Action Research

RUNNING HEAD: STUDENT SELF-ADVOCACY AND MOTIVATION
Action Research: Student Self-Advocacy and Motivation
Taylor L. Cyr
University of San Diego

RUNNING HEAD: STUDENT SELF-ADVOCACY AND MOTIVATION 2
Abstract
Student teaching in my fourth-grade classroom of 30 students, I integrated self-advocacy
lessons through both literature and mathematics instruction to increase student’s abilities to
advocate for themselves and increase motivation. The self-advocacy lessons created a space for
student collaboration and freedom to seek help when needed. Through these lessons, students
learned about themselves and the different ways they can advocate for themselves both in and
out of school. The final summative assessment for the students in both math and literacy showed
that 70% of students met or exceeded standards in math, and 83% of students met or exceeded
standards in literature throughout the course of the unit. Through the study, I found the
importance of students knowing their own strengths and weaknesses and what it means for them
to know how to use them to advocate for themselves. Through this knowledge, I learned that
students became more motivated to learn.
Keywords: Self-advocacy, motivation, strengths, weaknesses

Introduction
Teaching, in my opinion, is one of the most rewarding professions. I want to be the
person that the children can count on every day to be there for them and help them grow. Since I
was in elementary school, I have dealt with problems of anxiety. I used to feel an overwhelming
sense of need to stay home from class because I was too stressed or too scared to face the day. I
have worked for years to overcome these issues and have found ways to cope; however, I want to
make sure that no kids have to feel the way I did when I thought about school. After having such
a difficult time when I was younger in school, I want to be able to be a person that can make sure
that students have someone to talk to and someone to lean on for any situation. After discovering
that the one place I used to fear the most is now the one place that I want to spend all my time, I
have come to realize how invested and excited I am to be a leader for children. I plan to
contribute my compassion, my understanding, and most of all my commitment to young students
who deserve nothing less. Through this journey of finding that I wanted to become a teacher; it
led me to find USD. I visited the school with my sister when she was looking at colleges and fell
in love first with the atmosphere, and then came to find out about the SOLES program. After
then learning about the elementary education program I knew that this was the school I wanted to
be at.
One of the things that I talked about above was how I want to emphasize a sense of safety
and comfort for my students in the classroom. This year my master teacher has been showing
many ways that are helpful in making sure that all the students are feeling comfortable and
listened to in the classroom. One of the problematic aspects that I have noticed in the classroom
so far though is the attention of the students. There are quite a few students that are frequently
off task and not listening. They will disrupt other students and the flow of the lesson. This is
something that I would like to look further into and try to find solutions for the students to help
them focus during class. I want to make sure that these students aren’t always being targeted for
not paying attention, which could create added stress on them, but rather find quiet solutions.
Context
The School
My student teaching took place at an ethnically diverse school in the greater San Diego
area that embraces its core values of problem-solving, kindness, and respect. The school teaches
Kindergarten through 8th grade and had its classrooms set up in three different hallways where
students were all in the same grade areas. The school also had different activities to help bring
the school together, one of which was held every Friday where different students from each class
were recognized from different helpful and kind things they have done during the week. They
also hold monthly assemblies where parents are invited and different students are recognized by
the school for showing the traits that the school values. The school as a whole has a welcoming
environment shown through the staff, students, and parents that are involved both at home and at
school.
Classroom Demographics
There are 32 students in my classroom, 16 girls and 16 boys. The classroom has a mix of
different ethnicities and learners with the largest group being White (18 students) and the second
largest being Hispanic (8 students). There are three ELL students in my classroom and not
students with special need and two students on IEP plans. An IEP is an individualized education
plan for students with special educational needs. These students all have different educational
needs and are addressed through their personal IEP programs set up through the school. The
current number of students that have free and reduced lunch is unknown though constantly
changing on a day to day basis.
Classroom Description
The classroom is also quite spacious for needing to hold 32 students with extra room to
move around. There are five different table groups in a circular formation around the edge of the
classroom leaving the center of the room open for students to come together and work. The room
is also very well-lit with extra lamps and lights to allow for different lighting throughout the day
to fit the needs of the class. The classroom is also decorated with different posters and student
artwork. It is colorful with different colored squares filled with different informational posters
and student artwork along the walls of the room creating a friendly and welcoming atmosphere.
One important description of the room is how the tables are all different. It was important for my
cooperating teacher that the students in our classroom would have the choice of their seating.
There are students that work better in different places of the room and it was important that they
are given the opportunity to have the tables and space to have a seat that works for them. There
are tables that have rods on the bottom that will move to help with students who are often
needing something to fidget with. This moving table is helpful for those students to help keep
them focused and on task. There are also tables that are low to the ground where students can
choose to sit on the ground or a stool. There are different types of stools that are offered to the
students again for them to choose which works best for them. The larger tables are also painted
in whiteboard paint so that the students can do work on their desks to follow along instead of
each student needing individual whiteboards. Though there are different types of desks for
students to sit at there are also some desks that are at a normal height with regular chairs for the
students to sit on. This gives the students the opportunity each day to choose what works best for
them and learn how to position themselves in the room to help them work to the best of their
abilities.
Room Arrangement
The room arrangement in the classroom allows students to have the opportunity to choose
where they work best. There are tables around the room that are at different heights with
different chairs and places to sit that work to different student’s needs. With the tables arranged
around the class, it also leaves a large open space in the front area of the room where students
can also choose to sit on the floor if that works better for their learning style. There is a small
area in front of the classroom for the teacher, but it is not like a “traditional” desk area with a
chair and workspace. It is a tall standing desk by the projector with an area for the computer and
an area with the document camera.
Teacher-Student Interactions
Students are always treated with kindness and helped through using restorative practices
in class. There are often many different questions and problems that the students face each day
and they are always given a helpful response to get them through their difficulties. Both myself
and the teacher in the classroom will both do our best to help students to our best abilities
throughout each day. It is important to make sure the students know that we are there for them
and that we care about all of them, while at the same keeping it a professional student-teacher
relationship. If there are constant problems with specific students it is never negatively dealt
with, rather working with the students to help them problem solve and create a solution. The one
difficulty that the students have had since the beginning of the year is the transitions. Transitions
are usually the time where the students become distracted and will get off task by talking to
friends and walking around the class rather than doing what they need to for us to get to work.
The one part of the day that creates a strong teacher-student connection is our morning meeting
routine each day. Every morning students unpack their materials and gather in a circle in the
