Tracy Varalli

This is April. I’m posting this for Tracy, because she is having difficulty with her computer/blog.

ACTION RESEARCH PLAN

1. Write an area-of-focus statement.

The purpose of this study is to…
Ø The purpose of this study is to describe how the implementation of
technology in the classroom motivates students to learn

2. Explain its connection to reform-based science education.

This study attempts to addresses the following central aspects of reform- based science education:
Ø Getting the students actively engaged in an authentic scientific
investigation
Ø Getting the students engaged in scientific dialogue
Ø The students will be using technology that is put into use in real-
life science investigations
Ø Through the use of using technology that is used in real-life
science investigations, the students can begin to see themselves in the role of a scientist
Ø The students are engaged in student-based learning, as they will
use the sensors in various ways to conduct the experiments that they design

3. Define your variables.

Variable Definition The way I’ll know it when I see it:

4. Develop research questions.

Ø How have the sensors played a role in the motivation of students
(teacher survey)?
Ø How have the sensors played a role in the motivation of wanting to
engage in the activity (student survey)?
Ø What has technology afforded these students that other
methodologies couldn’t?

5. Describe the intervention or innovations.

Ø I will teach a lesson using old-fashioned methods of analyzing pH
and conductivity, and then have the students use new methods of
technologies and compare the two methodologies, as well as collect data in
the form of a student evaluation
Ø I will use a variety of methods that I talked about the
triangulations portion of this transcript (even though it is not a formal
part of the action research plan)

6. Describe the membership of the action research group.

I will be working with… in these ways…
Ø I will be working with my mentor, the head of the science
department, administration
Ø These people are important because my mentor and the head of the
science department are knowledgeable of the “mentality” and background of
the students, both from an educational and a social point of view

7. Describe negotiations that need to be undertaken.

Permissions needed from administrators? Parents? Students? Colleagues?
Ø Administration and the department head will be notified of intent
to conduct such an investigation. Authorization will be given in order to
proceed with this investigation

8. Develop a timeline.
Phase 1: (October - November); Identify area of focus, review related
literature, develop research questions, and reconnaissance.

Phase 2: (November – January); Collect initial data, which incorporates
the initial surveys / interviews with children mentors and
administration

Phase 3: (January – February); I don’t get…why would I modify my
curriculum?
Do you mean overall curriculum in order to incorporate more technology,
or modify my curriculum if problems arise involving the use of technology?
This is where I planned to implement the use of technology in the
classroom and generate the data…am I wrong?

Phase 4: (March – April); Complete data analysis of the data generated and
Collected. Prepare to present before the class, administration and
perhaps
the Board of Education

(Note: The main effort should be implemented in February, 2008).

9. Develop a statement of resources.

Not sure anymore
_____________________ _____________________
_____________________ _____________________
_____________________ _____________________
_____________________ _____________________
_____________________ _____________________
_____________________ _____________________

10. Develop data collection ideas.
(If you have drafts of surveys, interview protocols, etc., please attach
them.)
haven’t gotten this far yet, but will work on it.

11. Describe your intentions or hopes for publication.

Any thoughts (comments, concerns, enthusiastic outbursts) you would like
to share? Any questions you are struggling with?

K…I think April might have tried to help me upload what I couldn’t.
Here is revised, though not much…….sorry, I am unable to think and analyze….funny, a couple of the things that I do best.

Night all…make sure you let the ones you love that you do……..

The Action Research Plan

1. Area of focus
Ø The purpose of this study is to describe how the implementation of technology in the classroom motivates students to learn

2. Define the variables
Ø ?
Ø ?

Triangulation
Ø Prior knowledge will be accessed in an activating strategy (What’s In Your Head?)
Ø Students will be given a 3:2:1 ticket to leave
Ø The same format will be used for the technology instruction of same lesson
Ø Student surveys will be given in order to access the student response of how the lesson motivated the student to learn the concept
Ø Student evaluations and rubrics will be given in order to validate the students’ perspective of how technology motivated the student to learn
Ø Parental and teacher survey will be used to formulate and conceptualize the importance of technology in the students’ learning
Ø Interviews of adults asked to come into the classroom to observe the impact (admin, adult volunteers colleagues in the district for more than 5 years, etc.)
Ø Journal entries
Ø Interviews with teachers who use the SmartBoard on a regular basis
Ø Rubric analysis?
Ø Perhaps video monitoring?

