Implementation and Results
Reflection of Implementation
Week 1:
This week in class I attempted to have students create an online digital project that explained the layers of the atmosphere. A digital copy of the assignment is in Appendix B. The students were originally given three 45-minute class blocks to work on their project. In past years the students had to use computers to research the information and create a large poster with their group members. In an effort to increase the use of our digital resources, students were asked to create a Google Slides presentation using our Chrome books. Students were given tips and tricks on integrating digital images and videos for their slides from me in class. Students were also shown an exemplar and given specific sites that were appropriate for their research. Students did not have to use these websites and had free access to search out their own information.
Pros:
I felt this project was a more realistic application for students. Not too often are students going to have to create a traditional poster. The students were able to learn some valuable skills for creating presentations. Students have made Google Slide presentations in the past but many did not know how to manipulate text, insert images, and embed videos. These made for some teachable moments for students.
Students were also able to start to realize the importance of checking several websites. I gave students several websites that had all of the information, but many simply typed in the questions and used whatever information came up in their project. Often the information was correct, but a few students lost points because the information was not accurate.
Cons:
The students took way longer than I anticipated on the project. I had to give them more class time during week 2 to finalize their projects. After they ran out of class time, students were able to work on the project at home or stay after school. Many students had to finish their projects on their own. I found that students that who had to work on their projects outside of class did not always follow through. I had to contact many parents to inform them that their student did not complete the project. While most students did finish in class, many simply sat in class and worked slowly. I also had several incidences of students copying and pasting information from websites. I had anticipated many more students doing this and was surprised by the lower number that actually did. A digital example of student work is located in Appendix B. Student accountability is harder when they are on all staring at a computer screen. I can only pace the room so much to monitor them. Several students would pretend to work while I was watching and then change their screens to something else when I walked away. While I have access to their browser history I cannot have instant control over them. It is easier to procrastinate on a computer compared to a poster that I can watch them make. It is tempting to simply copy and paste from a website rather than put it into their own words.
Week 2:
This week the students had to create digital graphs that supported a lab we did the previous week. This week was modified from the original action plan because the activities from week 1 took longer than I expected. Time at the start of the week was spent still working on their layers of the atmosphere project from last week. Students were given step-by-step instructions from my display board on how to use Google Forms to create a double line graph that showed the relationships between time and temperature. A student example is available in Appendix C.
Pros:
The time spent to create a double line graph was significantly faster than having the students create a line graph on paper. Graphing is something 6th graders have little practice with. Until 6th grade, most students have only ever made a bar graph. The students were amazed by how easy it was not make the digital graph compared to the line graph. Many students commented on why we could not do it this way ALL the time. I had to explain to them, that they must understand how the software is going to make graph in order to make it correctly. Spending time creating graphs on paper is a necessary skill to master before transitioning to digital formats. It is the same concept as teaching kids how to do math on paper before handing them a calculator.
Cons:
Honestly, I did not see too many negatives to this activity. The students did work at varying paces and skill levels which can be frustrating while we wait on students to input data. Printing the graphs to display could also be a con, as the students cannot print from their Chrome Books (however in a digital environment this is not necessary).
Week 3:
The action plan had to again be modified for this week. This week was only a 4-day school week due to our teacher workday on Friday. We also lost part of a school day due to a team celebration as part of our new Positive Behavior Intervention System (PBIS) that our school implemented this year. This week I chose to focus on digital assessments. Each week students are required to take an online assessment of a list of vocabulary words that we have been using in class. Students have one calendar week to complete the quiz online outside of class. During the course of this school year the students have taken a quiz six times. The scores on the quizzes vary to the complexity that I have written them. Depending on what we have done in class I write the quizzes accordingly. The scores on the quizzes cannot be compared to previous students’ scores, since the words and activities change each year. The students also took their first online test as part of atmosphere and weather unit.
Pros:
The online assessments are much faster for the students to complete than traditional paper tests. I am also able to grade them more quickly and give the students greater feedback since I can type my responses directly into their tests. Comparing scores from last year’s students to this year’s students there was a slight increase in scores. The test was not exactly the same since I always tweak the test each year depending on the activities we have done in class. The slight increase could be from the fact that this cohort of students scored higher on their summative assessments in 5th grade compared to the year before. It is hard to assess if the digital instruction played a significant impact on student scores. However, I will argue that the amount of time and grading that was saved enabled me to have more lab-based activities in the classroom. Stressing this benefit to stakeholders is important.
