Analysis of Action Research #1

1.  The title of this Action Research project is, 'Evidence of Understanding in an 8th Grade Classroom'.

2.  The main question of the research focuses on, 'How do we know students are learning?'

4.  The learning strategy that is being implemented (I see more than one), is Setting Objectives.  I see this in his lesson particularly when he speaks about challenging the students to show him and their classmates, their understanding of the assignment given in a variety of ways and giving feedback to the students.  Also another implemented learning strategy, of 'Providing Feedback'.

5.  The evidence presented was when the students were able to provide the products that allowed for classroom feedback and applied to the content at hand.  In this case these products could have been poems, comic strips, written discussions that the group had together, reading response outlines, or annotation of the text.

6.  The data was collected from the students work and then the student classroom discussions about each others work.  Students were asked questions about their work and how well they can see if their fellow classmates understood the story and the objective.  The example piece used was a poem and student comments were recorded answering whether or not the particular student met the standards set at the beginning of the assignment. 

7.  The data was analyzed by taking the results of the classroom discussion and using it as a reflective tool for how he implemented this lesson.  He, as I said before, recorded all of the students feedback and matched it to the standards that were discussed before the students started their projects.


8.  The results found were that he realized students should be active in their learning and understanding and not passive.  And by being active they found more purpose and drive in completing their objectives.   Students were also able to produce more quality work because of the variety of choice they had to express their understandings.

9.  These results can inform teacher practice by showing that there is more than one way for students to understand content and that they all do not process the content the same way.  This also shows us that when students are given responsibility of their own learning more quality work is produced and students can actually more efficiently learn from one another.