EDUC 202 Final Portfolio

8/13/2019 EDUC 202 Final Portfolio

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Sarah Chang

EDUC/URBS 202-Urban Education

Fall 2012-McGinnFinal Portfolio

Techniques to Engage Students in the Classroom

A) Inquiry Question

For the past semester I have been observing and helping out at Penn Alexander

School, one of the top ten public elementary schools in Philadelphia and one that is

heavily subsidized by the University of Pennsylvania, every Friday morning in a 6th

grade

literacy classroom. The teacher, Ms. Smith, is a white woman in her late thirties who

graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education. She has

been teaching at Penn Alexander School for eight years. I obtained the placement through

my urban education advisor for my Literacy in Elementary Schools education class,

which required a classroom placement where I could observe and implement some of the

pedagogical strategies learned in class. The readings from both of my education classes

made me increasingly curious about how teaching strategies actually play out in the

classroom. This led me to the following inquiry question: What techniques does Ms.

Smith use to engage students?

B) Autobiographical Introduction

I am taking Literacy in Elementary Schools and Urban Education for my urban

education minor. I want to pursue certification in mathematics, so that I can become a

middle school math teacher. I have always been interested in what makes an effective

teacher since I myself want to one day become a good teacher. I had always wondered,

what is the difference between a teacher who is able to genuinely keep his or her students

engaged in the subject material and a teacher who is unable to do so? In my educational


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experiences, I have encountered two equally qualified and experienced math teachers, but

one teacher was able to create a real passion for math for his students while the other

teacher merely put students to sleep. Where do such discrepancies arise?

There have been numerous types of readings assigned from my education classes

that deal with effective pedagogy, but there is clear difference between reading about an

effective teaching strategy and seeing the strategy unfold in real time. I was extremely

excited to be placed in a middle school classroom because it was the first time that I had a

chance to observe a middle school teacher. I knew that this would be a very useful

opportunity for me. I remember the first time that I walked into Ms. Smithsclassroom I

was amazed at her command over the classroom. The students almost always were

paying attention to everything that she said and did and she had so much energy for the

entire lesson. It was as if she was she were performing a show for an audience. I

immediately knew that I wanted my inquiry question to be, What techniques does Ms.

Smith use to engage students?I had hopes of perhaps one day incorporating some of her

effective techniques into my own teaching.

I had many opportunities to observe her teaching since she had me stationed in the

classroom the majority of the time. I would help Ms. Smith assess if students were on

track by having conversations with them in the classroom. After a couple of weeks, Ms.

Smith had me meet with some students one on one outside of the classroom for the entire

class period. I rushed to change my inquiry question into a two-part question, What

techniques does Ms. Smith use to engage students, and how does she make use of

additional help to engage students?because I was no longer able to observe Ms. Smith

in the classroom setting. However, after careful consideration regarding the purpose of


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my initial inquiry question, I realized that the first part of my inquiry question already

embodied the second part because using additional help can be considered a technique

that Ms. Smith uses to engage students on an individualized basis. Thus, I switched my

inquiry question back to its original form.

The purpose of this inquiry project is to identify the techniques used in Ms.

Smiths classroom and then to use a critical eye to evaluate the successes of the

techniques used and possible drawbacks for each technique. I also want to explore other

techniques not already utilized in Ms. Smiths classroom. I believe that the findings of

this inquiry project will not only be significant to me, but also to Ms. Smith, other

teachers, and prospective teachers. These findings can further improve Ms. Smiths

teaching by providing her with data on which techniques seem to be the most effective

with her students and with alternative techniques that she can also incorporate into her

classroom. Other teachers and prospective teachers can use these findings to generate

ideas to use in their own classrooms.

C) Analytic Essay

After a few months of observation and working with the students I noticed that

Ms. Smith uses a wide variety of techniques to engage students: partner work,

dramatization, group work, small group meetings with Ms. Smith, asking students to

meet one on one with me, asking students to meet in a small group with me, asking

students to silently read books chosen by themselves, asking questions, asking students to

move around, and guest speakers. For the purposes of this essay, I am going to focus on

dramatization, partner work, and silent reading. Dramatization and partner work are the

techniques that she uses the most often so I believe that it is important to focus on these


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techniques. Silent reading is a technique that I did not even realize was a technique until I

interviewed a few students about Ms. Smiths teaching strategies. It is a technique that I

am quite curious about, which is why I am going to examine it more in-depth.

