My first round of data collection went pretty much as I expected. I used observations to pay particular attention to the interactions of the study participants in a group setting. What I noticed was their effort to draw their peers attention to them instead of to the task at hand. I am using five students, and for the most part, I noticed many simialr behaviors in each of the students. The boys seemed to be more interested in the social aspect of the group. I saw each particiapnt, in differing ways, make efforts to engage members of their groups as well as members of the other groups in conversations that were unrelated to the assignment. As a group they were unengaged and 3 of the 5 did not fully complete their part of the task, the 2 that were completed, were done to the bare minimum, no extra effort or thought was put into this activity. This is what I expected and it will serve as a baseline for me to compare the results of the following data collection. I observed all of the students in one form or another making an effort to avoid sharing their thoughts and ideas with the group, 4 of the 5 were observed playing and making jokes to divert the other students attention from the task they were to complete, and there were several instances where they asked other students to tell them what they should do. The result as a whole of the first round was that these students do not want to give their peers the opportunity to hear their original thoughts. They did not want to appear they were enjoying or even interested in the activity. We are doing this because we have to was the sentiment largely expressed by this group of students, each in thier own way.
Craig Cavender
Comments (7)
Craig,
Excellent observation and description. I believe that you hit the nail on the head with the possible reasons to why some of the boys remained off-task during the lesson. I have observed some of the same behavior in another of my Spanish I classes. I think that knowing WHY students act in particular ways will allow us as educators to modify how we teach and how we and the students interact with one another. It seems as if you are making excellent progress. Keep it up!
Posted by Tina Mallén | March 21, 2009 10:25 AM
Posted on March 21, 2009 10:25
This sounds so familiar. My students do the same thing. I don't know if they ever grow out of it! Wonderful observation!! I look forward to reading more of what you discover. It might help in my classroom as well!
Posted by Heather Greene | March 21, 2009 9:33 PM
Posted on March 21, 2009 21:33
This sounds so familiar. My students do the same thing. I don't know if they ever grow out of it! Wonderful observation!! I look forward to reading more of what you discover. It might help in my classroom as well!
Posted by Heather Greene | March 21, 2009 9:33 PM
Posted on March 21, 2009 21:33
Great job Craig, your description is excellent I could see your classroom and even chuckled at the fact that it sounded just like my own classroom. I think we may never completely understand why students act certain ways. I once had a principal who took me own some home visits my first year of teaching. His purpose was to show me that I really didn't have a clue at what some of these kids dealt with on a daily basis. I think your reasearch is very relevent and seems to going great. Good luck!
Posted by Scott Heavner | March 21, 2009 11:02 PM
Posted on March 21, 2009 23:02
Craig, it seemed as though you are getting a great deal of life lessons from these students. Much as you expected, I bet you learned a few things from just listening to those students. It was a very good description of what you were seeing. Hope it continues to go well.
Posted by Scott Harrill | March 23, 2009 6:23 AM
Posted on March 23, 2009 06:23
It will be a good baseline for your data collection. It is amazing how students can talk constantly until you ask them to discuss something with their peers. Insecurity of being a teenager I guess.
Posted by Shannon Mosteller | March 23, 2009 10:52 AM
Posted on March 23, 2009 10:52
Craig,
I can attest that even college students do this -- undergraduate AND graduate -- when groupwork is viewed as a hoop to jump through rather than true collaboration. I'm very excited to see what you recommend so that I can use it in my own teaching.
Posted by Alecia Jackson | March 25, 2009 3:33 PM
Posted on March 25, 2009 15:33