Taylor Currie

Ms. Chawkat
Independent Research GT
13 March 2017
Data Collection

Geometry GT - Period 3 - Ms. Ewart

Day 1: February 27 Silent, graded warm up that is
collected as Ms. Ewart walks around
Students know about the
teacher's sons
They ask about their
respective sports (swimming and
baseball) and how they did in their
competitions over the weekend
More than teaching
relationship almost a friendship
Students have been doing
packets while teacher was out
Teacher asks for feedback:
how do you feel about proving triangles
similar?
Not confident in student
knowledge based on test scores
Is there anything you want to
recap on?, asked after presenting topics
that will be on unit test
Student ask irrational
about specific topics
Goes over homework and
students ask specific questions on things
they got wrong
students ask other students
around them how they did certain problems
partner work due at end of
class
homework was a topic people
struggled with; it is no longer in that unit
homework handed in at the end
of class
teacher walks around
 answering questions and interacting with
students:
She says, I like yours
haircut. to one of the students
use of projector camera and
black board
pairs ask other pairs how to do
certain things (group work)

Day 2: March 1 Class goes over quiz and

homework
anything students got
wrong was gone over more in depth than
any other questions
pick out of the envelope
coupons drawn based on stars which are
given based on grades on assignment
I helped Ms. Hulett
copy the coupons
disruptive students from
another class moved to the back of this
classroom
The other class had a
sub
special triangles and Sherman
trigonometry is the topic
teacher offers individual help
for students to come ask questions during
lunch, after, or before school
teacher goes over the calendar
which includes unit test reminders, the
study guide posted on Canvas, and
information about the student service
project
teacher gives rewards
for donations because the disease being
studied has a personal relevance for her
coupons are rewards that take
off the questions on homework or add
points to the test
during free time at the end of
 class, students work to finish the homework
for that day
extra coupon picks for good
behavior at the end of class today
Does not usually
happen
Students were being
quiet and working hard

Day 3: March 3 Today's a NEST day with

shorter periods
PowerPoint upfront that gives
instructions for the graded warm-up
homework check
student says, I really liked the
homework; it went over everything and
was very to the point. We should do more
homework like this.
students wait quietly after
finishing graded warm-ups at different
paces
homework key on the
document camera during the warm-up
homework walk-through after
warm up
teacher asked for any questions
about the test and any questions about the
student service learning project
a new unit is begun which
includes notes on the blackboard
the teacher presents examples
to the students and has them solve with
little information, based on topics they
learn from last year and their general math
knowledge
students then asked other
students how they got their answers and if
anyone is confused or has questions the
teacher goes over in more detail
she gives reminders of the
common problems that students have
 the answers are student led
they answer as a class
with raise hands
multiple examples are
giving to provide clarity
the students practice with work
on the blackboards
the students work individually,
but the students next to them also often
offer clarity and answer questions
The students gain reps on the
subject and the teacher informed them of
commonly missed reminders

Day 4: March 8 Homework check on student

desks
warm-up is individual and not
graded
students do problem written on
the board for the warm-up
teacher asks for any questions;
there were none
teacher goes over homework
by first reading questions aloud and then
asking for any specific questions the
students may have
the front is gone over
prior to the back because it is more
complicated
the answers to any
student questions are written on a board
to give a visual example
teacher gives a
reminder saying, be careful with
fractions!
the teacher recaps of previous
lessons by going over work
she asks for all work from
when she was out
draws diagrams on the board
and asked what students know about the
shapes based on the previous unit
 gives hypothetical scenarios
and ask students if it's correct
gives all rules based on what
was already said and other things that she
prompts for
teacher gets rules by asking
students to guess examples that they should
all already know
she goes over the old
worksheet (from two weeks ago) with the
answers
small questions interruptions
and majority of questions at the end
the worksheet cover everything
the students should know and understand
open seating at the end of class
so students can work with their friends to
figure new things out

ELA Sem 8th Grade - Period 4 - Ms. Bensen

Day 1: February 27 Independent work while Ms.
Besen asks and answers questions
Look back in books to find
answers (resources provided)
Student came to visit Ms.
Bensen while taking a break from his
other class
Teacher and student
talk about his upcoming transition to
private school
Teacher seems to know
a lot about the student and his search for
his new school
Friendly interaction
Teacher goes over classwork
by asking prompting questions, not giving
the answers
Questions asked on assignment
allow students to tell personal experiences
 and give opinions
They are able to relate
what they are doing to real life

