Chapter2Invitingstudentvoicesintodiscussion

HowdoIgoaboutdirectlyinvitingthestudentsintoadiscussionaboutmyclass?Thisquestionweighed heavilyonme.Atthetime,Imadeajournalentrythatdetailedmyconcerns. I recently had a breakthrough in my action research, where I realized that I should directly approach students about structures in the class. Ive been collecting data that has not provided much insight as to how to change class structure, but the few times I spoke directly with students about their experiences, they gave me was useful feedback that helped me plan forward. I know that I need to start doing this more often, but I wonder about how Im going to adjust my data collection methods. What types of questions or prompts should I give them? What can I do to make sure that Im getting quality data How will I know that the students will take things seriously, or critically think about the questions that I give them? What can I do to remain openminded, and resist the tendency to be defensive, as if any feedback were a critique of my teaching ability? Maybe Im just overthinking everything and need to just ask nonleading, direct questions,andthenseehowthingspanout.PerhapsIllfindanswerssoonenough. SothatswhatIdid.Iputmyfaithintheprocessofactionresearchandadoptedasimplesystemmoving forward,detailedbelow. Theapproach IdecidedtoalternatebacktoChemistrytoattemptthisnewapproachasweperformedournext laboratoryexercise,AnalyzingSugarContentbyDensity,foundinAppendixA.Igavestudentsahandout detailinghowtheyshouldproceed,butstillprovidedflexibilityforthemtoexperimentfreely.Also,Ihad themmaintainalabjournaltodocumenttheirexperiencesthattheycouldlaterrefertoandshareout.

REFLECT

PERFORM

DESIGN

IMPLEMENT
Fig.9systemforincludingstudentvoice

Thisagainwasguidedwork,butmyintentwasthatstudentswouldmoveincreasinglytowardsdesigning andperformingtheirownexperimentsastheyearprogressed.Theissue,however,wasthatIneededto deviseawaytomoveinthatdirection,andwantedtousestudentvoicetodoso. Aftertheactivity,Ipostedpromptsonmyblog,showninfig.10,intendedtofocusonelicitingauthentic experiencesandhavingstudentscriticallythinkabouthowtheireffortsrelatedtoscientificwork.I hopedtheirfeedbackwouldbeusefulindevelopingstructurestofacilitatelessguided,scientific investigation.Iworriedabouttheeffortstudentswouldputintotheirresponses,andinanattemptto createaqualitycontrolmeasureandhelpstudentsthinkcritically,Ipairedthemtorespondtoeach othersposts.Asaddedbenefit,Ithoughtthismightalsolendtoacultureofpeersupportand collaboration.Ialsoencouragedstudentstoconsidertheconstructionoftheirresponses,including grammarandspelling,asanothermeasuretoensurequality.
Inadditiontoturninginawrittenlabfromyourgroupwork,reflectonyourexperienceand respondtothefollowingpromptsbelowbyreplyingtothispost. 1. 2. 3. Whatdidyoulearn,orfindsignificant,fromthislabexperience? Howmightthislabexperiencehelpyouinfuturelearning? Thistypeoflaboratoryworkissometimesreferredtoasprescripted,orcookbook like.Whydoyouthinkitiscalledthis? Whattypeofscienceworkwouldyoudescribeasnotbeingprescripted,or cookbooklike? Laterinourcourse,youwillgettheopportunitytodesignyourownexperiment. Whatdoyouthinkwillbenecessarytodothis?

4.

5.

Wellconstructedresponsesareexpected.Takesometimetoreflectoneachoftheprompts,and trytobethoughtfulandcarefulinpreparingyourresponses(organizeyourideasandcheckfor spellingandgrammar).Ilookforwardtoreadingyourinsights! Also,youhavebeenassignedapartnerfromtheotherhalfofourteam.Replybrieflytotheir post,eitherbyaddingyourthoughts,orcommentingononeoftheirresponses.

Fig.10blogpromptsforstudentfeedbackonlabexperience

FeedbackandEvaluation Thefirsttwopromptsweredesignedtoacknowledgeallofthelearningthatoccurredthroughoutthe activity.Ienjoyedreadingtheirresponsesthistime.Itamazedmehoweachindividualidentified somethinguniquelysignificant,withthecomments,providedbelow,recognizingareasofgrowthranging fromcontentacquisition,process,andworkhabits,respectively.

