INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS INQUIRY PROJECT

“MINDSHIFT! RETHINKING EDUCATION FOR THE 21ST CENTURY”

FINAL SCHOOL REPORT – April 2012

SCHOOL:

INQUIRY TEAM MEMBERS, GRADE(S) TAUGHT, SUBJECT, FOCUS (please list):

SCHOOL BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT FOR THE PROJECT:

1

When faculty members engage in action research projects, great things are achieved. As HSC strives to promote student centred learning and ensure that technology is purposefully integrated into the classroom, the projects that Yvonne, Sharon, Ana, Kavit, and Shannon have embarked upon have helped to move our school closer to realizing its strategic learning goals. It is wonderful to have teachers who are willing to collaborate, take risks, and learn together.

Bob Neibert (Senior School Head of School)

Yvonne Craig - Senior School English and History

Sharon Niebert – Grade 6 English

Shannon Wilson – Learning Commons Librarian

Kavit Puri – Grade 4 teacher

Ana Knapp – Montessori IT teacher

Hillfield Strathallan College is one of Canada’s largest independent schools with a student

population approaching 1200 from Montessori 3 and Junior Kindergarten to Grade 12. We are in

the midst of the transformation of our campus with the Fall 2012 opening of the Micheal G.

DeGroote Senior School and Learning Commons. Our Strategic Plan was created with a focus on

21st century learning and the use of new technologies to enhance learning both in and out of the

classroom. HSC places a strong emphasis on professional development and for this reason,

educators have been supported to pursue action research through both OISE/CIS collaborative

endeavors.

Hillfield Strathallan College

OUR ESSENTIAL QUESTION:

OUR ACTION RESEARCH STORY:

1. PURPOSE AND SCOPE OF THE RESEARCH AND HOW IT MAY HAVE CHANGED:

2. FUNDING AND SUPPORT:

3. PROJECT PROCESS:

2

How can technology be used to enhance student-centered learning?

While there was no specific funding needed for my project, the action research would not have been possible if not for the support of the administrative team and the college’s commitment to provide release time for the project. Support was provided by my teaching partner in AP English who also had students involved in the program as well as Instructional

While our group question revolves around the issue of technology and student-centered learning, my specific question asks how technology can provide opportunities for leadership/mentoring in a cross-curricular format to mutually improve student writing. It seeks to understand if the use of multi-age peer tutoring using FirstClass social media enhances student-centered learning. It examines what instructional supports/guidelines help foster collaborative student work and some possible road blocks to successful student collaborative efforts. There were three main goals of the partnership: to create a more collaborative culture between schools, to increase the middle school student’s confidence in the writing process, and to have the grade twelve students recognize areas to improve in their own writing. The research uses survey and reflection as the main research methods in order to give students a voice to the benefits and limitations of such an initiative. Ultimately, we wanted to recognize that student centered learning does not have to be limited to within a

Last fall, I was approached by the Instructional Leader for Middle School English to discuss a possible partnership between students in the grade 12 AP Literature course with middle school students. The middle school students were split into smaller groups and went on a variety of fieldtrips to places as diverse as the lakefront in Hamilton and an old, dilapidated sanatorium. Inspired by the sights and sounds that they saw and heard, students were encouraged to start a creative writing piece in which they tried to capture the scene in which they found themselves. The trip is known as the “Unfinished Tour”, so called because students only begin the writing process at this point; it is continued once they go back to school. This year, rather than peer editing amongst themselves, the teacher in charge of the “Unfinished Tour” reached out for the possibility of having older students being the guide of how to improve student writing. Middle School Students and AP Literature students communicated strictly through technology as they went through the feedback loop with one another. Students used the social media component o f First Class, which has been well established at our school for several years as the main form of electronic communication. The culminating exercise was for the middle school students and grade 12 students to

4. ASSESSMENT STRATEGY:

a) DESCRIPTION OF THE DATA COLLECTION:

b) MAKING SENSE OF THE DATA:

3

It was satisfying to be asked to correct someone else's work. I think there is some trust that is necessary for it, and despite never having met my partner before, I felt like I knew her a bit just by reading her story. It made our initial meeting smooth. I think the process helped me to pinpoint weaknesses in my own writing and can help me self-determine what changes to

There were 48 student participants in total: 24 senior school students and 24 middle school students. The project took place over seven months at various intervals. There were three main types of data collection for this project. All would fall under the category of qualitative data collection methods.

