Teaching (action) research: Due March 30 (approx.)

Hi everyone, it was so lovely to check in tonight! Per the results of your survey, we will host these brief check-ins once per week. Here are some options for this week’s blog. Feel free to respond to one, two, or all three.

Option 1: I’d like to hear about how you could or have used technology to facilitate research with students. What platforms, apps, etc. might be useful? What websites are helpful? How might you encourage students to use apps, forms, and surveys to gather their own data? (Feel free to reference this week’s reading on facilitating research–however, not required.)

Option 2: Alternately/additionally, how is online teaching going? What struggles have you faced, and what resources have been helpful?

Option 3: Finally, I think it’s important to share art, poems, stories, shows, music, etc. that brings us joy and comfort during this time. What does that for you? I’ll share one of my favorite poems, Paul Robeson by Gwendolyn Brooks. And, of course, I love the drummer I shared via Zoom, Nandi Bushell.

Excited to talk next week! Thank you for supporting each other with encouragement and suggestions during this time. 🙂

12 thoughts on “Teaching (action) research: Due March 30 (approx.)”

  1. So far, the biggest struggle I have faced is getting 8th-grade students to keep a regular schedule during this time of distance learning. Many of my students are already beginning to sleep later into the day, and stay up later at night. This inconsistency in their schedule is making them feel overwhelmed with school work. One of my students said to me that she had been working from the minute she woke up until almost 8 P.M. However, she also admitted that she woke up at 11 A.M and took several long breaks during her day. Without the rigidness of a school schedule, I find that many of my students are having these same issues.

    This underlying issue of an inconsistent schedule has led to many other problems and annoyances. One of the main issues it causes for me is that students are asking me questions well into the night. I have students emailing me at 9 P.M asking me basic questions about the homework. Many times during the regular school day, it is easy for me to draw the line between work and home. If a student emailed me at 9 P.M typically, I would never answer. But under the current circumstance, I feel guilty, not answering these questions. My 13-year-old students did not ask for this, and I feel as if I am punishing them if I don’t answer these questions. Because of this, I feel as if I’ve been working well past my regular hours over the past week.

    The most significant resources I have had have been the people around me. Whether it’s the people I work with, friends, or classmates, I feel as if I need people during this time of isolation and distancing more than ever. I use to dread my Friday faculty meetings. But yesterday I was looking forward to seeing my colleague’s faces and talking to others who understood my pain. In terms of technology, the best resource I have is Slack. I use Slack as a real-time workspace for my students during the day. It gives students the ability not only to ask me questions but answer each other as well. As they have become more comfortable with the platform, it has been a big help in terms of keeping us all connected.

  2. Our SEYS 781 course last semester with Karen and Dr. Caraballo really influenced an action research project that I organized for my senior class’ midterm. After going through the tough time of helping my students pick projects (that was really the hardest part), their thought process and final presentations were some of the best work I’d seen from them in the two years that I had taught them. They became confident in their own topics and felt comfortable answering questions… and really felt like their work was relevant. Similar to our 781 course, I broke up research methods into four types: quantitative surveys through Google Forms (sent to entire grades or the whole school), qualitative interviews, content analysis (through YouTube or social media), or observations. Students needed to complete a literature review, choose two research methods, write a paper with a similar format as our 781 paper, and present their findings using visual aids, including charts, graphs, or screenshots. From analyzing the influence of social media on dating expectations to investigating the marketing strategies used in college acceptance emails, my students really took this project to a height that I wasn’t expecting. I wish I had incorporated action research into my curriculum earlier; seeing my students so passionate about their projects (which were also all different) and look forward to educating one another was a really eye-opening experience.

    As a work update, I started meeting with students online this week and they were such a ray of positivity (I was SO busy!). The students I work with are pretty much all interested in pursuing healthcare and, with the possible risks that their career goals present are at the forefront, they’re surprisingly more motivated than ever to help. I’ve actually had to make my appointment times longer, because I find that we just wind up talking because we all need some human contact! A poem that I’ve re-discovered during this time is Mary Oliver’s “Wild Geese.” We all (or at least I) feel that we need to be productive during this time, keeping up workouts and working as if it’s business as usual. This poem reminds me that it’s okay to take this time to pause, feel things, and separate ourselves from society’s usual expectations of us.