Contentacquisition: IhadtofindtheaverageofeachdifferentmeasurementIhad.Ilearnedhowtofindthe massofasolution.Ilearnedhowtofindthemasspercentageofsugarina solution/drink.Ilearnedhowtouseanexcelsheet,Ilearnedhowtographthingsonit andhowtogettheequationofthegraph. Process: InthislabIlearnedhowtofollowlabinstructionsandhowtouselabequipmentinan efficientmanner.Ilearnedhowtopourwithoutmakingamessandhowtousethescale quicklysootherscoulduseittoo.Thislabwashelpfulbecauseifwedoanotherlab,Iwill knowthenecessaryskillstolearnandcontinuetogrowasastudent. Workhabits: ThemostsignificantthingIlearnedwhiledoingthislabisprobablybeingpatient,and workingcarefully.IlearnedtoworkcarefullywhenIhadtopourthesugarinthroughthe funnel.Thescalewasalsoveryprecisesothataddedtoworkingverycarefullyand precisely. Despitebeingaprescriptedlab,thestudentssharedawidevarietyofexperienceswhengivenanopen prompt.Ifeltthatthisformatgavevaluetotheirworkandperspectivesthatotherwisemightnothave beenpresenthadtheyrespondedtopromptssolicitingspecificinformation.Onestudenteven suggestedusingthisapproachinstructuringlessscriptedlabwork,statingAskingopenendedquestions allowsthestudenttocometheirown,moremeaningful,conclusiontothelab.Ibecamemore convincedtoincorporatethisasacomponentofourfuturework. Theanswersstudentsprovidedforprompt3werefairlyconsistent,agreeingthataprescripted,or cookbooklike,lablimitedtheirexperience.Oneresponsethatgraspedthenatureofhowstudentsfelt stated,Ibelievethistypeoflabcanbecalleda"prescripted"labbecausethereisnoroomfor discovery.Theinstructorknowswhatisgoingtohappen,andeverythingissetupinaparticularwayto leadtoacertainresult.Itisverymucha"doblankfollowedbyblanktogetblank.Ilikedthatheused theworddiscover.Ifeelthatthemomentsofdiscoveryinscienceaddexcitementtotheworkandfuel curiosity.Thisquotehelpedmefurtherrecognizethatstudentsbenefitfromhavingtheflexibilityto exploreastheyexperimentbecauseitcanincreasethefrequencyformomentsofdiscovery. Theresponsesthatstudentsgaveforprompts4and5weremostintriguingtome.Oftheseresponses, theonesmostusefulinplanningtowardslessguided,studentdrivenexperimentationofferedinsights relatingtodesign,choice,andtrust.Thefollowingthreequoteshelpedmeconsiderhowwemightmove forward. Thetypeofscienceworkthatwouldbeunscriptedornotcookbooklikeishavinglittle outlineorstructuregivenbytheinstructor.Theinstructorwouldjustgivethestudents thechemicalsandtheinstrumentsandtellthemtomakeacertainreaction.Ofcourse

theinstructorwouldgivethemsafetyinstructions,andsupervisethem,whilegiving themadvice. TodesignandtestourownexperimentsIthinkweshouldpossessabasicunderstanding ofwhatwewanttoexperiment,adetailedoutline,properequipmenttotestthe experimentandaboveall,aquestionwewanttoanswer.Ahypothesiswouldn'thurt either. Inordertocreatealabitwillbenecessarytoexplainindetailwhatmaterialswillbe needed Inreadingthese,Idecidedthatmynextstepwouldbetonotgivethemascriptedlabhandout, butinsteadintroduceconceptsandhaverelevantinformationavailableasstudentsexperiment. Givennecessarymaterialsandapurpose,theywouldberesponsibleforalloftheprocedural decisions.Thisapproachdidnotcomewithoutconcern.Iwonderedifthestudentswouldbe capableofdevisingamethodtotheexperimentationorknowingwhatstepstotakeifthey becomestuck.Thenexttwoquotes,however,helpedmerealizethatthesesituationscouldbe helpfulifIweretoacceptthemasnecessaryelementsofprogress. Somethingthatwouldfalloutoftherangeof"prescripted"labswouldbesomething likealabwheretheresultsareuncertain.Whenyoudon'tknowexactlywhatisgoingto happenduringalabthereisagenuinesenseofinterestandexcitement. Ithinkanytypeofscienceworkthatisunprecedentedcanbedescribedasnotbeing prescripted.Thismeanssciencethatdoesntcomewithaworksheetorinstructions, whereyourenotbeingtoldwhattolookforandwhattoexpect,asmuchasjust observinganddiscoveringyourownanswers. Theelementofuncertaintystrikesmewhenreadingthesetwoquotes.Itappearedtomethat thestudentswouldneedmorechoiceintheirworksothattheycouldplanforwardastheysee fit.Iknewthattheirfeedbackwasvaluable,yetthereweretwoobstaclespreventingmefrom addressingitmydecisionontheamountandtypeofstudentchoice,andmywillingnessto provideit. Inmyjournalatthetime,Iwroteaboutmyreluctancetogivemorefreedomtostudents.I questionedifIcouldtrustthattheywouldmakegooddecisionswiththechoicestheyaregiven. Iknewthatexpectingthemtodosowasidealistic,butIworriedabouttheconsequencespoor decisionscouldhaveinalaboratorysetting.HowcouldIgivethemmorefreedomwithoutthe riskofanunsafeordangerousworkingenvironment?Thenexttwocommentscausedmeto selfreflectsome. WhenIgetthechancetocreatemyownexperiment,Iwouldneedtoincludesupplies, directions,andsomeequations.Otherthingsneededwouldbealotoftrustfromour teacherandpossiblyalotoffreedom.

