Action Research Topic

What effect does working with a math coach have on the math achievement of 5th grade students in the regular education classroom at Birdville Elementary?
The setting will be the 5th grade regular education math classroom. This wondering is significant in consideration of the effective use of support personnel in the elementary school. It will also consider the effectiveness of the support staff working with students in the classroom in order to avoid pulling students out to another room. The target population will be the 5th grade students that have been identified as a Tier 2 or Tier 3 in math through the RTI leveling process. The comparison groups will be 10-15 5th grade students randomly chosen from the general population. The number of students correlates with the number of identified students the work with the math coach. Choosing the comparison sample randomly helps to keep the study group representative of the whole grade level. The research will be conducted throughout the 2010-2011 school year using various forms of data collection and comparison processes. The data will be collected and compared through both formative and summative assessments including benchmarks, pre/post testing, journaling, artifacts and student work. In summation, the goal of the action research is to consider the effective use of a math coach as support personnel in the classroom.