Participant Observation: As facilitator of the project, I kept a reflection journal of the events throughout the various steps of the process. This allowed me to focus on what was happening in a specific situation over a delimited amount of time. I tried to write down my thoughts as soon as I could following the event as to elicit an honest response. The use of journaling as a method of data collection encouraged description, interpretation, and reflection on my part. Halfway through the project, I also solicited email responses from middle and senior students about their initial responses.

Surveys: When the process was complete, I sent a survey to both the middle and high school students involved. The survey was a combination of fixed responses and anecdotal responses. While many of the questions were the same in both, there were also some that were grade specific.

Primary Documents: The most telling data collection was that of the student work itself. By going on to first class, I was able to look at the work at various stages of the editing process. Through this, I was able to get a sense for the work that was being done and insight into the conversations that were taking place on-line.

Once I had collected all the data, it was a matter of organizing the material. My first step was to go back to my initial question to make sure that I was answering the question I had initially set out to find: how can technology provide opportunities for leadership/mentoring in a cross-curricular format to mutually improve student writing? By reviewing my goal, it helped me to sort through my data to make notes of items that I found particularly noteworthy.

After reviewing the reflections, the surveys and the primary documents, I found that patterns began to emerge and I made note of these patterns to see what converged. Because of the nature of my qualitative data collection, it was imperative that I paid close attention to the ‘story’ that was emerging from looking at all three types. Conclusions were drawn through a triangulation of data in hopes of gaining insight into the big picture. It allowed me to separate myself from my role as a high school teacher and to see the data through a variety of different lenses.

From the themes that emerged, I attempted to conceptualize the data. For example, if a student noted in his survey that he learned that he tends to repeat himself in his own writing, I conceptualized this as “Student-Writing”. From here I organized all of the concepts I saw emerging into categories. What I found was that three main categories materialized: student writing, metacognition, peer editing and on-line collaboration.

c) ARTIFACTS, GRAPHICS, IMAGES:

c) FINDINGS:

4

i. Screen shot of FirstClass Media Site where students posted their work

ii. Screen Shots of Grade 12 Comments and Edits

5

6

iii. Midway Reflection (Grade 12)

7

Midway Reflection (Middle School)

8

iv. Sample Survey Findings (Surveys Found in Appendices A and B)

“…it was nice to feel like you were helping a younger student develop their writing skills.”

“I felt that [by being on-line] I could give my honest opinion. I was able to be more critical which made my comments useful.”

“The program had many challenges: navigation, loading issues, uploading issues, accessibility and a dark colour scheme.”

“There is an advantage to having it all in one place such as first class.”

“I learned that I tend to repeat myself in my own writing. I had to double check that I wasn’t making too many edits that would make the story sound too repetitive.”

“I realized how so much of my own work from the past was similar to the one that I read. It made me realize how I have evolved and appreciate the invention of youth.”

“At first, I was a little nervous that someone was reading my work and they might think it was really bad but they were really kind”

“I wish we had more time to spend with our senior student.”

“If I put my mind to it, I can make it 100% better.”

