Research based techniques 1

Teaching the 21st Century Learner

Greg Sromek June 2009

Research based techniques 2

ABSTRACT
This paper is intended to be a practical guide for a district or an individual teacher wanting to immediately use research based techniques in the classroom. The goal of this project is to use research based classroom instruction to reach the district goal of having 100% of the 6th grade students attain the 65th percentile on the NWEA General Science test. To date roughly 40-50% of students do not make the 65th percentile.

Research based techniques 3

Table of Contents
Increasing student achievement through research based techniques . Error! Bookmark not defined. ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................................... 2 Table of Contents .............................................................................................................. 3 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................. 4 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...................................................................................................... 5 1. THE MINIMIZATION OF HOMEWORK ........................................................................... 5 2. INCREASING BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE ................................................................ 9 3. USING NON LINGUISTIC REPRESENTATIONS ........................................................... 13 4. IMPORTANCE OF INSTANT FEEDBACK ...................................................................... 15 5. COOPERATIVE LEARNING AND GROUPING ............................................................... 19 6. GOAL SETTING AND PROVIDING RECOGNITION ....................................................... 22 7. GIVING STUDENTS CHOICES ..................................................................................... 26 CONCLUSION .................................................................................................................... 27 FUTURE PROJECTS .......................................................................................................... 28 INSIGHTS .......................................................................................................................... 29 ANALYZING THE RESULTS .............................................................................................. 33 RESOURCES ...................................................................................................................... 35

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INTRODUCTION
There is a famous saying that states the only thing constant is change. Our world is changing more rapidly now than ever before. Unfortunately the world may be changing faster than human minds can perceive. This is more than obvious when it comes to education. For the most part education has not changed much in the last 40 years while the world, on the other hand, is almost unrecognizable. Forty years ago a household may have had a television and an electric can opener. Usually one parent worked and the other stayed home to raise the family and keep the house in order. Discretionary time was spent on hobbies such as gardening, collecting stamps, or reading. Todays students live in a fast paced world driven by media and technology. They have computers, cell phones, ipods, blackberries, video games and television. In todays society both parents work sometimes more than one job. Parents may work different shifts and find it hard to run errands, pick children up from practice, make dinners, prepare for the next day, and help with school work. Today students themselves have jobs in order to buy things that help them stay relevant in the eyes of their peers. While society has changed greatly over the years, education is roughly the same as it was 40 years ago. Students come to school, listen to a teacher, get some homework, come back to school, correct homework, take a test, get a grade, go to college, or join the work force. Maybe there is a correlation between the educations lack of change and student attitude towards school. Perhaps students in this fast paced world with so many choices and opportunities for independence cannot relate to this educational system. I believe that our educational system lacks adaptation to the 21st century. Students need an education that fits their needs and one that understands how their lives are different from lives a

Research based techniques 5 generation ago. How do we do this? Simple, we use the educational research that is all around us in order to break from the failing traditions of the past.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This executive summary is a reference guide for an educator wanting to instantly put into practice usable and researched based methods to increase student achievement. The methods below are numbered and referenced as they are discussed and in the bibliography for convenience. The first thing that will be listed is the statement of the method, the citation or link, and the relevant research that supports it. Next will be a detailed explanation on how it was incorporated into my classroom. This executive

summary will include a power point that mirrors this document so that both can be used in conjunction with one another. The extra benefit of the power point is that it will provide pictures to show samples or visual representation of the methods in action.

1. THE MINIMIZATION OF HOMEWORK

Kohn, Alfie. The Homework Myth. Da Capo Press. 2006

America loves its traditions: Baseball, Coca-Cola, apple pie, and homework. We can make a case for the first three, but what about homework? In the list above, why does it stand out with the most negativity? Surely something that is practiced almost universally in all American schools so abundantly must have clear evidence of its usefulness. If you believe this you are wrong. The truth is that research on the subject is conflicting and there is no good evidence that homework produces better academic achievement (pg. 27). Furthermore, when there is a positive correlation it is always

Research based techniques 6 small, and when time spent on the homework is factored into the same research, the positive correlation disappears. Several studies have, in fact, found a negative relationship between students overall achievement with the increase of time spent on homework (pg. 29). The most startling of all is that there is absolutely no research that supports homework at the elementary level. (pg. 39). Another fascinating piece of research indicates that homework may help a student pass a test in a particular class; it does not, however, increase scores on standardized tests. This should be an alarming statement because it is the exact opposite of what all districts are trying to accomplish. This is precisely why you can have an A or B student receive poor results on a standardized test, or a failing student score through the roof on the same test. Yet we may retain this student simply because he is either incapable of or unwilling to do homework. Some argue their curriculum would lose its rigor if homework were eliminated. Before boasting a rigorous curriculum, make sure to check the definition of rigor. According to Merriam-Webster online dictionary the definition of rigor is:

