Student Number 31289885
Surname AxfordGiven name AshleighEmail [email protected]
Unit Code EDN470
Unit name Action Learning for Reflective PractitionersEnrolment mode ExternalDate 22.06.2016Assignment number Assignment ThreeAssignment name Professional and Action Learning ReportTutor Rachel Dewry
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Assignment 3 1
ELECTRONIC ASSIGNMENT COVERSHEET
EDN470 Action Learning for Reflective Practitioners Final Report ~ ePortfolio
3500 words-50 marks Wednesday 22nd June
Your Name: Ashleigh Axford Student No: 31289885
1) Weebly Address: http://ashleighedn470.weebly.com2) Your email address: [email protected]
Mentor Teacher’s Name:Coleen Ryman
Report StructureRank
/10
Comment
The Report is well structured:- clear introduction- well justified rationale- clear aims, focus questions & strategies- adequate conclusion- professional presentation including
correct referencing in APA style.
Quality of Reflection Rank
/15
Comment
The reflective discussion:- considers ‘why’ you conducted your
research and also ‘how’ you used this approach
- makes links to own teaching philosophy and teaching experience
- demonstrates ability to act on reflections;- strongly related to the project’s aims and
linked to relevant literature- addresses research questions
Action Research Methodology Rank
/15
Comment
2
Teaching strategies are:
- implemented as part of Action Research
- strongly linked to the topic
- data collection is appropriate for the
action research cycle;
- data is analysed and critically evaluated;
- modification of teaching plans is based
on findings.
Provision of Evidence Rank /
10
Comment
The evidence provided:- Is authentic and varied- thoughtfully selected- explained in the report- respects confidentiality- permission forms- Appendices A-D are hyperlinked
General Comments: /50
Signature: Date:
3
EDN470 - Action Learning for Reflective Practitioners
Professional & Action Learning Project Report (ePortfolio presentation)
Tutor: Rachel Dewry
By: Ashleigh Axford
Word count total: 3715
Improving effective questioning during play based learning activities.
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Contents Page
Introduction 6-7
Overview
Context
Professional teaching background
Student details
Rational 7-9
Purpose
Aims
Process 9-12
Reflective discussion 12-14
Conclusion 14
Implications for future teaching
References 15-16
Appendix 17-18
Appendix D: Professional & Action Learning Project 20 Hour Confirmation
5
Introduction
Overview
This Action research Project identifies techniques that can be used in the classroom to
ensure there is a sufficient amount of effective questioning during constructive play based
learning. The report demonstrates the implementation, analysis and reflection on my
teaching. At the launch of my Professional and Action Learning Project I conducted a
Project Rational and Plan for assignment one. This provided me with and comprehensive
basis for the development of my project and in the long run the writing of my final report.
Continuing on from assignment one I began implementing my strategies and collecting
evidence to develop my Professional and Action Learning Project Progress Report. In my
Process Report I analysed my preliminary findings on the data derived from cycle one to
allow me reflect and question my research in order to improve it (O’Connor & Diggins,
2002).
Context
The school I am conducting my action research project in is a public primary school located
in the suburb of Bibra Lake. (MySchool, 2016) Bibra Lake Primary School caters for
children from 4 to 12 years of age and has students from a variety of cultures. The school
promotes Australian values and provides a broad and inclusive curriculum. I am
undertaking my research in a Pre-Primary class. The class consists of 23 students, 10 girls
and 13 boys, 2 part time teachers and 1 education assistant.
Professional teaching background
During the past five year of my studies I have had the opportunities to further my teaching
knowledge and practice through several practicums. Through my university placements I
have been placed in years 2/3 all the way through so unfortunately have not had a wide
range of year levels. Through reflecting on past experiences I have found that activities and
lessons I have planned in previous placements have not been as hands on, interactive,
engaging and play based as I would have liked. As Saylor (2010) quotes "Play is an
important tool in our work with young people and adults. Nothing creates a safer space for
youth to stretch themselves, explore, grow, develop skills, learn, and build relationships
than the act of play. In play, you will see personalities and even values come out; you will
observe what students enjoy and what they don’t; and you’ll quickly get to know the
individuals in your group.” As a pre-service teacher I want to have the knowledge and
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understanding to implement effective and constructive play based lessons and the
techniques to complete effective questioning to gain student’s knowledge during these
activities.
