Reflection
Challenges
Successes
Several challenges occurred during the data collection process. Instruction was conducted daily during morning meeting time for approximately twenty to twenty five minutes. This targeted instruction was interrupted on Thursdays when high ability learning students would miss part of the activity to visit their specific instructor. On Tuesdays, band students congregated for specific instruction based on type of instrument. These interruptions caused small groups of students to miss targeted skills instruction for social and emotion growth, causing them confusion when returning to the whole group. School absences caused the same effect in missed instruction.
Another challenge that was faced during the data collection process were the three snow days that occurred in the months of January and February. These missed days caused the need for extensions within the original calendar in order to complete the necessary lessons of the Sanford Harmony Program.
Students displayed growth over time through targeted social and emotional skills instruction.Targeted skills included self regulation, peer to peer communication, and conflict resolution.
Based on the selected strategies to monitor growth over time, success was evident in the 'Never Say" list. This was a list of words and phrases banned from the room. If the word or phrase was used, students received a tally representing the number of minutes spent in silent reflection at recess. Positive evidence was shown in the promoting of positive peer communication and positive self talk.
Other success were shown in the pre- and post-test through data comparison. Peer to peer communication grew to praising classmates and promoting their growth through encouragement and group activities.
New Learning
During this insightful experience in which social and emotional learning instruction was conducted, I was able to watch my students grow and develop the desired skills targeted during whole group instruction. At the beginning and the end of the data collection process, a pre- and post-test was provided in order for me to grasp how students viewed themselves as both learners and friends. The data collection process was such an important aspect that provided me the guidance I needed to target instruction on the specific skills my students needed to learn. Based on the results and classroom experiences, my instructional strategies were altered to fit the needs of my students. Adaptations in the classroom dynamic were made as lessons progressed in order to support my diverse learners.
The data collected served an important role in the implementation of selected strategies. As lessons progressed and students responded better to the 'Never Say' list, as well as the classroom point system, data collection methods were altered. Based on the resulting behaviors in the room, including a significant decrease in negative self talk, this strategy proved effective towards the use of positive language between peers.
Everyday instructional decisions were made based on collected data. Regardless of subject being taught, data drives the everyday decisions in order to adapt the environment to fit the students' needs. Quantitative data refers to the numeric representation for the data collected and displayed often in graphic form. This data can be test scores, number of class points, or ratio comparison for compiled data. Qualitative data represents the characteristics of the environment that displayed change over time or in the given moment; these were often not numeric in representation. Both types of data were collected in this study in order to make instructional decisions and instill research proven strategies to guide students to success with communication skills with peers, self-regulation, and conflict resolution.
Impact on Student Learning
This action research project was projected to display positive growth correlation over time through daily tally systems and weekly physical observations. Students' interactions were monitored and group discussions proved effective.
Social and emotional instruction was implemented during morning meeting time. This included collaborative conversations, individualized personality quizzes, and partner activities designed to practice problem solving skills and empathy.
This social and emotional development over time proved successful. Whole group classroom developed over time. The use of the self-regulatory, peer-to-peer communication, and conflict resolution strategies prevented many classroom disputes and distractions during daily instruction. The drastic difference in overall environment was evident as the ratio between negative self-talk to positive self-talk became skewed in favor of positivity. The number of daily tallies taken for the phrases banned from the room (including negative self) talk grew more and more barren as the instruction progressed and students acknowledged their ability to self-regulate in a variety of settings. Daily instructional time proceeded without excessive blurting or behavioral disruptions.
One observed change in my five highest energy point students cause relevant growth within the classroom dynamic. Three of the five students received frequent breaks out of the classroom to regulate energy and channel it through creative or active means to prevent classroom disruptions. This added break showed an improvement in their attitude towards learning. Before instruction, these five students were given recommendations to take a break or if behaviors were severe enough, forced to take these breaks in order to self-regulate. Approximately four weeks into the social and emotional instruction, I noticed change in the frequency of breaks. Three of the five students were able to identify when their behaviors, whether mental, physical, or verbal, were disrupting their learning and impacting peer emotions. These students began identifying this change and determined when they needed a break with little to no suggestion from myself or any other professional within the building.
What Changes Could Be Made
Along with the social and emotional instruction during morning meeting, changes will be made as data is collected to watch observed changes over time. Later within the study, a new strategy was implemented that caused a drastic change to the classroom dynamic. Suggested by an associate from the university, a "Never Say" list proved positive results.
On this list, words and phrases that often trigger negative peer responses (ex. shut up, stupid, idiot, name dropping a peer, etc.). If these items on this displayed poster were mentioned, a tally was placed next to that student's name. Each tally represented one minute of silent reflection at recess before the offending student was released to the playground.