3. Research questions
Ø How has technology played a role in the education of students (teacher)?
Ø How has technology played a role in the education of you (student)?
Ø How has technology played a role in the education of the person you are responsible for (guardian)?
Ø What forum for learning has technology provided you with the opportunity to demonstrate your knowledge?
Ø What are the benefits of using technology in the classroom?
Ø The challenges?
Ø How can the incorporation of technology in the classroom be integrated into other aspects of life?
Ø Why is it inconsequential?
Ø Does the use of technology in the classroom motivate students to learn (teacher, student parent?)
Ø What has technology afforded these students that other methodologies couldn’t

4. The intervention
Ø I will teach the lesson using the old-fashioned chalkboard method
Ø I will then re-teach the lesson a few days later via the in-focus or the smart board, and then evaluate the students on the impact of that lesson learned (Internet simulations or animations will be incorporated into the lesson, which are not accessible via chalk / chalkboard
Ø I will teach a lesson using old-fashioned methods of analyzing pH and conductivity, and then have the students use new methods of technologies and compare the two methodologies, as well as collect data in the form of a student evaluation
Ø I will use a variety of methods that I talked about the triangulations portion of this transcript (even though it is not a formal part of the action research plan)

5. The membership
Ø I will be working with my mentor, the head of the science department, administration, parents with whom I have already established a with and several other action-research students in the pursuit of this question. These people are important because my mentor and the head of the science department are knowledgeable of the “mentality” and background of the students, both from an educational and a social point of view
Ø This team will provide me with valuable information, as we are a unified team actively engaging in action research. Many of these members are integral in the implementation of reform-based education.

6. Negotiations
Ø Administration and the department head will be notified of intent to conduct such an investigation. Authorization will be given in order to proceed with this investigation

7. Timeline
Ø ?

8. Statement of resources
Ø Chalk and chalkboard
Ø pH paper
Ø Pen & paper
Ø In-focus
Ø Internet capabilities
Ø Sensor probes

I have changed my research idea, and this is what I have so far. I need time to clear my head before I can entry in my question marks, but any ideas that you may have would help me immensely right now.

The Action Research Plan
1. Area of focus
The purpose of this study is to determine how technology increases the motivation of students to learn.

2. Define the variables
?  ?

3. Research questions
How has technology played a role in the education of students
What has technology afforded these students that other methodologies couldn’t
What are the benefits How can the incorporation of technology in the classroom be integrated into other aspects of life
Does the use of technology in the classroom motivate students to learn of incorporating technology in the classroom
What has technology afforded these students that other methodologies couldn’t

4. The intervention
I will teach a lesson via a chalk-board, and then evaluate the students on the impact of the lesson learned

I will then re-teach the lesson a few days later via the in-focus or the smart board, and then evaluate the students on the impact of that lesson learned (Internet simulations or animations will be incorporated into the lesson)

I will teach a lesson using old-fashioned methods of analyzing pH and conductivity, and then have the students use new methods of technologies and compare the two methodologies, as well as collect data in the form of a student evaluation

5. The membership
I will be working with my mentor, the head of the science department and several other action-research students in the pursuit of this question. These people are important because my mentor and the head of the science department are knowledgeable of the “mentality” and background of the students, both from an educational and a social point of view

This team will provide me with valuable information as we are a unified team working on investigating action research, and some of the members of this team are seasoned veterans in search of not only providing new members of the teaching community with invaluable suggestions that are based on past teaching experience, but also have a vested interest in implementing a reform-based change in eduacation

6. Negotiations
Administration and the department head will be notified of intent to conduct such an investigation. Further approval for the investigation will be collected as the guidelines for the school district demand.

