This is a continuation of May’s Action Research Case Study in which I have had the opportunity to analyze. A link to the Action Research has been provided below for those of you who are interested in learning more. Feedback to my perspective is much welcomed.
Prompt #5 Questions: There were four observations that Sienna conducted over a two-week period to document May’s redirection behaviors. First, you will examine the series of observation reports. Second, identify any trends and themes you find in the data. Be sure to consider the observational notes that Sienna included. Look to find and share any triangulation processes in May’s data collection and analysis work. Third, evaluate the data and provide reasonable explanations for what you think might be happening over time that would explain the story the data are revealing.
Response: 7/21 (1/3)kids wish for more fun and less pressure from school, 5/21(1/4) wish for more calm and respectful environment, 9/21 (1/2ish)wish for more consistency in class routine. The first day out of four, there was at least one redirection given almost every minute. I have not been able to find how long the class period is. One thing that I have noticed is that there is no positive redirection. I believe that it would be helpful to catch a student who is on task, and reward them with positive feedback. This would be a good strategy for May to use, as it would probably influence other students to try to receive positive reinforcement. In the other 3 out of 4 days, the number of redirections went down 18, 15, and 13. The type of redirection did not change. Activity during bell work was fun and not the same as usual. It kept the students engaged. The advice to change seating arrangement was good, and appeared to help. Without seeing the other data at this point, it is difficult for me to find a triangulation processes to compare. While reviewing Sienna’s comments that there was no redirection for the first 10 minutes after bellwork was over, I would guess that it may be due to May graphing the results for the class might be the cause of student engagement.
Prompt #6 Questions: Describe May’s class graph. What happened over time, and what are some possible reasons for the trends and patterns you notice? What new goals do you think May should set for the class as a whole based on her students’ response to the timed agenda challenge?
Response:
The graph shows that on day one, eleven out of twenty-one students could have their agenda written out and be ready to learn within five minutes. The number of students who were able to meet this challenge increased gradually. By the ninth day, twenty out of twenty-one students were able to meet the five minute challenge. I feel that the more students that took the challenge seriously had an influence on other students wanting to apply them selves. By looking at the graph every day as a whole class, it showed the lagging students that the goal was doable. It also showed that if they didn’t join in, the whole class would be waiting on them to learn. May’s observation of the data showed her that the most redirection came from transition time. I would suggest a similar student survey, ideas from her students and team, data collection, and a similar graph for a quicker and smoother transition time.
Prompt #7 Questions: Describe Anthony’s and Leah’s data. What happened over time? What do you think May might do in the future to capitalize on Anthony and Leah’s success and keep them on track during the entire class period?
Response:
Both Anthony and Leah were able to beat the goal set for the whole class, but not only that, they challenged their selves to a more difficult goal each day and met those as well! I feel that the one on one interaction, the positive comments and support from Darby was very helpful to empower these two students. It also motivated them that Darby challenged the rest of the class to try and keep up with them, which the whole class did not do. The visual representation of the graphing made it easy to see progress made, which is also an influential piece to the success of reaching those goals. I think that the graphing helped motivate all of the students, and May could capitalize on that strategy to increase student engagement, and for smoother transition times.
Prompt #8 Questions: Pretend you are May, and it is now the start of the next school year. Your assistant principal, Mr. Brown, asks you to talk about your inquiry journey at the first faculty meeting of the year. Discuss a plan for your presentation. What will you share and how will you share it? Refer to Chapters 6 and 8 of The Reflective Educator’s Guide to Classroom Research for support in responding to this prompt.
Response: I think that it would be an honor if my assistant principal asked me to share my inquiry journey at the first faculty meeting of the year. Considering there is a lot to go over at the first faculty meeting, I would prepare a poster board to put on display along with a brochure. After the meeting, I would keep the display in the staff room and ask for feedback. There is a lot of information to share, and this would allow teachers to take another look at their convenience. There are several things that I would share about my wondering: “How can I create the classroom conditions needed so that my students can be successful in supporting my instruction?” First, I would give credit to my team for all the time and effort that they dedicated to helping me. They helped me come up with my wondering question, and suggested that I do one class instead of 5 so it would be more doable. They helped me to categorize the students into 3 different behavioral tier interventions, then analyze the data. I would then share how my inquiry benefited my life as a teacher. I would ask my team I learned how to improve my own instruction. I would then point out the data collection, with a spot light on the 5 minute challenge, and how it motivated my students as we reviewed our goals and results as part of our lesson. I found that by using a student to assist me in data collection, it gave her the empowerment and self worth that she was hungry for, and increased her behavior as well. I would make all of my data available for later review because as we know, “The case is stronger when evidence is provided from multiple sources. (143)” Since the recursive nature of action research has a tendency to lead to more wonderings…
I would share the commitment that I have made in researching a new wondering question. The question will focus on how I can incorporate culturally relevant experiences into my teaching.
Last but not least, I would invite my team to give testimonials as to how my inquiry benefited them. As author Dana so eloquently explains in chapter 8 of our resources, “Fellow professionals also benefit from the knowledge you created. (188)”
I feel that any teacher who goes the extra mile to attempt action research for the benefit of increasing student learning is a hero among heroes.
Thank you for visiting my blog,
Cathryn
Dana, N. F., & Yendol-Hoppey, D. (2009). The reflective educator’s guide to classroom research: Learning to teach and teaching to learn through practitioner inquiry (2nd ed.).
No comments:
Post a Comment