Title: Upload your final research report by 5:00 pm on Dec 7
Author: Sarah
Company: Hewlett-Packard

Introduction to the Teacher Research Project

This research project was designed to incorporate blogging with the intention of improving student familiarity with academic vocabulary in the content area of social studies.  The research question posed was “How does using a collaborative blog increase students’ recognition and understanding of social studies vocabulary?”  Initially, it was geared towards the area of science; however, in the middle of the project cycle, I was switched to a social studies position.  Therefore I moved my focus towards that content.  The premise of the project was that students who receive increased exposure to vocabulary in the classroom would be more knowledgeable of the term, increasing their ease with use of the vocabulary.  This was to be measured through the use of the terms in small group-created blogs.  Also, due to the shortage of technology available at my school, I incorporated the “collaborative” piece.  This would have allowed all of my students to share their knowledge and information, and enable them to use the technology a little more confidently.  

Fifth grade students take the End of Grade test each spring in science.  In the past, my students have not been as successful on this test as I would like, with my previous group revealing a proficiency of 55%.  One suggestion that was often given to me from other professionals (county-level curriculum specialists, Department of Public Instruction employees, and other teachers) was that students lacked a working sense of vocabulary, so focusing more on vocabulary would be productive.  When I changed to the social studies position, I felt that focusing on the social studies academic vocabulary would allow my students a broader understanding of terms that would assist them in their non-fiction reading on the End of Grade tests. Using content area specific vocabulary is extremely important, as understanding the vocabulary should increase a reader’s comprehension of a text.  In the past, Science End-of-Grade tests have shown that vocabulary was extremely important in the Science curriculum, and my desire was to find a way to use technology, cooperative learning, and literacy to assist my students in acquiring and retaining vocabulary.  Thus, I proceeded with the project with a clear focus on the vocabulary.

During the research project, students were introduced to the vocabulary terms through the use of direct instruction, where students learned of the terms through short activities where they were given the definition of the word, then used the word in cloze passages.  After this activity, students were given the chance to read the terms in context several times in short passages as well as a longer text.  Then, students were asked to complete short interactive activities where they applied the terms.  For example, with the word “soldier,” students were asked to name some of the responsibilities of soldiers.  Based upon their interaction with the texts we read in class, students worked in partners or small teams to respond to the prompt orally or in writing.  The sole purpose of this instruction was to increase student exposure to the vocabulary terms.

After receiving direct instruction for the unit’s vocabulary terms, students received daily review of all the words throughout the week.  One day students created Frayer models for their terms in small groups.  In these graphic organizers, students listed the terms, a student-created definition, an example of the term, then an illustration of the term.  The next day students created their own cloze sentences for the terms and traded the sentences with peers to complete.  On the fourth day of instruction, students were re-exposed to the terms in context—usually through teacher-selected readings about the social studies (or science) topics.  While reading the texts, students were frequently asked to redefine the terms and to further their understanding of the text and the terms through higher-order thinking questions.  On the final day of the unit, students were asked to work in small groups (two or three students) to create a blog on KidsBlog.com, which was posted to our classroom blog.  This served as an assessment of their vocabulary understanding.  Students were given a rubric that clearly outlined the expectations of the blog posting (correct grammar and spelling, complete thoughts, and sensible use of all studied vocabulary terms).  At the end of the class session, students were taken to the computer lab or rotated use at the teacher’s computer to post their blogs.  If time permitted, students were asked to respond to the blogs of other groups.

Students took a vocabulary pre-test at the beginning of each unit.  These were used as baselines to design effective classroom instruction.  If students revealed an 85% comprehension of a term used in context, then that word was not reviewed as heavily as those that were tested with a lower proficiency.  Students completed a post-test at the close of each unit (which lasted approximately six or seven class sessions).  These post-tests served as an assessment for the vocabulary, and were used in conjunction with the blogs to determine student knowledge of the academic vocabulary in and out of context. 

To prepare for the research project, I introduced the writing format of blogging and students were able to practice writing blogs in small groups with a scoring rubric for reference.  This was done to ensure that any scores given during the research were due to vocabulary deficiencies rather than blog format difficulties.  The instructor modeled creating a blog as well as offering several mini-lessons that allowed students to develop well-written blogs.

d) Connect to other relevant literature, educational research on the topic

Methodology

To collect data, several different methods were used.  Informal methods, such as mandated class wide responses and teacher mini-conferences about the vocabulary, were done several times throughout every lesson to ensure that students were comfortably progressing through the lesson and to make certain that no student was disengaged from the instruction.  Another collection method was through the products that students created in the course of the activities.  These were more formal, such as the cloze sentences that students created and the Frayer models that the groups completed.  These were scored to ensure that students were on-track in their understanding of the vocabulary terms and to catch any misconceptions that would arise. If student misunderstandings were evident in those activities, I would implement a mini-session with the identified students to help them get back on track.  The final method of data collection was a combination of blogging and a quiz over the vocabulary terms.  This served as a post-test for the unit, and was compared to the pre-test to check for achievement and growth.

