Using the Number Line and Educreations in a Second Grade Classroom: A Collaborative Action Research Project

 

Abstract

The inquiry-oriented and cyclic process of action research can lead to the innovative use of technology and instructional strategies to improve teaching practice, particularly for beginning teachers. This action research project examined the impact of the number line and Educreations on second-grade students’ verbal and written explanations of three-digit addition and subtraction operations using whole numbers. Pre- and post-surveys were implemented to examine how the second-graders worked on the given three-digit addition and subtraction problems. The students’ perceived value of using the number line indicated that the majority of the students found the number line helpful. Classroom observations and the students' use of the number line and Educreations indicated that student skills for solving and explaining the process of addition and subtraction methods increased as demonstrated in the post- assessment and the student videos.