Action Research Proposal by a former Fairmont State Student

1. The problem he is addressing is rhyme and word recognition.
2. The rational of the project was to have students learn to recognize rhyme and word families as a critical literacy skill and help them as beginning readers.
3. Simulation and Games
4. "How can I use a varity of rhyming games to help my students recognize rhyme and word families in text?"
5. The teacher backed this stragety with research from Integrated Strategies Approach: Making Word Identification Instruciton Work for Beginning Readers.
6. The teacher will copare pre and post-test results to document the overall impact of this project. The teacher will also use a checklist while observing the small group and reading center rhyme games.   

Action Research Project

1. Looking into the Mirror
2. Why self-reflection and portfolios?
3. Setting objectives
4. In the begining the teacher has a section on research summary. In the summary it talks about students begining to internalize instructional goals and standard and to apply them in future efforts.   
5. See what students scored at or above grade level in reflection.
6. The teacher saw what percentage of the student score at, above or below grade level.
7. There was a 73% rise in students who scored at or above grade level after the intervention and the was a 51% decrease in students who scored below grade level in reflection after intervention.
8. The stragety that this teacher implemented showed that it was very productive. It was a great way to prepare the students to present portfolios and presentations in their future. It also helps the teacher see what the students need to improve on by having them find their own misakes and realize what their specific goals are for that project. 

Struggling student

From what I have observed about this struggling student I can see that no matter what activity is done is class the student shows very little desire in wanting to finish the activity. My host teacher offers the option to the student everyday either the student comes to the class and puts forth an effort of do the assignment or the student goes to the principals office. By doing this the decision is left up to the student as to whether he or she is willing to accomplish the task at hand for that day.

Verbatim Questions

1. What do you know from reading the question?
2. What do you think your first step should be to answering this question?
3. How did you get that answer?

Reactions:
1. The students told me the numbers the were important to that problem. This helped them to elimate the number that did not pertain to that particlular problem.
2. Many of the students first step was to set up the equation after reading the problem.
3. As the students showed me how they got that specific answer they would catch their own mistake or show a strong understanding of that specific problem.

Double Entry Journal #17

Here is a link to my Venn Diagram in google docs.

Student Interest Survery

Here a link to Wordle.

Double Entry Journal #15

1. Give an example of an authentic form of assessment the students engaged in a PBL performed well on?

• Students engaged in a PBL performed well on the IOWA test of basic skills as well as national exams.

2. How does project based learning promote intrinsic motivation?

• Project based learning uses the element of choice to allow the students to strike their own interest in the topic. By allowing the students to make their own decisions throughout the project it allows them to discover things they want to know and are interested in.

3. What do students who experience a PBL do better than students who receive traditional direct instruction?

• Students develop twenty-first century skills such as teamwork skills, use of different technologies, and solving real world problems. The skills they experience extremely critical to success to any job the students will have in the future.

4. How does PBL align with John Dewey's philosophy of education?

• A PBL fits into John Dewey's philosophy of education because he believed you learned by doing. IN PBL students take a real world problem and then propose ways how to solve it. A PBL is a great way to improve a students problem solving skills and have them "learn by doing".

5. Why do our assessment practices need to change if we are going to prepare students for the 21st century?

• Our assessment practices test a students current knowledge on a specific topic. Rather than preparing the student for how they will be assessed in a work environment. A PBL helps the student see the connection from what they are learning to real world situation. This prepares them for possible problems they could encounter during their future jobs.

Double Entry Journal #14

What are some challenges to inquiry approaches to learning?
Some challenges a teacher may face when it comes to implementing inquiry-based learning are not having the skills and knowledge about this approach. Teacher will fail to provide proper scaffolding and redirection as the students are working on their projects. Another challenge for teachers would be all the planning involved with inquiry- based projects and trying to find ways to improve collaboration between the students.

What are some benefits to group work? 

• group work improve social and behavioral skills
• improves time on task
• improves relationships between classmates

Group work Strategy
Presenting as a Group
Here is a link to a website that I found that gave many advantages to group work.

Double Entry Journal #13

1. What "dominant paradigm" is showing signs of wear?
The belief that the teacher and the texbook are the main source of knowledge and the student learns through lectures and readings.

