Conducted by Monique Wilson

Motivation

Prior observations of students struggling to find, read, interpret, and collect online information on an animal for an Non-Fiction Animal Book project.

With an increase in the amount of informational reading that is expected from 3rd grade, students seem to need multiple strategies and experiences with different types of text in order to fully comprehend the text they are reading.

Motivation (continued)

After three years of teaching, student’s in third grade seem to have similar struggles with: basic computer skills like typing using the left and right click features on the

mouse using the internet to help them find

information.

Ideas Sparked by Team Discussion

The initial focus of my inquiry project was on students comparing online sites they found on their own to sites I gave them as they looked for four specific areas of information about their animal: habitat classification adaptations life cycle

Ideas Sparked by Team Discussion (Continued)

After I presented my idea to group 4, and actually saw students struggling to find sites on their animal with the limited amount of time we have in the computer lab each week, I decided to change the focus of my project.

Some group members thought the focus was asking too much out of 3rd grade students, which turned out to be correct. They struggled to find sites that gave information on their animal.

Change of Focus

With group questions, ideas, and support, I decided to focus my inquiry project on two main areas: What sites students chose from a list posted on

my classroom website and why they chose them?

What strategies and skills they used to find and collect their information on their animal?

Predictions of Students (with outside of school experience with computers)

Keeping in mind the three years of teaching experience I have had in 3rd grade, I predict the following will occur: Students who have had experience with computers

outside of school will catch on to the lessons I model for them about:

○ how to go to my classroom website○ locate the websites I have posted for them○ maneuver through a site and find specific

information○ collect specific information by coping and

pasting information onto a Microsoft Word document

Predictions of Students (whose experience with computers is mainly from school and who have academic constraints)

Students whose main experience with computers is solely or mostly in school will need one on one help from myself to access, find, and collect their animal information.

Students who struggle academically with reading and who have difficultly with attention, social interactions, and those with a learning disability will need one on one help from myself and modified expectations if they have a 504 or an IEP.

Predictions (with focus on sufficient computer time and assistance)

The amount of time in our designated computer slot will not be sufficient to show the students how to access, find, and collect their required information, as well as to give the students sufficient amount of time to research information on their animal and collect it.

Being the sole teacher in the computer lab for 28 students will be challenging to effectively help all students who need one on one assistance.

Explanation of Predictions

After teaching in the same school district and in the same grade level, 3rd grade, for the last three years, I have seen similarities in how students struggle as they try to access, find, and collect information from the internet. Thus, I feel that I have cause to inquire as to what they are thinking as a means to help them.

Explanations (continued)

My own experiences with the internet and graduate classes pertaining to Educational Technology and an understanding of the content Standards and Grade Level Expectations (GLCE’s) for 3rd grade have helped me determine the previous stated predictions.

Personal Connection

As a teacher who strives to push every child to achieve their academic and personal goals by guiding, modeling, and encouraging them, I look forward to finding out what students think about and how they look for information online in order to better help them.

Personal Connection (continued)

The graduate courses that I have recently taken and am currently taking have inspired me to think about things in a different light.

One statement that has made an impression on me and how I look at teaching is: “Making the strange familiar and the familiar

strange”(Mishra, CEP 800, 815, & 822, 2009)

his statement encourages me to: reflect on my past teaching approaches look at how I can change in order to create a learning

environment that focuses on student learning to understand rather than to gain knowledge.

his statement leads me to: think about the TPACK model to which I feel I am

working towards during this inquiry project.

A balance of content, pedagogy, and technology in order for successful teaching and learning to take place

(Mishra, CEP 800, 815, & 822, 2009)

Personal Connection (continued)

Process of Inquiry(step #1)

Build on Content: Science - Students have been learning about

animals and their habitat, classification, adaptations, and life cycle, which tie into our first Science Unit, Animal and Plant Structures.

Reading - Look for and know the uses of text support features: titles, headings, table of contents, photographs with captions, diagrams with labels, glossary, index, bold print words, to help them read and comprehend informational text, will help students when searching for information.

Process of Inquiry(step #2)

Model on a projection screen: The four areas that they will need to focus their

animal search on, which are habitat, life cycle, adaptations, and classification (located on my classroom website as a MS document)

How to access the internet How to get to my classroom website (Mrs. Wilson’s Website) How to access the animal sites on my website that they will go

to in order to find information on their animal Show them the search bars and how to type in key words like

Tiger adaptations Show them how to look for key words about habitat, life cycle,

adaptations, and classification within a website

Description of Students

3rd grade classroom of 28 students Diverse with three different ethnicities:

24 Caucasians 3 African Americans 1 Asian

Academic abilities range from: low average above average

Two students with IEP’s that are both ASD and LD, and one 504 for ADHD.

There are students who have not been qualified for an IEP or a 504, but need additional help with all subject areas, as well as help staying focused and on task.