Ms. Smith often uses humor, facial gestures, acting, sharing of personal stories, a

variety of tones to talk, read alouds, and energy to engage her students. I use the broader

term dramatization to encompass all of these techniques. The following vignette clearly

illustrates her use of dramatization:

Ms. Smith picks up a book off her desk and begins to read Peace Begins With

You, a picture book, as she stands in the front of the room. Initially, after she

finishes reading aloud one page of the book, she turns to the next page without

showing the students any of the vivid pictures. She emphasizes certain words

when reading. The students all look at her as she reads and eventually Ms. Smith

starts showing the students the pictures in the book. Ms. Smith also uses hand

motions, pointing, and an up and down movement of her eyebrows as she reads.

She then walks from side to side in the front of the room. After a while, she

notices that a student sitting towards the front of the room is looking down. She

immediately addresses him, Am I boring you? The student shakes his head and

looks like he is about to cry. After reading a couple more pages, she

spontaneously and unexpectedly shouts, I want it and I want it now! while

stomping her foot. She sounds exactly like Veruca from Charlie and the

Chocolate Factory. Who has seen the movie Charlie and the Chocolate Factory?

she then asks. Every student in the class excitedly raises his or her hand. Do you

guys remember the scene when Violet shouts I want it and I want it now? Ms.


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Smith asks while stomping her foot and mimicking Veruca again. Nearly all of

the students laugh at her impersonation.

(Field notes, October 26, 2012)

Ms. Smith uses various techniques to engage her students as she reads aloud Peace

Begins With You. These techniques all fall under the broader category of dramatization.

She reads with emotion by placing emphasis on certain words, using hand motions that

correspond to words in the text, pointing at both pictures in the text as well as the

students, moving her eyebrows up and down, and pacing from side to side in the front of

the room. These techniques are evident throughout her entire reading of the book and

seem to be effective for the most part because the students all look at her as she reads.

Ms. Smith increases the intensity of her dramatization by spontaneously mimicking a

character from a well-known movie. This appears to be very effective with the students.

They all excitedly raise their hands when Ms. Smith asks them if they had seen the

movie. Almost all of the students laugh when Ms. Smith repeats her impersonation. From

my observation of the situation, it seemed like she had the attention of everyone in the

classroom.

In an interview with a student, I asked, When do you find class most

interesting? and he responded with, When she cracks jokes and when she yells the

jokes. It is very interesting when she yells the information (Interview, November 14,

2012). For example, in one instance in class, Ms. Smith spontaneously shouts, I hate

Barbara; she screamed really loudlywhen she was explaining the five ways of indirect

characterization (Field notes, October 12, 2012). All of the students in the class laugh at

Ms. Smiths outburst.She then proceeds to say, Whats another way that the author


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gives you clues? Dialogue, (Field notes, October 12, 2012). Similarly, when Ms. Smith

was explaining to her students that they had to read the exposition of the text and the

middle of the text differently, she pretends to screw something with a hammer and says,

Let me get my hammer, something needs to be screwed.She then pretends to use a

screwdriver to hammer something while saying, Those tools werent meant for that part

of the book, (Field notes, November 9, 2012). Again, all students in the class laugh in

response to her dramatization. It is clear that this technique of dramatization is successful

at engaging students by making them laugh. Furthermore, Ms. Smiths use of

dramatization always serves a larger purpose than just merely engaging students. She

uses dramatization to help students understand important concepts. In the above two

examples, Ms. Smith uses dramatization to help her students understand that one of the

five ways of indirect characterization is the authors use of dialogue and the fact that

different parts of a text need to be read in different ways. In this particular vignette she

uses dramatization as an opportunity to help her students understand that their behavior

from yesterday was wrong. (The students stole lollipops from her yesterday.) It is with

this impersonation that Ms. Smith is able to explicitly make the connection between the

reading of the book and the events that occurred yesterday. All of the students realize that

Veruca is a selfish person and it is clear that they acknowledge the ridiculousness of her

selfishness by their laughing at Ms. Smiths second impersonation. Ms. Smith then

connects her impersonation to the students themselves in order to help them realize that it

was selfish of them to steal lollipops from her. She connects the reading to the situation

by telling the students that she wants peace in the classroom and that is only possible if

they choose to not act like Veruca. Overall, the benefits of using dramatization include


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engaging students in the subject material through humor and enabling students to

understand important concepts.