2. According to the research, how does Project-Based Learning support student learning better than traditional approaches? Describe three benefits and cite the studies.

• students benefit from gains in factual learning that are equivalent or superior to those of studnets hwo engage in traditiona forms of instruction (Thomas, 2000).
• students engaged in project-based learning demonstrated a significant increase in scored on a critical-thinking test, as well as increased confidence in their learning (Sheperd 1998).
• students had developed a useful kind of mathematical knowledge that engaged them in "exploration and thought" (Boaler, 1997, p. 63)

3.  According to the research, how does Problem-Based Learning support student learning better than traditional approaches? Describe three benefits and cite the studies.

• students identify what they need to learn in order to solve a problem, and generate strategies for solution (Barrows, 1996;Hmelo-Silver, 2004).
•  medical students who are enrolled in problem-based learning score highter on clinical probem-solving measures and on actual ratings of clinical performance (Vernon & Blake, 1993; Albanese & Mitchel, 1993)
• students develop knowledge to guide decisionmaking(Lundeber, Levin & Harrington, 1999; Savery & Duffy, 1996; Williams, 1993)

4.  According to the research, how does Learning by Design support student learning better than traditional approaches? Describe three benefits and cite the studies.

• ideal for developing technical and subject matter knowledge (Newstetter, 2000).
• help students develop understanding of complex systems (Perkins, 1986).
• better learning outcomes than the traditional approach to instruction. (Kolodner, 2000).

5. What are the differences between the three approaches?

Project-Based learning the students learn through completing complex tasks that usually result in a realistic product.

Problem-Based Learning the students are given a problem and have to use reasoning and thier resources to solve the problem.

Learning by Design the students learn through designing and creating an application of their knowledge.

 

6. In your opinion, what is the most important benefit to learning that is common across the three types of inquiry-based learning approaches?

In my opinion the most important benefit to learning that is common across these three approaches is the fact that the student are limited to one right way to do things and they learn by doing not by reciting what the teacher did previously in the lesson.

Double Entry Journal #12

3 things I learned:

• The basic purpose of school is achieved through communication.
• Teachers much be aware of language patterns in their classroom. This allows the teacher to improve their relationship with their students.
• that it is important for a student to know their knowledge is as valuable as the knowledge the teacher possesses.

2 things I found interesting:

• Language is used to initiate, monitor, adjust and evaluate cognitive processes
• When the article talked about language reflects personal identity.

Question:

• What are some good strageties to learn the language patterns of your classroom other than kidwatching?

How asking essential questions can improve learning in schools.
By teachers asking essential questions it promts the student to make connections with that topic to a real-world problem. Also it allows the teachers to ensure the students are staying engaged and on the course intended by the teacher.

Double Entry Journal #11

RLA.O.K.3.2.   recognize a variety of visual media and its intended purpose.
RLA.O.4.1.13   judge the reliability or logic of informational texts.
SC.O.4.1.7       use scientific instruments, technology and everyday materials to investigate the natural world.

Concrete examples of a exemplary PBL:
The problem or question has meaning to the students.
She did a great job of finding a problem/questions that would interest the students. She noticed that her students were very interested in top 10 books that were in her classroom. She designed this PBL the strike the students and have them learn the difference between opinion and fact.

Students develop new habits of mind.
As the students were creating the top 10 wiki they were learning the perspectives of other people. Such that maybe one classmate thinks great white sharks are the most dangerous with another thinks an octopus is the most dangerous.

Students formally use self management skills to improve their teams performance.
Throughout this project students were adding their own part to the wiki. As the students where doing this project they has to finish certain task so their classmates could add to that part of the wiki. The students worked together to create a criteria to classify a dangerous animal.

Technology Survey

How many computers are in the classroom? 4 which doesn't include the laptops that are always in the classroom.

Do they have Internet access? Yes

Can you access Google tools?Yes actually all of the students are using Google tools to do their PBL.

Do you have access to a laptop cart? Can they get on the Internet? Yes there is a laptop cart in the classroom which have 11 laptops, with all of them being capable to get on the Internet.

Is there a computer lab? Do the computers have Internet access? Can you access Google tools? How do you

reserve it? Yes, just sign a sheet a couple of weeks in advance.