Inanenvironmentwherethestudentsaredrivingthelabthatiswhen"nonscripted" labstakeplace. Thesecondquoteresonatedwithme,causingmereconsidermyperspective.Ibecameinspiredbythe thoughtofstudentsdrivingthelab,andrealizedthatmyreluctancetotrustthemwaserroneous.They neededopportunitiestomakedecisionssotheycoulddeveloptheirdecisionmakingability.IdecidedI wouldincorporategreaterstudentchoiceintolabactivities,butscaffoldit,allowingtimetomodel behaviorsandemphasizesafetyconsiderationswhilestudentsincreasinglytakealargerroleinthe designoftheirexperiments.Ienvisionedhowthisapproachcouldeventuallyleadtostudentsdriving thelab.Itfeltright. Basedonthisfeedback,IdecidedIwoulddoawaywithhandouts,andhaveeachstudentmaintainalab journalwheretheywouldrecordinformationfortheirexperiments. Reflectingonthelabdatacollection Iwasexcitedfromtheresultsofhavingstudentsdirectlyaddressthelearningintheclass.Ifeltthattheir responseswereclearandleftlittleroomforinterpretation.RealizingthatthequalitativedataIwasnow gettingwasmuchmoretelling,IdontknowwhyIwassofixatedongatheringquantitativedatainitially inmyresearch.Iwantedtohonemycollectionmethods,soIanalyzedresponsesforfactorsthatleadto better,morefruitfulqualitativedata. Evenstill,therewereother,lessinformativeresponsesthatweregiven,causingmetoconsider waystoreachthosestudents.Itwasevidentthattheactofreflectionhadhelpedstudents criticallythinkaboutthequestionsthatwereposed,anditseemedthatthosewhodidnotoffer muchfeedbackhadnotreflectedmuch.Iviewedthisasthekeytoattainingbetterquality feedback,andmynewgoalfordatacollectionbecameclear:Ineededtoreachallstudentsto maximizestudentvoice,andtodothisIneededtolearnhowtohavethestudentsbecomemore reflectiveoftheirwork.Iconsultedfirstwithmyadvisorinthegraduateprogram,andhe pointedoutoneaspecttomypromptsthatpreventedmefromhearingmorevoice.Myprompts hadatendencytobeleading.Forexample,thefirstprompt,Whatdidyoulearn,orfind significant,fromthislabexperience?makestheassumptionthatthestudentslearnedorfound somethingsignificant.Perhapstherewerestudentsthatdidnthaveeitheroftheseexperiences, anditwouldhavebeenvaluabletoknowwhytheymightnothave.IrealizedIcouldmake greatereffortstoensurethatthereflectivepromptsIdesignedforstudentswouldbemoreopen toallexperiences. InadditiontotheadviceIgotfrommyadvisor,Iconsultedwithacolleaguewhois knowledgeableaboutreflectivewriting.Heproposedthatthekeytoconsistencyandquality withstudentreflectionswastohavethemconsidertheirwork,habits,androutinesfromvarying perspectives.Hegavemesomematerial,foundinAppendixB,whichframedtheseperspectives intopromptsforforward,backward,inwardandoutwardthinking.Inaddition,hedemonstrated howthesepromptsmaybetranslatedintoquestionsabouttheworkthatwedoatourschool.

Thesetwopiecesofadvicecausedmetoselfreflect,andtheyseemedtobewhatIwaslooking for.Iwasanxioustotryitinmyresearch.