The purpose of this blog post is to answer the following question:
What is the compelling problem of practice or opportunity for gain that you want to address in your project?
I am a 3rd year middle school science teacher. One of my primary focuses is to prepare students for high school. I do this by teaching content that will support their learning of more complex science, as well as soft skills such as staying organized and learning how to study effectively. I would imagine that at least 50% of my students struggle in one or both of these areas. Consequently, I believe students do not learn as much, or at least cannot demonstrate their knowledge to the highest potential, if they have not mastered these two vital skills. When I analyze quiz scores, those students who earn 90% or above are the same students who have very organized binders, complete and turn in all homework, and report that they studied "very hard".
It takes effort to stay organized and to study. My students grow up in a culture where entertainment is top priority for them and is very easy to access in multiple ways. Students have computers to play "live" video games and visit social networking sites. They have cell phones. They call and text one another frequently. They watch videos and interact with video games. It takes a lot of self-discipline to step away from their virtual world and "study their notes" or "review their study guide".
The problem of practice I will address in my TechQuest is the struggle I face with teaching and encouraging students to study effectively, given their cultural competition with entertainment. I will investigate ways I can make studying engaging for my students by using technology to make it collaborative and interesting for them.
Items I'd like feedback on:
Is my case compelling enough? Would connecting my case to class articles strengthen this?
Would it be helpful if I stated my problem of practice nearer to the beginning, rather than ending with it?
Is my problem of practice "just right" using the Goldilocks anaylogy?
Do I need to elaborate on any particular part or overall?
Thank you for your thoughtful feedback!
Jess,
ReplyDeleteThis is definitely a big issue across all curriculums. I know it is something I stress constantly to my son. Good study skills and staying organized is key. It appears that you have done your homework and know the numbers that this is a real problem if 50% of your students struggle in this area making this a strong and compelling case. In the first paragraph you report that the students who do really well "report that they studied very hard". How is this reported? Have you surveyed the students or is it less formal? I don't know if you have already thought about a potential solution but I would imagine you would want to use technology they are already using to get them to change their habits. I found this article by J. Harvey & H. Watt on "Using learning technology to support student study skills"--http://www.icbl.hw.ac.uk/ltdi/implementing-it/support.htm You might find some useful information to get you started. Good luck--you are off to a great start!
Hi Julie - Thank you for your feedback. I especially appreciate the resources you listed, as I actually don't have an idea for how to address this yet with a technology or teaching approach. Because I don't have any pre-conceived thoughts about how to answer this question, I thought it would be a good, authentic, topic for this course. I welcome all the ideas I can get! =)
ReplyDeleteTo answer your question about how students report their level of studying and preparation for the tests, I have my students fill out a self-assessment about what they did, or did not do, that contributed to the grade they earned each time they take a quiz. I save these assessments in a file folder for each student and then look at them to see if I can help the students identify what they need to do differently to get the grade they want, or the things they are doing well that are really helping them achieve. This is something I will elaborate on in my final piece. Thanks again!
I agree with Julie - you have done a terrific job of succinctly describing your problem. It is a very real problem for all students. My 4th and 5th graders really need to be prodded into studying even for a spelling test. Another avenue you might want to explore is the works of Robert Marzano, an educational researcher who has researched and documented 9 strategies that improve student achievement levels. Here are two resources you may want to check out:http://gets.gc.k12.va.us/VSTE/2008/ and http://www.netc.org/focus/. Marzano's 9 strategies are links next to the image.
ReplyDeleteHi Jess,
ReplyDeleteThis is definitely a very popular problem that I find in my classes as well. I love that you collect and file information on student habits, in order to provide better feedback and strategies for them to use. This also provides very clear data for you, so bravo for such organized efforts on your part!
I think that trying to improve student study skills through the mediums they engage with is a very worthy focus. I do remember reading somewhere, I think in one of Bell’s lectures, a reminder that using websites to keep students organized will not help them stay organized if they can’t do that already. So actually focusing on teaching and building the skills seems like a great and challenging idea. I can’t wait to see what ideas you come up with!
~Lindsay
Susan, thank you for the resource links! My charter school company, National Heritage Academies, actually LOVES Dr. Marzano and uses a lot of his research for the practices we we set forth. I look forward to reading the articles you mention.
ReplyDeleteLindsay, thank you for the encouraging feedback and the reminder about what Dr. Bell said. I had forgotten that point!
Hi Jess! I posted a comment a while ago and it said you would need to okay it. Since then I have had an invite and it didn't work :( I still don't see my comment posted so I am worried you didn't get it.
ReplyDeleteOkay! The last one worked after telling me I needed to be a member still...sorry about that.. glad its working now! :)
ReplyDeleteWhat I had said before was that I thought you gave a very good plan for how to organize your students better through technology. I believe this is a huge problem with students and when I cover "Classroom Study Skills" organization is often something many students have trouble overcoming. I have found the underlying question irritating of whether or not people are born with the "Type A" or "Type B" personalities and can we fix this problem of not naturally wanting or enjoying organizing one self? I believe with extra effort (with just about anything) this CAN be overcome. I think this is a strong enough problem and look forward to learning what tools you use to help organize your students.
Something I like to use to organize their thoughts during brainstorming is "Inspiration". It helps with outlining and organizing thoughts using maps, graphs, etc. If you hadn't already used this or tried it..it might be something that helps with this problem. I think it is also a good idea to add how you have surveyed your class for organization skills.
Also try these
http://scholar.google.com/scholarq=organizing+students+through+technology&hl=en&as_sdt=0&as_vis=1&oi=scholart
for some good articles on organizing through technology. Hope this helps! :)