1): harsh inflexibility in opinion, temper, or judgment : SEVERITY (2): the quality of being unyielding or inflexible : STRICTNESS (3): severity of life : AUSTERITY b: an act or instance of strictness, severity, or cruelty2: a tremor caused by a chill3: a condition that makes life difficult, challenging, or uncomfortable ; especially : extremity of cold4: strict precision : EXACTNESS

Research based techniques 7 Is this how we want our schools to be perceived? Clearly the community or parents do not see homework in this light, but what if we are missing the point? What if students see it this way? If we blindly missed the fact that there is no clear evidence for the usage of homework, what other impacts have we failed to see? What good does homework provide if once at home the student doesnt understand how to finish the homework and has no qualified person to help? This student will seek help from other equally confused students or cheat. The increase of stress is another major concern. To students homework means that at the end of a seven hour work day they must act like workers on a double shift, they have to continue working when they get home (pg. 11). This is stressful enough for an adult; imagine the effects on a 7 year old. An addition to this stress is the conflict created between parent and child. We have missed the fact that parents in modern times often work multiple jobs. They come home each evening from their paid jobs only to serve as homework monitors, a position for which they never applied (pg. 10). As the tension grows between student and parent, so will the animosity towards school in general. In this case, school becomes associated with the tension, for the school is the source of the homework. The worst case scenario, however, is when this negativity is attached to learning itself. If this happens then homework becomes the single most reliable extinguisher of the flame of curiosity (pg.17). How I used this knowledge in my class In my class, the easiest thing I did was to eliminate the classical worksheet, which is simply the regurgitation of what was done in class. If I cannot explain to students what they need to know and they cannot demonstrate the learning to me in the 50 minutes I

Research based techniques 8 have them in front of me, how can I justify sending them off on their own to finish what I could not? If I had a very successful homework, I made it a point to spend time on it in class. This guaranteed me that I would get the students best effort, and that they were the ones doing the homework, not a parent or a tutor. This also helps a district save money because it keeps paper and toner usage down. Instead of making 75 copies on a given assignment, I could make a classroom set and use it for many years. Another technique I used was student designed scientific method problems for openers for the day. The problems were put on the projector and students began working on the problems as soon as they came into class. This got them immediately on task and focused with science on their minds. Once students began becoming proficient at the problems, I started to score them in class. By doing this homework transformed itself into class work. I must warn, a teacher cannot just simply use the same methods, and cut out the homework. The worst possible scenario would be a teacher that lectured all day, had students take notes, and then let them walk out the door. The teacher needs to familiarize him/herself with effective strategies that engage and empower the students. This would be a move to a more student based/demonstrative form of learning instead of a teacher/lecture based. For if students can demonstrate what they have learned on their own, they will have far surpassed what any worksheet or written test could ever assess. I would also not recommend a one year overhaul of lessons and methods of delivery. For me this was a gradual process that took years, and it is still a work in progress. I found many other very simple activities that are far more engaging and effective than a worksheet. I will be outlining these later in this paper. These techniques include

Research based techniques 9 goal setting, nonfiction reading, non linguistic representations, and cooperative learning exercises. Please do not take my word for it; read all of The Homework Myth. My short summary of it does not do it justice. We cannot afford to continue honoring a failing tradition; it is working against us, not for us.

2. INCREASING BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE

http://www.wjcc.k12.va.us/content/programs/staffdevelopment/CITW/PDFs/051508BUIDLING%20BACKGROUND%20KNOWLEDGE.pdf According to the research of Robert Marzano, one of the single most important things an educator can do to increase the success of students is to access what students already know, their background knowledge. When teaching younger students who do not have the appropriate background knowledge, its vitally important to build their background knowledge. Two of Marzanos techniques for building background knowledge include sustained, uninterrupted reading time and vocabulary acquisition. When vocabulary is concerned, Marzano is strict in believing that dictionary or glossary definitions should not be the students first exposure to the new term. He believes the following steps should be taken for vocabulary to become and remain part of a students background knowledge. Six Steps to Effective Vocabulary Instruction 1. The teacher provides a description, explanation, or example of the new term. 2. Students restate the explanation of the new term in their own words. 3. Students create a nonlinguistic representation of the term. 4. Students periodically do activities that help them add to their knowledge of

Research based techniques 10 vocabulary terms. 5. Periodically students are asked to discuss the terms with one another. 6. Periodically students are involved in games that allow them to play with the terms.

Source: Building Background Knowledge for Academic Achievement, ASCD, 2004, by Robert J. Marzano How I used this knowledge in my class When I was thinking about how I was going to incorporate gaining background knowledge into my classroom I thought about myself. I always enjoyed science and was fluent in the subject as long I can remember. So I must have somehow gained background knowledge very early in life. I thought back to my early years in elementary school. What did I do then that helped me later in life? Then it hit me. Every time we went to the library, the only books I ever checked out were nonfiction books. Sure there was an occasional science fiction book or two, but for the most part I read nonfiction science books. Plants, animals, technology, anything about the real world I could get my hands on. That was it! If I want students to learn more about the real world I have to have them read about the real world. I did not, however, just pick random books. I used the NWEA Decartes website to figure out the exact topics that were tested on the NWEA standardized test which is our districts testing format of choice. I used these topics to help me select 120 nonfiction books out of our middle school library. I also made sure that all books were within the reading level of my students, grades 3-7. Furthermore, I made sure all books selected were part of the librarys Accelerated Reader (AR) program.

