Week 10 Reflection

How do I explain my data? What did I learn from my data?

Well, I missed our Twitter session again this past week! I don’t know why I keep doing that. I remembered to log in when it was spring break and no one was on there! Haha! Oh, well. I’ll set my alarm to remember for this week.

It took me a while to put my thoughts into my paper. I hope that I wrote it appropriately, but I feel it might be a little unorganized. Maybe I am just overthinking it… We shall see.

What I learned from my data is that I am trying to use my techniques that work with small groups and apply them to my large class size. It hasn’t been working and I keep trying to do it…what is that called when you keep trying the same thing and expecting different results? Anyways, I have learned “different strokes for different folks.” There is not just one way to get students engaged. There are so many ways… student engagement is diverse and as a teacher, I need to be aware of that whenever I walk into a new classroom. Not everything is going to work the same. As educators it is our job to be aware of our diverse students’ learning styles and teach to them.

I enjoyed reading all of my peers’ blogs though. They were very thorough and well put together, although, I am not an expert, they looked way better than mine! ☺ Although, I saw, that there is no “right way” to put together content analysis. So, we shall see. If anything, I will make some revisions afterwards, and that is okay with me.

Writing does not come easy to me, and I am thankful for my peers and for the instructor who guides us each step of the way.

Data analysis

Hi everyone. Here is my data analysis. Do I need to add any charts or survey results to go with my analysis?
Looking over my observations, I notice that the five students I have been observing do not ever appear to be engaged 100 percent of the time. But, that is what I notice about all of my students, not one of them is ever 100 percent fully engaged. But, the students who are struggling the most are the ones that are disengaged most of the time. I noticed that calendar time is when they are least engaged and they appeared to be most active (hands always moving, touching something or playing with things (hair, shoes, shoelaces, chairs, tables, etc.) and they were easily distracted by something going on in the room. It is definitely hard for them to focus for periods of time. When I take those students into a small group setting, however, two of them they are able to tell me what the lessons are about and can verbalize what our discussion was about for that morning. The other three still struggle with remembering the lessons, even when in small groups. They appear to be distracted with other things that cannot be explained. I am sure that family situations are a major impact in these students’ education. From my observations, I also noticed that those five students were more engaged when singing learning songs and by moving. But, they were not always singing the songs or the words; they were mostly going through the motions of the song without singing.

I had two focus groups, one at the beginning of the data collection process and one at the end. They were able to discuss with me what student engagement was to them. For my kindergarteners I used the terms participate and participation. Some of the students I had been observing were also part of the focus groups. When asked what it means to participate, most of the responses were “listen and follow directions”. None of the students mentioned answering or asking questions. When asked why it was important to participate, students answered, “so you can get smart”, and “When you listen, you can know things.” Other students answered, “so you can get points,” or “to get stars,” which was in reference to our Active Learner rubric that is posted in our class. I can see from this focus group that my focus was on earning stars and points and should have been on the participation piece. I need to encourage the asking and answering of questions when in a large group setting, although it may be difficult to engage a whole group when there are so many students.

My students filled out a survey on being an Active Participant. The results of that survey said that 15 students liked learning by watching, nine students liked listening best, four liked using their hands best, one liked to learn through movement, and three liked talking best. I have 25 students, 11 students picked one way they learned best, and 10 students picked two choices that they liked best. The survey also suggested that 12 students liked to work by themselves and that two students liked to work with partners, and seven students liked to work in groups. Before I gave this survey to my students, we discussed ways that people like to learn. I gave an example about how I am a visual learner. I told them that I learned how to make a sandwich because I had watched my mom make it. If it is a harder task, I told them that I have to see the directions on paper before I can do it. If someone tries to “tell me” and “gives me oral directions” it is hard for me to do it. I just have to see it. I am not sure if the survey results are accurate because I am not sure the students understood what I was asking. Maybe I should have added the category of “sitting in a group” to see what they would have put. But then, I do see some truth in the results, because most of my class does like to see an example first and I do give a lot of visual step-by-step directions when giving instructions. I do list directions on the board for students to look at when doing projects.

The overall theme I discovered is that every class has diverse learning styles. No class is ever the same and that what works for one class, does not or might not work for another class. I’m thinking that maybe it is time for me to change up my calendar time and focus on small groups more. From my observations and data I can see that I need to focus on teaching to the various learning styles in each class. In the past, I have had small classes, maybe the large 25 students this year cannot handle the large group setting.

Raw data

Hi, everyone. I have some of my data to show you. I have my Focus Group Survey and then the self assessments. I am still organizing my notes to make sense of them all…

Focus Group Survey Results

Active Participation Survey-raw data

Raw Data to come….

I have been sick this weekend and haven’t put all my data together yet. I was just going to scan my observations, surveys, and focus group interviews, but I see that others have put a lot of time into organizing their information. I guess I need to go back and put my survey questions onto a spreadsheet and just put the information there. I didn’t know that’s what I had to do.

I also saw concept maps. I’m not sure if I am supposed to do that as well. Does it depend on what you are trying to show? Or is that to bring out the overall themes from the research? I’m at a loss right now and feel like I need another week.

