All Eyes on You {SLO/Action Research Based}

How can we be better educators? How can we enhance our students learning and their classroom experiences? The action based research projects that our cohort conducted allowed us to see quantified data on an area of progress or mastery that we want to see our students succeed in. I chose to focus on individualized instruction in my Introduction to Agriculture class that consists of 24 students, a majority of underclassmen with minimal agriculture exposure. Before I became their teacher my cooperating teacher had a current event assignment. Unfortunately a majority of the students did not buy in and did not complete the assignment. After observing the class and recognizing the challenge of individualized learning in this classroom would be challenging I based my research around this class, this assignment, and their need for individualized learning. Below breaks down the steps and results of my research:

Problem Statement:

Students do not receive enough small group or individualized instruction within a large classroom and a small amount of instructional time. Many students are afraid to ask questions about assignments in large groups.

Problem Identification:

Students enrolled in the Introduction to Agriculture class at Big Spring High School did not turn their work in on time or or not at all in the fall semester for their current event assignment. I observed the class was large in size, with 24 students and that individualized instruction was difficult to give of every student everyday. There were 9 students enrolled in the class with IEPs and a majority of students did not have an agriculture background.

Research Plans:

During a 30 minute Flextime period teachers can claim students to come visit them  for clubs, extra help, etc. I choose 50% of the class to claim for small group instruction and individualized coaching on their current event assignment. The students were chosen based on grade in the class, IEP,  and assignment turn-in rate from the fall. I brought 6 students in on Monday and 6 in on Wednesday to work on their current event assignment that was due bi-weekly.

Date:

58% students increased their scores bi-weekly

83% students turned their  6th assignment in on time

Results:

After collecting and analyzing the data, I concluded that students increase their scores and their turn-in rate when they are in a smaller group. The 12 students show the largest progress between weeks 4 and 6. with their scores and their turn-in rate increased the greatest between weeks 8 and 10.

Solutions:

Students are more successfully when they have the opportunity to ask questions in a “safe” environment. They are more productive without their classmates distractions. The students also have more confident completing the assignments because they can check in with me on each step to ensure they are completing the assignment correctly.