Robinson Primary
Students’ Confidence effect on Academic Performance
Primary Researchers
Olivia Garner Intern, Baylor University
Nikki Bailey and Raven Hopkins, Mentor Teachers, Robinson Primary Robinson ISD
Deborah Focarile PhD, Professor, Baylor University
Rational/Introduction
In a first grade class, it was observed that many of the students who struggled with reading also showed a lack of confidence. This led to my wondering if improving the students’ confidence would increase their academic performance with ELAR concepts. I decided to pull a small group of struggling readers who showed low confidence to give them encouragement and feedback during daily ELAR grades. My hope was to build the students’ confidence in reading.
Question/Wondering
How does small group instruction and immediate feedback during ELAR assessments affect the grades of low-confidence students?
Methodology/Results
Since the beginning of this school year, I noticed that many of the students who struggled with reading also showed a lack of confidence in their abilities. I decided to pull a small group of four students in hopes to grow their confidence in reading. I wanted to see if a newfound confidence in reading ability would improve the students’ reading performance.
For four weeks, I collected data on two male students and two female students of various ethnicities, ranging from the ages of six to seven years old. Each of these students had shown a lack of self-confidence and struggled with reading. During these four weeks, I pulled this small group of students during their daily ELAR grade. I had the students sit at my table and continually encouraged them that they were smart and capable. If a student would say they could not do it or ask for the answer, I would tell them that I believed they could do it. Once I saw each student answer the question correctly, I would affirm them it was correct and encourage them to keep going. This immediate feedback would help the students have confidence that they are doing their work correctly. For the first two weeks, each of the students needed lots of encouragement to simply complete the grade. I would repeatedly remind the students that they are capable and that all they needed to do was try their best. All of the students needed encouragement and guidance on every question. Although it seemed repetitive, I knew these students needed to believe in themselves. Most of the students already began to show better performance on the first daily grade they completed at my table.
As I continued to meet with these students, they began to work through more questions without needing constant encouragement or feedback. Over time, it went from needing encouragement to complete every question on the grade, to only needing encouragement on every other question. Finally the students began to only need encouragement before they began their work and received feedback after they completed the grade. This new found independence was an unexpected outcome that continued to help these students beyond these four weeks. As the weeks went on, I noticed that the students were not always showing full mastery on these grades, however, I saw that their grades became more consistent. Rather than failing some daily grades and acing some, the students began to steadily pass each grade. For these students this is no small accomplishment. Now that this research is over and I no longer meet with this small group, I have seen improvement in these students’ independence, confidence, and more consistency in their grades.
Implications/ Recommendations
I found that when students’ confidence in their reading ability rises, their academic performance in ELAR becomes more consistent and slightly improves. In just four weeks, I was able to instill self-confidence in four students who have spent most of first grade doubting their reading ability. This led to more independence and consistent understanding of ELAR content. I would recommend taking note of which students express low-confidence or self-doubt when reading. Then I would focus on continually building these students’ confidence in reading by pulling them during assessments or simply giving them more one to one encouragement. This will help their academic performance and set them up for success as they continue to learn new and harder concepts later on in their academic career.
In my future classroom, I will take note of which students lack confidence in their reading ability and continue to find ways to encourage them. I will strive to build their confidence in reading which will help their independence and consistency.
Reference(s)
Silvia Indriani, Sri Utaminingsih, & Mohammad Kanzunnudin. (2021). DEVELOPING TEACHING MATERIALS BASED ON CONFIDENCE CHARACTER EDUCATION TO IMPROVE STUDENTS’ READING SKILLS AT GRADE IV ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS. Jurnal Pendidikan Dan Pengajaran, 5(2), 431–441. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/350059884_Development_of_Teaching_Materials_Based_on_Confidence_Character_Education_for_Improving_Reading_Skills_of_Grade_IV_Elementary_Students
Effects of Scheduled Brain Breaks in Math Instruction
Primary Researchers
Courtney Lyons, Intern, Baylor University
Katherine Midgett, BA Ed, Mentor Teacher, Robinson Primary School, Robinson ISD
Deborah Focarile, PhD, Professor, Baylor University
Rationale/Introduction
The purpose of this research is to observe how movement brain breaks would affect the attention of students during math instruction. Due to the restlessness that comes with afternoon instruction, I want to research if movement breaks would ease the struggle to focus. During this study, I would have students engage in movement breaks every ten minutes of math instruction. These breaks would be one minute at most to ensure minimal disruption of the lesson. The collection of data would be completed by the mentor teacher through completing engagement forms for a ten-minute window. My hope in completing this study is to have students become more engaged and active in math lessons.
