Introduction to Action Research
Background Information
As a framework for my action research project, it is important to first understand who my students are. The classroom consists of 28 full-day kindergarten students, one of whom is an English language learner, within a relatively new elementary school (Kindergarten to Grade 5) located in an affluent suburban community in the north county region of San Diego. There are 17 boys and 11 girls. Most of the students are high energy, curious learners. Each day the students eagerly engage in activities and use the tools that are provided. The students demonstrate a genuine interest in learning and routinely ask questions about daily lesson plans. Each child can read, write, and count to at least 60. From a behavioral standpoint, they are motivated and strive to do their best. As a whole, this classroom can be characterized as an unusually advanced group of kindergarten students.
As part of the classroom organizational structure, there is a period allotted each day for group reading time. Students are organized into five relatively homogenous groups for reading instruction. Each of the five groups consists of five to six students. Each group reads with either the teacher or aide for approximately 15 minutes. While the teacher and aide work with a particular reading group, the other students are expected to complete a “seatwork” assignment. These assignments typically coincide with a thematic unit being taught. For example, as a seatwork assignment during a unit about Abraham Lincoln, students completed a short worksheet with questions about Abraham Lincoln. The intent of the assignments is to keep the seated students engaged and somewhat quiet, so the primary focus can be on the students who are in direct-instruction reading groups. When a student finishes, he or she puts the completed assignment in their “take home” folder and then finds his or her name on a board that has pictures of the types of activities that student is allowed to play. Most of the activities involve manipulatives like blocks, Legos, trains, Mr. Potato Head, or other small toys.
Assessed Needs
I have noticed that students tend to be engaged while listening to the teacher and while working in their reading groups, which are typically scheduled in the mornings. However, when students are released to complete their individual seatwork assignments, they behave very differently. Instead of actively engaging, these students rush through the assignment to maximize the amount of time they have available to play. Some students will spend as little as 10 minutes on a set of tasks when the average amount of time to complete the assignment should be closer to 30 minutes. While play is an extremely important aspect of kindergarten, I believe that the structure of group reading time gives students an incentive to complete assignments in a hurried manner, thereby making the actual assignment relatively ineffective. As a result, I believe that the activities for students who are not working in a reading group during group reading time need to be restructured to provide a more meaningful learning experience.
The following is an example of a student’s work that was done as quickly as possible to maximize playtime compared to that of another student who spent the majority of the available time working on the assignment:
As a framework for my action research project, it is important to first understand who my students are. The classroom consists of 28 full-day kindergarten students, one of whom is an English language learner, within a relatively new elementary school (Kindergarten to Grade 5) located in an affluent suburban community in the north county region of San Diego. There are 17 boys and 11 girls. Most of the students are high energy, curious learners. Each day the students eagerly engage in activities and use the tools that are provided. The students demonstrate a genuine interest in learning and routinely ask questions about daily lesson plans. Each child can read, write, and count to at least 60. From a behavioral standpoint, they are motivated and strive to do their best. As a whole, this classroom can be characterized as an unusually advanced group of kindergarten students.
As part of the classroom organizational structure, there is a period allotted each day for group reading time. Students are organized into five relatively homogenous groups for reading instruction. Each of the five groups consists of five to six students. Each group reads with either the teacher or aide for approximately 15 minutes. While the teacher and aide work with a particular reading group, the other students are expected to complete a “seatwork” assignment. These assignments typically coincide with a thematic unit being taught. For example, as a seatwork assignment during a unit about Abraham Lincoln, students completed a short worksheet with questions about Abraham Lincoln. The intent of the assignments is to keep the seated students engaged and somewhat quiet, so the primary focus can be on the students who are in direct-instruction reading groups. When a student finishes, he or she puts the completed assignment in their “take home” folder and then finds his or her name on a board that has pictures of the types of activities that student is allowed to play. Most of the activities involve manipulatives like blocks, Legos, trains, Mr. Potato Head, or other small toys.
Assessed Needs
I have noticed that students tend to be engaged while listening to the teacher and while working in their reading groups, which are typically scheduled in the mornings. However, when students are released to complete their individual seatwork assignments, they behave very differently. Instead of actively engaging, these students rush through the assignment to maximize the amount of time they have available to play. Some students will spend as little as 10 minutes on a set of tasks when the average amount of time to complete the assignment should be closer to 30 minutes. While play is an extremely important aspect of kindergarten, I believe that the structure of group reading time gives students an incentive to complete assignments in a hurried manner, thereby making the actual assignment relatively ineffective. As a result, I believe that the activities for students who are not working in a reading group during group reading time need to be restructured to provide a more meaningful learning experience.
The following is an example of a student’s work that was done as quickly as possible to maximize playtime compared to that of another student who spent the majority of the available time working on the assignment:
For purposes of quantifying my observations about students rushing to complete the seatwork assignment during group reading time in order to maximize their playtime, I measured the number of minutes students were taking to complete the seatwork assignment. While I observed students during independent seatwork time to assess how quickly students were finishing their assignment, I also noticed that otherwise engaged students began to rush as more and more students finished the assignment. Below is a graphic representation of the behavior that I observed.
As indicated in the graph, all students worked for at least five minutes after starting the seatwork assignment. At 10 minutes, some students began to finish and started playing. Within 15 minutes of starting the assignment, over half of the class finished. Reading group time is about an hour. More than 85 percent of the students finished within 20 minutes. Consequently, during the one hour group reading time period, this graph illustrates that the vast majority of students are playing for approximately 40 to 45 minutes when this time could be used for another purposes, such as improving literacy skills.
To gain further background information, I decided to conference with students and ask them why they are so eager to finish their seatwork assignment during group reading time, particularly when this behavior is not something that students do during writing, math, science or social studies. Based on these conversations, I learned that the playtime reward is so alluring to most of the students that they find it difficult to focus on the assignment.
Although I do not advocate for eliminating this play time altogether, I believe that students need to spend more time improving literacy skills as an assessed need within this particular classroom. I therefore want to provide supplemental activities for students around improving literacy skills during group reading team before students can start playtime. These activities will utilize iPad applications and include word work activities, as well as other collaborative educational games. Students will be able to choose the activity they wish to complete.
During my action research, I hope to discover:
How will student independent work time be affected by the addition of literacy centers?
· How will the integration of iPads affect student engagement?
· How will the integration of independent activities affect student engagement?
· How will the integration of group games affect student engagement?
To gain further background information, I decided to conference with students and ask them why they are so eager to finish their seatwork assignment during group reading time, particularly when this behavior is not something that students do during writing, math, science or social studies. Based on these conversations, I learned that the playtime reward is so alluring to most of the students that they find it difficult to focus on the assignment.
Although I do not advocate for eliminating this play time altogether, I believe that students need to spend more time improving literacy skills as an assessed need within this particular classroom. I therefore want to provide supplemental activities for students around improving literacy skills during group reading team before students can start playtime. These activities will utilize iPad applications and include word work activities, as well as other collaborative educational games. Students will be able to choose the activity they wish to complete.
During my action research, I hope to discover:
How will student independent work time be affected by the addition of literacy centers?
· How will the integration of iPads affect student engagement?
· How will the integration of independent activities affect student engagement?
· How will the integration of group games affect student engagement?