front of the class. They are given a different question each day to share with the class to help
create a stronger community where students can share without judgment and be heard by both
the teachers and their peers.
Instructional Design
There are a few different strategies that are used for teaching in the classroom. One
specific strategy that is used is how we work to practice as a class for all subjects before the
students are expected to complete the work on their own. With math, the students are given
whiteboards to practice along with the examples on the board. This gives them the ability to use
manipulatives and practice along with the example on the board. This then increases student
participation as they are needing to follow along and as I am at the front I can see who is not
working along with the class. With calling on students we work to call on students who raise
their hand rather than calling on random students and make a point that it is okay to make
mistakes when answering questions, it is a learning opportunity for all students. This creates an
open community of learners who have more confidence in being able to share their ideas with the
class. The students often have to justify their answers by asking questions such as “how do you
know this?” or “can you describe how you came to that conclusion?”. There are then a few
different methods that are used to check for student understanding after lessons and throughout
the day. One that has been using frequently is having the students give a thumb up or down to
show if they understand the material, and we will then write down those who are needing more
guided assistance after the lesson. Another method that is used for checking students
understanding is through looking at their online work. Students use different apps on their iPads
in class to complete assignments. The data from these assignments is then visible to us showing
where the students are academically and if they are understanding the material this is being
covered in class.
Needs Assessment
Student success in the classroom depends heavily on their ability to focus and pay
attention to what is happening throughout the day. They must navigate around the many different
distractions that they are faced with daily to get the most out of their learning experience. It has
been a prominent problem in my classroom with students transitioning and focusing on the
material that we are teaching daily. With a loss of focus and motivation, it will prevent students
from learning to the best of their abilities and gaining the education that they not only need but
deserve.
In my 4th grade classroom, my cooperating teacher provides multiple different tools for
students to use to help with focus and attention. It is a focus that we are providing these tools for
the students to work and learn in a way that is conducive to their learning style. We have noticed
that students in the class, through these first couple months of school, have been having a
difficult time finding stillness in class, getting to work in a timely manner, and being able to stay
on task during their work time. There are multiple tools that are provided to the students which
include flexible seating, stuffed animals, a calm down kit, and methods that were taught to them
to help with fidgeting. Students have been informed throughout the year that they are able to
access any of these tools whenever they are feeling unfocused and need something to help them
in class. When asked about getting the focus of the class my cooperating teacher gave a few
different methods that she uses such as ringing a bell, clapping hands and having the class repeat,
saying ‘waterfall’ and having the students do a hand motion and noise, and using an alarm on our
phone to get their attention. Then from understanding the methods to get student attention I
asked how much time it takes from students learning time when they are off task and not paying
attention. The answer was that it depends on the activity and how quickly the students are taking
to transition. Most of our transitions take extra time as students take a longer amount of time to
come back together as a class and listen to instructions. This takes time from the lessons as well
as time for them to be able to work independently. Another question I talked about was if there
are any punishments for students who are off-task and not following along with the lesson. The
answer was that there are not always outright punishments for students, but they will fall behind
in their work. This is a punishment that the students give to themselves as they are not focusing
and will have to make up the work that they are missing while they are off-task. The last
question discussed if there were any incentives for the students who were needing help with
focusing and getting work done in class. There are currently no incentives for students in place.
We have discussed adding class points for good transitions and lines, but have not yet
implemented them. There is also talk about adding self and match charts for those students who
are needing more help with focus and motivation in class.
Knowing what the students are provided with and the behaviors that they are showing in
class it was important to know their own personal take on focus and attention in class. I provided
the class with a survey asking five questions, three multiple choice and two short answer asking
different questions about attention and distractions in class. The first question was multiple
choice and asked the question “Do you feel focused in class?”, and their options for answers
were “yes, no, or sometimes”. The results showed that most the class (79.3%) of the class
answered sometimes and only a small percent (17.2%) answering yes. The next question then
asked students “Do you get easily distracted in class?”, and their options for answers were once
again “yes, no, or sometimes”. With this question, the responses were a bit more divided with an
equal percent of the class (44.8%) saying ‘yes’ and ‘sometimes’. This shows me that though
many students are saying that they sometimes focus in class, many of them are often getting
distracted throughout the day. This then leads to the next question “what are some distractions
that you find in the classroom?” where they were then given the opportunity to give a short
answer response. Through reading over their answers the most common thing that was discussed
by over half the class (55.2%) was students in class talking and being loud. The other common
themes were friends and iPads. The next question was then “Are there any tools that help you
stay focused in class?”, with the answer choices “yes, no, or I’m not sure what tools there are”.
This answer showed that the majority (58.6%) answered either ‘no’ or ‘I’m not sure what tools
there are’. This shows that for some of those students who are not able to focus in class and get
easily distracted they may not have the tools that they need in class to help them focus and pay
attention, or they don’t know what is available to them in class. Last I asked what the students
use as tools to help them refocus their attention in class. A large group said that they didn’t know
what tools they would use, and the other used the materials that are available to them in class.
This shows that the students may not have the tools that they need in the classroom, they don’t
know what to use, or they already have the tools that they need in the class.
Through watching students during the school day, it was apparent which students were
not focusing and falling behind in their work. I have observed during their writing time over the
past few weeks and watched to see which students are falling behind and which are able to
follow along and stay on task. I observed that there was a group of about five students who are
constantly off task and not working on the current task. During writing time those students were
constantly going to the bathroom to take breaks, and talking with their neighbors causing other
students to be distracted and off task as well. I have noticed that they are often confused as they
will stare off into space and not listen to the lesson and directions, causing them to fall further
behind. I also noticed while they are working on a specific task if it becomes too difficult
students will tend to give up and move onto something that they would rather do. I have also
noticed that students will begin to get up and walk around the classroom when they are not
focused on their work and start talking to friends, also creating a larger group of students who are
not focused and off task.
After reviewing what I have observed and the data I have collected from the students it is
apparent that focus and attention in the classroom are having an impact on their learning. The
students are self-aware in that they understand how distractions and talking are taking away from
their learning, but through the weeks they have had no clear motivation to stop this behavior. It is
also becoming an increasing problem for the small group of students who are not able to stay
