Deborah A. Romine EDOL 647 Dr. Lori Hollen A SECOND LOOK AT SECONDARY ENGAGEMENT IN THE CLASSROOM

 PLC  Idea for extension study  PD comparing data INTRODUCTION

Initial Study  Action-research study investigated student engagement in the secondary classroom.  Dual enrollment pre-ap chemistry WKU  9 th and 10 th grade WEHS  Traditional six period day schedule Extension Study Action – research study Investigated student engagement in secondary classroom Dual enrollment pre – ap chemistry WKU 11 th grade BCHS 4 x 4 Block schedule INTRODUCTION

Student engagement in secondary classroom – Waning – Transition point prior to high school – Priorities change – Why? What motivates them? – What can be done to help students become more effective in the classroom? – How can educators become more responsive to their students in order to increase student success? PROBLEM

Initial study What effective student engagement looks like in a secondary classroom. How do we motivate students? Significant impact Hands off by students Get by approach Educator’s responsibility to reach student Develop life long habits Extension study  Do students enrolled in block schedules perform better than students enrolled in year long, traditional six period day schedules.  Significant impact  Which are better prepared academically for post secondary education PURPOSE

Freshman v. Sophomore Grades Grades in percentage out of 100

Initial study  Successful engagement in the classroom  Interaction  Exploration  Technology  Authentic assessment  Students have needs  Intrinsic factors  Variety / challenging  Student voice  What affects engagement?  Attachment to  Parents  Peers  Teachers LITERARY REVIEW

Extension Study  Inconsistent data with class time  EOC vs. Standardized testing  More research needed  Problems with traditional schedule  Overwhelming  Block  Less stress with block  Less discipline  Attendance improves  GPA improves  Failures decrease  students earn more credits  Traditional schedule is archaic  Block will  decrease prep time  decrease number of students seen  increase cooperative learning time PROBLEM STATEMENT

 Initial questions was why?  Polling classes  Sophomores not as diligent as freshmen  Juniors not as diligent as freshmen RESEARCH CONCERNS

Initial study  What are the reasons for students not studying outside of class?  In what way(s) are the factors listed in question one preventing students from becoming engaged in class?  What are the general concerns with the format of the class, and what affect are they having on students? Extension study  What are the reasons for students not studying outside of class?  In what way(s) are the factors listed in question one preventing students from becoming engaged in class?  Do students on block schedule perform better than students on traditional six -period a day schedule? RESEARCH QUESTIONS

Initial study  Are secondary students effectively motivated to remain engaged in the classroom?  Preliminary data indicated a decrease in student motivation in their tenth grade year.  In 2012, of the nearly 500,000 students polled in 37 states, Gallup found student engagement in the elementary schools at about 75%, while their secondary counterparts were engaged at less than 45% (Busteed, 2013). Extension study  Gullat (2006) found that student achievement is higher within a block schedule than within a traditional schedule.  Gullatt (2006) said that students in a traditional schedule are “passive learners” because direct instruction is the best teaching method to use within the short time frame.  The extension research study will quantitatively analyze student assessment scores in the Pre AP, dual enrollment WKU chemistry class on block schedule. PROBLEM STATEMENT

 Action Research Study  Both the initial and extension study  Disciplined process  Change in current process  Methodical process  Develop and action plan  Reflection  Iteration  Critical thinking  Emancipation  Collaboration RESEARCH DESIGN

 Action Plan  Educational Polices  Ongoing reconnaissance  Cyclic in nature  Flexible  Collaborative RESEARCH DESIGN

Research QuestionResearch Technique Data Collection Sources and Techniques Data Analysis Techniques What are the reasons for the students not studying outside of class? Unstructured open-ended / closed ended questionnaire Exit slips / field notes Bar graph to represent data analysis of student responses Tabulated response frequency with data graph Iteration Disassembling and reassembling responses Look for theme In what way are the reasons listed above preventing students from becoming engaged? Participatory Observation Exit Slips Bar graphs Look for theme in data What are the general concerns with the format of the class and what affect are they having on students? Observation Questionnaire Exit Slips Theme in data METHODOLOGY TABLE

 Implementation of Action Research for purpose of improving classroom practice  Close - ended / open - ended questionnaires  Participatory observations  Lab and course grades analyzed accordingly RESEARCH TECHNIQUES

 Pre AP Chemistry / Dual enrolled WKU students  WEHS / BCHS  9 th, 10 th and 11 th grade students  Qualitative data collection  Questionnaires  Quantitative data collection  Course grades DATA COLLECTION SOURCES AND TECHNIQUES