Student details
For the purpose of my Action Research Project I focused on the class as a whole. The Pre-
Primary class consists of 23 students, 10 boys and 13 girls. In the class there is two Chinese
students and one of them speak English as a second language (ESL) at home. Student’s
abilities range in the classroom, 1 student has been identified as at risk but does not have
an Individualized Education Plans (IEP) as yet, and 2 students have been identified as high
achievers and often need extended work.
Rational
Reason for this particular project
McNiff and Whitehead (2009) explain action research as a term that involves critically
thinking, analyzing and reflecting on a particular area in your practice, which needs to be
improved, and then taking time to promote the action to improve an aspect of your
practice. O’Connor and Diggins (2002) state “As a reflective practitioner, you think critically
about your practice and identify what you do well, your strengths and build on these and
what you do not so well, your weaknesses, to try to overcome these” (p. 9).
Through my reflective process I was able to see a common concern that I had in my
teaching practice and something that I wanted to improve on was including interactive,
engaging, hands on, constructive, play based learning activities, then when doing so using
the appropriate techniques to effectively question the students learning process. When
reflecting on previous practicums I realised that not only myself through my personal
lesson planning but my mentors were not including much in the way of play based lessons
for the students. When considering this thought I also deliberated on my personal values
and beliefs and came to see how important it is to have fun, interactive and engaging
actives in the classroom. As Bennett , Wood and Rogers suggest, “play is not the only means
by which the child comes to discover the world, but it is ‘supremely the activity which
brings them psychic equilibrium’ in the early years” (2001). McNiff and Whitehead, (2012)
discuss that action research differs from traditional research as it is designed to improve a
personal situation. This is why I concluded in my Project Plan and Rational that I wanted to
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find ways to increase the amount of constructive and structured play based learning in the
classroom. Since completing activities within the class room I have since changed focus
area to be effectively using question during play based activities to gain a sense of students
knowledge and understanding. This is through personal experience I have realised I need
to use questioning during activities to discover if it is an effective lesson. “Teachers that are
able to question effectively at various levels within the cognitive domain, such as
knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation are better able
to discern the range and depth of children’s thinking.” (Moyer, P & Milowicz, E, 2002)
Through activities it is important for the educator to find time to talk and question with the
students while they are playing to continue to grow and expand the student’s learning
experience. As Moyer and Milowicz suggest, a good question may mean the difference
between constraining thinking and encouraging new ideas, and between recalling trivial
facts and constructing new meaning (2002). This shows the importance of the use of
correct questioning strategies and techniques. Not surprising, many teachers ask upward of 400
questions each and every school day. And approximately 80 percent of all the questions teachers
ask tend to be factual, literal, or knowledge-based questions. The result is a classroom in which
there is little creative thinking taking place, (Fredericks, A., 2005)
This project was developed to encourage me to reflect on the range of techniques I can use
to increase effective questioning during play based learning in the classroom and gain a
sense of students understanding. Through reflecting I will be able to increase my
knowledge and understanding on how I can incorporate these techniques to effectively
engage students to get the most out of each learning experience to enrich students’
opportunities for development.
Aims
Through reflection on my Rational and Plan and Process Report the following aims were
slightly amended throughout to relate to what I wanted to achieve through this project. The
aims focus on my teaching practice and improving what I am doing in relation to increasing
effective, engaging and stimulating play based lessons in the classroom to engage students
and increase their opportunities for development. Initially my main focus was simply
increasing play based learning in the classroom, in the Progress Report I focused on trying
to be more specific with constructive play based learning in the class and now I realise this
too is still too broad. For this cycle I concentrated on effective questioning during play
based activities to provide a sense of students understanding and knowledge. I decided to
focus on this more specific area through activities I had planned, they were all play based 8
and engaging though I was finding it difficult to keep the conversation going and get
responses from the students, being play based activities questioning was the only way I
was able to tell if the lesson were effective learning experiences or not. This change of focus
also reflects a change in my aims. They currently are:
1. The project will encourage me to reflect more deeply on the range of questioning
techniques I use during play based activities to gain an understanding of students
knowledge.
2. The project will develop my ability to correctly use the accurate questioning forms and
techniques to continue students learning and encourage growth and development,
encouraging them as students to also begin questioning.
3. The project will allow me to critically assess my use of questioning in play based
scenarios to further improve on my questioning skills.
4. It is my aim to incorporate play as much as possible into my daily lessons with an outcome
where children are confident and involved learners. (EYLF, 2013).