Cons:
Several students rushed through the digital assessments. These students may not have done that had it been on paper. Adjusting the test for my special education students proved difficult. I had to essentially print off a test and modify their version by hand. Our system has no way to individualize different tests to specific students. However, those students clearly stand out to their peers because they are not looking at a computer. Several students had read aloud modifications and they had to leave the room with their paper copy. A handful of students skipped questions when typing was involved. Some students skipped the science skills section of the test because they found in difficult. When students turn in a paper copy I can hand it back to them and guide them towards a better choice. If a student submits the test online before I can look at it, they do not get a chance to reattempt their test.
Weeks 4 and 5:
Weeks 4 and 5 were modified for time constraints. Week 4 was also a 4-day week because we were off for Veteran’s Day and week 5 was a 2-day week because of Thanksgiving. We were unable able to have video conferencing with other schools because our Chromebooks do not support video recording on Schoology. This was an oversight on my part because I assumed (wrongly) that students could simply record right from Schoology using the digital recorder imbedded in our computers. I came to find out that the Shockwave software that Schoology uses is not updated on our Chromebooks. I attempted to get the software updated; however, our district does not support shockwave software and they cannot push new software to our Chromebooks. In order to modify and incorporate some type of digital component this week I had my students participate in a class chat about a formative assessment-writing prompt. The students had to read over the prompt and write a four to six sentence paragraph defending their answer choice. The students then had to respond to one student they agreed with and one student that they did not agree with in three to five sentences for each response. The purpose of having them comment on each other was to encourage them to be better critical thinkers. I wanted them to analyze the writing of each other and the different justification in hopes of instilling objectivity into their analysis. A class discussion is posted in Appendix E.
Pros:
The chat went about as well as I was expecting. I was able to give instant feedback to students, which is a huge change to how I grade their writing. I usually have to collect all of their notebooks and then hand write my notes in. Needless to say they do not always get the more specific feedback from me. With the chat I was able to pull up the discussion in front of the class and comment specifically to each student. The class cooperated very well and there were not any disciplinary issues. A lot of prep work was done with the students before we started the chat. Reminding them of proper chat decorum and that their typed words have just as much impact as their spoken ones was necessary. The feedback was okay and some students could be swayed towards the correct answer when we voted in person as a class. The classroom chat is also a great way to get some instant assessment of where the students are with a particular concept.
Cons:
I think the feedback that the students gave to each other could be better. However, I think that is partly my fault, as they have never been trained on how to critique their peers in science class. A lot of the feedback was not as specific as I would have liked. I wanted them to get very specific with why they agreed or disagreed with each other. Also, there were a handful of students who normally write in person better and they did not put forth their best effort in typing their response. Doing a classroom chat is a great way to gather formative assessment data; however gathering summative assessment data is more difficult.
Qualitative and Quantitative Survey Analysis
The post unit survey data did not wholly support what I had intended for the project to accomplish. The qualitative and quantitative survey data are attached in Appendix F.
In most categories for the quantitative survey there were significant drops in student perception of increasing the use of digital lessons. Most of the data reflected a movement from above average to average/below average. I really think this had to with the fact that the students took the survey after they had been exposed to a variety of difficult digital lessons that they had not had to accomplish before. Many of my 6th grade students had never taken an online assessment or created a large digital project that we attempted this year. Many of the lessons were outside of their conform zone. Over the course of the school year I think the results of the survey would change more toward the positive. The data can support my continued flexibility in designing lessons that students see as beneficial. The survey should then be given each quarter to monitory student perception of the lessons.
For the thematic coding of the qualitative survey data was slightly different from the pre-survey data. Their favorite part of the online lessons was similar in that it allows time management flexibility and less writing. Their least favorite was surprising because it seemed like their biggest concern was the difficulty in locating the materials on the website. Most of that is out of my control and as the year moves on it will become easier to students. The positive impact on their learning was similar in that instead of focusing on content mastery, the students felt that they were learning new digital skills. Being as these are 6th graders, this makes sense that they are increasing their ability. The types of modifications that they would have changed again focused on the functionality of the website rather than on the types of lessons.
