Standard 4: Student Learning
Teacher leaders facilitate student learning through evidence-based practice informed by research. They understand and apply research in child and adolescent development, cognitive development, and general and specialized pedagogy. They encourage critical reading, writing and thinking in the learning process. They foster instructional and evaluation methods that embrace variety and authenticity. They promote student reflection and self-assessment. They encourage colleagues and students to take on leadership roles and work in teams. Indicators are:
- Seek out and use existing research to inform school practices.
- Design action research to investigate and improve student learning and school policies and practices.
- Model technology integration that supports student learning.
- Critically analyze student and school performance data to determine needs and plan instruction that is rigorous, coherent, and substantiated within a theoretical and philosophical base.
Context:
This artifact was created for RE 5040, Teacher as Researcher, under the direction of Dr. David Koppenhaver. This research project required me to design and implement an action research project that would allow me to gain a better understanding of the benefits of doing my own research to make adjustments for my students. This report describes my research project and how it was designed, implemented, and the results analyzed. I chose to conduct my research on how social interaction and parent involvement effect student's motivation to read.
Rationale:
This research took place in a first grade classroom in a Title I school in western North Carolina. I worked with two other partners on this project, and the classroom used belonged to one of them. The main intervention we focused on was the incorporation of Book Buddies to increase students' motivation to read. We also had parents set a goal for how many books they expected their child to read over the course of five weeks to see if students were motivated to read in order to meet their parent's goal. Our research found that the Book Buddies approach can have a positive impact on motivating reluctant students to read and that parents' goals had little effect on students' motivation. This research will help me in my own classroom because I plan to incorporate the Book Buddies approach in my own classroom so that students will be motivated and excited to read. This research project also taught me the benefits of conducting my own research based on the needs of my own students. It also taught me that research in my own classroom can be done easily and can offer great insight on how to best suit the needs of my students.
2. RE 5500 Survey Research Summary
Context:
This artifact was created to summarize my work for RE 5500, Survey Research Literacy Education, under the direction of Dr. Carla Meyer. This Independent Study allowed me to work with Dr. Meyer on a research project about survey methods and survey response rates for mail and internet surveys.
Rationale:
This research allowed me to learn the complete process of researching a topic from start to finish. I learned how to come up with a topic of research, how to carrry out the research plan, how to analyze the information found, and how to write up a final research report. This information will allow me to effectively research topics that interest me in my own classroom so that I can better my students' education. I am also now more aware of the value of research in order to make gains in the field of education and the importance of sharing that information with others.