Process
Through this action research methodology I have amended my focus, made it more specific
and precise to what it is I need to improve on as a pre service teacher.
During cycle one I began to gather data, interpret it, act on it, evaluate it and see what
needed amending for the next cycle. Stinger (2008) believes, “gathering information from a
variety of sources will shed light on the issue being investigated.” (p. 54). During cycle one
I collected a number forms of evidence to ensure reasonable validity and reliability, as
Sagor (2000) believes action researchers should avoid relying on any single source of data.
The forms of evidence I collected included entries in my reflective journal, informal
conversations with critical friend, observation and note taking. I chose to complete these
forms of evidence as I believed it would allow me to gain the knowledge I would require to
complete my action research effectively within the class. This allowed me to learn
classroom routines, techniques used by educators and students personalities and ability
levels.
9
During cycle one I recorded my preliminary findings through my items of evidence. I found
that with in the classroom majority of the activities taking place throughout the day where
play based. Upon further investigation I uncovered that although many activities were play
based only few were structured and guided by either the teacher or education assistant.
The students more often than not were left to form and create their own learning by
working with peers. I also noticed that the educators in class focused on the one or two
children they were working with at a time, there was no one going around creating
conversations and discussions with the remnant students, there was no one trying to push
their imagination or create a deeper learning experience. Through observing this activity in
the class I was able to reflect on what worked well and identify what I could work on for
cycle two and three.
During cycle two and three I continued to write entries into my reflective journal, observe,
take notes and particularly have informal conversations with my critical friend, reflect on
my activities and seek written feedback on activities I had prepared for the students from
my mentor.
McNiff and Whitehead (2009), discuss that a critical friend can provide me with critical
feedback and possible modifications for my report. I choose to have informal discussions
with my mentor after my lessons to share my feelings, beliefs and values, past history and
current ideas, which can be seen as a method and a methodology of action research
(O’Hanlon, 2003). I found these conversations very helpful and useful for my action
research project. From having these conversations with my critical friend I was able to see
different perspectives on outcomes to my research (Arthur et al, 2012), and things I had
not noticed or thought of before (Brady & Kennedy, 2012). I also continued these
conversations with other students also completing their placements in other classes. The
opportunity to talk and share ideas with other Pre Service teacher’s helped me greatly in
improving my lessons and seeing what other ideas and views they practicum students have
to share. Whitehead, (2011) discusses the importance of talking with and sharing your
ideas with others helps you to develop and improve your practice, as well as develop a
realistic action plan.
By continuing to reflect in my journal I was able to be aware of my mistakes, progress and
10
areas of improvement, as well as gain new understanding and open up areas for future
inquiry.
During cycle two and three I received written lesson feedback from my mentor to see if she
believed my play based lessons to be effective learning experiences and whether or not I
used appropriate questioning techniques to encourage in-depth thinking. Hattie (2011)
believes “Feedback is one of the most powerful influences on learning and achievement”
(p.81). I began conducting small group activities to focus on the individuals. During the
lesson I noticed students were conversing amongst each other, teaching each other. I
decided to focus on Blanks Levels of Questioning (Blank, Rose & Berlin, 1978) because it
relates to the younger years. I began by asking some Level one questioning which required
the students to relate to the immediate environment and required concrete thinking, an
example of the questions I ask was ‘what colour is that dog?’, ‘do you like dogs?’, these were
very basic questions that all students were able to answer. I then progressed to level two
questioning which involved the students using some analysis such as classifying and
grouping object and describing and understanding functions. Examples of questions I asked
for this level were, ‘what colours are the dogs’, ‘are they big or little dogs?’. Majority of
students answered this level of questioning, so with a select few I continued to level three
questions. These required the students to use their own knowledge and make basic
predictions and make generalisations. Examples of questions I asked aimed at this level
was ‘what do you think would happen if the cat was nasty?’, ‘why do you think cats and
dogs don’t get along? (Avery, N. 2010). I recorded the students and what levels of
questioning they were able to complete in a checklist. This gave me the knowledge of what
stages each student was at and what levels of questioning I should use with them in further
activities to encourage growth and development.
A second lesson I completed was simply playing with play dough, I thought having a simple
activity would give me the opportunity to direct more of my attention to the levels and
efficiency of the questions I was asking the students. Some examples of the questions I
asked were ‘how can I make a snail/birds nest’, ‘now that we have flattened the play dough
what can we do next?’, ‘what would happen if we mix these two colours together?’ I took
notes on this activity.