Question/Wondering
How do scheduled brain breaks affect the focus of six multi-gendered Kindergarten students during math instruction?
Methodology/Results
The research was conducted on six multi gendered, multiethnic, various academic leveled students. Student one is an academically struggling Hispanic male. Student two is an academically struggling Hispanic male with English as a second language. Student three is a Caucasian, academically average-to-above male. Student 4 is a Caucasian, academically average-to-below female. Student 5 is a Caucasian, academically average-to-below male. Student 6 is a Caucasian, academically struggling female. During the research, my mentor teacher tracked the engagement of the six students, every thirty seconds for ten minutes, during instruction. These forms tracked if students were focused on the content being shared, whether that be the teacher, a worksheet, or an activity. If they were engaged, they would receive a plus sign for that specific thirty seconds. If they were not engaged, they would receive a minus sign. To analyze the data, I created a fraction of the amount of total engagement throughout the lesson. These was a simple way to view if the numbers improved or decreased. After conducting four weeks of research, I concluded that scheduled brain breaks during math instruction mostly improves the focus of kindergarten students. Four out of the six students showed improvements in their overall engagement when scheduled brain breaks were implemented during the lessons, one of the student’s engagement remained the same, and one of the student’s engagement decreased. Students one, two, five, and six were the students showing improvement in their engagement. Student three remained the same while student four had a decrease in engagement.
Implications/Recommendations
Since the data showed that the engagement mostly increased, I would recommend consistently incorporating short movement breaks into instruction. I would encourage that these breaks mainly be related to the lesson being taught. For example, during instruction of two-dimensional shapes, the students could be tasked with creating a circle with their body for a movement break. This reinforces the lesson while still giving them the opportunity to move, not creating a gap during instruction. I will personally continue making the effort to include scheduled brain breaks in the classroom, not just during math instruction. The only downside I noticed is the talking that can coincide with movement in the classroom; however, it would be valuable set expectations that come along with the movement breaks. These could include the voice level, expectations, and respect of other’s boundaries. That is the change I would make to this research. Overall, I saw there were more benefits than inconveniences in implementing these breaks consistently and would recommend to teachers looking for higher engagement levels.
Reference(s)
Owen, Katherine B. Effects of Physical Activity and Breaks on Mathematics Engagement in Adolescents, ScienceDirect, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S144024401730943X
Vander Waal, Joe’l. Brain Breaks and Engagement, Dordt University, https://digitalcollections.dordt.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1139&context=med_theses
Barker, Meghan M. Brain Breaks Improve Student Behavior and Focus, Northwestern College, https://nwcommons.nwciowa.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1271&context=education_ masters
NSW Government, Brain Breaks for Cognitive Well-being, https://education.nsw.gov.au/student-wellbeing/whole-school-approach/wellbeing-frame work-for-schools/cognitive-wellbeing-strategies/brain-breaks-for-cognitive-wellbeing
Terada, Youki. Research-Tested Benefits of Breaks, Edutopia, https://www.edutopia.org/article/research-tested-benefits-breaks/
Student Led Instruction Makes A Difference
Primary Researchers
Claire Milinski Intern, Baylor University
April Eide, BS in Elementary Education, Mentor Teacher, Robinson ISD
Katie Burleson, BS, Mentor Teacher, Robinson ISD
Deborah Focarile, PhD, Professor Baylor University
Rationale/Instruction
In a first grade classroom it was observed that specific students were struggling at controlling their behavior within class while also maintaining their high academic standings. This affected the students ability to succeed in the class as well as the surrounding students ability to focus during lessons. Based on the observations, I decided to pull the three male students who were high academically, but struggling to manage their behavior and offer them student leadership options within small group time as a reward for proper classroom behavior.
Question/Wondering
Could student-led instruction during warmups and station time in math impact the behavior issues of three academically high male students?
Methodology/Results
From the beginning of the school year with the first grade students I immediately noticed different behaviors within the classroom. As the year went on it was interesting to see how the addition of ADHD medication would help the students who struggled with their behavior within class. Still though, I specifically noticed that three boys were having constant outbursts in class and the amount of times they got called out or were given a consequence increased to the point where admin was brought in at some points. I noticed though, that even with their outbursts they were still maintaining high academic grades in both their reading and math blocks. This piqued my interest and I began specifically observing them. During my observation time I monitored them for a week. Here, I kept track of their behavior during each section of both the reading and math block. I would record whether they were engaged, distracted, or non-responsive, meaning they were asked to leave carpet due to behavior.After observing them, I started to make personal connections with them whether that was talking about their favorite book to read during independent reading or what they had for dinner the previous night. I did this in order to build a sense of trust and respect so that when I approached them about my research they would be more willing and not see it so much as something based on their poor behavior.
