Can technology help to beat the “reputation” issues some students feel about giving academic pursuits their full effort, more specifically, can different technologies that are available help to engage a group of very intelligent boys, all athletes, who consistently perform at the bare minimum?
The setting for my study will be at a mostly rural middle school that houses about seven-hundred 7th and 8th grade students. This is a good school, it is filled with people who care about and are connected to this community. There are approximately 60% of the students on free or reduced lunch. The surrounding community is largely textile and factory dominated and the current economic conditions are not good. The school has consistently outperformed the other middle schools in its system and has a relatively low turnover rate. The average age of the faculty is slightly over 36 years old and more than half of the staff was hometown products. The principal is in his first year but inherited a well run and well maintained environment. There is about 80% home internet access for the school, and 64 out of 67 of my students. The three without home access, consistently come early and stay late to use school computers. The middle school concept is still in full swing. There is a lot of effort made to make the most of the team and block schedule components. The parent involvement is low, but the discipline problems are predominantly minor ones.
The five students I will be interviewing and observing are all in the 8th grade. All of these boys are well adjusted and well liked, by peers and staff. They are in two different levels of math. Two of the boys, DM, and WB, are in the higher math class and the remaining 3, BS (really), SS, and JJ are split between two lower groups. They all have the same academic teachers and are grouped together in Language Arts. Given any free time they consistently are together. These kids, as a group, complete every task given on time; the issue is in the quality of their work. They are all capable of As and Bs, but will not make their best effort, because of their concerns about the perceptions of their peers and what making good grades does to their reputation. I will attempt to use blog or wiki applications to engage them in a setting outside of the classroom, and out of the direct line of sight of their classmates. I want to see if the use of technology they are familiar with can be used to “trick” them into giving a task their best effort, if their interest in the topic can overcome their interest in their reputation. I think.
Craig Cavender
Comments (7)
Craig, I think this topic will be very interesting. I see the same things in students underachieving all the time. What causes this? What makes them do the bare minimum? What things are teachers not doing to keep their interest? All of these are questions you could ask those five students. My hope is that they will give you some honest answers and this could help many teachers to reach out to these students. Look forward to seeing the results...
Let me know if you need me to interview anyone at our school, we have lots of students that fall under this same category.
Posted by Scott Harrill | January 31, 2009 7:49 AM
Posted on January 31, 2009 07:49
Craig,
I'm looking forward to this also. I have some ideas about what I would expect here, so your findings may confirm them, or...
Also, I would wonder if there is a pronounced difference from middle school students to high school students.
Posted by Conrad Martin | January 31, 2009 7:28 PM
Posted on January 31, 2009 19:28
Craig, are there any thoughts yet by these boys to playing college sports and that good grades will play a role in where they go and their scholarships?
Roxie
Posted by Roxie Miller | February 1, 2009 9:02 PM
Posted on February 1, 2009 21:02
This is great and is similar in approach to the DeGennaro Research study. While you are initiating the technology, it is something that is integral to the student's lives. You often see accounts on how a virtual world allows students with low self esteem to perform at a higher level, but this will be very interesting in allowing students with high self-esteem but still looking for anonymity a chance to perform in a "safe" environment. This should be very informative.
Posted by Jeff Kitchen | February 1, 2009 9:05 PM
Posted on February 1, 2009 21:05
I recommend that this be your research question:
How can different technologies help to engage a group of middle school male athletes ....... ?
You'll want to change the word "intelligent" to a more precise word, such as academically gifted, or a more school-sanctioned word that signifies something specific. "Intelligent" is a bit value-laden, and "bare minimum" is a bit vague too. Does bare minimum mean below grade level? Or are you referring to effort only? (I see the description of them above, so we need to think of something like, "whose effort is minimal in classwork" for the last part of your research question).
The "reputation" issues can be part of your description of the background of the study, as described in #1 of the research proposal guidelines, rather than part of your actual research question.
Your setting description is excellent, as is the initial sketch of the participants.
Posted by Alecia Jackson | February 4, 2009 11:22 AM
Posted on February 4, 2009 11:22
My attempt to refine my research question.
How can different technologies help to engage a group of middle school male athletes who have consistently performed above grade level on standardized testing, but who give minimal effort on assignments?
Posted by Craig Cavender | February 4, 2009 4:29 PM
Posted on February 4, 2009 16:29
That's it!
Posted by Alecia Jackson | February 4, 2009 7:30 PM
Posted on February 4, 2009 19:30