focused for longer periods of time during the day as they are losing a lot of learning time as well
as time to work independently. This is causing them to fall behind on work which will in turn
cause problems in their academic lives. Through my findings on focus and attention for students
in the classroom, I have decided to work with the small group of students that are showing the
most struggle in this area. After reviewing my findings my research question is, how will
applying strategies of self-advocacy help to refocus my students and raise engagement in class?
Literature Review
Self-advocacy and motivation are two driving factors in student’s growth and learning.
Carol Dweck’s theory of Growth Mindset states how “people could have different mindsets -
fixed or growth - toward varying areas within their lives...students with a fixed mindset deem
intelligence as a factor that cannot be changed” (Rhew, Piro, Goolkasian, & Cosentino, 2018,
p.2). Through the knowledge of fixed versus growth mindset, it shows the importance of students
understanding of time and effort and its effects on their own learning and success. Based on this
theory of growth mindset, Albert Bandura shows a connecting theory of motivation seen
through self-efficacy and one’s belief in one’s ability to succeed in specific situations or during
specific tasks. This theory discusses how student’s motivation stems from how they view
themselves. This theory states that students will be less likely to be motivated to succeed if
they have a negatively fixed mindset of their abilities. Likewise, if a student believes that they
can succeed, and have a growth mindset, their motivation will be stronger while completing
assignments and tasks. This theoretical framework from the works of Carol Dweck and Albert
Bandura helps guide the research throughout this literature review.
Effects of Autonomy and Motivation on Self Advocacy
When researching self-advocacy and how it can affect students and their overall
classroom engagement it was important to find and review different articles to help further our
knowledge and understanding of the topic. Looking at self-advocacy it is important to first look
at its connection to student autonomy and its effects it has on student’s motivation in the class.
One positive effect seen with student autonomy is that “autonomy-supportive teaching strategies
have been associated with higher intrinsic motivation and…most beneficial to students’
motivation” (Hornstra, Mansfield, Veen, Peetsma, & Volman, 2015, p. 365). This shows that
students that have more autonomy in the classroom tend to show more motivation towards their
work, which will further help with their ability to self-advocate. When students are given the
ability of autonomy in the classroom this is also giving them more of a sense of ownership of
their work as well as their learning. Ownership of their work can make a difference in how
students approach school and their learning experiences. It is stated that “ownership increases the
likelihood that young people will approach the knowledge and skills to be learned as active,
critical, thoughtful investigators, rather than as passive receptors” (Clayton and Ardito, 2009,
p.55). Studies show that when students are more interested and involved in their learning it
creates an atmosphere where they feel empowered. Students feel as though they have a voice in
their learning which can then further their ability to be autonomous. Along with autonomy and
student’s motivation in the classroom research also shows how it is important to understand how
student’s interests play a role in their learning. It is seen that “genuine interest plays a critical
role in students’ learning” (Pierson, 1999, p.310), showing that for students to be autonomous
and motivated they also need to be interested in what they are learning. It is important to
understand that students need to have a genuine interest in what they are learning and how it is
going to affect them, without this information students will lose interest, feel less autonomous,
and now feel a sense of ownership over their work. It is also stated that “multidimensional
approaches to students’ engagement with school need to incorporate the dimension of study
skills, as a relevant domain of students’ engagement with school” (Moreira, Dias, Vaz, & Vaz,
2012, p.123). This goes back to the idea of student autonomy as students who can have to correct
study skills are able to be more autonomous in the classroom. They can get what they need and
have the autonomy they need to work on things in a way that works best for them. This then
furthers the idea of ownership and how students who can have the correct study skills be more
engaged with what they are interested in at school will be able to advocate for themselves and
what they need. This then leads to the idea that “the characteristics of ownership and justification
of ideas, the construction of meaning, and the intentional self-reliance used in critical thinking
are at the heart of learning and motivation in the classroom” (Stefanou, Perencevich, Dicintio, &
Turner, 2004, p.109). Students need to possess these skills to be able to genuinely learn and
advocate for themselves in the class. Self-advocacy is something that students will be able to do
once they feel comfortable in a classroom and understand their strengths and weaknesses to be
able to advocate for themselves in the best way that they can. It is stated that “self-advocacy is
important and effective when one understands one's learning styles, learning strategies, and
knows how to seek help assertively” (Merlone and Moran, 2008, p.4). Students with the ability
to be autonomous, take ownership, and have the correct skills to learn in class will then be able
to effectively advocate for themselves both in and out of school.
Self-Advocacy and Coping
Another important factor to look at when observing student’s self-advocacy is their
coping methods. One positive effect that has been found is that “adaptive coping has been found
to be positively correlated with students’ self-system processes of relatedness, competence, and
autonomy” (Skinner, Pitzer, & Steele, 2016, p.2105). When students possess the ability to cope
with their weakness in and out of the classroom they will be better prepared with the tools they
need to succeed in the classroom. It is also stated that “individuals with a higher hope for
success…primarily seek to maximize positive emotions such as joy or pride by achieving
success…with higher fear of failure primarily seek to avoid negative emotions such as shame or
sorrow by avoiding failure” (Bergold and Steinmayr, 2016, p.230). This furthers what was
already understood above about students seeking out the tools they need to cope with different
stress factors in school. Furthering this argument Dweck and Master stated that “students with
more of a growth mindset characteristically had higher levels of self-efficacy than students with
more of a fixed mindset” (as cited in Rhew, Piro, Goolkasian, & Cosentino, 2018, p.4). When
students have a mindset that they are hoping for success they are better able to cope and look for
positive emotions to help them throughout their days, whereas students who are not able to cope
and have a more fixed mindset are likely to be stagnant in their learning and not know how to
properly seek the right help. It is also stated in “Expanding Autonomy Psychological Need States
from Two (satisfaction, frustration) to Three (dissatisfaction): A Classroom-Based Intervention
Study” that “need-satisfying experiences, when they occur, energize students’ positive classroom
functioning, such as greater engagement and conceptual learning” (Cheon, et al., 2018, p.2). This
furthers the argument that students that have more hope for success will be able to function more
positively in the classroom setting. These students will be more engaged with the learning and
have more confidence in themselves to advocate for themselves when they are needing help. It is
then important to work towards increasing students hope for success and lessen their fear of
failure. This can cause students to then gain confidence and advocate for themselves and others.
It is stated that we have a “need to enable all children, including children with disabilities, to
learn and develop the attitudes and abilities they will need to achieve” (Palmer and Wehmeyer,
2013, p.125). This emphasizes that we then need to focus on creating an environment that fosters
student success in order for students to have the tools and ability they need to succeed both in
and out of the classroom.
Conclusion
Students in my classroom were all self-aware in that they understood how different
distractions and talking were taking away from their learning on a daily basis, though through the
weeks they had had no clear motivation or intentions to stop this behavior. This was also
becoming an increasing problem for the small group of students who were not able to stay
focused for longer periods of time during the day as they were losing a lot of group learning time
as well as independent work time.