How many of your students have computers with Internet access at home? Of the 2 classes I observe, out of 47 students 38 of them have Internet access at home.  

Are there locations in the community where students can access the computers and the Internet? Yes the libraries in Fairmont have computers and Internet.

Double Entry Journal #10

Kidwatching is very important to a teacher because it can show the teacher how their students learn. A teacher can use this see how a student interacts with another students and see the different ways the students learn. As a teacher is kidwatching he or she is seeing the similarities and differences within the culture of that class. This also allows the teacher to see the different things their students inherit from their cultures.

Double Entry Journal #9

It is important for students to use primary language during literacy events in order for them to express their thoughts and ideas without having to worry about being "corrected". This definitely applies to children with Appalachian dialects, if a student is understanding the subject being taught they need to feel they can answer the questions with the confidence they are correct and not worry if they are using "proper English". 

Some of the differences between student centered perspective and teacher centered perspective include:
Students centered perspective:

• more student-student interaction
• create their own questions
• make their own connections

Teacher centered perspective:

• more teacher-student interaction
• teacher posed questions
• more structured environment

Here is a link to an article about Appalachian literature incorporated in an American Literature class.

Double Entry Journal #8

One reason it is a mistake to group all English as a Second Language Learners together is these students could be form completely different places on the world. These students would be given the same instructions without out taking their previous experiences into consideration. Another reason would be some of the students may have never heard of English before while others in their group have at least been exposed to English. One more reason it is a mistake would be that some of the student's primary language could be Latin based. If the students primary language is Latin based then they are more likely to adapt to English while other students in their group struggle.   

A virtual backpack is something a student brings to class everyday. In the "backpack" is what the students has learned from personal interactions outside of the classroom. Such as knowledges, skills, morals and values. This relates to Funds of Knowledge because it shows that students learn numerous things outside of class. Not only do they gain knowledge and skills from personal interaction but also are shaped into the person they become.  

Reflection on Digital Story

The digital story is a great way for me to learn about the multiple learning styles my students may have. The term cultural deficit refers to the negative thoughts and beliefs of a person abilities and skills due to where they are from (Irizarry, 2011). Addressing multiple learning styles overcomes the idea of having a cultural deficit. Rather than looking at my students as having a deficit I need to realize they have a different way grasping a specific topic.

By having the students create their own digital story with little limitations, it allows them to express themselves and their culture. As mentioned in the article Tall Tales of Appalachia smart,   thought they didn't belong in college because they were hillbillies solely due to where they were from (O’Brien, 2003). If students have a strong sense of cultural pride they will never have this feeling. If students have cultural pride this can be viewed as a cultural capital due to the students using the resources that are accessible to them and knowing their strengths.

While a student creates their digital story, they open themselves up to building a community within the classroom. As the students watch others digital story’s they begin to see the similarities they have with each other. By the students feeling a sense of community they will be able to receive a richer education (Moll). Not only will the students feel like they have a better understanding of their peers but they will also feel a connection with them. With this connection they will feel more comfortable to ask for help from each other and help each other. I view this sense of community as a cultural capital due to the fact that a students feel they have a support system because of their relationship with each other.  

Final Draft of Digital Story

Double Entry Journal #6

One experience I have had with a culturally responsive activity at Fairmont State was in my RA training. We have a speaker come in to talk to the RA staff about diversity. She gave us a small piece of paper and a few different colored markers. She then told us to write down things that describe who we are. Every one's paper looked different, there were some things that people had in common but no one's papers look identical. I realized this was an exercise to have us express ourselves by writing words that described us and decorated the papers in our own unique way. I thought this was a great activity and it helped me to realize the diversity within our staff.

Resources:
I found a great document about a culturally responsive teaching project done in Kanawha County WV.
Culturally Responsive

Photo Story

Double Entry Journal #5

1. After reading the article one thing I learned that as a writer grows they need to talk about what they are writing to their colleagues. I also learned it is not necessary to wipe out the a student's family's use of words. Another thing learned was to teach writing excellence means adding language not subtracting it.

