Jennifer Keefe GOVERNOR’S TEACHER NETWORK ACTION RESEARCH PROJECT

 Governor’s Teacher Network (GTN) is a network of approximately 450 teachers from across the state. GTN participants range from k-12, along with specialty area teachers and academic coaches. WHAT IS GOVERNOR’S TEACHER NETWORK?

 There are 2 Pathways in GTN: WHAT IS GTN ALL ABOUT? Pathway 1 Pathway 2 Professional Development Instructional Resources

Pathway 1 Professional Development  Define an instructional problem that has become a trend in the classroom, school, or district.  Investigate and select an evidence-based strategy that is likely to solve the problem.  Put the strategy into action in the classroom or school  Design an action research model for examining the effectiveness of the strategy. (Action research is systematically putting specific educational research into action in classrooms to address a particular issue or problem.)  Document the results of the action research or practice.  Plan a minimum of three PD sessions in order to share the findings with other educators within the district and region.  One fifteen-thirty minute staff overview of the project  One ninety–minute face to face PD session or institute (s) presentation  One on-line-mini-module to be housed in Home Base.

 The purpose of my study is to determine whether the use of technology in a first grade classroom will increase engagement and promote the use of higher order thinking skills in my students. I will focus on teaching the students how to use technology as a means to create digital products that share their learning. MY ACTION RESEARCH:

 Participants:  The participants in my study are 17 first grade students. They range between 6-7 years old.  The students have a mix of ability levels, both academically and socially.  Variables  Creating with technology means that students will use technology to manipulate the content they have learned or are learning. They will create a digital product that showcases what they have learned. This factor will be influenced by our access to technology throughout the year.  Higher Order Thinking Skills are based on Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy. We will focus mainly on the skill of “creating”. Students will create digital products through the use of technology. This factor will also be influenced by our access to technology throughout the year. PARTICIPANTS AND VARIABLES

 What is the effect on student engagement and achievement when students create digital products and share their learning through technology?  Will students engage in higher order thinking skills when they are given the opportunity to use technology to create digital products? RESEARCH QUESTIONS

 Technology Use at Home Survey (For Parents)  This will tell me what types of experiences children already have with technology and will give insight to access to technology at home.  Previous Technology Use at School Survey (For Kindergarten Teachers)  This will tell me how students used technology at school during their kindergarten year. This data will be used to help determine how much pre-instruction will be needed before students are able to use the technology at a proficient level.  How Do You Use Technology Survey (For Students) – Pre-Assessment  This will tell me how students feel about using technology as well as what they believe technology can be used for.  Portfolios of Student Work (Digital and/or Hard-Copy)  I will collect samples of digital products that students have created in order to show their engagement in higher order thinking skills.  Anecdotal Records  I will note the engagement and achievement levels of my students while they are using technology to create digital products. I will compare this information to their engagement and achievement levels when they are not using technology.  How Do You Use Technology Survey (For Students) – Post-Assessment  This will allow me to see how students’ ideas about using technology in the classroom have shifted over the course of my project. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS PLAN

August  Research my topic  Submit Area of Focus  Develop and submit Action Research Plan September  Conduct pre-assessment surveys -Technology Use at Home Survey (For Parents) - Previous Technology Use at School Survey (For Kindergarten Teachers) -How Do You Use Technology Survey (For Students)  Present Action Research Project to staff  Introduce available technology to students. Teach expectations on using the equipment. Practice using equipment appropriately. October  Complete first digital product in whole group reading/science integration week of 10/6- 10/12 tentatively. (Students will use iPads to record growth of seeds in various types of soil – document with camera on iPads. They will record their observations on the iPads to share their findings. Students will work cooperatively in groups of 3-4).  Complete first digital product in small group reading. (Use Puppet Pals App on iPads to create a retelling of a fiction text). Note: subject to change based on availability of technology resources.  Collect samples for portfolios.  Use anecdotal records to note student engagement and achievement. MY TIMELINE

November  Complete second digital product in whole group math (subject area to be determined based on curriculum map).  Complete second digital product in small group reading. (Use Educreations App on iPads or PowerPoint on Laptops to determine main topic of a nonfiction text using key details from the text).  Collect samples for portfolios.  Use anecdotal records to note student engagement and achievement. December  Complete third digital product in whole group math or reading (subject area to be determined based on curriculum map).  Complete third digital product in small group reading. (subject area to be determined based on curriculum map).  Collect samples for portfolios.  Use anecdotal records to note student engagement and achievement.  Conduct post-assessment survey -How Do You Use Technology Survey (For Students) January  Analyze and interpret information from portfolio samples and pre and post- assessment surveys. February  Analyze and interpret information from portfolio samples and pre and post- assessment surveys. March  Write up my findings and create an Action Plan April – May  Write up my findings and create an Action Plan  Disseminate my findings -Present my findings to a professional audience (90 minute face-to-face) -Create wiki to share my findings