It was also found through my review of literature that when researching self-advocacy
and its effects on student motivation, there is a wide gap in the research as most studies are based
around students with disabilities. There are many findings on the effects of self-advocacy and
how it can help with different intellectual, physical, and cognitive disabilities and give students
the tools they need to succeed both in and out of the school setting. Though there is an
abundance of research surrounding this topic, it is lacking research on the importance for all
students regardless of their abilities.
Through looking at this research it clarifies the different connections to different topics
related to self-advocacy. There are many different factors that go into helping students feel as
though they can advocate for themselves and have the confidence to do so in the classroom. It is
important that they know the tools they have, to get the help they need. It is also important that
they know their strengths and weaknesses to know how to best help themselves. Through these
findings, I have chosen to implement self-advocacy lessons through as precursors to both
mathematics and literacy lessons. The intention of the lesson is to provide students with the tools
they need to succeed during both lessons, and allowing both the time and help necessary for
success. Through lessons prior to discourse, models and examples of self-advocacy were shown
to help enhance learning and motivation during both the math and literature lessons.
Cycle I - Self-Advocacy Development through Math Review Lesson
Self-Advocacy Assessment Plan
Before beginning my lesson on self-advocacy, I tallied information on students and
whether they were being self-advocates during our math lessons (see Figure 1). I walked around
to different groups of students during their math work time and tallied for each student when
they were demonstrating skills for self-advocacy, and when they were not demonstrating skills
for self-advocacy. I took tallies for a math lesson prior to and after their lesson. Using this
information, I was then able to use the before and after data to compare how students were
differences in how they were using self-advocating skills prior to and after the lesson.
Figure 1. Table for tallies showing when students showed self-advocacy skills and when they
showed skills that did now show self-advocacy. Tallies were marked for each student in the class
over two math lessons.
The summative assessment that the students completed was an ‘exit slip’ that was given
to them at the end of their math lesson. Students were given time to go over past work and ask
clarifying questions while advocating for themselves before taking the test. They were then
scored on their ability to complete the different methods to complete the multiplication word
problem that was given to them. This rubric shows three different proficiency marks for students
such as exceeding, meeting, and not meeting standards (see Figure 2). For a student to exceed
they needed to show that they could correctly complete three different multiplication methods
that we have gone over in class. For students to meet they needed to show that they could
correctly show that they understood two methods or one method with work for another. This
showed me that they could understand most of the material and comprehend what they were
doing. For students to not meet standards they would only have one method, no methods or work
that does not show understanding of the material. Some students showed three examples of
methods will all incorrect answers and ways to find the numbers. This shows me that they are
lacking a basic understanding of the material.
Figure 2. Rubric to assess student’s summative assessment and determine whether they
exceeded, net, or did not meet the learning standards.
After the summative assessment students were given the opportunity to express their
opinions of the lesson for self-advocacy (see Figure 3). They were first asked on a scale from 1-4
how they would rate the lesson with 1 being ‘not helpful to my learning’ and 4 being ‘very
helpful to my learning’. After making their decision they were then asked to explain their
reasoning behind their ranking. The last multiple choice question asked if they felt more
confident in their ability to self-advocate, and they answered either ‘yes’, ‘no’, or ‘maybe’.
Figure 3. Survey students were given asking for their feedback on their lesson about self-
advocacy. They were given three questions to answer about the lesson and rate how they felt the
lesson contributed to their learning.
Self-Advocacy Implementation
In the Self-Advocacy lesson, I worked through a slideshow with the students over the
course of two class periods. Students were given the time to discuss in pairs what they thought
“self-advocacy” meant and how it applied to their academics. Once students were given time to
discuss as pairs they were presented with a slide that defined to them what self-advocacy means.
During the first lesson students then worked through a slideshow discussing what their personal
strengths and weaknesses are and how knowing these different things about themselves can help
them to become better self-advocates. They worked in pairs to write down and discuss their own
strengths and weaknesses both related and not related to school and then share them out as a
class.
The second day of the lesson the students were tasked with the activity of creating a story
demonstrating self-advocacy (see Figure 4). Students worked in pairs to create a story about
someone who needs to advocate for themselves while also answering different questions on the
slide. Once students were finished with their stories they were given the opportunity to share out
with the class by either reading it out loud or bringing it up to the front and showing the story
that they drew up together.
Figure 4. Google slide of activity students were presented with to complete with a partner.
Students were to create a story using the different questions about someone that needed to
advocate for themselves. Students were encouraged to use ideas about themselves that they had
come up with during the previous lesson.
The next day I began the math lesson by reminding students what we had learned about
self-advocacy. The math lesson was a technology-based lesson as I had recorded the lesson on
their class application the night prior. After reminding students about being self-advocates I
explained the expectations of the lesson. This lesson was a review and was ending with students
completing an “Exit Slip” before leaving for recess (see Figure 5). Students were expected to
watch the video through to refresh their memory on multiplication and then review their notes on
multiplication as well as work with a partner through any confusion they may have had about
any different method we have learned. I informed students to advocate for themselves through
the techniques we have been discussing to help ensure that they are getting all the help they need
before working through their “Exit Slip”. I was then able to walk around the room and see
whether students were advocating for themselves, asking for help, working through problems, or
not showing the self-advocacy skills we had been working on. If I saw a student not advocating
for themselves I was then able to go over and check on what was not working and what we could
do to help.
Figure 5. Exit Slip students were given as a quiz to show their understanding of the material.
This showed if they were working and advocating for themselves during the time they were
given to fully show their understanding of the content.
Self-Advocacy Findings
Through my data collection on student self-advocacy and looking at how many students
were taking ownership of their work and being a self-advocate both pre- and post lesson, I was
then able to compare the results and see if there were any differences seen in their work. Being a
self-advocate requires students to understand both their strengths and weaknesses and know how
to use them when they need help. Students use this knowledge so that they are better able to deal
with any situations or challenges that may come up both in school and everyday life. When
students were demonstrating self-advocacy skills they were asking for help from either their
peers or one of the teachers, reviewing past materials to help with current assignments, taking
notes, and practicing problems to help better themselves. I then determined what it looked like
when students were not being self-advocates, which was shown through behavior such as
speeding through work, writing in random answers instead of asking for help, talking to
neighbors and being off task during work time, and not taking notes. I took tallies for these
behaviors for both the pre-assessment and post-assessment to see how the student’s self-
advocacy skills changed along with their test scores (see Table 1). Through looking at their
ability to self-advocate before and after the lesson they showed a large improvement in how they
were asking for help and advocating for themselves and the work they were turning in.
Table 1
Self-Advocacy used by Fourth Grade Students
After our lesson on self-advocacy, students were better able to understand the tools they
needed to advocate for themselves. They understood what it meant to be self-aware and advocate
for themselves to be the best that they can be, both in and out of school. There was a noticeable
change in the students and how they were choosing to advocate for themselves throughout the
post-lesson versus the pre-lesson. When seeing the tallies from the pre-lesson it is visible that the
students were using self-advocacy skills very sparsely which was seen in their class work. There
were few questions being asked, and they were not using each other as tools for learning, rather
just socially. Their lack of ability to advocate and help themselves with their work was then
reflected in their assignment.