When I presented my research project with them I decided to do it all together. I met with the three of them and told them that I noticed they get in trouble during class but that they are hard workers. I told them I wanted to help them get in trouble less and to do so I would give them teacher assistant roles within the classroom. I mentioned that if they had great behavior during the week they would help me lead a small group of students during math, where they could help me teach a topic the students were perhaps struggling with or needed extra practice on. I stated that I would keep track of their behavior using a behavior card made specifically for them; for example, Student H would speak out constantly during a lesson because he knew the answer faster than most. If he spoke out during a lesson he would receive a mark on his card. Each card had a section where if they helped a teacher they could receive a positive mark, if they helped another student they could also receive a positive mark, but if they spoke out or acted out they would receive a strike. Week One consisted of three strikes until they lost their privilege of leading a group, Week Two consisted of two strikes, and Week Three only had once strike. I did this so that each week it would get more difficult for them to earn their small group time. During this time I also continued to record their behavior during each part of the lesson.
If the student was able to make it to assisting in a small group, I had conditions. The students they would be working with would be picked by me, they had to help them and guide the students if they needed help rather than just tell them the answer and most importantly they needed to be a kind leader in the group. The basis of them being able to assist me was that I wanted to teach them how to help and lead while remaining kind to their classmates. I wanted the three students to use their academic abilities to help other classmates succeed as well. I noticed that when in small groups the students were quiet yet encouraging. They allowed their classmates to work and if they noticed any struggles they would guide and help them rather than just give them the answer or do it for them. I also saw this carry on outside of the small group time meaning they would continue the actions in class and at recess.
Over the course of my research I found it to be very successful. Out of the three students I worked with, Student B was able to assist in a small group three times, Student H did it once, and Student P did it twice. This was great to see because I saw that this worked successfully for two out of the three students. I did not expect it to successfully work for all three students because their behaviors were all different. Student H already had a diagnosed behavior disability so I knew it would be more difficult to see positive results in his case. He did have one quite successful week where I could tell every day he was trying his absolute hardest. There were other circumstances that impacted Student H and his other weeks but I know he needed more than what my research could offer him. As for Student B he was the only student who successfully completed all three weeks. This was great and I could tell that my research experiment truly helped him the most. My mentor teacher even stated that I could continue to use this form of behavior management because he was making such great progress. Student P had one week where he had an incident that was drastic and I had no choice but to take his small group time away. The following week though he stepped it up and showed great progress.
I was pleased with the results from this and the changes I saw happening in their behavior.
Implications/Recommendations
I knew going into this research project I would not get perfect results and I did not expect it at all. What I wanted was to see a difference in at least one of the three students. I did prepare myself to see no results and no change in the students. I was more than pleased to see my research work different for each of the students. I knew that these three students had behavior that I may not be able to help and it was out of my hands but I wanted to at least try. Throughout the research I saw two out of the three students consistently work towards their reward and I saw their behavior change gradually. Being able to record their behavior and see it improve over time was exactly what I was hoping to come out of this project. In the future, if I were to do this I would ideally like to start it earlier in the year. I find that giving the students their own responsibilities in the classroom allows them to become responsible for their own learning and their own behavior and actions. In addition, I found that this only worked for students with behavior issues that were constant but not in need of major medication. One of the students who is medicated for his behavior did not work well with this and he would rather work independently than with other students or in a group. This is something I can keep in mind for when I implement this into my own classroom. I do want to use this next year when I teach my class in the second grade. Ithink this is a great way to academically challenge students as well as manage severe behaviors in the classroom. I would encourage other teachers to use this or even something similar if they would like to see behavior improvements in their class. I would not recommend this exact experiment for the whole class but this can always be adapted to suit what is best for your classroom.
References
Mavromatis, Amanda Helen. The Effects of Teacher Led and Student Led Instruction on Student Achievement in Inclusion Classrooms. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, 2016.
Grossman, Herbert, and Herbert Grossman. Classroom Behavior Management for Diverse and Inclusive Schools. 3rd ed., Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2004.
Pierangelo, Roger, and George A. Giuliani. The Classroom Teacher’s Behavior Management Toolbox. Information Age Publishing, Inc., 2016.
Diller, Debbie, and Toby. Gordon. Moving into Math Stations K-2. Stenhouse Publishers, 2013.
