informed decisions. He should focus on important areas such as the goal of the instructional overhaul, results from the survey, teachers’ thoughts, and concerns regarding linear equation instruction.
References
Otten, M., den Heuvel-Panhuizen, V., & Veldhuis, M. (2019). The balance model for teaching linear equations: a systematic literature review. International Journal of STEM Education, 6(1), 1-21. Web.
Saraswati, S., Putri, R. I., & Somakim, S. (2016). Supporting students’ understanding of linear equations with one variable using algebra tiles. Journal on Mathematics Education, 7(1). Web.
Zeljić, M., Đokić, O., & Dabić, M. (2016). Teachers’ beliefs towards the various representations in mathematics instruction. In Proceedings of the 40th Conference of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education (pp. 403-410). Web.
Samuel, K., Mulenga, H. M., & Angel, M. (2016). An Investigation into Challenges Faced by Secondary School Teachers and Pupils in Algebraic Linear Equations: A Case of Mufulira District, Zambia. Journal of Education and Practice, 7(26), 99-106. Web.
Sun, J., Johnson, B. J., & Przybylski, R. (2016). Data-Informed school leadership: Constructing an incipient, working conceptual framework. Journal of School Public Relations, 37(1), 8-55. Web.