Though there was a lack of self-awareness before our lesson, there was a big shift in our
post-lesson. Students were using the tools that they were given to make sure they were
understanding the material. There were more students coming up to myself and my cooperating
teacher to ask for help and clarifying questions, and students were focused on helping other
students who may have been needing a bit of extra help. This shift in student’s mindsets towards
advocating for themselves showed a large improvement in their classwork. As they took the time
to understand what they needed help with it helped them to gain a better understanding of the
material and what they needed to know to correctly finish their work.
Through the increase in student self-awareness, there was also an increase in their
understanding and comprehension of the lessons that they were learning. They were taking more
time to read through the lesson instructions and check over their work to make sure it was
correct. For the summative assessment, I asked students to complete an “exit slip” to show their
comprehension and ability to express three of the four different multiplication methods that we
have learned in our unit (see Table 2). I created a word problem that they had to solve using
whichever three methods they wanted to use. They were given time before getting their exit slips
to advocate for themselves and ask any last clarifying questions, get help from a neighbor and
review notes and past materials.

Table 2
Summative Assessment Results on Math Learning Objective
After students finished their tests I then graded them on a rubric with the options of
exceeding, meeting, or not meeting the lesson standards. Out of the 24 students that were in the
class for this test, there were 5 that exceeded, 12 that met, and 7 students that did not meet the
standards. The five students that exceeded could apply and show their work for all three different
methods. The 12 students that met standards could correctly apply two or one methods and show
their work. The 7 students that did not meet standards were not able to correctly fill out any
methods. Samples of student work for exceeding, meeting, and not meeting the standards are
shown in Figures 6, 7, and 8.

Figure 6. Sample of student work that exceeded. This student could correctly apply three of the
strategies of multiplication that we have been learning in class. They were also able to label each
of the strategies to describe which one they were using in each different box.
Figure 7. This student met standards as they demonstrated that they could understand and apply
two of the multiplication strategies that they have learned in class. They also drew arrows
showing the reasoning behind their math and labeled their area model.
Figure 8. This student did not meet standards as they were not able to correctly identify a
method, and the work that they have shows an incorrect answer. They showed some work that
would help towards finding the correct answer, but this is not a method that they have learned
and the number line strategy is not one that they are learning.
Once the students finished the test they were then given a short survey on how they felt
about the lesson on self-advocacy. Students were asked three different questions in their
survey, two were multiple choice questions and one was a short answer explanation (see
Table 3). This gave them time to reflect over what they had learned about self-advocacy
and helping themselves to make sure that they are doing the best that they can.
Table 3
Student Evaluation of Self-Advocacy
After looking at the results from the survey it showed 6 students that found the lesson to
be very helpful to their learning, 15 students said it was helpful, and 3 students that found it to be
somewhat unhelpful. One student wrote, “It’s teaching me what it means and what to do in a
type of situation. Like sticking up for myself or things that I need help on”. Much of the class
shared that their confidence in their ability to self-advocate was “maybe” higher from this lesson,
and the other group said “yes” this lesson helped me gain confidence in my ability to self-
advocate. Most of the class expressed that through the lesson on self-advocacy it was beneficial
to their learning experiences and would help them be better self-advocates both in and out of the
class.
Overall the students were able to gain skills to help learn how to better advocate for
themselves and understand how they can take more ownership of their work in the class. They
could advocate for themselves when it came to studying for their work and working together in
groups. Their work reflected that they could take these skills and improve on how they were
performing in class.
Next Steps
For cycle 1, I wanted my students to get an understanding of what it means to be a self-
advocate and what that looks like in and out of school. It was important that they were learning
that basics and how they can practice this in class during our lessons. Through their
understanding of self-advocacy, their test scores increased and their ability to advocate for
themselves and how they are doing on their assignments increased as well.
A drawback of this lesson was that the students were not given much time after the lesson
before they were assessed. The students didn’t have much time to take in all the information
before they were expected to use the skills to help them perform on their assessment. For cycle 2
I would extend this lesson and make sure that the students are given more time to understand the
information they are learning from the lessons and be able to better implement it in their
learning.
Through this cycle, I was able to learn a lot about my students. They showed a strong
desire to show their best work and make sure they were doing all they could to get all the
information they needed. They showed to be passionate about their work and excited to
understand new tools in helping the self-advocate. They now use this vocabulary word during
class with peers to make sure they are helping themselves through their lessons and assignments.
Students were eager to work with one another and learn about their strengths and weaknesses to
help themselves grow as learners.
Through this lesson, I also learned about myself as a teacher and how teaching one small
lesson can make a big impact on my students. I learned that it is important to listen to students
and their needs and find ways to help all different students learn to the best of their ability. I
learned that students all have different strengths and weaknesses and it is important to know
them to better help them in class. I enjoyed how the lesson gave me a deeper understanding of
my students and some of their needs and how they understand what self-advocacy means to
them. I think it is important to know your students and their needs to be the best educator that
you can for your students.
Cycle II - Self-Advocacy Development through Paragraph Construction
Self-Advocacy (Literacy) Assessment Plan
Over the course of a week, I instructed students through how to create a paragraph using
their skills from the self-advocacy lessons they had learned. Students were writing about how to
self-advocate over the course of five separate lessons. The formative assessment that I used was
a tally chart used to monitor student’s self-advocacy skills throughout each lesson period (see
Figure 1). I used a tally sheet for each student to monitor how they were using the skills we
learned throughout the lessons. This assessment is like the assessment in cycle 1, though
formatted to observe each student for each individual lesson. To observe this data correctly, I
used my video recordings of each lesson to go back and double check my observations of each
student. I marked tallies in each box that pertained to the skills the students were expressing in
class, and then used this data to calculate the results and find the total amount of time students
were being self-advocates to the total time they were expressing any skills (self-advocacy or not)
during each lesson. When observing this data over the course of time, if students were expressing
significantly more non-self-advocacy behaviors then I would intervene and have a one-on-one
meeting discussing what we could do together to become a better self-advocate.
Figure 1. Table for tallies showing when students showed self-advocacy skills and when they
showed skills that did now show self-advocacy during their four different literacy lessons. Tallies
were marked for each student over the course of four different lessons showing if they were
expressing the skills they had learned throughout their self-advocacy workshop lessons.
The summative assessment that was used was for each lesson throughout the unit. At the
end of each lesson, I collected students work that they completed on their Google Classroom
accounts. Each lesson students were to work on a different part of their paragraph that we
learned as a class. Their work was recorded on different slides in their Google Slides that was
assigned to them at the beginning of the unit. I assessed their work on a scale of ‘exceeding’,
‘meeting’, or ‘not meeting’, to better understand where students were and whether the lesson
needed to be worked on further or not (see Figure 2).
Figure 2. Rubric to assess students work at the end of each writing lesson and determine whether
they exceeded, met, or did not meet the learning standards.
The formal summative assessment was another rubric to assess students understanding
and mastery of the learning objectives for the unit (see Figure 3). Students were assessed on a
scale of ‘exceeding’, ‘meeting’, and ‘not meeting’ for their learning objectives. Each level of the
scale also had a designated point value ranging from 1 to 3 points that would be used to give an
overall score at the end of grading. Students were graded both on their final paragraph that they
had constructed as well as their oral presentation of their material to the class. The learning
objectives that students were graded on were: a) students can demonstrate an understanding of
how to construct a paragraph, b) students can identify the problem in their scenario and create a
solution, c) students demonstrate the ability to correctly use punctuation in their writing, d)
students demonstrate an understanding of self-advocacy, and e) students can orally present their
paragraph to an audience. Each lesson objective was then graded and received a point value that
contributed to their overall average score on their final paper and presentation.
Figure 3. Final summative assessment rubric for students writing and presentation at the end of
the writing unit. Students were graded on a scale where they received either one, two, or three
points for each learning objective. There is also a place for teacher notes and feedback to
students once they receive their papers back. The point totals were added up at the end of grading
and students average score was then shown as an overall score of either exceeding, meeting, or
not yet meeting the lesson objectives.