9

“I learned that I’m really good at writing.”

v. Personal Reflection Throughout Process

October 2011

I’ve joined the action research team a bit late in the game but I found myself quickly immersed in the process. The group had already decided on the question, how can information technology be used to enhance student-centered learning? It was decided that they would look at different aspects of the college in light of this question. I knew that I wanted to include my AP students somehow but I wasn’t sure about the direction that I was going to go in. After mulling over some possible directions, I decided on the following specific question: Can technology provide opportunities for leadership/mentoring in a cross-curricular format to mutually improve student writing? The idea came from Sharon who had already started a project with her middle school students called ‘The Unfinished Tour’. She had previously approached the Writer’s Craft course with the idea of having on site ‘Writer’s in Residence’ in that our Grade 12 students would effectively act as the guides for our students. Going into the project, I have several questions. Below are some initial questions I had going into the project:

· What were my expectations of on-line collaboration? · How could this be made better?· How could the Grade 12s apply what they are doing in terms of being an editor to their own writing?· How could the Grade 12 students get the middle school students to consider their point of view without

tainting their vision? · What are the challenges of collaborating online vs. in person? · How to get them to model good writing instead of just making changes?· How can we make this an authentic learning experience?

January 2012

At this point, the middle school students have posted their work for the Grade 12 students to edit. Despite some initial glitches with getting online and figuring out the program, the initial sessions seems to be a success. I’m not sure what I had expected going in but I have been extremely pleased with the feedback that the older students have been giving the younger students. In addition to some more traditional ‘copy-editing’, they have for the most part included an anecdotal paragraph that gives a summary of their thoughts on their work. This is the way that I give feedback and I wonder if this has influenced them in any way. More than anything, however, I was impressed by the positive nature of their comments. They were very encouraging with their responses. As a teacher, I know that it is hard for me to mark creative writing and I am wondering if this might be part of it. Perhaps because they are themselves in the position of receiving feedback, they are extra sensitive to this fact. The feedback that I have received on both parts has been extremely positive. Both Grade 12 and middle school students appear to be enjoying the process. There does, however, seem to be some challenges with the technology itself. Students have expressed concerns about the ease of use of the first class social networking site. I know I have tried to use it myself for a school project and while I can see the possibilities, it is not as intuitive as I would have hoped. I spoke to Sharon and I think that we will only do one more round of editing.

February 2012

The middle school students have now posted their revised drafts. It was interesting to hear the Grade 12 students comment that they found that the middle school students actually did not change some of their drafts. I’m not sure whether this is a matter of not understanding what

10

the students were telling them to do or if there was a sense of not wanting to change their original work.

March 2012

We are having a hard time finding time that we can get the two groups together. So far this has been the most challenging part of the project. In some ways, I feel like this answers my initial question in terms of the use of technology. The way our schedule in the school is so busy, it makes it really difficult to find mutual time. After meeting with Sharon, we decided that the best thing to do would be to meet during the middle school lunch time while we have AP English. Naturally a major downfall to this is that it means that we are using class time -- something I was hoping to avoid. Some senior students have expressed concern that the work from the middle school student is still not changed. Emails were sent to the middle school students reminding them to post their work.

April 2012

We were finally able to find some time to get together! For the most part, it worked really well. There were some glitches, however. Some students who had been paired were absent the day of the recording and now have to find time on their own with their partner. It was difficult also to find physical space to complete the recording as it had to be in a quiet room where no-one else was talking. Time was also of the essence as we only had about 30 minutes for the entire process. Because we were working on laptops, it was also an inconvenience because the class before had left them unplugged and therefore they started to run out as we were using them. One of the major issues as well was that some of the middle school students had not been reading their first class and did not realize that their story had been edited. In the end, however, it turned out to be quite a positive experience. It was fun to walk around and hear the interactions. I thought I would end this reflection by looking back at some of my initial questions.

· What were my expectations of on-line collaboration? I think that I expected it to be a little bit easier than it was.

· How could this be made better? I would insist on deadlines and follow up with students a bit more closely to ensure that the edits and changes were happening on both sides. I might use a different program next time to see if there is less difficulty in terms of uploading documents.