Research based techniques 11 To be considered an AR book, the book must have a prewritten web based test that accompanies the book. The test is usually a 5 or 10 question test depending on the size of the book. In this way student are held at least partially accountable for understanding the content of the book. We set a classroom goal of trying to read 20 books a quarter. At the end of each quarter I evaluated the progress of each student and gave them a score based on a percentage of the 20 books that were assigned. At the end of the year most students accomplished between 80-100 books, some read all 120. It is worthy to note that the 120 AR reading assignment was my most effective homework. Most students took 2-3 books home a week to simply enjoy reading during their spare time. I made sure I did not use the AR test score as a grade for these tests cannot illustrate what background knowledge a particular student obtained. I did, however, make the grade goal oriented. For example, 25 books was the goal for the first quarter. If a student read less than 25 books he/she had more to read to get to the 50 book goal for quarter two. If a student read more they got a 100% for the first quarter goal and were ahead the game for quarter two. With the exception of the AR test that needed to be taken in school, there was no homework attached to this project. I made sure to allow some time to read in class on a weekly basis. Unfortunately I found if I did not use class time, a good portion of students would not read at all and were falling well behind the rest of the class. In addition to the box of 120 AR books, I found a set of illustrated science books called Max Axiom Adventures in Science. These books are basically a science comic where the main character Max goes on a different adventure in each book. There were 14 of these books in our library. I checked them out as a classroom set. In the class we read

Research based techniques 12 the books and analyzed them with various graphic organizers, in order to get a deeper understanding of the concepts that were covered. The concepts covered in the Max Axiom set were also directly related to the NWEA test. Another successful effort was to take the area of my text that I usually do not cover and make mini lessons. I made 8 short lessons that targeted the main concepts of life science. Students team read a section or sections of text together, text together and then jointly completed a reading guide. The next day I had a 10-15 point test which was administered on achievement series. In other words I simply made an AR test for sections of the text. This is a fairly simple thing to do to create background knowledge. We called this project Blue book because the text is blue. As far as vocabulary acquisition is concerned, I basically followed Marzanos 6 steps. I generally used 3-5 of the 6 steps for each term because some units lend themselves better to non linguistic representations or enhancement activities than others. After I introduce a term, I create an analogy or connect it to something in everyday life, the more relevant to the students life the better. The next most used step in my class is the use of activities or labs. See the power point for pictures of the various activities done in class. Also, the use of non linguistic representation will be explained in detail in the next section. The method my students enjoyed the most was the use of games that incorporated the use the vocabulary terms. The first set of games I deployed was a self created set of sports vocabulary dice games. They included football, basketball, baseball, and volleyball. Basically, while playing the games students ask each other questions about a term. Depending on whether the question is answered correctly or not, dice are rolled and the predetermined action is taken. The games were made to follow the play of

Research based techniques 13 the actual sport and were easy enough not to take away from the vocabulary usage. Another game that I deployed was the Clevercatch balls. Clevercatch is a blowup ball that has about 100 questions on it. Students toss the ball to one another and try to answer the question their right thumb is on when they catch it. If they get the question wrong they are out and have to sit down. These types of game create a lot of energy and are enjoyed by all.

3. USING NON LINGUISTIC REPRESENTATIONS

Marzono, Robert J., Pickering, Debra J., Pollock, Jane E. Classroom Instruction that Works. ASCD. 2001. Psychologists believe students learn by storing information by using two different processes. The first process is in verbal form; the other is in the form of images or the nonlinguistic. The most efficient method of storing information, thinking, or learning is to use both methods. We all know we are good at the verbal form of teaching, but because of the amount we teach or the time we have, we forget to promote the non linguistic form. When facilitated effectively, non linguistic representations can be very powerful tools for aiding students with vocabulary acquisition. There are many different ways to produce non linguistic representations in the minds of students. They include creating graphic representations, making physical models, generating mental pictures, drawing pictures, and kinesthetic activity (pg. 74). Seven major studies on the use of general nonlinguistic techniques show an average percentile gain of 28. How I used this knowledge in my class I believe teaching science has an unfair advantage over other classes because of the heavy use of science labs which use a wide variety of supplies, models, measurement