  3. Option 2: Last week was difficult. I am deeply concerned about some of my students who did not “show up” to class as some do not have support at home or a home at all in some cases. Friday night we finally heard from one of our students who I was particularly concerned about which was a huge relief. I also learned that one of my students is in a shelter which made me sad but I was able to connect her with resources to get access to tech. I have one student who comes to our online video chat office hours. He doesn’t use his camera or audio but will chime in via text. I think he finds comfort in being with my co-teacher and I even though we’re like a really boring morning talk show.

    I have been hesitant to post videos of myself. I don’t know why but it makes me feel very self-conscious and exposed. I have been posting slideshows, differentiated text excerpts and organizers. My AP has access to my Google Classroom which is fine but again, makes me feel overly exposed. The administration in my school is notoriously unsupportive of the staff. They often have a “gotcha” approach to management and appear loathe to give us the least bit of praise. Of roughly 150 teachers, 3 were rated highly effective last year.

    When I got “grows and glows”from my AP for my lesson on Tuesday, my initial reaction was anger. How dare someone critique my performance during this time? After I took a deep breath, I realized that I need outside perspective, as much of it as I can get. And that my AP doesn’t really know what she is doing either. I question everything I am doing and am afraid that I can turn student off if tasks require them to push themselves too much. But I am also tasked with rigor at a time when I lack the space to do so. I presented new concepts to my seniors on Monday and Tuesday last week and realized that this is more than they can process from a google doc at this point. And who knows how they are processing everything going on in the world outside.

    As a result of my reflection, I have streamlined my lesson materials: one 2-3 slide slideshow and a text excerpt which has LT, FQ and instructions for the days lesson. I am also differentiating texts by student instead of posting all of them on one assignment to make it easier for students to see what is expected of them. I am creating rubrics each day to make my expectations clearer. And I’m trying to get screen-o-matic going so I can post some videos to model or just provide a more personal connection to my students.

    How was your week?

  4. Online teaching started off very difficult for me, in terms of getting the students adjusted to this new schedule and contacting parents, in order to make them aware of assignments being posted and the responsibilities students were still required to complete. While I feel that most of my students have got the hang of waking up early and completing assignments, it is still emotionally draining for them and myself. I ask them a daily question, in order to check attendance, and gain feedback from them on how online learning is going and almost all of them miss having a teacher in front of them. Since I do teach ICT classrooms, I feel that I cannot challenge them, in terms of the way that my administration would like to see because I do not want them to get overwhelmed and give up on online learning altogether. My overall goal is to simplify the lessons and make the material understandable since they are still young and have to practically teach themselves this material, especially since most (if not all) of their parents do not speak English.

    One of the most overwhelming aspects of this entire experience is trying to balance my work schedule. I find myself working throughout the entire day and calling students way after 4 p.m., in order to explain to them an easier way to answer a question or simply review the Google Slides with them because I understand their confusion and lack of socialization during these difficult times. I have noticed that making that extra attempt in calling students, individually, has made this experience a little bit easier for my students, in terms of having them ask me questions and crack jokes just like we would during school.

    A resource that I have been using recently has been Zoom, which is probably the most common resource that teachers have been using but I feel that it has really engaged my students and has created that classroom environment. It allows me to conduct first read models and think-alouds which is a strategy that my students are used to and feel familiar with. There are certain lessons that cannot be conducted through digital learning and I express that to my students every chance I get since they believe that they are the only ones struggling throughout this rough time. While my job is to make sure learning is still occurring, my main priority is making sure my students are handling this in the best possible way and allowing them to realize that I am just a phone call away, in terms of a quick mental health check or to answer any questions they have about ELA.

  5. The use of technology in the classroom is still a difficult one for me, though I understand its value and potential to have groundbreaking effects on the ways students can engage in learning. I am sure that during this time, many teachers are learning about new mediums and resources to implement in their own instruction. In my own teaching, I have mostly utilized websites like The New York Times, Youtube, and Google Forms to supplement learning and carry out research.