· How could the Grade 12 students apply what they are doing in terms of being an editor to their own writing? I was impressed with the comments that they were making and even heard things in class like how they wanted to avoid sounding wordy because they know what it’s like now when they see it in writing.

· How could the Grade 12 students get the middle school students to consider their point of view without tainting their vision? Based on some of the responses in the survey, I think that this might have been an issue with some but not for the majority. There did seem to be some kind of divide between what a middle school student ‘thinks’ like and what changes when they get to Grade 12. It reminded me of what Picasso said: that we are all born artists but the trick is to stay an artist as you grow older. Are we educating our students out of their creativity?

· What are the challenges of collaborating online vs. in person? The program itself certainly had issues but there was also the problem with students not realizing their story had been published and a problem with reading and responding to emails.

· How to get them to model good writing instead of just making changes? By having them focus on bigger comments at the end I think they resisted the urge to ‘copy edit’.

11

· How can we make this an authentic learning experience? I think that having another peer (in whatever grade) look at your work means that the audience is no longer just the teacher. This will also be seen when the poems and stories are eventually uploaded to the school website.

d) FINDINGS

12

The following trends emerged in terms of answering my initial question: how can technology provide opportunities for leadership/mentoring in a cross-curricular format to mutually improve student writing?

Student Writing and Meta-Cognition Skills: Senior School students felt as though their writing had improved by recognizing the areas that the middle school students were struggling with in their work. Middle school students felt that their work had improved as a result of being looked at several times emphasizing the importance of feedback.

Peer Editing: The importance of editing was pronounced both in the survey results and in the primary document analysis. One interesting trend to emerge was the older students found it easier to be objective when they were editing someone’s work they didn’t know.

Benefits and Limitations of On-Line Collaboration: The major obstacle according to students was limitations of the FirstClass social media tool as an editing device. Many seemed to prefer prior

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE PROJECT: WHAT WERE MAJOR HIGHLIGHTS – YOUR NOTABLE SUCCESSES AND CHALLENGES? WHAT WERE KEY RESULTS AND KEY PROFESSIONAL LEARNINGS?

CONCLUSION: HOW DID OUR ACTION RESEARCH PROJECT IMPACT YOUR INSTRUCTIONAL AND/OR ASSESSMENT PRACTICES TO REFLECT EDUCATION IN THE 21ST CENTURY?:

13

The collaborative nature of this action research project has allowed all of us as educators to gain a better understanding of what we do in our school at different stages of a child’s journey. It has inspired us to make more meaningful connections with each other and our programs and to look forward to creating leadership/mentorship experiences for our students. The experience has also helped us to see ourselves as life long learners, effectively reflecting on our current practices and envisioning new possibilities.

Successes

· Middle School students feel a sense of accomplishment through their polished final piece

· In their role of “teacher”, high school students were able to effectively communicates elements of good writing (and comments in class have shown that this has transferred to their own work)

· Bridged the gap between schools· Students guiding and developing each other’s work is at the core of the strategy

plan

Challenges

· Students noted the limitations of the FirstClass Social Media · Finding time to meet “in real life” for the final readings· Students missing deadlines (both posting edits and drafts)

Key Professional Learnings

· Effective collaboration needs to be well structured and meaningful for students· Students encouraged to assume more responsibility for their own progress and

move toward independence as writers· Role of teacher becomes that of a facilitator that allows students to analyse their

own errors, learn from their mistakes and adapt their own strategies (teacher can continue to be an observer or a mediator to be called upon when needed)

· Pairings offer a unique learning environment not available in the regular classroom