Research based techniques 14 tools, and other manipulative items (see power point). All science labs have a kinesthetic property, thus they help students form mental pictures of what they are doing and learning. There are other non linguistic forms that can be can be used in the science classroom. One of methods I use the most is combination notes. In this style of note taking, the page is split in half vertically. On the left side terms and definitions are written, and on the right side an image is drawn to help remember both the term and the definition. It is important to remember to emphasize both term and definition, for some students will do one or the other, and they will learn only half of the concept. I use combination notes in conjunction with mind maps. A mind map is simply combination notes without the words. The students take a clean piece of printer paper and draw only their combination note pictures on it. As an award for the hard work, I allow the students to use the mind map on tests, for it is simply a page of pictures. Pictures can stimulate memory recall to answer their memory to answer questions then I have succeeded in storing the information in their memories. I do not use these techniques on all units because some units are too complex or abstract for a 6th grade student to create images. This is true for astronomy. If students do not grasp the size of the universe, galaxy, or even our solar system, how can I expect them to mentally relate it to something with which they are familiar? I use my best judgment or at least have lesser expectations when using mind maps for the more abstract areas of science. One of the most powerful techniques is to use a kinesthetic approach to non linguistic teaching. This technique allows a student to act out the lesson, like playing charades with the lesson. For example, when teaching a lesson about atoms, I had the students become the atoms. The students were assigned a particle, some were protons,

Research based techniques 15 some electrons, and others neutrons. They all had a piece of paper with the name of the particle they were representing. The students who were neutrons and protons gathered together in a group and the electrons got to run around them. It wasnt surprising to notice that all the students wanted to be the electrons, they got to do the running! Seeing this I made sure we created many different atoms and everyone got to be the electrons. I also have used this same method to demonstrate chemical bonding and nuclear fusion. Science lends itself easily to the creation of models. Every topic has a simple demonstration that can help make understanding a hard concept easy. For example, a lava lamp illustrates convection currents, which is directly related to the creation of wind, flow of heat, ocean currents, and plate tectonics. Models of the solar system can be created with Styrofoam. Density labs can be used to demonstrate buoyancy, formation of the solar system, continental drift, creation of stars, and weather. Models can show a student planet orientation, moon/earth relationships, and seasonal effects of the tilt/revolution of earth. Students can see the dehydration of sugar and the effects of electricity on a pickle, all while learning the basic science involved. The power point will illustrate many other models that were used. I do not claim I know every demonstration there is, but it is my goal to add as many as I can every year. Adding new models or demonstrations is a building process, one that takes years, and is always changing.

4. IMPORTANCE OF INSTANT FEEDBACK

Marzono, Robert J., Pickering, Debra J., Pollock, Jane E. Classroom Instruction that Works. ASCD. 2001. According to Classroom Instruction that works:

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Homework assigned but not commented on generates an effect size of only .28. When homework is graded, however, the effect size increases to .78. Finally, homework on which the teacher provides comments for student has an effect size of .83, representing a percentile gain of 30 points. (pg. 64)

Now this clearly states that the more instant and personal the feedback is the more powerful the feedback will be on increasing achievement. We should, therefore, provide lessons that can be directly observed in which students demonstrate their knowledge and at the moment they accomplish the task, personal feedback is immediately given. This by far would have the most effect on a students achievement, and it can only be done in the class room itself. How I used this knowledge in my class The first thing I would like to do in this section is, create a scenario. Lets say a teacher gives homework and a few students do not finish it, so they are sent in the hall to work on it while the rest of the class corrects or moves on to the next assignment. The student who are removed do not get the possible learning experience from the correction or miss out on the next days lesson, which makes them fall further behind. Even if they get the homework done in the hall, they wont get the score until the next day, not very immediate. The worst case scenario: they are sitting in the hall working alone on something they didnt understand in the first place or didnt have a parent who could help them. Now lets say they dont get it done. What happens then, a zero in the grade book? What did they gain from this experience? There has to be a better way.

Research based techniques 17 The easiest way I began using this knowledge is by creating effective class work. Lets say you have a homework assignment you just do not want to give up. I was in the same boat. What I did was make it into a class activity where student were given 15 minutes to complete it and we scored it in class. Now this may sound oversimplified, but there are things you must do right for optimal gain. The first thing is do not just read the answers. To make sure students are gaining something from the time spent is to read the questions and randomly call on someone for the answer. You can take answers from people who raise their hands to keep their interest up, but make sure you call on the students you suspect need to engage the most. Another very important thing to do is to go through the wrong answers and explain why they are wrong, so the students who chose incorrectly know immediately why they were wrong. Now I know this sounds time consuming but if the lesson is worth it, why not? By correcting in this way students are learning from the correction immediately and getting the personal feedback they need for maximum gain. Another easy concept is to give short oral quizzes or tests. These can be administered after readings, discussions, or activities. They need be only 5-10 questions in length. Instead of sending a student home with work they may not do or get help from someone else, the short quiz tells the teacher and the student immediately what the student knows and offers another opportunity for personal feedback as discussed above. Since the books in the book box activity (as described in section one) were AR books there were tests for each book. These tests are short and conveniently allow the students to look at their wrong choices immediately after taking the test. The same option is true for the achievement series online testing platform. If you do not have or do