The technique of dramatization is not without drawbacks. When Michie (2005)

observed Toni Billingsley, a teacher who employed dramatization techniques very similar

to that of Ms. Smith, he noted, The only thing that amazed me more than her stamina

was the realization that, as soon as these kids left, another group would come in, and it

would be showtime all over again (p.121). His comment seems to indicate that he is

skeptical about whether or not this dramatization technique is sustainable over long

periods of time. This makes me also wonder if Ms. Smiths dramatization technique is

sustainable. Perhaps overusing this technique may lead to quicker teacher burnout.

Furthermore, the fact that this technique often evokes laughter from the students may also

be problematic. For more serious topics, dramatization may not be appropriate because

there is a chance that students will not take the lesson seriously if they think that Ms.

Smith is not taking it seriously.

Ms. Smith also uses partner groups to engage students. I have never seen these

partner groups change. Each student in the class is either called Partner A or Partner

B. Partners discuss their readings with each other, ask each other questions, and work

together on certain assignments. The following vignette captures this technique:

Open up your reading journal to the place you took notes on the author, Ms.

Smith tells the students. All of her students open their notebooks. Ms. Smith asks

the students to reread their notes. Jot down any information that you got from

Debbie. John raises his hand, but Ms. Smith does not notice. He then asks a

student next to him (his partner) and then proceeds to do work. All students are


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writing in their notebooks. John tries to ask Ms. Smith something, but she just

tells him to ask his partner. As you finish, have a dialogue with your partner,

Ms. Smith instructs. Talk to your partner and say how I may use Debbies story

to understand Lindseys story. All students are then engaged in conversation

about the two stories except for one pair of students. Ms. Smith goes to that pair

and taps one of the students. They then begin a conversation about the assigned

topic. After a few minutes, Ms. Smith announces, So I need you to finish up your

thoughts in 321.

(Field notes, November 14, 2012)

It is important to note that in this example all of the students (including the group that

Ms. Smith had to tap to get started) were still having on topic conversations when Ms.

Smith asked them to finish up their thoughts. She actually had to pause for several

seconds while counting down to one because students were very drawn to their

conversations and did not seem to want to stop talking. This partner work was very

successful in getting students to think and talk about how they can use one characters

story to understand another characters story. It also held students accountable for the

writing that they had to do in their notebooks before the partner conversation. Students

had to draw on their written assignment of writing down notes on Debbie in order to fully

participate in the partner conversation.

This technique of using partners is successful in several aspects. Students are

actively engaged in on-topic conversation and seem to also enjoy these conversations. I

often see students smiling and talking excitedly during partner work. I also believe that

partner work can sometimes be more beneficial than group work, which I think is a


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possible reason for why Ms. Smith uses partner work more than group work. In a partner

setting, it is easier for each student to contribute to the conversation. In group settings, it

is more likely that some students may dominate the conversation and other students (the

students who are more shy) may find it difficult to enter the conversation. In the

beginning of the school year, Ms. Smith regulated partner conversations to make sure that

no partner would dominate the conversation. She would ask As to share first and then

make an announcement to the class that it was time for Bs to share (Field notes,

September 28, 2012). Also, it is unlikely for any student to be left behind during partner

work because the conversation can only proceed if both partners have an understanding

of the material being discussed. In a group, it is easier for one student to be left behind if

he or she does not understand the material and is too shy to speak up during the group

conversation. The group members would then carry on the conversation without that

student whereas in a partner setting, the conversation cannot continue if one person does

not understand the material because a conversation by definition requires at least two

participants.

Partner work can also help students understand class material and work on class

material that they would not have been able to work on by themselves. One student told

me that he found class most interesting when Ms. Smith asked the class to work in

partners or groups because Ms. Smiths work is hard and I think it is better to

collaborate on it (Interview, November 14, 2012). His response indicates that he finds

class material challenging, but working with others makes the material easier to handle.