2. One fact I found interesting was to move students to more flexibility when they not not totally change the way they write. Another fact I found very interesting was when the article said the goal is to make more relationships available. I find this to be a great point and not telling students to do away with their dialect but learn more about language to make more relationships.

3. How can I help students to understand they need to expand on their language to improve their writing and never lose their local dialect?

Resource:
Here is a link to the NCTE Beliefs about Teaching of Writing article.

Related Resource:
This website has many different approaches to teaching writing.

Poem: Where I'm From

I am from the foothill of third hill mountain and lick run, from Nadine’s hot French bread and homemade butter from Belle our Guernsey cow.

I am from a family built log home with a metal roof that lulled me to sleep with a gentle patter of the falling rain.

I am from the thick of the forest where wild berries abound and my homemade bridge over a creek where I spent much of my youth.

I am from Feuillet’s and Lees, the French and the Indians, from hearty and independent, loving and free, encouraging and mindful.              

I am from parents who broke the mold and held on to the trail less traveled, who stood by their word and read aloud at the schools and paid it forward.

From moonlight trail rides and hayloft gatherings strewn with Christmas lights.

Raised to give thanks to ALL living things and that God is everywhere. Worshiping in the glorious outdoors with the sky as my chapel and the golden rule at my core.

A ridge runner as my uncle would say with a strong pull to the Bordeaux regions of central France and an edge of the river of the Iroquois nation and a touch of the bagpipes from over the pond.

With a likeness to my Pop from his high school picture but a deep vein of passion for horses that rides back to my ancestors.

Now with the pot stirred what bubbles to the top… the flight of my arrow… the site of my shot…with strong ties to loved ones of blood and of choice.. and no fear of ever using my voice.

Double Entry #4

Quote:
Various families with rural backgrounds knew a great deal about the cultivation of plants, animals, ranch management, mechanics, carpentry, masonry, electrical wiring, and medical folk remedies. (Moll 11)

Reaction:

 While reading the article I came across this sentence and it really hit home. I find it very interesting that Moll looked at the positive sides the these peoples lives. I was raised on a small farm and my father is capable and has experience with all of the task in the quote above. It always amazed me how talented my father was at fixing things. I now realize that he had to master these trades keep the farm going and save money. Families with rural backgrounds might not have the education that urban families do but that does not represent their ability to learn. Moll proves this in his home investigations of many different families. 

Related Resource:

This website is a great example of how people are trying to conserve the trades that cannot be done by machines. Here is the link A Place for Trades

Resource:

Moll, L. "Funds of Knowledge." Look at Luis Moll's Research Into Hidden Family Resources 11. Web. 2 Sep 2011.

   

Double Entry #3

Double Entry Journal #2

Quote:

"But I also know whether we interpret differences among children -- or adults -- as deficit or difference depends primarily on our preconceptions, attitudes toward, and stereotypes we hold toward the individual children's communities and cultures."   (Purcell-Gates 2002)

Reaction:

When I read this part in this article it really made me think about how you can judge someone just from your first impression of them. I will admit there have been people I have met and I automatically thought they were not intelligent because of the way they talked. Now looking back at this I realize it was wrong and I should judge someone because of the way they talk. I should listen to more of what they are saying not how they say it. Its just like the old saying "don't judge a book by its cover." Not only should I listen to what that person is saying but I should also take into account the differences between us. As Gates talks about throughout the article, when children start school and they have been read to and been around people that write everyday they are going to pick up on these qualities much faster than someone who doesn't see that in their day to day lives. I feel that when we are talking about students, as teachers we need to try to give everyone a fair chance to succeed and that means we need to take into account the children that have never been exposed simple things such as reading and writing.

    

Related Resources:
This website talks about many different ways to promote literacy in young children. It talks about being including your children when your reading something to expose them to it. Here is a link to the website


References:

Purcell-Gates, V. (2002). "..as soon as she opens her mouth!". In the Skin that We Speak, Retrieved from https://online.fairmontstate.edu/webct/urw/lc15057011.tp0/cobaltMainFrame.dowebct

Double Entry Journal #1

Quote:
"College professors began to use them as textbooks in sociology classes."(O'Brien, 2003).

