Inquiry #3- Module Responses

Module 1

I wonder why students seem to be off tasking at times during instruction. I decided to pursue this wondering because it is something that highly affects my teaching. If students are off task it can be because of multiple reasons and as their teacher, it is my job to find out why. Being off task may be because they are uninterested or they may find the lesson meaningless or perhaps the students may be off task because I do not implement a form of classroom management. What the cause of their behavior, it takes away time from instruction which is of course for their benefit. This is also so important to me because I want to be a more confident teacher as I am teaching and guiding them.

Reading the blogs of my PLC members as well as speaking to them, most of them were able to successfully convey their thought process when deciding their wondering. A couple of members were still unsure of what to do exactly- what to focus on, what to look for, etc. But after talking and sharing our wonderings, members who were confused were able to gain a better idea of what exactly they had to focus on. And with that, were able to find their wondering.

Module 2

I didn't realize the multiple ways one can gather data within the classroom until performing different assignments within the classroom. There are so many ways and with so many benefits! Some of the mediums that can be used to gather information within the classroom are student interviews, reading interest inventories, classroom pictures, observing them, running records, student examples of their work, meeting with fellow teachers in the same grade or experience, asking for other feedback and assistance from other peers- the list can go on! And what is the purpose of these forms of collecting data? All of these ways of gathering data enables the educator become more prepared, skilled, and aware of how to better teach his/her students. For example, pictures or video of the students during instruction time can help show parents how the student is performing at school or in a particular subject. Another example is talking to fellow peers. Teaching is not a field of work that can be done by one person. It is so important to learn and ask questions and advice from other teachers and professionals. Gaining information and advice from other professionals helps the teacher become a more effective teacher.


Module 3

As I reflect back to my wondering, I realize that I have many forms of data that I can use in my research plan. I can talk to my cooperating teachers, read over evaluation forms filled out by my cooperating teachers from previous lessons, look over student work, reflect over the lesson itself, talk to PLC member who was videotaping me as I taught the lesson, and of course watching the video of my lesson. All of these ways of gathering data are available to me. It is simply up to me to use my resources their full advantage. Gathering these pieces of data can be done over a period of time so it is not so overwhelming.

Module 4

After looking over my data, I have created my theory. For students to remain on task during an activity or lesson, the content of the lesson must be meaningful and engaging to the students. If behavior becomes inconsistent, I believe it is because they have lost interesting in participating because of the lack of purpose within the assignment itself.

Module 5

My Inquiry #3 can be found on my portfolio. My PLC members and I have also shared feedback and thoughts during our meeting.

Josephine's Working Portfolio