What I also noticed was that some of the “raw” data looks quantitative to me. I see a lot of numbers and this confuses me. Or is this the way I should take my surveys and rubrics and organize them on a chart.

Week 9 reflection

I am so thankful for the “cheat sheet” from Dr. Jones’ website. I don’t have everything figured out yet, but it was a big help in guiding me to the end. Thanks to Stephanie, I was able to find it because I had forgotten about this resource page. I was stuck, and she was able to lead me to the page.

I am glad to know that we are all in the same place. I am not a confident writer, but my PLN has been very helpful to me. They give me the encouragement to keep on going! We are all still learning and it helps to know that we are all learning this together.

My students in my kindergarten class have been very understanding as well. We have discussed that I am a student now and that I have a teacher and other students in my class. I told them that they were my teachers and I was learning from them. They thought that was pretty cool. I told them that they help me become a better teacher. Man, did they smile so big!

Looking forward to collecting more data this week too. I only have one week’s worth so far, due to our early spring break. Can’t wait to see what comes up.

How will I analyze my data? Why am I making these choices?

I kind of freaked out when I read this weeks essential question… I had no clue on how I would analyze my data? What did that even mean? I blew off the question for a while because I had to process it for a while. I read my PLN blogs to see what they were doing and I had forgotten about the resources on Anne’s blog. Oh!!! So glad for Stephanie’s reminder!

I have observations, and students’ self-assessments, and a focus group interview to start with. Towards the end of the data collection, I will give my students the self-assessment again and also another focus group. Then I will compare the two pieces and go over the observations.

After reading about Dr. Jones’ data analysis method cheat sheet, I think the best method for me would be to use the case study. I think that I would be able to give a good description of my students and the events. Although, the narrative would also be appropriate for my research study. I think that I would be able to tell my story from my students’ perspective.

Revised Research Proposal

I finally made the revisions for my Research Proposal

and started my data collection. Yay! Feeling good! Research Proposal

Week 8 Reflection

I haven’t collected any data yet. Our school has been on spring break this past week. We start up school again tomorrow. I have read over people’s blogs and found them to be very helpful to me. It has given me a chance to see what I can expect in my classroom. It has also given me ideas on how to change my data collection process to make things more efficient. I have “borrowed” ideas from others and will begin collecting data this week. I’m a little behind on my proposal, and sadly, spring break was the exactly the opposite of what it’s supposed to mean. There is only a few weeks left and I am nervous now… I applied to graduate and the anxiety has become stronger! Whew! Trying to breathe and its time to buckle down and focus to the finish!

Research Proposal

Here is my updated Research Proposal. I couldn’t figure out how to add a link to my paper. So, I copied and pasted. The content is the same, but the formatting changed when I pasted it here.

Rational for the Research
I am currently teaching Kindergarten. My class consists of 11 girls and 14 boys. The majority of my class is Alaskan Native of Tsimshian decent. Most students are from lower-to-middle class income families. There are five students that I am mostly concerned about. In Kindergarten, I try to keep the lessons moving and as engaging as possible, but there are those five that still do not know their letters and sounds or cannot count past 20. It is very difficult to keep their focus when providing whole group instruction, and sometimes during small group instruction. What engagement strategies would work best with these learners?