Reaction:
After reading this article and seeing the college professors were using stories that viewed as journalistic accounts and used them as textbooks. I find this to be very offensive and completely inappropriate. It truly amazes me how college professors would take exaggerated stories written about "backward people" and use them in their textbooks. When these stories were written about the people from Appalachia the authors made these people look like "violent moutain folk" just because of where they lived. The people of Appalachia were manipulated due to the valuable resources on their land. These people were pushed off of thier land and forced to give up what they had worked hard for.

Related Resources:
I found this article talks about CBS wanting to cast a "Real Beverly Hillbillies" reality show but was not aired due to various advocacy groups. (Keeling , 2007 ) This article also givies good information about the many different sterotypes that come with living in West Virginia.
Here is my link to my resource.


 References:

Keeling , J. (2007 , December 4). West virginia stereotypes: don't believe the hype. Retrieved from http://www.abetterwestvirginia.com/2007/12/04/west-virginia-stereotypes-dont-believe-the-hype/

O'Brien, J. (2003, May 5). Tall tales of appalachia . Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/10/opinion/tall-tales-of-appalachia.html

Parking lot webquest

Here is the start to my parking lot webquest

Start to PBL parking lot project

Here is my start to the parking lot project

The Six C's

In many video games producers make it possible for the gamer to make many different choices while playing. The producer does this to increase the interest of the gamer which is also known as intrinsic motivation. This happens because they get to take different steps during the game.

A game producer can push a game player by increasing the level of difficulty as the games progresses. By challenging the players abilities it forces the player to work harder and improve their learning process because of the challenge at hand.

A good game must also give the player the ability to control his or her decisions. If the game totally controls everything the player does then the player will lose interest and not learn from the game. By involving the player in the decision making it increases their level of interest in the game.

A game the incorporates collaboration allows the players to share perspectives and ideas. Many times in games the players work as a group to achieve a common goal. This not only improves teamwork but also social interaction.

When game starts a player knows the task at hand. The player constructs meaning as they play the game in order to tackle the task at hand. The more meaningful this task is to the player, the more the player is motivated to win the game.

By reaching the goal in a game, the reward motives the player to do well. In many circumstances a player will try and try until the receive the greatest reword. This creates a positive feeling about success and motives the player to win.  

Can video games teach us something?

1. What do good games and highly motivating workplaces have in common?

2. What is the difference between learning in schools and learning in good games intrigued you the most?

3. Should learning in school be like learning in good games? Why or Why not?

1. Most people who play video games are highly motivated to beat a certain level or beat the game, this can relate to a positive workplace where the employees strive complete the job. People look for advancement in both video games and the workplace when given the opportunity.

2. I believe that one of the major differences between learning in school and learning in good games is that the person playing the game is learning and retaining information that they don't even realize. When someone is playing good games the game is having them reiterate the information so they start to memorize it without consciously knowing. For example when someone is playing a game sometimes they will have to beat a new enemy in which they will have to learn new tactics to win.

3. Learning in school should be like learning in good games to a certain point. For example, in the article we read the author talks about the games being challenging but do-able and this drives the gamer to put extra effort into completing the task at hand. The author also talks about games allowing player to be producers and pushing the gamer to create their own game world which not only keeps their attention but also allows them to have an active role.

Behaviorism

I remember in my second grade class my teacher had a card system. The system had a green card, a yellow card and a red card. If the teacher told me to pull my card that means I had to pull my green card and put it behind my red card so that my yellow card was showing. The yellow card was the teacher giving me a warning, meaning that if i had to pull my card again that day then i would have to sit out of recess. I always remember being so upset when my teacher told me to pull my card. Looking back at this now I realize that this is an example of negative punishment because my teacher is taking something away because of my bad behavior. I have also realized that this was a very successful strategy to keep the class in order, especially me.

Metacognition

    Metacognition is essential for good learning because it helps a student to take the best approach to help the student learn the material and retain the information. By using metacognitive strategies such as self-planning and self-monitoring a student can become aware of the different ways that help them succeed. If a teacher provides examples of metacognitive strategies to the students, the students could be more apt to using metacognitive thinking. As the students use metacognition they will not only improve their success in the classroom but also improve their learning capabilities. 

Here is a video of metacognition in mathematics Video.