Research based techniques 18 not use this testing platform, I highly recommend it. Achievement Series allows you to make your own tests with your own questions or choose from a bank of thousands of premade questions. They are not just simple definition style questions with an obvious answer. The questions come with pictures, graphs, and maps that create plenty of critical thinking. I have made tests that fit sections of a text, units of a text, semester and yearlong achievement tests just for my class. Lately I have been creating critical thinking tests that ask complex questions about the scientific method. The questions ask things like what would make this experiment more reliable, or why is this experiment not valid. It is these types of tests that the student cannot prepare because it is a pure logic test. By using these types of tests a student is actually learning from the test itself. Achievement Series test come with the option to let the student see which questions they got wrong immediately after the test. Achievement Series allows scores to be accessible to the teacher immediately. It has an area to view a students incorrect responses. Students can walk up and ask why they got it wrong and get immediate feedback. Another area called Item Analysis shows what questions students had the most trouble with. For example it may say that only 10% of your students got question one right. This is obviously a topic that was not covered well, the students did not understand, or the question itself has a problem. I like to also have an Item analysis lesson the day after a test. What I do is put the problems up on the projector so the students see which questions they had the most problems with and why. This works most effectively when an explanation is given as to why the wrong answers are the wrong answers. Again this allows for immediate feedback and personal comment.

Research based techniques 19 Using instant feedback can be a very effective tool if used correctly. It can be even more powerful if you couple it with non linguistic representations (section 3) or cooperative learning techniques, which I will be discussing in the next section. Imagine the amount of percentile gain that students could make!

5. COOPERATIVE LEARNING AND GROUPING

Marzono, Robert J., Pickering, Debra J., Pollock, Jane E. Classroom Instruction that Works. ASCD. 2001 The current research indicates that grouping students based on ability does increase achievement versus no grouping at all. However, this is slightly misleading because grouping all low students together actually has a negative effect; it has a -23 percentile gain. The best advice is to use random grouping or make heterogeneous groups, groups with all levels. Groups should be small in size and the task must be well structured. When used properly, the use of cooperative learning can greatly increase student achievement. Five different studies on cooperative learning averaged 22 percentile points of growth. (pg. 86) How I used this knowledge in my class In my science class room I have six tables that fit four students each. I use the data from the NWEA fall test to organize my tables. What I do is make sure that each table has at least one high, medium, and low student at a particular table; this guarantees success in lab activities. I will switch the groups once new data presents itself which is approximately 3-4 times a year. There are enough cooperative learning activities to fill books; I will explain three areas where I have used them in my class. One popular activity we do in my student

Research based techniques 20 created scientific method problems. After introducing the scientific method to make sure students understand the basic concepts, I work through a few sample problems with the entire class. At this time I post a new problem and have the students work through them with their table members. I emphasize the fact that all members should be able to answer the various questions when called on. I will sometimes have tables compete against each other and assign points to correct answers. Doing this forces students to make sure all table members understand what the correct answer is because they do not know who will be called on. Students may believe this is unfair if you call on the same person all the time. You can eliminate this by rolling dice or spinning a spinner to make it completely random. After students have worked through a few problems together these scientific method problems become class openers and quizzes. When students have mastered the problems, I have them create their own problems. We spend a couple days in the lab typing up problems. In the end I post them on my website and they become the problems used for the openers and quizzes. Students are actually creating their own tests. Also it is a motivational factor, because when they see their problem come up, they feel a sense of pride and attachment to the lesson. These scientific method problems are created in class by students for students. This ties together the minimization of homework and cooperative grouping. This has become a very powerful tool for understanding the scientific method. This strategy can be used for many other topics as well and has become a staple of my delivery. I also use the classic jigsaw method to introduce units. The premade cooperative groups read a section and then present the section to the class. In their groups they must discuss what is most important and all members must speak when the final presentation is

Research based techniques 21 given. The presentation needs to only be 1-2 minutes in length. When this is done I know all students are reading and creating background knowledge of the material. I can eliminate the common occurrence of giving a reading activity that is sent home, to be read only by the high level students who are the only ones contributing to the class discussion the next day. By team reading and presenting to the class the student has become the teacher. And teaching a subject displays mastery. How does a teacher know his/her subject so well? It is not because we went to college, it is because every day we talk about our subject, write about our subject, and demonstrate our subject. Why not let the students do it? If we do not, we are doing all the work, and the students are just sitting there. In short, we must let them teach. If we do, they will begin to know the subject as well as we do! Another project I added this year was Junk box wars. A junk box war is a critical thinking activity designed to reach the unmotivated learner. This was a group activity that calls on a wide variety of skills to analyze problems, plan solutions, and create things to solve a problem. One of the projects was to build a bridge with the supplies given in order to hold the most weight. This required a vast amount of skill differentiation, not just knowledge of science facts. Each group needed a different style of grouping for this activity I chose to group them using a multiple intelligence survey. This guaranteed that I had a versatile group based on all the different styles of learning. These include bodily kinesthetic, interpersonal, verbal linguistic, logical mathematical, naturalistic, intrapersonal, visual spatial, and musical. Not only did I guarantee a diverse group, I gave the students a different team to work with than their table members.