Entitled “Making a World of Difference”, Hillfield Strathallan College’s strategic plan has the overriding goal of “realizing the potential of its students so that they go on to serve as effective leaders able and willing to make their world a better place”. In the same document, HSC has noted that a student-centered approach to teaching and learning will “foster inquiry, active engagement, creativity and higher level thinking skills, enabling students to realize their full potential and to become life-long learners and effective problem solvers”. I believe this study brings alive the aims brought forth in this document. By using an already established writing exercise in middle school, senior school students were invited to become the guides in improving student writing. More than this, though, it has also helped to inform my own practice. As an English teacher, I know the importance of having students write every day as well as the importance of immediate feedback. Online collaboration would enable me to do that more effectively and allow class time for more discussion and hands-on learning activities. It was also interesting to note that students found it easier to be objective when peer editing for someone they did not know. Although it would have to be completed in a somewhat different method within a single grade group, I feel like I could easily adapt this knowledge to make peer editing truly effective. The difficulties we encountered trying to find a mutual time for the students to meet was, for me, the biggest benefit of on-line collaboration. It creates ‘time’ in a day that would not be available otherwise. In this case, it was the technology that enabled the two groups of students to create an effective community on-line, one based on mutual respect and support.

While much was revealed in terms of possible benefits and limitations of such an initiative, the real value lies with what the students had to say about their experiences in a multi-age peer tutoring situation. The chosen method of surveys, journals and primary documents sought to give a voice to students in their own learning experiences. In effect, it was meant as a meta-cognitive learning experience in and of itself so that students in both age groups had a chance to reflect on the steps of the partnership which they had just undertaken. Students were encouraged to assume more responsibility for their own progress and as such they were able to move toward independence as writers. It is fitting, then, not to end in the voice of the researcher but of one of the students. In reflection on the experience, one student writes: “It was rewarding to be able to work backwards and refresh common writing mistakes. Trying to explain what writing needs to sound good helped to inform my own work. This is what

RESOURCES WE RECOMMEND: For Professional Learning Teams:

Anderson, Gary L., Katheryn Herr and Ann Sigrid Nihlen. Studying your own School: An Educator’s Guide to Practitioner Action Research. California: Corwin Press, 2007. Print

Means, Barbara, William R. Penuel, and Christine Padilla. The Connected School: Appendix A Survey for Grade 12 Students Upon Completion (competed on Survey Monkey)

1. How would you describe your overall experience working with the middle school students on their writing?

14

Anderson, Gary L., Katheryn Herr and Ann Sigrid Nihlen. Studying your own School: An Educator’s Guide to Practitioner Action Research. California: Corwin Press, 2007. Print

Means, Barbara, William R. Penuel, and Christine Padilla. The Connected School: Technology and Learning in High School. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2001. Print.

"Www.route21.org." Www.route21.org. Partnership for 21st Century Skills, 2007. Web. 18

2. How did you feel editing someone's work that you did not know?

3. How would you rate the ease of editing using the First Class Media website?

Very easy

Somewhat easy

Somewhat challenging

Difficult

4. What were some challenges of working with the program?

5. What other situations/classes have you used the FirstClass Social Media Website in?

6. After using the program, what might be some other uses for the FirstClass Social Media Website?

15

7. Have you used online editing tools before? (eg. track changes, google docs, etc.)

Yes

No

8. How does editing using FirstClass compare to other methods that you have used in the past?

9. What discoveries did you make about yourself as a writer through this process?

10. What recommendations would you make for future pairings with middle school students?

Appendix B

16

Survey for Middle School Students Upon Completion (competed on Survey Monkey)

1. How would you describe your overall experience working with the senior school students on your writing?

2. How did you feel having someone edit your work that you did not know?

3. How would you rate the ease of editing using the First Class Media website?

Very easy

Somewhat easy

Challenging

Difficult

4. What were some of the challenges of using the program?

5. What other situations/classes have you used the FirstClass Social Media Website in?

17

6. After using the program, what might be some other uses for the FirstClass Social Media Website?

7. Have you used online editing tools before? (eg. track changes, google docs, etc.)

Yes

No

8. If you have done peer editing in classes before, how does it compare with having an older student give you feedback as opposed to someone your own age?

9. What discoveries did you make about yourself as a writer through this process?

10. What recommendations would you make for future pairings with middle school students?

18

19