Conducting research on problem solving allowed me to examine individual
progress on mathematical objectives I was teaching. I was able to gather information on
the whole group by anonymously gathering student beliefs about math in general and
my classroom. I collected data by using 16 statements where students marked a Likert
scale choosing among always, sometimes or never. It was my intention before starting
action research to gather baseline data on whether students were open to working in
groups, sharing their mathematical ideas with the whole class or working problems
more independently from the teacher. Based on the results, my initial impression was
that this group of 29 students felt they received good grades in math and liked math,
were open to working in groups, and were open to working on math problems that really
made them think