7. Timeline
 ?

8. Statement of resources
Chalk and chalkboard
pH paper
Pen & paper
In-focus
Internet capabilities
Sensor probes

9. Data collection ideas
Student evaluations
Teacher evaluations
Colleague evaluations
Teacher evaluations

I too have been wrestling with how to approach this project…the more I think, the more questions I have, the more I want to do, the more I think…kind of like Vince. I think I have decided on my question…
Does peer-reviewing affect the quality of my student’s work…I really don’t like the way this question is worded, so I would appreciate any feedback that you can give out there. As I have stated several times before, I have VERY un-motivated students. They are convinced that they are stupid, and have made comments or eluded to this “fact”. I tell them that they are not stupid, but I think it goes in one ear and out the other. Anyway, we did a project (tried to create the rubric together) and then each student analyzed each other’s project based on the rubric. They self-assessed, I assessed and then provided them with the class score just as a basis for how the class felt about their projects. I kept the rubrics from the class, but forgot to copy the rubrics that were the grades for the students. As the students will be used to how I already “experimented” with this, I am going to continue with this approach. I am also going to keep the class scores and a copy of the self-assess grades and see if any progress or improvements are made in their projects. I was also planning on having the students-evaluations to analyze the data.
For me, I want to find a way to help my students begin to care about what they do. I want them to feel like what they do matters. Since I do not know how to “make” this happen, I am thinking that if they know that their peers are going to evaluate them, will this make them work harder on their projects.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Talk to you soon.

Sorry I’ve missed class for the last couple of weeks. I miss the great insight and feedback.
So, questions I have been asked.

Why did I think my textbook activity was a success? Because as I went around the room, I was watching the students begin to understand what an ionization energy was. They were also actually reading parts of the book instead of the instant gratification thing that kids do so that they get the assignment completed. I also considered it a success that they retained some of what they learned the day before. For being a new concept that they had never heard before, they remembered what they had learned the day before.

What I meant by things coming to fruition is that we learn that a very powerful way to teach concepts is to let the students explore concepts on their own, and then follow through with a lesson, instead of vice-versa. Since I considered my textbook activity a success based on my observations that day, and their retention of information the following day, that is what I meant. I got to observe in my classroom what I learn in class that makes for effective science teaching (if that makes sense).

As for my retest “experiment”, as I walked around the room, the students were debating about where to put the oxidation state #’s, when to grab cross and drop when to use parenthesis, why the ionic of a certain atom would become smaller, what happens to the non-metal when atoms combine, etc. It really was great to listen to, and the head of the science department commented on the conversations she was hearing, and that is why she stopped by so many times.

So, very intersting. I gave my students a unit test this week (much to their dismay). I was not pleased with the outcomes of the grades. I am not going to go into detail unless someone requests why I was not happy with their grades, but I will mention that only 3 students failed the test.

So, the experiment was that I created a new, more thinking test, for the students to take. I divided the students into groups based on abilities; that is, I put strong students with weak students, and placed the rest of the students into groups in which I felt comfortable that no group had any sort of advantage. I also told the students that if they did not participate, then their original score would be the one that was used. Highest score between the two would be the one used. I also told them that they could use me for a helpful hint, but to use it wisely.
Interestingly, no one used me for a helpful hint. I also told them that based on the hint they needed, 2 or more questions could be answered fromt the hint.
Anyway, it was a great “experiment”, and I think that I am going to use this method of “est corrections” from now on. Not only did it “force” my students who need the help to get the help, but it got them thinking, talking and engaging in science. What more could a teacher want? Most of my students’ scores improved by a percentage that I am comfortable with, a few stayed the same and only 2 scores would have been lower if I had allowed that to happen. I think a lot of learning went on that day, and the head of the science department stopped in 3 times that period to listen to the students debate and discuss science…might not work for all, but worked for me.

Well, I collected the first part of my data for my research. One thing found interesting is that most of the students’ self-evaluations (I am not through with them yet), are very close to my evaluation. Also, I averaged the scores that were given by the other students, and for the most part, they are very similar to the scores that I have given the students. What was a little disappointing is that I have a group of boys (class clowns) who worked very hard on this project, my evaluation was within 0.5 points of their evaluation, and the overall class score was 20% points lower. My first thought was that it was because a lot of the students don’t like them. When I discussed this with a lady who volunteers her services here, she came to the conclusion even though I did not mention this to her until she made the comment. Another thought that I had was that several times over the past two days she commented on how “hard” these boys were grading teh other students, (maybe this caused them to be overly critical with their peers?) I am not sure, but it was quite the shocker to see how critically they graded that set of students worked compared to other students.

