Prompt #5 Questions: There were four observations that Sienna conducted over a two-week period to document May’s redirection behaviors. First, you will examine the series of observation reports. Second, identify any trends and themes you find in the data. Be sure to consider the observational notes that Sienna included. Look to find and share any triangulation processes in May’s data collection and analysis work. Third, evaluate the data and provide reasonable explanations for what you think might be happening over time that would explain the story the data are revealing.

Response:

The first thing I noticed is the number of redirections is decreasing with each observation.  This is evidence that whatever strategies are being implemented in the class are having a positive effect on time spent on task.  The next trend that I notice is there are some phrases that are using quite often as a redirection that seem to serve the role of getting students’ attention.  May frequently uses the phrases guys, excuse me, and listen up.  These phrases are usually repeated more than once in succession.  I think it might help if May introduced signal that means she needs the classes attention and having students practice coming to attention when they hear it.  Sienna also notes more than once that student seats need to be moved to help minimize redirections.  May should take Sienna's advice and try to make some changes to improve the class dynamics.

Prompt #6 Questions: Describe May’s class graph. What happened over time, and what are some possible reasons for the trends and patterns you notice? What new goals do you think May should set for the class as a whole based on her students’ response to the timed agenda challenge?

Response:

May’s graph shows the number of students who can write down the class agenda in 5 min minutes or less over a period of nine days.  When may started the five minute challenge there were 11 students that were able to complete the task.  As the days went on the number of students completing the agenda increased.  By the end of the nine days the number of students completing the agenda almost doubled.  This process of timing students for this task has had a positive impact.  May might be able to try the timing strategy with another task.  May mentioned that she was having an increase in redirections during transition times.  May might be able to time students during these transition times to see how quickly they are ready for the next activity.

Prompt #7 Questions: Describe Anthony’s and Leah’s data. What happened over time? What do you think May might do in the future to capitalize on Anthony and Leah’s success and keep them on track during the entire class period?

Response:

Both students were able to drastically reduce the amount of time they were spending writing the agenda.  Both students were using around 8 minutes at the beginning of their experiment.  They were able to decrease the amount of time spent very quickly.  By the end of the experiment both students had achieved times of less than a minute.  While Leah did have an increase back to 2 min on the last day 2 min is still better than the 9 it was taking her at the beginning.  The goal setting for these two students seems to be important.  The students set their own goal and then receive positive feedback when they achieve it.  This might be a good strategy to use for motivating these students in class.  May identified these two students for tier 2 interventions because they were having a more difficult time remaining of task than others.  Time on task might be a place for May start setting goals with these students.

Prompt #8 Questions: Pretend you are May, and it is now the start of the next school year. Your assistant principal, Mr. Brown, asks you to talk about your inquiry journey at the first faculty meeting of the year. Discuss a plan for your presentation. What will you share and how will you share it? Refer to Chapters 6 and 8 of The Reflective Educator’s Guide to Classroom Research for support in responding to this prompt.

Response:

If I were May I would try to keep my presentation and write up simple because the inquiry was relatively short.  In addition, it is the beginning of the year and teachers are excited about the possibility the new year holds.  By keeping sharing process simple I might be able to inspire others to join in the action research process alongside me.  I feel a brochure would be the best form of write up because she can quickly and concisely describe the study, data, and findings (Dana & Yendol-Hoppey, 2009).  I addition I would give a quick presentation to the staff explaining my research and findings along with a more in depth description of the data that support my findings.  I would try to use this presentation as a means to recruit other teachers to ranks of action researchers taking control of their own professional development.

Dana, N. F., & Yendol-Hoppey, D. (2009). The reflective educator’s guide to classroom research: Learning to teach and teaching to learn through practitioner inquiry (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.