Student Tasks

Students will have four basic roles:1.) Access the below websites located on my

classroom website to research information on their animals

○ Animal Diversity Web○ Animal Info (Seaworld/Busch Gardens)○ Kidport Reference Library○ National Geographic Kids○ Wikipedia

Students Tasks(continued)

2.) Make four different searches by typing in their animal and the following words:

○ Habitat○ Life Cycle○ Adaptations○ Classification

3.) Look for keywords within the site to find specific information about the four above areas above

○ Habitat: shelter, range, location, and area○ Life Cycle: life span, stages of life, birth, and death○ Adaptations: body parts, body coverings, and behavior○ Classification: Kingdom, Class, Order and Family

Student Tasks(continued)

4.) Copy and paste the relevant information and the url into a MS Document and the url of where their information was found. (This information will be used for the students 1st mp project, which is a Non-Fiction Animals Book.)

Patterns of Interest

Average or above average students seemed to: Average or above average students seemed to:

share a wider range of vocabulary which helped them explain verbally and written how they researched information on their animal.

Student feedback: “I chose wikipedia because it gave me lots of information about my

animal.”“I went to wikipedia and typed in Pandas and I looked at the information

and if I didn’t find what I needed, I’d look at a few other sites.” have minimal problems researching sites, finding information they need,

and were able to copy and paste it into a Word Document. Student feedback:

“The only problems I had were prize offers.” “ I highlighted it and then I copied and pasted it, but I didn’t know which

ones I copied and pasted so I had to keep going back and forth, back and forth.”

Patterns of Interest(continued)

Below average Students seemed to: have trouble explaining verbally and written how they found information

on their animal. They seemed to have difficulty in finding words to explain their thoughts about how they researched.

Student feedback: “I picked Google (this site wasn’t on my website) because it had a lot of

pages about lions.” “ I go to Wikipedia and I go to the search bar.”

This student explains an adaptation, but can’t connect it with the word adaptation.

Patterns of Interest(continued)

Below average Students seemed to: have trouble accessing given sites, searching for their animal on the site,

finding relevant information on the four areas of research, and copying

and pasting the information from the internet onto a Word Document. “I had problems in the process.”

“I didn’t know what to do because sea lions lions.”“I need more time so I can read it some more.”

Students in 3rd grade who used the computer at home seemed to have less questions and found more information.

Students who used the computer mostly at school needed one on one help with most steps in typing skills, maneuvering through sites, finding keywords to locate the four areas of information needed, and step by step directions on how to copy and paste information into a MS Document.

Patterns of Interest(continued)

Student Site Selection

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

4.5

Wikipedia Kidport National Geographic

Other

Student 5

Student 4

Student 3

Student 2

Student 1

Patterns (with boys and girls)

When asked what do you think I should do differently to help you while you research information on the internet? 3 out of 3 girls said they needed more time

2 out of 2 boys said they didn’t need help and to not change anything

*Note: Girls asked a lot more questions than boys during our research time in the computer lab.

Post Inquiry(ideas, thoughts and questions)

Ideas: Cover the four main areas of habitat, life cycle, adaptations, and

classification of animals with students in more depth.

Focus on researching one of the above areas of information at a time.

Thoughts: Find out what students have had computer experience outside of

school and how often they access the internet.

Find parent volunteers to help students in the computer lab (which may be challenging).

Post Inquiry(continued)

Questions: What other sites would be credible and have sufficient

amount of information specific to their animal(s)?

Should students start this project later in the 1st mp when they have more time using the internet, and learning about animals?

How can I ensure all students have enough time to research and collect the information they need with a limit of 1 hr in the computer lab a week?

Reflections

These new insights have changed and shaped my outlook on how to: introduce

guide

adjust student research on the internet dependent on the skills and cognitive abilities of students

Introduce Science/Reading Content and Computer skills by: having students work together in class on a animal project

about the same four areas of focus, but have them use information they find from a book.

having students research information from a computer, so they have a better understanding of the content before they begin using the computer (which may be very new to them).

having students begin their research after they have had time practicing typing skills and after I have taught and modeled how to navigate around on the internet, and how to look for specific information on a website.

Reflections(continued)

Guide students by: conducting shorter mini-lessons about how to research

information on the internet. allowing them to practice finding information on the internet

about a topic of their choice first so they have a personal connection to their search before having them start a project.

showing them what sites are credible and why

showing them certain computer skills like left and right clicking and others needed to research and gather information

Reflections(continued)

Adjust my lessons: to be more accommodating to the diversity of different academic

and computer abilities. For example, I need to give each student a sheet of paper that has their animal and the words habitat, life cycle, classification, and adaptations written down for them. I showed them where they could find this information on my classroom website, which is under class files, and projects, but this was too hard for many of them to do. They also kept forgetting how to spell their animal and the four areas they were researching their animal on.

Reflections(continued)