This was a learning experience for me because I did not allow for group participation as a part of the grade. One of my students did very little work on the project while the other two students did most of the work. Then the day that the project was due, she decided to give blood during my class time instead of coming to class to participate in the games. She also let her partners down as she did not give them the game board so that their project could be critiqued by the rest of the students. When they saw the “quality” of the work that she had put into it, they were very disappointed. I told them that I warned everyone at the beginning of the project to be careful who you choose as your partner. Anyway, I think that the students really liked this project once they began to put it all together. There was a lot of apprehension at first, but it seemed to dwindle down as last week progressed.
I’ll post soon.
Tracy

Hey,
Been dying to post, but was busy writing a grant. This past week, I tried something new with my students. I had them use the text book to answer questions about a topic that I NEVER even mentioned. I decided not to talk about ionization energies because it is not a part of my curriculum, but upon further comsideration, I decided that although I would not hold the students responsible for ionization energies, they should at least have a sense of what it is. We did a textbook exercise, (the purpose of this was twofold; one, to get them familiar with reading science textbooks, and two, to have them get a sense of a topic before I introduced the concept) I was a little nervous trying this because I did not want to frustrate my students; they are easily frustrated.

As I expected, they were frustrated, but not nearly as much as I had anticipated. All of us worked through it together, individually and as groups. Tension was high, but as we worked through the information that they knew, and tried to apply it to a new concept, the anticipation / frustration / tension level began to decrease.

The next day, I used my whiteboards to gain more insight into what they had learned and remembered from the day before. I was VERY impressed with their responses on the whiteboards. Although most did not truly understand what an “ionization energy” was, they did remember that the elements in Group I had the “lowest” ionization energies. They did remember that Group I would rather “give up” an electron than to gain 7 electrons. They did remember that the 2nd ionization energy was greater than the 1st. And they did remember that although an element wouldn’t “mind” giving up 1 electron, it starts to get “fussy” if it has to give up more than 1 electron. I was so excited for them that they learned and remembered all of this without the background information to answer the questions. Also, they began to work as a “community” to get and understand the answers. Plus, I believe that the next day when I officially taught and discussed the concept, they had a better understanding of the concept than if I just gave them the notes. It was a very rewarding experience for me, and I hope for them. I can’t wait to try this again. Finally, what I have been taught coming to fruition

Hi All,
I am very excited because my “baby” that I am working on at school is coming together from avenues that started as entities of their own, as mine did, and united as entities with common themes and goals. We have now united BOCES, Youth to Youth, D.A.R.E and the environmental club to come together for several different common causes that can unite as one. Through the scuttlebut of what I am working on, local vendors are starting to contact me to inquire how they can get involved, and we haven’t even broken ground yet!
Anyway, my energies for more than the last month have been focused on this project, but it seems as though this vision is coming together in ways that I never imagined. I am stoked!

Today in my classroom I used the elicit recognize, and use part of informative assessment in the form of aksing students to formulate explanations for isotopes. The example that was used was Kr, and the students were not understanding the neutrons column in which the #’s were 48 & 50. This was their first attempt at applying the concept of isotopes, so I was curious to listen to their explanations of why the protons and electrons stayed the same if there was a “48″ and a “50″ in the neutrons column. How many electrons are there?

This lesson turned out to be such a great lesson because the students were using many concepts used throughout the “unit” to explain the phenemenon. The students TOTALLY fed from thoughts of other students, and I believe the learning curve was steep today. My students used each other’s ideas to begin to formulate and make sense of the activity that we did today!
Totally a “memorable” teaching experience. The collaboration in my classroom today rivaled the work we do at Warner, but the outcome was just as fufilling. I saw my students work together to solve a problem today, which has been one of my greatest struggles this year.
I will sleep well tonight