    When it comes to narrative writing/personal experience as a vehicle for research, I am reminded of Wendy Barrales’ unit on Ethnic studies and her attempts to have students record and understand their own family history. Using literature by writers such as Julia Alvarez and Audre Lorde and ideas from activists and writers like Angela Davis and Glorica Anzaldúa, she was able to encompass experiences reflective of students’ backgrounds and in turn, have them engage in critical discussions relevant to preserving and understanding their histories and lineages. I would like to carry out a research project in a similar fashion, having students use their smartphones as tools to record and transcribe their experiences.

    With an emphasis on social justice in the same vein as Pedraza and Rodriguez (2018), I would like to examine the ways in which immigration is both villainized and criminalized in the US. To begin, I would introduce texts that depict both the struggles of immigrants and the beauty found in a multigenerational background through exploring titles like Chulito and Girl In Translation, and find similar stories on Youtube. We would then look at websites like The New York Times to find articles about immigration and the political standpoints presented. To encourage student engagement and the use of smartphones, I would additionally welcome the use of apps like Instagram and Pinterest for means of both collaborating and archiving. While this exists as only a skeleton of a unit I wish to pursue, further implementation of technology would allow this idea to provide impact on larger scales, and hopefully, on student lives.

  6. So far, I absolutely love remote teaching. I’m fortunate that my school is one that uses technology on an everyday basis—such as Google Classroom and other resources like NearPod, Castle Learning, etc.—so my students didn’t have to adjust much. I’d say the biggest problem is seeing my students face-to-face. As much as I’ve complained about my kids (even my troublesome ones), I miss them and they miss me (and the other teachers, too).

    Giving them work has stayed consistent to what we have done in class this year so far. We’ve finishing up “TKAM” and instead of doing read-alouds in person, I have a Google Meet where my co-teacher and I invite the entire 8th grade to join. We read the chapter together and we’ll stop periodically to ask thought provoking questions (as we usually do in class) and the kids answer on the Google Meet chat. So far, it’s been really, really grate. We give participation credit for those who choose to partake in the discussion. I assigned double entry response journals per chapter to substitute the annotating my kids were doing in their books, and they complete constructed response questions for each chapter, too. At the end of the book (we’re only like…4 chapters until the end), they have an argumentative essay to complete.

    I’ve been doing “Podcast-like” announcements every morning where I record an audio to say good morning to all my kids and run down what’s due for that day/what’s due coming up. Additionally, I’ve been creating chapter breakdown videos for each chapter that we read together, in case kids are confused or they missed a Google Meet.
    (Examples:
    https://www.powtoon.com/c/bgicaYDL9UA/1/m
    https://www.powtoon.com/c/eCMz2MDGCEB/1/m)

    I also assigned a “Time Capsule Journal” that I’m having my students work on once a week to replace Free Write Fridays. For this, they write two paragraphs about what’s going on with them, how they’re feeling—like a diary/journal. It’s graded on completion, not content. So far, my kids have loved this and they’re appreciative to have a platform to discuss how they feel and what’s going on in their worlds. Reading the journal responses DOES make me miss them even more! Many of them like the online learning because it’s more freedom and flexibility, but they admit to missing their friends, teachers, and are unhappy they may miss many of their “senior activities.”

    P.S.: As a side note: If anyone would like any advice on resources to use online, or needs help navigating any platforms or apps, please feel free to email me at anytime because I am glad to help!

  7. It is so easy to focus on the negative, to put all of our attention onto the things we don’t have as opposed to those we do. I remember reading the book Peaks and Valleys by Spencer Johnson that helped me when I was going through rough times. It had many lessons that I still carry with me today as I try to place any obstacles I face into perspective. I have so much to be grateful for that I should be able to leave petty obstructions, and even those not so petty, from clouding how I view my day, my month, the world, etc. I think that is a lesson we all struggle with. Here is a link to the audio book in case anyone would like to check it out:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGKkfyPJP6w

    I love the message behind the movie Its a Wonderful Life. To see someone fall so far into the abyss of helplessness and then to see a community rise up to be there in the most selfless of ways is truly heartwarming for me.