Week 1:
This week in class I attempted to have students create an online digital project that explained the layers of the atmosphere. A digital copy of the assignment is in Appendix B. The students were originally given three 45-minute class blocks to work on their project. In past years the students had to use computers to research the information and create a large poster with their group members. In an effort to increase the use of our digital resources, students were asked to create a Google Slides presentation using our Chrome books. Students were given tips and tricks on integrating digital images and videos for their slides from me in class. Students were also shown an exemplar and given specific sites that were appropriate for their research. Students did not have to use these websites and had free access to search out their own information.
Pros:
I felt this project was a more realistic application for students. Not too often are students going to have to create a traditional poster. The students were able to learn some valuable skills for creating presentations. Students have made Google Slide presentations in the past but many did not know how to manipulate text, insert images, and embed videos. These made for some teachable moments for students.
Students were also able to start to realize the importance of checking several websites. I gave students several websites that had all of the information, but many simply typed in the questions and used whatever information came up in their project. Often the information was correct, but a few students lost points because the information was not accurate.
Cons:
The students took way longer than I anticipated on the project. I had to give them more class time during week 2 to finalize their projects. After they ran out of class time, students were able to work on the project at home or stay after school. Many students had to finish their projects on their own. I found that students that who had to work on their projects outside of class did not always follow through. I had to contact many parents to inform them that their student did not complete the project. While most students did finish in class, many simply sat in class and worked slowly. I also had several incidences of students copying and pasting information from websites. I had anticipated many more students doing this and was surprised by the lower number that actually did. A digital example of student work is located in Appendix B. Student accountability is harder when they are on all staring at a computer screen. I can only pace the room so much to monitor them. Several students would pretend to work while I was watching and then change their screens to something else when I walked away. While I have access to their browser history I cannot have instant control over them. It is easier to procrastinate on a computer compared to a poster that I can watch them make. It is tempting to simply copy and paste from a website rather than put it into their own words.
Week 2:
This week the students had to create digital graphs that supported a lab we did the previous week. This week was modified from the original action plan because the activities from week 1 took longer than I expected. Time at the start of the week was spent still working on their layers of the atmosphere project from last week. Students were given step-by-step instructions from my display board on how to use Google Forms to create a double line graph that showed the relationships between time and temperature. A student example is available in Appendix C.
Pros:
The time spent to create a double line graph was significantly faster than having the students create a line graph on paper. Graphing is something 6th graders have little practice with. Until 6th grade, most students have only ever made a bar graph. The students were amazed by how easy it was not make the digital graph compared to the line graph. Many students commented on why we could not do it this way ALL the time. I had to explain to them, that they must understand how the software is going to make graph in order to make it correctly. Spending time creating graphs on paper is a necessary skill to master before transitioning to digital formats. It is the same concept as teaching kids how to do math on paper before handing them a calculator.
Cons:
Honestly, I did not see too many negatives to this activity. The students did work at varying paces and skill levels which can be frustrating while we wait on students to input data. Printing the graphs to display could also be a con, as the students cannot print from their Chrome Books (however in a digital environment this is not necessary).
Week 3:
The action plan had to again be modified for this week. This week was only a 4-day school week due to our teacher workday on Friday. We also lost part of a school day due to a team celebration as part of our new Positive Behavior Intervention System (PBIS) that our school implemented this year. This week I chose to focus on digital assessments. Each week students are required to take an online assessment of a list of vocabulary words that we have been using in class. Students have one calendar week to complete the quiz online outside of class. During the course of this school year the students have taken a quiz six times. The scores on the quizzes vary to the complexity that I have written them. Depending on what we have done in class I write the quizzes accordingly. The scores on the quizzes cannot be compared to previous students’ scores, since the words and activities change each year. The students also took their first online test as part of atmosphere and weather unit.
Pros:
The online assessments are much faster for the students to complete than traditional paper tests. I am also able to grade them more quickly and give the students greater feedback since I can type my responses directly into their tests. Comparing scores from last year’s students to this year’s students there was a slight increase in scores. The test was not exactly the same since I always tweak the test each year depending on the activities we have done in class. The slight increase could be from the fact that this cohort of students scored higher on their summative assessments in 5th grade compared to the year before. It is hard to assess if the digital instruction played a significant impact on student scores. However, I will argue that the amount of time and grading that was saved enabled me to have more lab-based activities in the classroom. Stressing this benefit to stakeholders is important.