Andreasen, Janet B., and Jessica H. Hunt. “Using Math Stations for Commonsense Inclusiveness.” Teaching Children Mathematics, vol. 19, no. 4, 2012, pp. 238–46, https://pubs.nctm.org/view/journals/tcm/19/4/article-p238.xml
Impacts of Physical Activity on Classroom Behavior
Primary Researchers
Sarah Oberst, Intern, Baylor University
Brandi Cox, Mentor Teacher, Robinson Primary, Robinson ISD
Sherry Rogers, BS, Intern Supervisor, Baylor University
Rationale/Introduction
While interning at Robinson Primary with the 1st grade classes in PE, it was observed that there were significant behavioral changes in students depending on the level of physical activity they participated in that day. This participation changed depending on weather, unfinished class work, or consequence. I noticed that on days the students received less activity in a day, the spoke out more, caused more disruption, and received more strikes on our three-strike classroom management system. Similar to what I assumed, a study done by the National Institutes of Health states “when physical activity is used as a break from academic learning time, post engagement effects include better attention, increased on-task behaviors, and improved academic performance” (NIH, 2013). With physical activity diminishing within young people’s daily lives, I began to get curious on what effects this would have within schools.
Question/Wondering
How does the absence of physical activity throughout the school day effect classroom learning and students’ ability to stay on task?
Methodology/Results
A physical education class is known to be more squirrely and energetic than most other classes due to its nature, but while working in the 1stgrade classes, I noticed some days were worse than others. As the semester went on, I noticed a pattern of which days were particularly challenging and when students were having the most trouble staying on task. The goal of my study was to collect quantitative data throughout the class periods so I could then compare data between different days and see whether the levels of physical activity that day effected student behavior.
This study focuses on two different 1st grade classes that come to PE class during the last two periods of the day. Each class consists of approximately 20-25 students who come from a diverse range of backgrounds and follow the same school schedule each day. Within the PE class, a three-strike system is put in place in order to manage behavior and keep students on task. Students receive strikes if they are speaking out of turn, moving around in their seat without permission, or playing unfairly during games. Like baseball, the first two strikes are considered warnings but if a third strike is given, they lose privileges to participate in the game or free-Friday. For my study, I collected data over a three-week period which consisted of taking note of the weather and if students were given outdoor recess time or not, tallying how many strikes were given out to students each day, and comparing how the number of strikes and physical activity time was related. After collecting the data, it was shown that on an average day where the students received physical activity through recess, an average of one strike per day per class was given. On days where students did not receive outdoor physical activity due to weather, and average of 3 strikes were given per day per class. Those findings show a 66.7% increase of strikes given, or behavioral issues in the classroom, when physical activity is not participated in during the school day.
When speaking with teachers about this study, they too noticed a difference in student behavior when physical activity was not incorporated into the daily school schedule. With the increase of off-task behavior, teachers were unable to teach the desired content as it delayed the curriculum due to student disruptions and distractions. On days when students did receive adequate physical activity before coming to class, not only was there less disruption, but teachers were able to get through lessons quicker and students were more successful. The results of no physical activity throughout the day effecting student behavior aligned with my initial idea and back up the National Institutes of Health’s research.
Implications/Recommendations
With the rise of schools deciding to remove physical education from the curriculum and students being less and less active throughout the day, the importance physical activity has is falling through the cracks. The reason for this study is to show that removing physical activity from the school day to fit in more academic classes could actually be harmful to the overall education of students. According to the research, without physical activity, students are acting out more, off-task more frequently, and have shorter attention spans whereas incorporating physical activity into the day turns that around and allows for more productive class time. I plan to incorporate this research into my own instruction by making sure each student is getting adequate physical activity throughout the day through physical education classes and active brain breaks like recess or indoor physical activities between classes. Not only will students benefit from this both mentally and educationally, but teachers will also have a better experience in the classroom where they can focus on educating the future and not constantly worrying about behavior.
While this study was successful by collecting data through the strike system, I believe more accurate results could have been achieved if there was a firmer classroom management system in place. There are times student behavior is corrected without strikes given so if each of those times was collected as data, the numbers would be larger and more accurate. I am curious to see how many schools will continue to remove physical activity from the school day and interested to see the long-term effects that will have on students learning and physical abilities. I have hopes that research such as this will encourage schools and teachers to incorporate physical activity as much as possible during the school day so students can receive all of the benefits it has to offer.