The final formative assessment was a student self-assessment on the material that was
learned over the course of the five different lessons. Students were assigned a survey to complete
asking a range of different questions about what they learned and how they would change it for
the future (see Figure 4). Students were first asked to rate the lesson on self-advocacy on a scale
ranging from ‘poor’ to ‘excellent’. Following the ranking, they were then asked to explain why
they chose that ranking of the lesson. Students are then asked to answer a question about whether
or not they feel more confident in their ability to construct a paragraph and follow with an
explanation of their answer. They are then asked if they are more confident in their ability to
self-advocate given the choices of ‘yes’, ‘no’, and ‘maybe’. The following question then asks
students their opinion of whether they would change anything about the lesson for the future.
The survey is then ended with the final question asking students whether having scenarios helped
them understand how to self-advocate in an easier way or not.

Figure 4. Survey that students were given asking for their feedback on their lesson about self-
advocacy and paragraph construction. They were given seven different questions to answer about
their lessons and to rate how they felt it overall contributed to their learning and what they would
change for the future.
Self-Advocacy (Literacy) Implementation
Prior to beginning the unit on paragraph construction, I briefly reviewed self-advocacy
and what we had learned in our self-advocacy lessons. I had students discuss in small groups
what they remembered and what they have been working on in class related to self-advocacy.
Students then shared out what they discussed with their small groups.
Students were then sent back to their seats as I introduced the new writing unit that they
would be starting. Students were sent a slide deck to their iPads that had each lesson set up for
them to follow. Each day students would be working on a different part of a paragraph that they
would be constructing about a different scenario that they would be given. I then passed out a
scenario to each student that they would have to write about and come up with a solution for.
Once students had received their scenarios they were to either take a picture of their paper or
type it out into its respective slide on their slide deck.
Lesson one students were instructed on how to come up with between three and five of
their own personal strengths and weaknesses (see Figure 5). I presented an example for myself
on the overhead. I worked through what I thought I did well and what I think I can work on when
it comes to school. Once the class had time to review this section through my example they were
sent off to work on their own and create a list of their strengths and weaknesses.
Figure 5. Example of student Google Slide showing their work on finding their own strengths
and weaknesses and how they can help them come up with solutions for the scenario they were
presented with.
Moving on to lessons two, students were instructed on how to come up the beginning of
their paragraph (see Figure 6). I presented an example that we worked through as a class using
one of the student examples to write off. Once the class had time to work together they were sent
off to work on their own and create the beginning to their own paragraphs using the scenarios
they were given. During this time, they were encouraged to advocate for themselves and use all
resources available to them to help with their writing. I was walking around the room during this
time to help ant struggling students as well as making tallies for students on their self-advocacy
actions versus non-self-advocacy actions.
Figure 6. Example of student Google Slide showing their work on creating the beginning of their
paragraph. Students were instructed to reword their scenario to introduce the paragraph and their
problem.
Lesson three works off lesson two as it is the construction of the middle of the paragraph.
Students are once again given an example using one of the scenarios on the overhead screen at
the beginning of the lesson. During this lesson, students are taught that the middle of the
paragraph is where they are solving their problem. They need to use their strengths and
weaknesses they have come up with and use them to create a solution to the problem that they
have been given. They need to create a way in which they can advocate for themselves for this
portion of their paragraph. They are instructed to create between three and four sentences on
their google slide once they are sent back to their seats (see Figure 7). Students are again
encouraged to advocate for themselves during this time as I will also be walking around and
tallying their self-advocacy actions.
Figure 7. Example of student Google Slide showing their work on creating the middle of their
paragraph. Students were instructed to create a solution using their own skills and weaknesses to
the scenario they were given.
Lesson four then brings the paragraph to an end as the students work on their
conclusions. As I had done in the previous lessons I gave an example on the overhead to the
students for how to construct a conclusion. They were instructed on how to reword their scenario
and what they did to solve the problem. Once they were given the example the students were sent
off back to their desks to work on their google slide and construct between two and three
sentences to conclude their paragraph (see Figure 8).