Literature Review

Student engagement occurs when “students make a psychological investment in learning. They try hard to learn what school offers. They take pride not simply in earning the formal indicators of success (grades), but in understanding the material and incorporating or internalizing it in their lives” (Newmann, 1992). For students to be engaged in learning, they needed to be actively engaged and collaborative. One study showed that students, enlisted in community colleges, that were active and collaborative in their studies showed a link to higher grades and course completions that led to completing degrees (McClenney, 2007). In order to hold their attention, students need to be an active participant. They need to be able to manipulate information physically. Students should be able to work in groups, or be able to discover things on their own. “Keeping students involved and engaged in activities is the very best solution. When students are excited about their learning, they are motivated to pay attention in class” (McDonald, 2013). Keeping students involved and engaged in a lesson is difficult at times. “Because children with low levels of engagement are at risk for disruptive behavior, absenteeism, and eventually dropping out of school (Roderick & Engle 2001), the need to increase engagement is critical to children’s success in school” (Jablon, 2006). Jablon also notes that there is a difference between being engaged and being on task. She quotes a book, Shaking Up the School House, “Engagement is active. It requires that students be attentive as well as in attendance; it requires the student to be committed to the task and find some inherent value in what he or she is being asked to do. The engaged student not only does the task assigned but also does it with enthusiasm and diligence. Moreover, the student performs the task because he or she perceives the task to be associated with a near-term end that he or she values. (2001, 64)” (Jablon, 2006).
Engagement is more than involvement. It requires feelings and making sense of things and being actively involved. Students need to be able to make connections to what is being taught. Memories are made when feelings are involved. Trowler goes into much detail about student engagement and what it is, who is responsible for student engagement, what kind of engagement, and reasons for engagement (Trowler, 2010). One study listed eight different types of engagement. (Taylor & Parsons, 2011) Ways to measure student engagement were discussed as well. These measurements focused on attendance rate, standardized test scores, and truancy rates, which all are quantitative data. Along with these types of engagement the best practices that were recommended were ‘Interaction, Exploration, Relevancy, Multimedia and Instruction’.
What happens if student engagement is not working efficiently? There are many strategies or best practices to keep students engaged in their learning. One study that focused on mathematical number sense showed that activities that focused on the big ideas of number sense as well as explicit instruction, combined with practice, led to improvements in number skills of kindergarten students. “The present study shows preliminary evidence that instruction combining big ideas of number sense and explicit instruction can enhance mathematics competence of kindergarten students” (Sood, 2010). These combined lessons and practice led to improvements in number skills of kindergarten students (Sood, S., & Society for Research on Educational Effectiveness, 2010). There are different strategies for various types of lessons and groups of children. There are strategies that can be used with whole groups, small groups and individuals. “The engagement strategies you choose depend on your purpose, teaching style, and the children in your classroom. Regardless of the strategies selected, effective facilitation is a key to making them work. By facilitation we mean the techniques used to execute a strategy” (Jablon, 2003). Trowler also states that, “Strategies for engagement hinge on one’s understanding and definition of engagement, as well as notions of what would constitute appropriate targets, goals and beneficiaries for engagement strategies” (Trowler, 2010). Deciding student engagement strategies is beyond classroom observation and is more complex as each child is different.
The literature reviewed showed several themes. The first theme is that students need to be active participants and have opportunities for collaboration in order to be engaged in learning. The second theme is that students need to make connections with the content; connections are more than just being involved in learning, they are active, evoke feelings, and create memories. The third theme is that students ultimately determine their own engagement strategies. Individual learners need unique ways to stay engaged and teachers are responsible for facilitating the appropriate engagement strategies.
Some Kindergarten students are not engaged during traditional lessons, nothing specific, because they are generally not engaged in most lessons. Why? The goal of this research is to improve student learning, to get students to be more involved in their learning or get them to have ownership in their learning. Some key factors are: socio-economic conditions, teaching technique or style, and student learning style. The more I think of my students and how many different strategies there are, I am thinking of using self assessment tools. This would be one way for students to have ownership in their learning. How can student engagement strategies help all students take ownership of their learning?

Method
Participants
The participants in my study are four boys and one girl. They are ages five and six. All of the students are chosen because they are all struggling with letter and sound recognition. I believe they are struggling because when it is time for the letter and sound lessons, they are not engaged in the lessons. The focus of this project is to provide different engagement strategies so that they will be able to recognize all letters and sounds by the end of the school year.

Materials
I will be taking observation notes and using a rubric to check student engagement after providing lessons using different strategies. I will use a survey about engagement. I will be taking notes about the observations I have made. The data collection process will be four to five weeks.
Procedure
In my project, I will be meeting with a focus group to determine what student engagement is and why it is important. I will use a rubric, adapted for Kindergarten, to use for my class. I will introduce it to my class and show them how they can place themselves on the rubric to see how they perceive themselves. After two weeks, I will give my students a survey about student engagement (I will do this by using Mimio Voters). After various engagement strategies are introduced, I will use the rubric and observe my class again. I will give the survey to them again and also have another focus group. I will compare the results from the beginning with the results from the end. With my small group of students to introduce lessons. I will give clear explanations and expectations. I will show them a rubric for self-assessment in writing and handwriting. I hope that after showing them the rubric and discussing student engagement that they will be able to take ownership in their learning and that they will use it to help stay engaged in their lessons.
 
References

Jablon, J. R., and Wilkinson, M. (2006). Using Engagement Strategies to Facilitate Children’s Learning and Success.” Beyond the Journal: Young Children on the Web. Retrieved from http://www.naeyc.org/files/yc/file/200603/JablonBTJ.pdf
McClenney, K., Marti, C. N., and Adkins, C. (2007). “Student Engagement and Student Outcomes: Key Findings From CCSSE Validation Research.” Community College Survey of Student Engagement.
McDonald, Emma. “How to Involve and Engage Students.” Education World. 2013.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/columnists/mcdonald/mcdonald007.shtml
Newmann, F. (1992) Student Engagement and Achievement in American Secondary Schools. Teachers College Press. pp. 2–3.
Taylor, L. & Parsons, J. (2011). Improving Student Engagement. Current Issues in Education, 14(1). Retrieved from http://cie.asu.edu/
Trowler, V. (2010). Student Engagement Literature Review. The Higher Education Academy. Retrieved from https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/sites/default/files/StudentEngagementLiteratureReview_1.pdf

Week 7 Reflection

I’m afraid I haven’t been too helpful this weekend! It looks like everyone is raring to go on his or her data collection. I am a little jealous that people are starting already, but am thankful for this week to get my stuff together.   I can’t wait to see what everyone comes up with. I appreciate all the feedback I have received. I have to be honest in saying that I am a little nervous about this process. What if I am not doing it right? What if I miss something? My natural instinct is to go to quantitative data, but after emailing Anne, and reading my PLN’s blogs, I think I am ready for this next step in the process.