Data was analyzed throughout the research process.  During the mandated classroom responses, simple thumbs up signified student understanding, while a thumb down indicated the need to stop, back up, and possibly reteach.  The Frayer models and cloze sentences were direct indicators of student understanding, and were instrumental in seeing if students could connect the vocabulary to real-world applications.  In regards to the post-test, it was a scorable tool that I could use to determine if students had successfully comprehended the terms, shown by eighty percent mastery or higher.  If a student scored lower than eighty percent, then the instructor could reteach the terms and retest, or incorporate the terms into the following unit.  Ultimately, the blogs were the benchmark indicator for unit mastery—these were scored with a rubric, where a score of four meant mastery, a score of three meant proficiency, a score of two meant inconsistent mastery, and a score of one meant non-proficiency.  Students with a one marking or a two marking in an area were part of the next unit’s focus group that received closer monitoring and additional instruction throughout the lessons.

Findings 

This research cycle was not successful by any means, but there is hope for future cycles of research after some revision of the plan.  The plan was not what the researcher felt to be the flaw, but the uncertain environment at the time was the major factor that made it difficult to complete the research within the time parameters of the project.  Due to the daily shifting of schedules and students, it became increasingly difficult for students to be in collaborative groups and to accept instruction from a different teacher everyday.  This factor alone compromised the reliability and the fidelity to the project design altogether.   
b) Support findings with evidence from data collection (provide examples)

Discussion

When I started working on this research project, I was so excited to have the opportunity to use my previous research experiences to create a well-balanced, valid learning opportunity.  I never dreamed that it would not work out according to my plan.  This research was not done in a successful way—meaning that the results, no matter how hard I try to gather more evidence, are not reliable.  This helped me to understand that any time that classrooms and teaching assignments shift so drastically, valuable time has been lost.  However, that does not mean that I cannot revisit my research question or reformulate the research once the changes are finalized and my students are finally settled.

What I did learn while doing this study is that sometimes school environment can be all-consuming.  I had always believed that, regardless of what is going on at the school level, a classroom teacher could overcome those problems and make a positive difference.  This year, I have come to understand just how much a school’s situation can create a negative overall environment, and that a teacher’s efforts may not be enough to make the learning experience most effective.  I have seen eight teachers quit since school started, and I have seen the insecurities of each student as a result of these changes.  I have seen my classroom roster change almost daily for three weeks, and the confusion of the students because of this inconsistency.  Needless to say, my attempts to make the experience of blogging a consistent, effective process for my students was not all that I had hoped it would be.  In situations like this, though, I find it is extremely helpful to keep trying to maintain procedures and to try to ensure that one stays positive.  However, due to the numerous changes in schedules and rosters, I found that even collaborative blogging became increasingly difficult.  Many students were frustrated, or even lost, as their blogging group changed every few days.  I also found, during this transitional time, that staying on track with the other teachers on the grade level can assure less confusion for students who are being rotated through the rooms.  If my colleagues had not been so helpful and communicative our students would have been more lost and confused while going through these changes.

I haven’t given up on this research question—my students will be blogging often using their academic vocabulary soon—it’s just been put to the side as the situations at the school level are resolved.   In fact, as I am completing this paper, I have been promised a block of computer lab time every week.  This is something that I was assured of in September, but that was put on the back burner when all of the changes started happening.

Sources Consulted

Colombo, Michaela W., and Paul D. Colombo. "Blogging to Improve Instruction in 	Differentiated Science Classrooms." The Phi Delta Kappan 89.1 (2007): 	60-63. Web. 20 Sept. 2012. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/20442410>.

Dalton, B., & Grisham, D. L. (2011). Evoc strategies: 10 ways to use technology		to build vocabulary. The Reading Teacher, 64(5), 306-317. Retrieved from 	http://www.jstor.org/stable/41000924

McGrail, E., & Davis, A. (2011). The influence of classroom blogging on 	elementary student writing. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 	25(4), 415-437. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02568543.2011.605205