Figure 8. Example of student Google Slide showing their work on creating the end of their
paragraph. Students were instructed to reword their problem and solution to conclude their
paragraph.
Lesson five then brings all the previous lessons together as students are then to take the
slides they created and place them into one google document that has been assigned to them in
their Google Classroom account. Students are instructed to take the pieces that they have written
and paste them together into their full paragraph in the document. Once they have all their pieces
in the document they then can go through and make any final edits that they need to before
finishing their work. During this time, they also have time to work with another partner who has
also finished their work and practice reading their paragraphs out loud. This time can be used as
preparation time before presenting their paragraphs during the final lesson of the unit.
Figure 9. Example of student final paragraph in Google Docs. Students took all previous
materials they had created in the lessons before and completed the construction of their self-
advocacy paragraph.
During the final lesson, students are given the first ten minutes of the lesson to practice
reading their paragraphs out loud either to themselves or with a partner. Once the preparation
time is over students return to their seats and were called up to present their paragraphs. During
this time students were expected to share their work orally with the class, if they wanted they
could pass, though they were informed that it would reflect upon their oral participation grade.
Self-Advocacy (Literacy) Findings
Through the implementation of self-advocacy into the writing lessons I could compare
student’s self-advocacy behavior to their non-self-advocacy behavior throughout the lessons (see
Table 1). As the students were working through lessons that discussed self-advocacy, students
were constantly reminded of what it meant to be a self-advocate both in and out of school.
Through recording their self-advocacy behaviors, I could analyze whether the lessons on self-
advocacy were helping students take more control and ownership of their learning throughout the
literacy unit.
Table 1
Self-Advocacy used by Fourth Grade Students
Through looking at the results of these ratios there are no significant changes from one
lesson to another. There are some students that show lower ratios of self-advocacy behaviors to
non-self-advocacy behaviors and there are also some that show self-advocacy behaviors most of
the time. During Cycle 1 students showed more of a drastic change in their self-advocacy
behaviors and throughout these lessons students are showing more of these behaviors on a more
constant basis.
Through the ongoing student self-awareness there shows to be a higher level of
understanding and comprehension of the lessons and material that they were learning. They were
taking their time to read through the lesson instruction, read over their work, and check in with a
partner before turning in their assignments. For the final summative assessment, read over
students’ final paragraphs as well as scored them on their oral presentation of their work (see
Table 2).
Table 2
Summative Assessment Results on Literacy Learning Objectives
Once all the student’s paragraphs were completed and turned in I then graded them on the
rubric according to the lesson objectives and standards. Students were graded and received an
overall score of either ‘exceeded’, ‘met’, or ‘not yet met’. Out of the 30 students in the class 8
exceeded, 17 met, and 5 did not yet meet the standards. The eight students that exceeded the
learning standards received between 13 and 15 points on their rubric showing a high level of
understanding of the material. The 17 students that met the standards received between 10 and 12
points showing a mastery of the material, and the five students that did not meet the standards
received between 5 and 9 points showing a not complete understanding of the material. Samples
of student work for exceeding, meeting, and not meeting the standards are shown in Figures 10,
11, and 12.

Figure 10. Sample of student work that exceeded the standards for the unit. Student showed a
complete understanding of the material and had little to no mistakes.
Figure 11. Sample of student work that met the standards of the unit. Student showed an
understanding of the material and showed little mistakes.

Figure 12. Sample of student work that did not yet meet standards. Student did not show a
complete understanding of the material and did not follow the directions on how to construct
their paragraph.
Once the students finished the written and oral assignments they were then given a short
survey on how they felt about the unit of study. Students were asked seven different questions in
their survey, four were multiple choice questions and three were short answer explanations. One
of the main questions students were asked was if they felt more confident in their ability to
construct a paragraph after the writing unit (see Table 3). This gave students time to reflect on
what they had learned over the unit and how it can help them better themselves in class and
throughout future lessons.
Table 3
Student Evaluation of Self-Advocacy Paragraph

After looking at the results from the survey students overall agreed that the lesson helped
them understand how to better construct a paragraph. Students were able to share that they felt
that they learned from this lesson, and it helped them gain a better understanding of how to
construct a paragraph. The students were able to gain skills to help them in the construction of
papers later in lessons as well as what it means to be a self-advocate through the use of different
scenarios.
Next Steps
For cycle two, I wanted my students to get a deeper understanding of what self-advocacy
means and what that looks like in real life scenarios. It was important that they were assessing
their own strengths and weaknesses and putting them into their own stories. Through their
understanding of self-advocacy, their ability to advocate for themselves and work towards a
deeper understanding of the material has improved through their work.
A drawback to this lesson was that the students were not given much of an opportunity to
give feedback to one another. It is important that students are getting both positive and helpful
feedback from their peers on their work to help increase their motivation and boost their
confidence to share. With presentations, students can often become nervous to share and to have
positive feedback on their work can help them gain that confidence they need to share out. For a
later lesson, I would extend the time after the presentations to allow for student feedback and
questions.
Through this cycle, I learned even more about my students. They showed a strong desire
to do their best both in their writing and their presenting. They showed to be passionate about
their writing and excited to understand new tools in helping learn how to better self-advocate.
Self-advocacy is now a common vocabulary word used during class with peers to make sure they
are helping themselves through their lessons and assignments.
Through this lesson, I also learned about myself as a teacher and how teaching about one
lesson can make a big impact on my students and the lessons that they are learning both in and
out of school. I learned that students all have different strengths and weaknesses that can be used
in many different situations and scenarios. I enjoyed getting to see students work together and
find joy in sharing what they worked hard on over the unit. I learned how important it is to create
a safe and inviting learning environment for students to feel comfortable and safe to share their
ideas out to their peers. I enjoyed how the lesson gave me a deeper understanding of my students
and what is important to them. I think it is important to know all your students and what they
each need to be the best educator that you can for your students.
Conclusion
Significance of Research
Through my action research, I found how important it is for students to know that it is
okay to speak up for themselves in class and make sure that they are getting the most out of their
learning experience that they can. Based on the findings from my action research it is important
that we are reminding students what it means to self-advocate and take ownership of their
learning. The majority of the students in my class through self-advocacy lessons feel more
confident in their ability to advocate for themselves and speak up when they are needing help.
Through the lesson, students were learning from one another what it meant to be a self-advocate
and how to make sure they were speaking up for themselves in both academic and personal
settings. It helped them to understand when they needed to know when to ask for help and the
different ways they could advocate for themselves in those situations. These lessons are helpful
for students of all ages. I learned the importance of students voices in class and how impactful it
can be for their educational experiences.
Limitations
When looking through the research there are multiple limitations that could have
influenced the results of the study. The first limitation that I found is with the tally counts that
were made. I was simultaneously tallying students and their self-advocate behaviors versus all
other behaviors while I was also teaching and helping students. I worked to solve this problem
through filming the lessons and watching back for student data at a later time, though there is
still room for error in my results. There are students that I may have missed out of the video
frame or misunderstood the communication that was happening through the video. With another
study, it would help to have another person that knows what behaviors to focus only on tallying
students during the designated times of the study.
The second limitation from this research study was the sample size. I was working with
one small classroom of 30 students. In order to have more in-depth research following this lesson
there would need to be a larger sample size with more classes of students following the same
lesson plans. Once this study has a larger sample size there will be more data to further
understand the implications that it can have on students.
The last limitation that was found in this study was student’s absences. It was not known
if students would be absent from school on the days that we would be working through the self-
advocacy lessons, leading to students having varying levels of knowledge on the topic. This
would also skew data that was collected from student surveys and assignment scores as some
students were not there on days that data was collected and important lessons were taught.
Reflection
Through the process of my action research, I have learned a lot about myself and my
students through this study. When first reflecting on my study I learned a lot about myself and
how I teach. I learned the importance of making students feel safe and helped in the classroom.
Once students know that they are in a space that is welcoming and safe they are able to be
themselves and feel comfortable to ask questions, work together, and get help. I also learned how
all students are different and that one method of teaching may work for some students but not all.
When teaching about self-advocacy many students were able to slowly open up and work
towards advocating for themselves and taking more ownership of their work, and some students
were more apprehensive. It is important to make sure all students are getting the educational
materials they need to succeed and some students may need extra guidance to ensure they are
understanding the lessons and feeling confident in their understanding. With this knowledge, I
know going forward with my teaching that it is important to always check for understanding with
students before sending them off to do their work. Checking for student understanding will help
to know which students need more clarification and can help reach those students faster than
walking around and later realizing too late in the lesson.
I also learned a lot about my students throughout my action research study. I learned that
my students are driven and motivated to do well in class, they just need the right tools to get
them going in the right direction. Providing them with these tools gave them more of a voice and
the confidence to let their voice be heard in class. I was able to learn how talented my students
are and what they all feel they are confident in doing and what they feel they do well with.
During these moments of students sharing their strengths and weaknesses, they were able to
learn more about each other as well as themselves. It was also important to see what they felt
they needed to improve on and how other students maybe had similar weaknesses as them. They
were thankful to learn new methods to help them know when it is right to ask for help, and how
to go about doing it. Students began asking more questions not only to myself but to each other
when they were working through problems. It was important that they learned to work together
to solve problems and that they were motivated to work together to create situations and
solutions to better help themselves in the future. Students were engaged as they were working on
situations that pertained to themselves and real-life situations. As they were able to learn how to
use their own strengths to help them in the written situations they began to learn how to use those
strengths in real situations within the class.