On a number of occasions I realised that my questions were too broad and difficult for the
students to respond to. They often looked at me and just shook their shoulders or said, ‘I
don’t know’. Avery suggests a number of ways to simplify questions, these include, making
11
questions more concrete, relate questions to personal experiences, ask questions about
very recent events or present objects, use familiar vocabulary when asking questions and
keep using higher order thinking questions encouraging the students to problem solve
(2010).
Through these experiences I was able to identify the level students in the class were at,
discover the levels of questioning required to encourage growth and support students
learning and improve on my questioning techniques during play based activities,
Reflective Discussion
Throughout my three action research cycles I learnt about the processes of improvement
and reflection as I brought together my findings. Each cycle saw a change in my focus topic
and I am happy with the final result, I believe play based activities are important in all
classrooms and that questioning is one of the main techniques to gain a sense of
understanding in the early years, the more effective the question the better opportunity it
provides the students to further their thinking, be curious and wonder.
In cycle one I began with my focus topic being ‘increasing play based learning within the
classroom’, through investigation and observation in class I was aware that majority of the
day was concentrated around play based learning and that it did not need to be increased.
This saw me decide to change my focus topic as I began to notice that although there was
many play based activities taking place in the classroom only few were truly structured and
guided by an educator. This observation formed my new focus topic of ‘improving
structured play based lesson within the classroom’. As I concentrated on this topic I drew
my attention to creating and planning play based lessons that had a clear learning outcome
that I could structure and support so that students would have the best opportunities to
reach this learning goal. During these lessons I became conscious to the fact that students
may be taking part in the activities but I was not sure as to how to test or get proof that
they had gained an understanding of the activities goals and outlines.
It was this that led me to question how can I create a sense of their understanding? How
can I know if the learning outcome for this activity is being achieved? Then I realised
effective questioning is the key. I noticed that during the activities there was not much
question and answer happening during the casual conversations and uncovered that it is
12
my role as an educator to ensure the questions I ask students are relevant, encourage them
to further deepen their thinking and problem solving processes and inspire them to be
curious. I felt irritated with myself that I had not seen this as a goal from the very beginning
of my action research, but glad that I had discovered this thought in time to implement
changes to my final cycle.
I now was focusing on ‘how can I create effective questioning during play based activities to
gain a sense of students understanding and knowledge?’
I began my activities by going through Blanks levels of questioning with the students, the
conversations were informal and I often took notes on student’s responses, the children
had now spent some time with me and I believe began to feel comfortable with me, in turn
allowing them to feel safe. I discovered during my lessons that I got the most conversation
from the students when I was sitting at their level playing with them, they believed I was
on their level and seemed to feel comfortable and relaxed (photograph of this) . Another
scenario of this was when we set up a hospital area for the students to free play in, I
decided it would be a good idea to join them and become a patient myself. The children
thoroughly enjoyed this and I saw it as a prime opportunity to question student’ knowledge
of hospitals. (transcript). This was a fantastic opportunity to get to know students prior
knowledge of hospitals and what they were gaining during the activity. During these
lessons I asked various levels of questions to the students, trying to encourage them to
think further and deeper than the present and the obvious. I was required to also answer
any questions or queries that they might have had, respond to their curiosity and facilitate
their learning.
I am glad with the changed I have made over the time of my action research. Throughout
the three cycles I gathered evidence that allowed me to become aware that I was thinking
too broad. Holly (1987) states, “The first part in the cycle is to reflect on an event or
situation. Secondly, you later reflect on the journal entries themselves, from which you may
gain material for further reflection” (as cited in O’Connor and Diggins, 2002). I needed to
bring my focus down to a specific part of play based learning and concentrate on ways to
make questioning effective, encourage growth and the continuing of play to gain further
understanding. I needed to be aware of how effective activities were and the only way to
gain this information was to talk to and question the students to see what information they
had retained. The better the level and form of the question the higher the response and
13
level of thinking that was required. Effective questioning creates opportunities for an
effective thought process, to investigate, to be inquisitive, to problem solve and so on.
Conclusion:
Through the changes of my cycles I was able to amend and achieve my aims, I discovered
an effective way in which to gain an understanding of student’s retention of knowledge,
their prior knowledge and new information they had recently gained. I was able to increase
the amount of structured play based learning within the class and learn new techniques
and levels of questioning appropriate for early childhood years.