This strategy caused a drastic change in the way students conversed with peers. They began cheering each other on and praising classmates who they did not converse with prior. Negative remarks were met with supporting language. Within the image above, a student was not complying with the never say list during an online game. Classmates met his negative self-talk with positive reinforcement; they cheered him on as his username rose higher on the leaderboard. His attitude changed towards himself, the game, and his peers; he began cheering on a nearby classmate who grew increasingly upset with his current ranking. This was one example of an on going positive reinforcement among peers. Conflicts were resolved through open communication about the situation they were in. Feelings were acknowledged and students listened to one another. This strategy is one that will be included at the start of instruction to promote success in the future. Based on this instance and many others, this strategy was proven efficient to promote self-regulation and conflict resolution.
Remaining Questions
One remaining question revolves around the completion results and analysis of the pre- and post-test regarding student views of self. One question within the self quiz asks students to rate themselves on a scale from one (not good) to ten (amazing) how they are feeling as they answer the quiz. The data analysis showed that students who rated themselves one and two skewed the results of the quiz. With a majority showing growth, students who responded negatively changed the results. The question remains if the determining factor in their emotions during that given moment would alter the results to display the same amount of growth as personal observation by myself and other educators.
Moving Forward
Future Thinking, Behaviors, and Classroom Interactions
Based upon the results of my action research study, my behaviors, classroom interactions and thinking have been influenced. As a result of the data analysis and results, my overall approach to teaching in these areas will be influenced.
At the completion of my data collection and throughout the analysis portion of the action research study, concluding results indicated growth for a majority of my students. As a result, next year, this program will be put into practice after week two of instruction to begin building relationships with students. A majority of the data collected to determine if growth was shown over time was found within the pre and post test. Although this was an influential piece of the study and proved to be an effective piece to observe change over time, it had faults. Results of this informal assessment became dependent on the overall mood a student was experiencing having at the time in which they respond to the questions. For instance, in the final study, one student in particular was having a rough afternoon and rated every question significantly lower than he would have on the average school day. It was assumed that it was due to the events leading up to the negative mindset. This particular score lowered the overall results in comparison to his peers. I concluded that the time in which a student may answer the same set of questions will differ dependent on daily events, attitude, and overall classroom environment. When analyzing the data, I took this situation into consideration and compared to determine how more positive results would have benefited the overall growth being monitored.
A large portion that led to student's building trust through empathy and care relied on the group activities. While some were small group, whole group games and activities were most successful. These activities required strict instruction in order for the room to maintain order and for all students to participate. As a result, pre teaching of expectations for whole and small group work was necessary. Pre teaching of expectations should be mandated and enforced before beginning any activities. Instruction can begin through small and short games to practice these expectations and encourage communication among peers. If the expectations and resulting consequences are not followed, they should be enforced and repeated to instill a community of understanding. Visuals, such as anchor charts, around the room will clearly indicate what students wish to see from themselves and others in order to enjoy these activities.
Future Changes
This action-based research was designed to address the need of social and emotional learning within the classroom. Students were fully immersed into interactive group discussions and small group activities. Based on individualized personality quizzes, students were placed in specific groups to explore a variety of perspectives on the same situation. However, if the study were to begin at the beginning of the year, one more change could be made to be better adapted to fit the needs of the varying ability levels of my students.
Based on family situations, I found difficulty in at home participation and communication. I would like to improve this in the future and include families in the social and emotional activities by sending home these quizzes for them to complete and compare to their student's results. I believe this interaction will solidify the importance and provide further opportunities for students to share with their families their growing personality. The attempt to increase at home participation will be conducted through the use of online forms to gauge parent interest in participation and through ongoing communication to ensure all students have access to the same home based opportunities.
Future Teaching
Moving forward, my approach to behavioral expectations will differ greatly. Although the Sanford Harmony Program is designed for success in social and emotional learning strategies, the classroom community grew by the end of the data collection process. The continued personality quizzes and discussions allowed students to look at how they reacted and felt compared to their classmates. As each group shared their views and reactions to a given situation, students were able to visualize the responses from their peers and investigate multiple perspectives. This provided a unique in depth experience on why their classmates may react the way they do in a given scenario. An observed change in group dynamic was evident during recess when certain students who rarely conversed were involved in the same activities. Cliques were weakened and relationships were built around compassion and understanding.
As instruction continues, my action research data results will influence the way our class with conclude the year. I plan to continue the development of these skills and maintain an open line of communication within the room using guiding questions and small group activities.
In whole group discussions, students began sharing personal experiences with the class with a common understanding of trust and secrecy. Judgment was excluded from the sessions as support replaced any insults or negative feedback that originally took precedent over the classroom. This development of growth proved successful as students responded with general understanding or with kind words to build up confidence of more shy students. This is a program I plan to implement in the future earlier in the year during the same daily time frame in order to build classroom community.