    Lastly, I am a big fan of “The Secret.” I don’t believe it is something supernatural. To me it is a natural phenomenon that happens on a physiological level. Being around angry people who complain all the time rubs off on us and causes us to do the same. Being around extremely positive people who are grateful and uplifting makes being happy so much easier. Stress has been found to cause all kinds of health complications, diseases, and destroy our work ethic. We should all be aware of what mood we set in our classrooms as teachers and understand how our positive or negative energy can impact our students:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjmK8aJu5Qg

  8. One of my most successful moments as a a teacher last year was when our focus for two weeks before holiday break we focused on creating editorials dealing with gender inequality. Students had access to computers, students researched topics of their choice within the unit of study, students were having active discussions: the best written pieces of the year were created within this mini unit I created. Looking back on it, I would want to incorporate it every year but hone my focus. I did not require students to inquire into the research process like Pedraza and Rodriguez. Yes, they researched a topic but it was mostly guided by options I gave them. In order to give students more agency I am thinking of re approaching this topic using the critical praxi’s approach to having students thoroughly research an issue purely of their creation (Pedraza and Rodriguez 2018).

    One struggle we are encountering in my school is students lack of what I call technological literacy. Many students are expressing frustration navigating google classroom, managing class assignments, so the transition has been far from seamless; Last week, a colleague of mine walked two students through how to use google classroom and navigate in between classrooms. Truthfully, I was not expecting this, well, because, I figured these students were adolescents in the social media age, they were born with smartphones they could handle this. I am learning that is not the case. This is causing some barriers between both pacing purposes in classwork and student sanity. As one of my students, Kelly shared in her journal,

    “My thoughts and feelings varied. I was kind of annoyed by the time range of when the homeworks is supposed to be handed in because we have lots of classes and limited time to do work and parents don’t allow us to stay on the computer too long. It’s really tough to do everything in a quick matter of time.”

    As teachers, I think we are going to have to revaluate quantity of work we give and keep in mind that teenagers don’t have the best organizational skills. Expecting work to be turned around in a week is a dream at best. In fact, I think I may start posting lessons on helping students organize themselves, prioritize, helping them establish some sort of system of routine and normalcy for this very strange time.

    some art to get us through: (I share a poem every week with the kids…here’s the two latest).
    The Days to Come by Medora Addison https://poets.org/poem/days-come
    Wild Geese by Mary Oliver http://www.phys.unm.edu/~tw/fas/yits/archive/oliver_wildgeese.html

  9. Online teaching is proving to be difficult. I was having trouble getting in touch with students and thus, had to extend deadlines several times. I feel bad that they are being forced to learn this new platform which I know my school/students have never used. They have a lot of questions and I find myself answering them at all times of the day. I don’t mind this at all, but I feel bad that some of them don’t have the resources at home or the familiarity with this type of learning. I have found that my coworkers have been very helpful during this time. They have provided me with readings as well as videos to use in order to make learning easier for the students. I am also thinking of posting a check-in/poll onto Google classroom to see how the students feel about online learning and what I can do to help. A few of my friends have done this and I feel like it would also be helpful with my students.

  10. Option 1- The main thing that has helped is google classroom. I understand the pretty most teachers have transitioned to classroom. However, I have found interesting ways to use classroom to help with the remote learning. One way is with the attendance. A major concern I had was how to keep track of attendance since we are still required to do so. Someone from another school would post a question with instructions stating click present for today’s attendance. All students would have to do is choose present and attendance is recorded. It’s simple thing, but it has helped me immensely with keeping track of the attendance for the kids. I also have gotten in commonlit more. It was a program that I dabbled with a bit before the shut down, but I have now been forced to implement it more, and I am loving what it is capable of. You can arrange the grade level for a class or even specific students to differentiate. Students are allowed to annotate and highlight texts they are reading. There is even audio assistance for the kids. I have definitely been saved by commonlit as it provides me with a variety of texts so as to keep their skills fresh.
    Option 2- There have been many ups and downs with remote learning. One of the biggest struggle it functioning technology. Many of my kids have issues logging in or turning in work. Before I can show them how to maneuver around these apps, but now I have to guide them verbally. I had issue just getting a kid to activate the share screen feature on their zoom today. Also, it just doesn’t feel natural to teach like this. Even with zoom, there is still a disconnect between me and the kid. I am unable to provide the proper feedback as I am unable to model work or provided examples readily. Also, you are not getting to everyone all at once. Some join after you have finished explaining, they are distracted by other responsibilities at home. It is a very difficult environment to try and hep students in. Also, these kids are so overwhelmed with everything and are struggling. It is tough to see them juggle five or six subjects at once. Especially since some teachers don;t take that into consideration and just dump a load of work on these kids.