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6. GOAL SETTING AND PROVIDING RECOGNITION

Marzono, Robert J., Pickering, Debra J., Pollock, Jane E. Classroom Instruction that Works. ASCD. 2001 Setting goals is one of the most powerful tactics you can use to increase achievement in your class. Goal setting offers a direction for learning. It is a skill that successful people have mastered to realize short and long term desires (pg. 93). Four major studies indicate that goal setting can increase achievement on an average of 24 percentile points. However, there is one important thing to consider when goal setting. Make sure the goal is not too specific. A very specific goal focuses a students attention so closely he/she will remember only the one specific item and not all the other information presented, thus lowering total overall achievement. http://gets.gc.k12.va.us/VSTE/2008/3effortandrecognition.htm Recognition for achievement of goals can help reinforce effort and lead to larger gains in achievement. Four major studies averaged a gain of 35 percentile points when proper recognition of effort was given. Not only must recognition be given: it must be explained. Contrary to what we may think, some students do not understand that effort pays off. To do this more effectively, specific examples of effort paying off must be given. Studies indicate that by simply demonstrating that extra effort will help, student achievement actually increases (pg.51). If used properly even giving treats as rewards does not diminish intrinsic motivation. All you need to do is make sure that a student achieves a pre set goal and is not getting the treat just for partaking in an activity. How I used this knowledge in my class

Research based techniques 23 To begin I will start with goal setting. Since the project was to get everyone to the 65th percentile on the NWEA test, this became the focal point of the year. It was discussed, referenced, and reviewed virtually on a daily basis. The NWEA test is offered in the fall, winter, and spring. After the fall test I used a whole class period to break down the students scores so they could understand how they were being tested and what they were being tested on. We went through where they were and where they needed to be. The NWEA science test is broken into 3 strands: Physical, Earth and Life Science. The reports section on the NWEA website can show students how they are doing because it indicates their achievement by strand with a HI, AV, or LO. Students can immediately see what they need to be working on to improve. We made it a point to try to attack all the lows and averages and change them to highs. It was on these days we outlined just how we were going to do this. I showed them that my class would cover physical and earth science. The book box and the Max Axiom set could cover them all. We discussed that the goal was to read all the books but the students should first focus on the books that were in their low strand. The Blue book project would help them with life science. I told the students this is not the only thing that could be done. I explained that they are in my class for only 50 minutes a day, and there is another 23 hours and 10 minutes they could be using to help them achieve more. They could be reading science magazines, playing web based computer games, and watching science programs. I gave them ideas on the types of magazines and programs that hit particular stands. Popular Mechanics, Myth Busters, and Bill Nye cover the physical science strand. Natural Geographic and How the Earth was made cover the earth science strand. Popular Science, Blue Planet, Planet Earth, and Animal planet could cover the life science strand. As far as websites to go to,

Research based techniques 24 I gave them one, mine. My website has links to over 500 science sites that cover every aspect of science, and yes there are lots of science games. As a class we took 4 entire class periods to do this fall, winter, spring, and 3 weeks before school ended. During these class times we filled out goal sheets which can be found in the Power point. By taking the entire class and filling out the goal sheets the students understood how important this was and took stock in what they were learning. In addition to these four days, on an almost daily basis reminders were given to keep up with their AR reading. Students were also reminded why they were reading the AR books, they served a purpose and were not just something to do to get a grade or keep them busy, it was to increase their knowledge and attack their weak spots. By doing this our class goal became conquering the test. I used the analogy to conquering ones enemies. Our enemy was the test, and to conquer it students must prepare and eliminate their weaknesses. Whether the students knew it or not, the thing they needed to conquer, the enemy, was themselves. Or should I say their lack of knowledge. Even the nature of the test was discussed. By knowing the questions get harder the students knew they needed to focus on the hard questions the most. We began making strategies for defeating the test. Another way students learned strategies was during item analysis days using Achievement series. As class test questions were analyzed, we looked at why the wrong answers were wrong. This gave students another tool to help them maneuver through questions they were not 100 % sure about. The goal was also discussed before every cooperative learning activity. Since the goal was to get everyone to the 65th percentile, the groups needed everyone to be held

Research based techniques 25 responsible for acquiring the information of the activity. This promoted positive leaders to step up and encourage less engaged students to help the group. Next I will discuss how I used recognition in the classroom. Positive praise is very useful in the classroom. The website above will help you integrate proper recognition into your classroom. I use multiple forms of praise and recognition. In this paper I will only show examples where the recognition was used in conjunction with our class goal. During the fall test goal setting day, students helped create lists of programs and magazines. One particular student mentioned that he watched animal planet a lot. I immediately asked him what his score on the life science strand was, and said it was high. I told him and the rest of the class to recognize that anything they experience, not just class work, can positively affect their achievement. I shared this story with all the classes so they could see firsthand that what they do pays off in the end. The NWEA winter test data gave us an early glance that what we were doing was working. I shared with the classes during the goal review day that what they were doing helped and that those who did more achieved more. We noticed that students that read more AR books had more growth than those that did not. This showed them another clear example that their effort was worthwhile. During this day the group was congratulated many times for their efforts. Even individual students who showed extra ordinary growth were praised. Since all students showed some growth the awards party was given. We basically ate pizza and watched a movie. Surprising the students wanted to watch a Planet Earth episode because they thought it would help them in the long run.