Cons:
Several students rushed through the digital assessments. These students may not have done that had it been on paper. Adjusting the test for my special education students proved difficult. I had to essentially print off a test and modify their version by hand. Our system has no way to individualize different tests to specific students. However, those students clearly stand out to their peers because they are not looking at a computer. Several students had read aloud modifications and they had to leave the room with their paper copy. A handful of students skipped questions when typing was involved. Some students skipped the science skills section of the test because they found in difficult. When students turn in a paper copy I can hand it back to them and guide them towards a better choice. If a student submits the test online before I can look at it, they do not get a chance to reattempt their test.
Weeks 4 and 5:
Weeks 4 and 5 were modified for time constraints. Week 4 was also a 4-day week because we were off for Veteran’s Day and week 5 was a 2-day week because of Thanksgiving. We were unable able to have video conferencing with other schools because our Chromebooks do not support video recording on Schoology. This was an oversight on my part because I assumed (wrongly) that students could simply record right from Schoology using the digital recorder imbedded in our computers. I came to find out that the Shockwave software that Schoology uses is not updated on our Chromebooks. I attempted to get the software updated; however, our district does not support shockwave software and they cannot push new software to our Chromebooks. In order to modify and incorporate some type of digital component this week I had my students participate in a class chat about a formative assessment-writing prompt. The students had to read over the prompt and write a four to six sentence paragraph defending their answer choice. The students then had to respond to one student they agreed with and one student that they did not agree with in three to five sentences for each response. The purpose of having them comment on each other was to encourage them to be better critical thinkers. I wanted them to analyze the writing of each other and the different justification in hopes of instilling objectivity into their analysis. A class discussion is posted in Appendix E.
Pros:
The chat went about as well as I was expecting. I was able to give instant feedback to students, which is a huge change to how I grade their writing. I usually have to collect all of their notebooks and then hand write my notes in. Needless to say they do not always get the more specific feedback from me. With the chat I was able to pull up the discussion in front of the class and comment specifically to each student. The class cooperated very well and there were not any disciplinary issues. A lot of prep work was done with the students before we started the chat. Reminding them of proper chat decorum and that their typed words have just as much impact as their spoken ones was necessary. The feedback was okay and some students could be swayed towards the correct answer when we voted in person as a class. The classroom chat is also a great way to get some instant assessment of where the students are with a particular concept.
Cons:
I think the feedback that the students gave to each other could be better. However, I think that is partly my fault, as they have never been trained on how to critique their peers in science class. A lot of the feedback was not as specific as I would have liked. I wanted them to get very specific with why they agreed or disagreed with each other. Also, there were a handful of students who normally write in person better and they did not put forth their best effort in typing their response. Doing a classroom chat is a great way to gather formative assessment data; however gathering summative assessment data is more difficult.
Qualitative and Quantitative Survey Analysis
The post unit survey data did not wholly support what I had intended for the project to accomplish. The qualitative and quantitative survey data are attached in Appendix F.
In most categories for the quantitative survey there were significant drops in student perception of increasing the use of digital lessons. Most of the data reflected a movement from above average to average/below average. I really think this had to with the fact that the students took the survey after they had been exposed to a variety of difficult digital lessons that they had not had to accomplish before. Many of my 6th grade students had never taken an online assessment or created a large digital project that we attempted this year. Many of the lessons were outside of their conform zone. Over the course of the school year I think the results of the survey would change more toward the positive. The data can support my continued flexibility in designing lessons that students see as beneficial. The survey should then be given each quarter to monitory student perception of the lessons.
For the thematic coding of the qualitative survey data was slightly different from the pre-survey data. Their favorite part of the online lessons was similar in that it allows time management flexibility and less writing. Their least favorite was surprising because it seemed like their biggest concern was the difficulty in locating the materials on the website. Most of that is out of my control and as the year moves on it will become easier to students. The positive impact on their learning was similar in that instead of focusing on content mastery, the students felt that they were learning new digital skills. Being as these are 6th graders, this makes sense that they are increasing their ability. The types of modifications that they would have changed again focused on the functionality of the website rather than on the types of lessons.