Day 2: March 1 Class starts with individual

drill on document camera
students didn't respect the drill
(talking and not participating), so their food
privileges were taken away
assistance was not
given in the beginning as punishment
student moved closer to the
board to be able to see the drill
teacher walks around and gives
individual assistance
very small class only seven or
eight students
student presents drill answers
to class on projector
Teacher very quietly (to keep it
discrete) tells students individually what
they have done wrong while walking
around
Asks whole class for feedback
on errors
review of yesterday's topics
individual writing assignment
using books and finding quotes
students go over class work
together with very specific details, rules,
and instructions
Class has assisting teacher for
extra help to students
Teacher asked prompting
questions and gave sentence starters
students read answers aloud
and get feedback
students are provided with
looseleaf to write an argument statement
teacher asks for student
answers whenever possible to engage them
Teacher guide students with
their writing
 students have freedom to leave
for a bathroom or a drink without asking
Teachers have to remind
students to focus when they lose interest in
the assignment
teacher goes over tomorrow's
plans at the end of class

Day 3: March 3 this is a secondary class

the regular English
class is at a different time of the day for
the students
multiple classes are spent
discussing the same topic
It is a much slower
class
teacher reviews the story
discussion from the previous class
clearly defined parameters
given on all assignments
sentence starters and notes are
given on almost every lesson
student who was absent goes to
the other room with the assisting teacher to
get caught up
Teacher walks around and
answers question
student asks how to spell a
word teacher and student sound out the
word together
Teacher asks prompting
questions keep students engaged in the
writing
assistance can be found in the
books and cited evidence should be used
the questions on the
assignment are based on the reading that
should've been done prior to class
worksheet is presented on the
document camera
as a class students find text
evidence and write it out on the document
 camera (for visual learners)
A student who is causing
problems in another class was sent to sit in
the back of this classroom
class of students with
emotional problems which is why it's not at
normal speed and it's not a traditional
classroom experience
the teacher asked students why
they think she's been upset after the less
productive class
Teacher goes over plan for the
day's assignment

Day 4: March 8 Individual warm on focusing

on correcting a sentence
teacher reads questions and
gives an example
students struggle to answer
question so teacher prompts then with
helpful and hints
teacher collects warm up to
assess the students understanding
teacher goes over answers
answers questions about warm up to clarify
students will finish reading;
many get books from the classroom set
teacher reads aloud and stops
to ask the whole class about important
topics (draws attention to possible test
questions
Class takes a brief break to talk
with a student who stopped in during his
daily walk
discussion was not
about work
student that missed yesterday
goes with the assistant teacher to catch up
without disrupting the rest of class
Teacher points out important
grammar and literary techniques
student study poem found in
 the book they are reading
figurative language and
literary techniques (rhetorical devices)
as a class they look through the
first, second, third, and fourth reading for
different things each time
Examples: mood, figurative
language, meaning, etc
the teacher collects the
worksheet to look over progress and
understanding

ELA Reg 8th Grade - Period 5 - Ms. Bensen

Day 1: February 27 Drill that mirrors quiz
information from
discussion is on the quiz
students are asked to refer back
to book
drill is independent but has
feedback from the group at the end
the student shares their
sentence with the class
discussion follows the drill
discussion questions prompt
answers rather than just telling students
what is right
the questions gauge how well
students understand the text in Romeo and
Juliet
the students are asked to give
sources to help ensure their understanding
review time is given before the
quiz in groups

Day 2: March 1 Individual, multi-step drill with

clear instructions
Surprise graded warm up
issued as a punishment for students who
have not been completing the warm ups
Review and hints given to
 assist with warm up
Students called on randomly to
share their drill answers
Class sings Happy Birthday
to a classmate
Topic is fixing errors in
incorrect sentences
Volunteers share specific parts
of the sentence that incorporate the
grammar topics being studied
Class discussion prior to
reading that aims to help students
understand text

Day 3: March 3 Individual, multi-step drill with

clear instructions
Warm up topic is
related to quiz that follows
Two warm ups shred before the
quiz
As a class, students find
and label the different parts if a sentence
The event that the
warm up sentence must be about comes
from the scenes being quizzed
About two minutes of review
time in groups are given for students to
recap on the reading that has been done
both in class and at home
Conclusions