  11. COVID19 has been severely impacting my school. This week two brothers, who are our students, lost their father. One of the students is my own. While all of us teachers ended up on a call to figure out how to help, our administration reminded us this is likely not to be the last set of students to experience the loss of a loved one.

    To deal with the gruesome realities of the world, I have been rewatching “Boy Meets World.” I’ve also been trying to journal daily, and have subscribed to the “Poem-A-Day” mailing list. My greatest source of inspiration, includes my students. As mentioned in “Civic Awareness and Action beyond the Classroom: Engaging Students with Their Communities,” “Engaging our students in their own communities creates a sense of excitement, purpose, leadership, and ownership that can only be authentically and deeply felt by discovering what lies beyond the four walls of our classrooms” (McWilliams 56). Though separated, my students continuously create a sense of community outside of the classroom, as they took the initiative to create a ten minute long video sending their love, thoughts, and prayers, to the boys who lost their father. Many of the students being my own, recorded themselves telling the boys they are loved, supported, and did not deserve what happened to their father—crying in solitude. This is my source of inspiration, their ability to think of themselves as a community, to grieve losses together.

    My final source of inspiration comes from my student teaching seniors, who are now in college. I’m grateful several of them still keep in contact with me. Lately, they’ve been reaching out about how COVID19 has impacted their first semester. One of the students mentioned he was going through a slum, and has been trying his best to utilize quarantine to attempt to reinvest in his artwork. This specific student inspires me, because he continues to rise above every difficulty thrown in his path, with a wisdom beyond his years. He has demonstrated diligence from when I first met him last February, and continuously proves he’s a greater human than I’ll ever be. His portfolio can be found here: https://rjab7501.wixsite.com/rajabsportfolio
    one of my favorites being the “Spongebob Block,” however recently, his new series has been helping me, as I work through a slum as well: https://www.instagram.com/p/B8Hpe7Zl-e1/?igshid=14ta2skuucqbd
    I hope you all like it as well!

  12. I know I’m late (again) to commenting on this thread, but I think that the stresses of everything going have taken their toll on me. I can’t even say that it’s been due to having a lack of time since I’ve had plenty of time to do assignments for grad school and handle remote learning and outreach to my students, but rather a lack of motivation and possibly depression. I truly believe that one of the evils of the modern era is just how easy it is to access information, and when you see the numbers of people who are sick, suffering, and passing away due to this virus, it becomes difficult to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

    However, there is going to be a light at the end of the tunnel and many of us will come out of this stronger than how we came in. I personally need to stay strong for my family since they look to me to guide them, as well as my students who are truthfully under a lot more pressure than they show. I’ve had many students confide in me their fears and worry about the bleak outlook that is being presented in the media, and I’ve done all that I can to reassure them.

    One of my past times as of late has been watching TV shows and Netflix series that I’ve never seen before (I truthfully barely watch TV) and developing more interests that I think will help me grow more into myself. Blacklist and All American have been two of my favorite shows to binge watch, and I’m starting to get into Stranger Things and How to Get Away with Murder. I’m still physically active at home, working out every other day and going for morning runs when no one else is out. These are some way’s I’ve been able to keep sane. I’ve also had virtual dates with my girlfriend via FaceTime (technology isn’t all bad!) which have been interesting, yet still fun!.

    Well, that’s the end of this check-in. I hope everyone is doing well!

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