Research based techniques 26 Another example of how students got recognition was after class tests. By looking at the class average on Achievement series, I could tell students their class average, and relate it to how they worked on the lesson leading up to the test. For example I could tell them, congratulations your hard work in class has paid off. Your class average was 90%. Another class might learn that their class average was low, I would them let them know why, probably due to not taking the lesson seriously or not engaging in group work effectively. In either case students realized that what they put into their education is what they get out of it.

7. GIVING STUDENTS CHOICES

http://www.ndt-ed.org/TeachingResources/ClassroomTips/Encouraging_Creativity.htm Giving students choices can be a very powerful tool for raising student achievement as well as motivation and desire to learn. According to the website listed above:

Denise de Sonza Fleith (2000) found in her research that teachers encourage creativity by, "not imposing too many assignments and rules on students, giving students choices, providing students opportunities to become aware of their creativity, and accepting students as they are."

How I used this knowledge in my class In my class I created a special projects unit. Students used the spring NWEA results to identify their weakest strand and then developed a project to help create a better understanding of that area. Those with no weak area were free to choose project of

Research based techniques 27 choice. Next year I will state this earlier; it may help motivate reluctant learners. These were the only limitations on the projects. Students were free to present the material any way they wanted. They were free to pick any topic, so long as it was in their weakest strand. The range of projects created was fascinating. I got a hovercraft, power points, podcasts, Youtube videos, models, movies, and posters. A modification for next year would be to eliminate the poster option. It seemed this became the easy way out for students who procrastinated. Another change for next year would be to offer more class time for this project. It seems that even this project failed to address the fact that some students home support just isnt there, even for a 2 month long project. Another wonderful outcome of this project was the science fair. Four students decided to take their projects to a science fair in Menasha, WI. They had a wonderful time and we will be going again next year. Who knows, this may lead to the development of our own science fair in Chilton!

CONCLUSION
Upon analyzing the data on page 33 and 34 of this report(PowerPoint slides 4-6), you can automatically see that all of my students did not make the 65th percentile. However I would not call this experiment a failure either. This year we had a 63% loss of LO areas compared to a 6% gain the previous year. We also had a 45% gain of HI areas compared to only a 6% gain the year before. We also had about 50% fewer students below the 65th percentile compared to last year. If you look at the summer data which was taken 2 months after the spring test, we really had about 75% fewer students below the 65th percentile. Using this later data taken in May 2009, there were only 12 students compared to 39 the year before not at the 65th. It is also note worthy to mention

Research based techniques 28 that 3 of the 12 were new students who did not get the benefit of a complete year of this program. Three different students were within 1-2 points of the goal. In addition to this all 12 averaged 8 points of growth. Another interesting fact involving growth was that the number of 10 and 20 point growths doubled and the number of negative growths decreased by two thirds. To me this was as big of a success for my students as it was for this project!

FUTURE PROJECTS
The first thing that comes to mind was how close I was to attaining my goal. Looking at the data I estimate that continuing this program for 4 more months would have closed the gap on science achievement. Where do you get 4 more months? More importantly how will you ever close the gap? Since science usually has strand specific classes like life science in 7th grade and earth science in 8th grade, how can students master a three strand test? For example, how can student that is low in physical science ever reach their potential if they are never taught physical science again? What if the student was low in life or earth science going into those advanced strand specific classes? They do not have the background knowledge needed to be successful in those strand specific classes, and that is why the gap continues to grow. Why not use this information and adapt to the situation? If the students found success in a class that adapted to their weaknesses and increased their background knowledge, why not do it again? Almost all achieved the goal in one year, why not two years? Imagine if this was done the year prior to them entering my class? If I didnt need to see 10-15 point growths to reach the goal, they would all have reached the goal.

Research based techniques 29 If a schools goal is any higher than the 65th percentile this is the only feasible way to reach it. What I call this is the Gap technique. In using the gap technique you have to set aside 2 years in which teachers dont follow a traditional curriculum. The curriculum is not dictated by teacher or a district, but by the students and their areas of weakness. Grades five and six make the most sense. Students at this age are not mature enough to handle a rigorous strand specific science course. Why not focus on increasing their background knowledge so they have success in the later years? The two years need to include some general physical science curriculum built into the year, because they will not see the topics again until high school. You also need to find two teachers who will work together for one purpose using a nontraditional curriculum. If you can get two teachers working together using some of the methods listed in this report, I believe the achievement gap can be closed for science. What about other subjects, can their gaps be closed? I would say yes, but the techniques may be slightly different and that is the work of another project. But if you can dream it, you can do it!

