Another week down and our enthusiastic teachers are hard at work! As we continue to make way with our action research, our teachers have been able to tweak and fine-tune their research questions. In addition, with our ample snow days and delays, we have also been able to further delve into our research and methodology. Our teachers have been working to determine the appropriate forms of measurement as well as the most helpful methods of collecting data. We even have some awesome links for you to check out! As we steam along with our plans, we look forward to drafting the design of our research and finalizing our methodologies. Now, let's take a peek into each of our teacher's classrooms:
Pre-K Hallway- Ms. Kelly Bryant
As I continue my research, I am finding it hard to pin point a particular “go-to” person in regards to Conscious Discipline. While Lorrie Hoffman is a main author in two of the articles I have used for the literature review, it is difficult to establish her as the “father” of Conscious Discipline research. Technically, Lorrie Hoffman is the “father” as she is the creator of the program; however, I cannot depend solely on her data without a sense of bias. In other words, in many respects Lorrie Hoffman knows best about the program because she created it, but her research will most likely be biased towards supporting her program as she is the one profiting from it. This left me with the challenge of finding another reputable researcher knowledgeable of Conscious Discipline who has an outside perspective. Unfortunately, I was unable to find any direct research on the program and therefore, was forced to look for related concepts. This caused me to search for a variety of related topics all under the umbrella of classroom management and student behavior. The articles I reviewed provided an array of perspectives on the matter and allowed me to notice trends in the literature; however, there was no particular researcher responsible. While Lorrie Hoffman is able to provide me with a first-hand explanation and understanding of the program, it’s effectiveness has yet to be proven by anyone else. This, I have found, is a very significant factor for the implementation of my action research plan because what the data shows in my study could potentially lead to a longitudinal study or a further investigation of the program’s effectiveness.
As for methodology, I have been able to determine the basics of how my plan will be implemented. The participants will be the 13 students in my classroom. Of the 13 students, one student has been previously diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. In addition, there are 5 other students who have been recognized as having other learning disabilities or challenges; although none of which have proven to be significantly, cognitively debilitating.
My action research plan will be both quantitative and qualitative and will utilize recorded observations as its main source of data collection. I will look for the quality of interactions between students and teachers (positive v. negative), as well as whether or not students were independently able to solve problems or resolve conflict with their peers. In addition, I will also make note of the number of occurrences certain behaviors happen, such as negative and positive interactions, and whether or not these occurrences are decreasing or increasing over time as the program is being implemented. Furthermore, I will also look at statistical differences between students with special needs and students without.
1st Grade Hallway- Ms. Aprell Adams
As I add more details to my methodology section my overall action research is starting to become clearer to me. I have a stronger view of my problem statement and how I will approach it in order to get the concrete results I’m hoping for. Having a sufficient amount of data is something I am conscious of as I determine the methods I will use to collect and analyze the data. I’m finding that I may have to refine my research questions to ensure my results answer my problem statement. I’m currently brainstorming the details that will make up the different instruments I will be using such as surveys and assessments. Once I compile this information I will be able to move on with my data collection and analysis. I am looking foward to finalizing my metholdogy and moving on to the next step of my research.
3rd Grade Hallway- Ms. Stacey Seiler
This week I was able to really solidify the methods I will use in collecting data for my action research. My action research approach is quantitative. The research is a quasi-experimental one-group pretest and post-test design. The selected group (my current math students) will be pre-tested on their understanding of mathematical skills and fluency by completing a paper and pencil assessment. The assessment aligns with the Baltimore County Curriculum, which cooperates with the Common Core State Standards. They will also complete a survey assessing their perception of their own understanding in mathematics, and attitudes toward mathematics class.
The treatment, or independent variable, is the implementation of the collaborative small group centers, and the small group instruction. The dependent variables will the students' achievement, and attitudes toward mathematics class. The treatment's impact will be assessed by a post-test that will be similar to the pretest, but using different wording and numbers, to ensure that students do not remember the pretest. The same attitude and perception survey will be administered before and after the treatment.
I am happy that what once felt like a somewhat confusing project to explain, is become much clearer!
4th Grade Hallway- Mrs. Jamie Lambrinos
As I begin to think of the methodology for my action research project. Up to this point, I have decided to utilize ex post facto group comparison since the mathematics classes were previously created by the fourth grade teachers in November 2014. The mathematics classes were created to homogeneously group the students based on their academic abilities. Classroom A will serve as the experimental group who will be receiving the treatment of utilizing an interactive notebook during class instruction. Classroom B will represent the control group in the action research who will utilize the traditional three ring binder during mathematics instruction. As the week progresses I will continue to refine my methodology and take a closer look at the way in which I will conduct my methodology. Till next time…
5th Grade Hallway-Mrs. Rebecca Young
As another week comes and goes I find myself making more changes, and hopefully improvements to my action research project. The first change I made was combining two of my research questions into one. My revised research question is now, “How does integrating nutrition education into a fifth grade fractions mathematics unit, through the use of MyPlate and Let’s Move! affect students attitudes towards healthy foods?” My revision of Step 1 came as I became more familiar with Step 3, designing the methodology. My original research question one and three could both be accomplished through pre and post surveys so it seemed easier to me to combine questions and tighten things up.
As of this week my methodology for my research will utilize two types of quantitative data. In order to address my first research question I will utilize the Nonequivalent Control Group. The entire class will be given a survey about their attitudes towards healthy foods prior to the treatment. Two groups will be formed. One group will be a control, not receiving the treatment of nutrition integration lessons during the fractions mathematics unit. These students will utilize tools like fraction bars and non-food related word problems. The treatment will be administered to half of the students via lesson plans from Let's Move! and online resources from MyPlate. Students will utilize tools like measuring cups and food related word problems. At the end of the treatment, a posttest in the form of a survey will be given to gage students’ attitudes towards healthy foods. In this design it resembles Glanz's (2003) M ---> T1 ---> M and M ---> T2 ---> M. In order to collect data on my second research question involving student's attention during small group, an observation data sheet will be used to make tallies when students exhibit off task behaviors. This data will be compared with the number of students participating in NSLP.
I have also really enjoyed becoming more and more familiar with the copious amounts of resources that the MyPlate and Let’s Move! websites have to offer. Any teacher could access the curriculum that Let’s Move! has put together and implement the entire lesson plan or bits and pieces to incorporate nutrition education in reading, language arts, science, and math.
http://www.letsmove.gov/schools
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