I am not sure if this project will work... It sounds good in theory but I am having a difficult time finding literature to review
So any suggestions would be great!
Question:
How do reflective practices in a primary school classroom enhance students understanding?
or
How does primary student achievement increase by using reflective practices in daily instruction?
or
How do reflective practices in daily instruction build greater understand for primary students?
Setting:
My research was conducted at in a small, rural community located in the Mountains of North Carolina. The county borders Tennessee and has a major interstate system running through it. There is only one school district for the whole county. It is made up of nine different elementary schools, three middles, two high schools, one alternative high school, and one Early College house at the local Community College campus. The setting for my research was at the smallest of the nine elementary schools with an average of 250 students. The school was built less than ten years ago and has a recent addition of four new classrooms in the last year. The school was built to consolidate two of the smallest, rural elementary schools that were below state building standards in the county into one larger but still smallest elementary school. Recently the school received a $250,000.00 Technology Grant that has assisted in launching this school into the 21st Century in terms of technology. There are 43 staff members that serve a population of 250 Kindergarten through 5th grade students. Due to the small size of this elementary school some of these staff members are only part time. The student population is comprised of majority Caucasian with only 1% minority. The school qualifies as a Title I school.
Participants:
The participants in this study will be a small group of fifth grade students. The group will vary in student’s ability level. The group will include equal amounts of girls and boys.
Nikki Jaynes
Comments (5)
Hi Nikki,
I think your topic sounds very interesting. As teachers, we've heard that reflection is an important part of the learning process both for students and for teachers. In reality, it is often hard to conduct in the classroom. I am a little surprised that you are having a hard time finding research articles...it seems like reflection has become a bigger deal in recent years. Maybe it would help to narrow your search? I am not sure what search terms you've been using, but perhaps specifying a reflective practice would help. Maybe you could just search for something like "reader's response journals" or "goal setting and assessment." I might be completely off the mark here, and you're thinking of reflective practices that are totally different. I'm not sure exactly what direction you want to take your research, but I will be interested to see your results! Self-reflection is hard to do with the kids I teach (8th graders think they're too cool to reflect, or the world might end if someone things they're vulnerable!) but I would like to learn more about it.
Amy Galloway
Posted by Amy Galloway | January 31, 2009 9:30 PM
Posted on January 31, 2009 21:30
Nikki,
I think that you are onto a good start with your project. You could give each of your participants a journal so they can keep track of their reflections. This would be good to include in your final project. I do am wondering about the lack of literature. I think you can use literature that uses reflection is middle and high school settings. Students need to feel that what they are working on is important. Their reflections of a projcet activity or whater is a great way of seeing where they are in their learning process. You might try to find literature about constuctivism in the classroom at the elementary level. Great project!!
Posted by Elizabeth McMullan | February 1, 2009 10:41 AM
Posted on February 1, 2009 10:41
I think that reflection is difficult for lots of people, young and not so young. I believe that Elizabeth's idea of journaling is a phenomenal one; and I think that with the technology money that is pouring in that you should find ways to use that technology to journal. For example, you may want to consider epals.com . They have a blog for schools that is secure and best of all, FREE! You can see what the kids are thinking, and they can share their ideas with other students, which would create more of a collaborative sense in the class. I even combine different classes of the same level, so that the students benefit from the ideas of others outside of their classes. Good luck to you and let me know if I can assist you in anyway with the technology part of the project.
Posted by Tina Nicholson Mallén | February 1, 2009 1:08 PM
Posted on February 1, 2009 13:08
Nikki,
I really like the idea of evaluating the use of reflection with fifth graders. I don't ever remember getting much of an opportunity to reflect on anything when I was that age and I think I would have benefited from it. Far too often, students get stuck having to do very rote learning with black and white solutions. I'd love to know how they react to the chance to be reflective on what they're learning. I'm having a bit of the same problem that you are, coming up with articles, but I'm hoping it's something that I can get past and hopefully, you can too. I'll be paying attention to see where you head!
Posted by Kate Whyte | February 1, 2009 4:21 PM
Posted on February 1, 2009 16:21
I took everything you wrote and suggest this as your question:
How do 5th grade students' reflective practices as part of their daily learning enhance their understanding of .......?
It might help if you name an understanding of a concept or subject area just to give yourself something to focus on and keep the research manageable. I also like the word "understanding" better than "achievement" because you don't have to measure understanding -- it is a more qualitative word.
What are you thinking of for reflective practices? Your colleagues have good suggestions. You could probably find literature if you, for example, look for journaling in elementary grades, or metacognition in elementary grades.
Posted by Alecia Jackson | February 4, 2009 1:13 PM
Posted on February 4, 2009 13:13