The data above was collected over four, non consecutive days. The study is about

effective learning techniques. To pinpoint these techniques, three different classrooms that

represented a below grade level class, an on-grade level class, and an above-grade level class

were observed. Originally surveys were going to be used to collect the data, but using a survey

given to students cannot leave a researcher confident in the results and responses that would be

given. Depending on the age or academic strength of the students, they may not have even

recognize when teachers do specific things to help them; if they were aware, it would have been

difficult for them to articulate why the techniques they see are helpful to them. Using

observations made it so that neither teachers nor students had to be consciously aware of what

techniques they were using. The researcher does have to pay extra close attention and take note

of things that seem small and unimportant. Teachers may quickly do things they may have been

doing as a force of habit for many years. It is the job of the researcher to pick up on these things

and see the students response as well. The method, observations, allows the researcher to have

first hand data that could not have been received otherwise. Also, in this particular project, the

sample was much more random than what it would have been, had a survey been used. This

method allowed data from all three levels of middle school studies. If a survey would have been

used, it would have been difficult to make the sample random because distribution to students

willing to participate would have been more difficult. Overall, the observations recorded

successfully collect the data necessary to answer the research question in the most effective way.

To derive adequate data, the researcher should focus on repeated techniques and

common themes. They should look at how recurring ideas seem to affect the students attitudes

and general sense of comfort. After reviewing the data, the themes that seemed to pop up
multiple times were the casual use of technology in the classroom, teacher student relationship,

reviewing topics, group work, and asking not telling the answer. The first theme observed was

the casual use of technology. Both teachers used the document camera and projector everyday.

These items allowed the teachers to show their students rather than just telling. In the math

class, the students could see how to solve the specific problem. In the english classes, the

teacher wrote down what she was saying if it was important for the students understanding of

what was being studied. The next theme observed was the apparent teacher to student

relationship. Both teachers were found to be very aware of their students lives outside of

school. It even comes up as a topic of discussion during class time on multiple occasions. A

technique that the teachers used was reviewing previous topics. The teachers held recap

sessions at the beginning of class or after seeing that the students are confused. The concept

reviewed came from previous lessons from previous years, or something that was discussed

just in the most recent proceeding class. Another technique that was applied by both teachers

was asking not telling the answer. The teachers did not answer the students questions with a

sentence; they answered with a question. This forces the student to think with their own brain.

When students are forced to think, they are more likely to absorb and remember the content.

The last common technique observed was the use of Group work. As the name implies, the

students work in groups to complete their assignment. Sometimes the groups had set numbers.

For example, if the teacher asked for pairs or groups of three, only those numbers can be

visible. Other times, the students work alone; however, there is a whole class discussion when

questions arise. In this case, the students are not limited to asking their questions to a specific

person or group of people.

 The most surprising piece of data collected was the importance of the presence of

relationships between the students and the teacher. Both teachers asked about events in the

students personal lives and the students did the same for them. In one of the observed classes,

the students asked about the teacher's children, by name, and knew the specific sporting events

the children had participated in the past weekend. The ability to make relationships and

communicate is a lesson taught at a very young age. This is an example of an unconscious

action that makes a huge difference for students and teachers alike. The students that like their

teachers and talk to their teachers outside of class are the ones that pay the most attention

during class. They are paying attention and more likely to participate. This was observed when

a particular students came to talk to his teacher during his break and then participated a lot

during the class period that he actually shared with the teacher.

The techniques isolated during this data collection are the answer to the research

question. These techniques were witnessed in action and the researcher was able to watch the

students go from confused about a topic to clear on how the answer was reached and able to

ultimately reach the answer themselve. It is Extremely import for teachers to understand the

applications of these techniques. The teachers observed already do these things out of habit but

there are many newer that do not use techniques because no one has taught them that it what

they should be doing. The data collected in this research project gives teachers the ability to

know what is effective and ineffective without the time consuming trial and error. A reminder

for experienced teachers would also ease the lives of those teachers and help the students to be

more successful. The results of the research give clearer, more specific knowledge. Instead of

just knowing that students need help when they do not understand things, interested audiences

have the ability to know how teachers can help when the inevitable problem occurs.