INSIGHTS
My research and implementation of this project has revealed many unbelievable and insightful things to me. The one thought that haunts me most is why do students enter our classes with no motivation or desire to learn? Why has it become the job of a teacher to manipulate or trick students into learning? Why cant students see the connection between their success in school and their success in life? Surely our schools tell them this, plead with them to believe this, yet for some reason they dont. These

Research based techniques 30 types of attitudes have to be learned and reinforced. Who is teaching our students then when they are not in front of us? What if its not the schools fault? According to Paul Barton there are 14 factors that correlate with student achievement: Before and Beyond School:

Birth weight Lead poisoning Hunger and nutrition Reading to young children Television watching Parent availability Student mobility Parent participation

In School:

Rigor of curriculum Teacher experience and attendance Teacher preparation Class size Technology-assisted instruction School safety

Research based techniques 31 http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational_leadership/nov04/vol62/num03/Why_Does _the_Gap_Persist.aspx You may have already noticed that the majority of the factors that affect achievement cannot be controlled by the school. Only three factors do teachers themselves have any control over. The factors that I have anecdotal evidence for being the culprits are parent availability, reading, participation, and television. To defend parents in modern times, they work many hours and jobs and are often forced to be absent from the household. If this is the cause, then this is a political or societal problem. I have no defense for television, however. Children are left at home with a television, letting media has dominate their thoughts. Maybe we are now seeing the hidden costs of a media based commercialized society. According to The Media Monopoly:

The Journal of the American Medical Association has said that children between the ages of two and seventeen watch an annual average of 15,000 to 18,000 hours of television, compared with 12,000 hours spent per year in school. Children are also major targets for TV advertising, whose impact is greater than usual because there is an apparent lessening of influence by parents and others in the older generation. According to the [Committee on Communications of the American Academy of Pediatrics], children under the age of two should not watch television at all because at that age, brain development depends heavily on real human interactions.

Research based techniques 32 Ben H. Bagdikian, The Media Monopoly, Sixth Edition, (Beacon Press, 2000), p. xxxvi http://www.globalissues.org/article/237/children-asconsumers#Encouragingandincreasingchildhoodconsumerism

Now add to that the amount spent on computers, video games, phones, textingetc. During this time it is also mostly unsupervised. In the end, the scope of this problem is too great to solve in this paper. The one thing we must see is that maybe we put too much pressure on schools to solve the problems our society cannot or sadly will not. If we as a district really want to achieve the unachievable we will have to venture into to the unknown and cleverly try to reach the home life or at least create programs that can do in school what is supposed to happening in the household. If we do not change and adapt to this modern world not only will children be left behind, but so will our schools.

Research based techniques 33

ANALYZING THE RESULTS

Class 3, Fall 2008 The following data can be found at the NWEA reports site under teacher reports with goal descriptors. What this report shows is the students test achievement broken down into 3 different strands within the test. On the left we have a typical fall layout, many LO and AV scores. Seeing exactly where a student is low, we can better meet the need of that particular student by attacking that strand. By doing this we hope to get the chart on the right in the spring. Less LO scores and many more HI scores. The chart below analyzes the entire 6th grades number of LO and the number of HI strands and compares them to the previous year. Class 3,Spring 2009

Comparison of the amounts of HI and LO strands on the NWEA test for the 07-08 (non project year) and 08-09(year of the project) calendar years

Number of LO strands 20082009 = 63% Loss Number of HI strands 20082009 = 45% Gain Fall Number of LO strands 20072008 = 10% Gain Number of HI strands 20072008 = 6 % Gain 0 50 100 150 Spring

Research based techniques 34

Special notes for the 12 students not at the 65th percentile from 08-09 Fall to Summer:
3 of the 12 not at the 65th were new students that joined my class in January or later 3 were within 1-2 points of the 65th percentile The 12 averaged 8 points of growth

Comparisons of multiple digit gains and the number of losses between years 07-08 and 08-09

35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Number of 10+ Gains Number of 20+ Gains

2008-2009 2007-2008 2007-2008 2008-2009 Number of Losses

Research based techniques 35

RESOURCES
1. 2. http://www.wjcc.k12.va.us/content/programs/staffdevelopment/CITW/PDFs/0515 08-BUIDLING%20BACKGROUND%20KNOWLEDGE.pdf 3. Marzono, Robert J., Pickering, Debra J., Pollock, Jane E. Classroom Instruction that Works. ASCD. 2001. http://gets.gc.k12.va.us/VSTE/2008/3effortandrecognition.htm http://www.ndted.org/TeachingResources/ClassroomTips/Encouraging_Creativity .htm http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational_leadership/nov04/vol62/num03/Wh y_Does_the_Gap_Persist.aspx http://www.globalissues.org/article/237/children-asconsumers#Encouragingandincreasingchildhoodconsumerism Ben H. Bagdikian, The Media Monopoly, Sixth Edition, (Beacon Press, 2000), p. xxxvi Kohn, Alfie. The Homework Myth. Da Capo Press. 2006

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