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What Is An Instructional Problem

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Needs Analysis: Integer Operations
Discussion of Instructional Problem In Missouri, students are to know how to add, subtract, multiply, and divide all rational numbers (including negative numbers) by the end of their seventh-grade year. In the school which I teach, many students have not mastered this skill when they enter their eighth-grade Pre-algebra course. This lack of mastery creates a difficult situation for students when learning slope, multi-step equations, and calculating sums and products in scientific notation. Mastery of rational operations will help students succeed in Pre-Algebra and future math courses.
The class I am focusing on for this study is a class of twelve students. Out of the twelve students, nine are below …show more content…

These two contributing factors combined create a deficit in the students’ knowledge when it comes to many skills including integer operations.
Comparison of Conditions

Current condition. Students struggle to understand what the negative sign means in front of a number. Also, they cannot perform addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division with positive and negative numbers. Currently, only 4 out of 12 students (33%) are showing mastery of integer operations. Mastery on this skill is defined in my school as a 90% or better.

Desired condition. The desired result is for 80% or more (10 out of 12) students reaching mastery on integer operations. Mastery on this skill is defined in my school as a 90% or better. Students with IEP support will reach this mastery with those built-in supports (i.e. reading support on quiz/ test).

Data Collection Process
Discussion of Data Collection Instruments Used I collected data on my students from two different sources. The first was a standardized test we give all students at the beginning of the year as a benchmark to see growth for each student. The second was an integer quiz given to my class to see specific areas where students were making mistakes.
Discussion of Sources of Data The standardized test provides teachers with general information such as grade equivalent and percentage rank for each

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