Through my new knowledge of questioning levels and techniques I was successfully able to
gain a sense of students’ knowledge and learning processes.
The lessons I planned allowed me the opportunity to work with students in small groups
and gave appropriate time and attention to each students allowing me to discover the level
of questioning appropriate for each individual through a checklist and personalise the
questions to suit each student’s requirements.
I gained a vast amount of new knowledge through literature, by searching the internet and
reading texts, I came across sites that gave me all the knowledge I needed to effectively
question students through Blank’s levels of questioning . My mentor teacher gave me
much needed feedback and assistance on lessons I completed giving me the opportunity to
identify my strengths and weaknesses and knowing how to improve for the future.
Implications for future teaching
Through this process and experience I have learnt that it is 100% necessary to know your
students, know their ability levels, interest, personalities etc. Because by having this
knowledge you are able to cater for students as individuals. When it comes to questioning
there are many different levels it is important not to ask questions that fly over the
students head, but are not too simple, just right so they are encouraged to think further.
I will include many play based activities in my future classes and will aim to have them as
structured as possible. My goal is to spend time with every student in play based scenarios
asking appropriate questions to gain a sense of their understanding and knowledge they
are taking from the activities I create for them.
14
Reference List
Arthur, L., Beecher, B., Death, E., Dockett, S., & Farmer, S. (2012). Programming and
Planning in Early Childhood Education Settings. (5th edition). South Melbourne, Cengage
Learning.
Australian government department of education, employment and workplace relations (2009)
belonging, being and becoming: the early years learning framework for Australia.
Canberra:commonwealth of Australia.
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p :// docs .education.gov.au/system/files/doc/other/belonging_being_and_becoming_the_earl
y_years_learning_framework_for_australia.pdf
Avery, N. (2010). Blanks Levels of Questioning – Stimulating Children’s Language
Development.
Retrieved from:
http://planningwithkids.com/2010/03/18/blanks-levels-of-questioning-stimulating-
children%E2%80%99s-language-development/
Bennett, N., Wood, L., & Rogers, S., (2001). Teaching Through Play – Teachers thinking and
classroom practice. Buckingham, Philadelphia: Open University Press.
Brady, L., & Kennedy, K. (2012). Assessment and Reporting Celebrating Student
Achievement. French Forest NSW: Pearson.
Fredericks, A. (2005) The Complete Idioms Guide to Success as a Teacher. USA: Penguin
Group
Hattie, J. (2001) The Power of Feedback. Retrieved From:
http://education.qld.gov.au/staff/development/performance/resources/readings/power-
feedback.pdf
15
Holly, M, (1987). Keeping a Personal-Professional Journal. Melbourne: Deakin University
McNiff, J., (2002). Action Research for Professional Development. Retrieved from:
http://www.Jeanmcniff.com/ar-booklet.asp
McNiff, J., & Whitehead., (2009). Doing and Writing Action Research. London: SAGE
Publication.
Moyer, P., & Milowicz, E., (2002). Learning to Question: Categories of Questioning used by
Pre Service Teachers. Vol 5. Issue 44. (pp 293-315)
My School, (2015). Bibra Lake Primary School: School Profile. Retrieved from:
https://www.myschool.edu.au/SchoolProfile/Index/100924/BibraLakePrimarySchool/
48684/2015
O’Connor, A., & Diggins, C. (2002). On Reflection: Reflective Practice for Early Childhood
Educators. Aotearoa, New Zealand: Open Mind Publishing
O’Hanlon, C., (2003). Educational Inclusion as Action Research. Retrieved from:
https://books.google.com.au/books?
id=eh5EBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA71&lpg=PA71&dq=action+research+evidence+
+informal+conversations&source=bl&ots=a-
Rieber, L., (1996). Seriously Considering Play: designing interactive learning environments
based on the blending of microworlds, stimulation and games. Educational Technology
Research of Development. Vol 44. Issue 2. (pp 43-58)
Saylor, A., (2010). Groups, Troops, Clubs and Classroom: The essential handbook for
working with youth.
Retrieved from:
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/play-based-strategies-engage-leaning-susan-ragsdale
Stringer, E. T. (2008). Action Research in Education: Pearson/Merrill Prentice Hall.
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Appendix
17
18