Week 7: What am I
finding as I collect data?
I took a slight detour this week. My original intention was to just interview
students and parents. I decided to check
with some of the faculty at my school to discuss some of the types of
technology they were using with their classes.
It turned out to be about a 50/50 split between teachers who were only
using technology occasionally compared to those who were using a variety of
technology regularly. I had a chance to
see some of the technology in action as I visited classrooms. I saw students making videos with iMovie,
communicating via Edmodo and Google docs, and creating cartoons using
Powtoon. I even learned about a couple
of iPad apps that I’ve been playing with this week. Sometimes you just have to take time to play
with the toys!
The rest of the week continued as normal. My focus in the classroom was on involving my
students in challenge questions designed to meet the rigor of the new common
core modeling standards. I made use of
my interactive white board for notes, demo problems, student work, and
interactive response system (clicker) questions. I incorporated more clicker questions
throughout my lessons in an effort to keep students more engaged. My intent was to get my less motivated students
more involved. The results were overwhelmingly
positive. They were not able to sit in
their seats trying to avoid eye contact and hoping I wouldn’t make it around to
check their work. I was able to see
their results immediately and they were able to see if their responses were
correct. It also provided feedback about
student understanding which forced me to slow down a few times and re-address
some problem areas before moving on. This
resulted in some of the highest quiz scores I’ve seen with this class.
I also began organizing my data in spreadsheets this
week. Several members of our class
mentioned using word clouds and concept maps for organizing their
thoughts. I found that word clouds are too
convoluted for my linear thinking brain. I had a couple of discussions with other class members who felt the same way. We decided exporting data from spreadsheets into charts and graphs was the way to go. I have used the idea of concept maps when writing computer programs
years ago. We referred to them as flow
charts instead of concept maps but the basic principle is the same. I found them very useful for organizing my
thoughts and formulating an organized plan.
As I continue working with my data, I may use concept maps to display my
results. I am still struggling with the
idea that this is a qualitative project.
My mathematical mindset keeps trying to make this quantitative. Using concept maps may help me break away
from my statistical mindset and focus on the qualitative aspects of my
research.
It sounds like you had a successful week of data collection. I am glad you got to see some of the technology actually being used, and that you just didn't hear about it. Seeing things being done, always gives me a better understanding of it.
ReplyDeleteDetours are always useful... sometimes they take you to interesting places, sometimes they teach you where to never go again. It sounds like your school has students innovating using technology more than mine. I learned this week how much more support staff needs to integrate technology so that our students are digitally literate.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you are getting really good results in your action research project. I watch and see what I can learn from you.
Great news about getting those less-involved students engaged. Technology seems to be just the thing. As teachers today we need to break out of the traditional mode of teaching and speak the language of our "digital native" students. I think we will see much more excitement and involvement in our classrooms. Great job!
ReplyDeleteScott,
ReplyDeleteSounds like a good idea you had to take a detour and ask the other faculty members what they are using for teaching with technology. It is good to take a step back and look at the process from a different perspective. This provides an opportunity to learn from your peers. Powtoon and iMovie sound like excellent creativity tools for the students to use. I agree, sometimes you just have to play with the tools. You never know until you try. I find myself reluctant to try thinking the effort may prove to be an exercise in frustration. With technological improvements in our modern world appeared the user-friendly versions of technology tools that focus on easing the learning curve.
It sounds like you had a successful week in the classroom. Higher quiz scores are encouraging. Engagement and learning are proving themselves. You were able to encourage your back row non-enthusiasts to get with the program too. I find this task a problem at times.
I like your idea about using spreadsheets to organize the data. I will most likely utilize the same process. I agree with you about possibly encountering word cloud convolution when organizing the data in a concept map. Concept maps do provide a good avenue for displaying the data. The final product presentation is more fun to view on a map than a spreadsheet. If you really want to mix it up, have you tried putting all the information into wordle.net and create wordy cloud artwork. I think numbers and linear like you but found the process to be fun and creative.
Keep up the great work.
We are fast approaching fruition,
Carrollea
When you use the clickers to gauge participant understanding, what is the threshold before moving on? Do you only proceed if all of the class members are on the same page? How many questions would you typically involve in one class session?
ReplyDeleteAs far as wanting to dive into the numbers for the study, fear not! I think it's perfectly valid to use numbers to support your findings in a qualitative study. I think any good, compelling narrative has observations and facts to back it up, that's just good triangulation IMHO.
That’s so great that you were able to get so many positive results from using Clickers within the classroom! I am new to using these, so I’ve primarily used them as a means to administer a survey. I am very interested in using these to administer quizzes and the sort soon.
ReplyDeleteI too feel a bit overwhelmed by the word clouds and concept maps (although I have used them in the past). I prefer inputting data into spreadsheets and creating graphs and charts to represent my data. But I have noticed that word clouds and concept maps can also be used succinctly with graphs. Doing so can help your reader better understand the information you’re trying to represent, especially those who not of the same linear mindset.