References
Bergold, S., & Steinmayr, R. (2016). The relation over time between achievement motivation
and intelligence in young elementary school children: A latent cross-lagged
analysis. Contemporary Educational Psychology,46, 228-240.
doi:10.1016/j.cedpsych.2016.06.005
Cheon, S. H., Reeve, J., Lee, Y., Ntoumanis, N., Gillet, N., Kim, B. R., & Song, Y. (2018).
Expanding autonomy psychological need states from two (satisfaction, frustration) to
three (dissatisfaction): A classroom-based intervention study. Journal of Educational
Psychology.
Clayton, C. D., & Ardito, G. (2009). Teaching for Ownership in the Middle School Science
Classroom: Towards Practical Inquiry in an Age of Accountability. Middle Grades
Research Journal,4(4), 53-79.
Hornstra, L., Mansfield, C., Veen, I., Peetsma, T., & Volman, M. (2015) Motivational teacher
strategies: the role of beliefs and contextual factors. Learning Environments Research,
18 (3), 363-392
Merlone, L., Moran, D., (2008). Transition works: Self-awareness and self-advocacy skills for
students in the elementary learning center. Teaching Exceptional Children Plus, 4 (4), 2-
10.
Moreira, P. A., Dias, P., Vaz, F. M., & Vaz, J. M. (2013). Predictors of academic performance
and school engagement – Integrating persistence, motivation and study skills
using person-centered and variable centered approaches. Learning and Individual
Differences, 24, 117-125. Doi:10.1016/j.lindif.2012.10.016\
Palmer, S. B., & Wehmeyer, M. L. (2003). Promoting Self-Determination in Early Elementary

School. Remedial and Special Education,24(2), 115-126.
Pierson, J. M. (1999). Transforming engagement in literacy instruction: The role of student
genuine interest and ability. Annals of Dyslexia, 49(1), 307-329.
Rhew, E., Piro, J. S., Goolkasian, P., & Cosentino, P. (2018). The effects of a growth mindset on
self-efficacy and motivation. Cogent Education, 5(1).
Doi:10.1080/2331186x.2018.1492337
Skinner, E. A., Pitzer, J. R., & Steele, J. S. (2016) Can student engagement serve as
motivational resource for academic coping, persistence, and learning during late
elementary and early middle school? Developmental Psychology, 52 (12), 2099-2117.
Stefanou, C. R., Perencevich, K. C., Dicintio, M., & Turner, J. C. (2004). Supporting Autonomy
in the Classroom: Ways Teachers Encourage Student Decision Making and
Ownership. Educational Psychologist,39(2), 97-110.

Action Research

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Action Research

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

RUNNING HEAD: STUDENT SELF-ADVOCACY AND MOTIVATION

Action Research: Student Self-Advocacy and Motivation

University of San Diego

Student teaching in my fourth-grade classroom of 30 students, I integrated self-advocacy

students became more motivated to learn.

Keywords: Self-advocacy, motivation, strengths, weaknesses

Teaching, in my opinion, is one of the most rewarding professions. I want to be the

contribute my compassion, my understanding, and most of all my commitment to young students

changing on a day to day basis.

an area with the document camera.

the teachers and their peers.

are needing more help with focus and motivation in class.

not focused and off task.

Bandura helps guide the research throughout this literature review.

Effects of Autonomy and Motivation on Self Advocacy

to effectively advocate for themselves both in and out of school.

Self-Advocacy and Coping

Another important factor to look at when observing student’s self-advocacy is their

to be positively correlated with students’ self-system processes of relatedness, competence, and

success…primarily seek to maximize positive emotions such as joy or pride by achieving

from Two (satisfaction, frustration) to Three (dissatisfaction): A Classroom-Based Intervention

and out of the classroom.

as well as independent work time.

students regardless of their abilities.

findings, I have chosen to implement self-advocacy lessons through as precursors to both

Cycle I - Self-Advocacy Development through Math Review Lesson

Self-Advocacy Assessment Plan

Before beginning my lesson on self-advocacy, I tallied information on students and

over two math lessons.

lacking a basic understanding of the material.

exceeded, net, or did not meet the learning standards.

lesson contributed to their learning.

that they drew up together.

come up with during the previous lesson.

given to fully show their understanding of the content.

Self-Advocacy used by Fourth Grade Students

reflected in their assignment.

review notes and past materials.

Summative Assessment Results on Math Learning Objective

shown in Figures 6, 7, and 8.

Student Evaluation of Self-Advocacy

For cycle 1, I wanted my students to get an understanding of what it means to be a self-

help themselves grow as learners.

you can for your students.

Cycle II - Self-Advocacy Development through Paragraph Construction

Self-Advocacy (Literacy) Assessment Plan

meeting discussing what we could do together to become a better self-advocate.

needed to be worked on further or not (see Figure 2).

they exceeded, met, or did not meet the learning standards.

not yet meeting the lesson objectives.

them understand how to self-advocate in an easier way or not.

change for the future.

Self-Advocacy (Literacy) Implementation

Prior to beginning the unit on paragraph construction, I briefly reviewed self-advocacy

type it out into its respective slide on their slide deck.

actions versus non-self-advocacy actions.

tallying their self-advocacy actions.

the scenario they were given.

sentences to conclude their paragraph (see Figure 8).

Self-Advocacy (Literacy) Findings

Self-Advocacy used by Fourth Grade Students

Through the ongoing student self-awareness there shows to be a higher level of

Summative Assessment Results on Literacy Learning Objectives