Reference(s)
Committee on Physical Activity and Physical Education in the School Environment; Food and Nutrition Board; Institute of Medicine; Kohl HW III, Cook HD, editors. Educating the Student Body: Taking Physical Activity and Physical Education to School. Washington(DC): National Academies Press (US); 2013 Oct
30. 4, Physical Activity, Fitness, and Physical Education: Effects on Academic Performance. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK201501/
Implementing Purposeful Turn and Talk to Decrease Loss of Instructional Time
Primary Researchers
Ellie Smrstik, Intern, Baylor University
Tammy Freedman, B.A Interdisciplinary Studies, Mentor Teacher, Robinson Primary, Robinson ISD
Deborah Focarile, PhD, Intern Supervisor, Baylor University
Rationale/Introduction
During whole group social studies and science lessons, a set of students often interrupted instruction by blurting out their thoughts. When these students would speak out uninvited, the lesson would derail, and many times the lesson would not be completed due to loss of instructional time. A Journal of Action Research states “changing talk and interaction practices in classroom discussions requires making systematic changes over time with an intentional focus on the established interaction practices teachers and students routinely engage in.” (p. 21). Research was conducted on one female student and five male students of varying ethnicities and socio-economic statuses. Baseline data was collected by recording tally marks based on blurt outs during a social studies or science lesson.
Question/Wondering
How will implementing purposeful turn-and-talk time during social studies and science lessons decrease the amount of times six students shout out during instruction?
Methodology/Results
Through my time as an intern in first grade, I quickly became accustomed to the trends that were present during the routine of the school day. I started to take notice of the tendencies of some students to shout out during my lessons, particularly during science and social studies. It was a difficult situation to navigate for a multitude of reasons. I want my students to be engaged in class discussions, and the words they were shouting out were always on tasks. I want my students to gain knowledge from my instruction, and the students are able to prove this success through their assessment grades. After observing the behavior of my students for a few weeks, I came to the conclusion that the main issue that stemmed from the blurt outs was the lack of participation from other students in the class. I noticed that these tendencies happened mainly during social studies and science lessons because this is the subject area where they may have the most background knowledge on the subject. They have valuable things to share, but they did not know how to do it productively. When my six students would shout out, they would either answer the question without giving other students the opportunity to, or they would derail the lesson entirely.
With this knowledge in mind, I set out on a research journey of discovering how to eliminate the amount of times my six students would shout out while also keeping their excitement about learning. Because of the emphasis on it in my instructional classes in college, I knew implementing strategic, whole group turn-and-talk sequences would help me accomplish my goal. I began by taking baseline data for one week by keeping tallies of how many times the student blurted out during a thirty minute lesson. During this week of instruction, I did not prompt the students to turn-and-talk, and I let them act how they normally would during a lesson. Student A shouted out an average of 6 times a day, with one day consisting of seven blurts. On the other end, Student E shouted out an average of 1.75 times a day, with one day having none. From this week on, I implemented turn-and-talk into my lessons consistently. I would write it into my plans for these subjects to ensure that my students were partaking in it every day. For three weeks, my mentor teacher would record, with tallies, the amount of times the students blurted out during the lessons that did have the opportunity for turn-and-talk. Immediately I noticed a difference. After just one week, Student A’s average was down to just 1.75 average blurts, and Students B and E had 1 or less blurts in total for the whole week. While sometimes my students just cannot help themselves and they have to share their thoughts, I did see a noticeable decrease in the amount of times the students were shouting out when they had the opportunity for designated talking during the lesson.
Implications/Recommendations
Overall, implementing purposeful turn-and-talk into my lessons improved my classroom culture immensely. While we never had a week where every observed student had less than 2 blurts, I did see a noticeable decrease in every student. When I had the students engage in a turn-and-talk session, every student in the classroom was participating, not just my six students who tended to take over the lesson. These students still got to express their pressing thoughts, but in a way that was productive for every student’s learning. With a few reminders of the expectations, these six students were able to control the amount of times they spoke out of turn, while also staying engaged in instruction.
As a teacher, I never want to be the one to take the student’s voice away. I strongly believe the best, most effective classrooms are those where the students get to be active participants in their learning. I would recommend every teacher to find a way to formulate purposeful conversations amongst learners. The key is to be consistent and to start early. The sooner the students get introduced to the routine of instructional practices, the sooner they can start to apply and understand the why behind it, even at a young age like first grade.
Reference(s)
Journal of Teacher Action Research 1 Journal of Teacher Action Research - Volume 6, Issue 2, 2020 practicalteacherresearch.com, ISSN # 2332-2233 http://www.practicalteacherresearch.com/uploads/5/6/2/4/56249715/volume_6_issue_3_2020.pdf#page=4