Partner work also provides valuable experiences and skills that can prepare

students for higher academia and the work field (King & Behnke, 2005). Partner work in


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middle school can prepare these students for partner work in high school, college, and at

their future jobs. They would have had experience working in partners and would have

developed communication skills, the ability to value other peoples opinions, and the

ability to use the viewpoint of others to come to new understandings.

Unfortunately, there are some problems that arise from partner work. King and

Behnke (2005) remark that it is difficult to assess student performance when they are

working in a group setting. When partners work together to produce a final product, how

should a teacher assign grades? King and Behnke point out that if a teacher assigns the

same grade to both partners, the academically stronger student may be motivated to do

most of the work and prevent the other student from contributing. It is also difficult for

the teacher to find out if partners contributed equally to the final product and if both

partners have a thorough understanding of the subject material.

Another problem of partner work is the potential for students to get off-topic. It is

impossible for a teacher to listen to all partner conversations at once even if he or she is

walking around the classroom. It is quite possible for a partner group to be off-topic

without the teacher noticing. The group may be strategic and only talk about the class

material when the teacher is within listening distance and then switch to an irrelevant

conversation when the teacher cannot hear. Partners may also decide to sit around and not

do anything if there is nothing to hold them accountable for the work that they are going

to do with their partner. In the vignette described above, two students had this problem.

Luckily, Ms. Smith noticed that the two students were not talking and helped them

initiate their conversation by tapping one of students. However, what if Ms. Smith had


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not noticed the problem or what if the students still did not participate in the partner

conversation even after the teacher intervention?

The last technique that I will discuss is Ms. Smiths use of silent reading time.

Ms. Smith sometimes gives students twenty to thirty minutes to silently read a book of

their own choosing from the classroom library. The following is a vignette that illustrates

this technique:

Ms. Smith asks the students to silently read for twenty minutes as she walks

around the room to look at their homework. She tells them that she will only

interrupt a students reading if the homework was not done or was not done

correctly. Most students read over their desks. One girl is turned away from her

desk and reading the book on her lap with her legs pulled up towards her chest.

(Field notes, September 28, 2012)

All students are reading during this silent reading time. Some students take notes as they

are reading while others just read. Several students do not put down their books

immediately after Ms. Smith tells everyone to stop reading, which seems to indicate that

they were engaged in what they were reading. In an interview, four girls told me that they

enjoyed class the most when Ms. Smith gave them time to read books during class

(Interview, November 14, 2012).

Ms. Smith has used silent reading time twice during my observations. In both of

these instances, Ms. Smith used silent reading time as a technique to engage students in

an independent activity related to literacy while she conducted administrative tasks. More

observations of Ms. Smiths use of silent reading are needed to determine if this is a

pattern or merely a coincidence. In this vignette, Ms. Smith uses silent reading time so


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that she can check students homework.She whispered to students who did not have their

homework or had problems with their homework so that other students would not be able

to hear. In the other instance, she used silent reading time so that she could discipline a

group of students outside of the classroom (Field notes, November 9, 2012). Half of the

students were in the classroom either picking out a book to read or silently reading at

their desks. Ms. Smith was yelling at the other half of the students outside of the

classroom because they did not bring in a can for Penn Alexanders food drive.

The use of silent reading as a technique to keep students silently engaged so that

the teacher can handle other tasks seems to work. In both observations, students are all

quiet, which allows Ms. Smith to hold conversations with students about their homework

or to talk to other students outside of the classroom without worrying that her other

students will disturb students in other classrooms. Students also look like they are

enjoying reading because some students do not put down their books immediately when

silent reading time is over. Silent reading is also not just busy work to occupy the

students with. Harvey and Goudvis (2007) frequently stress that having students read

more is one method to increase their reading comprehension and their joy for reading.

Since students get to choose their own books, silent reading time gives the teacher the

opportunity to discover the types of books that his or her students enjoy reading. Noguera

(2008) argues that a teacher can only be an effective teacher if he or she knows his or her

students well. Learning about students interests is a good step towards getting to know a

student.

There are some potential problems with silent reading. Some students may be

pretending to read and it is difficult for teachers to determine if students are really


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reading their books or just pretending to read especially if the teacher is not in the

classroom to monitor students. Students may become so engaged with the book that they

do not pay attention for the rest of class because all they want to do is continue reading

the book. One girl in Ms. Smiths class continued to read her silent reading book during

another class activity. Ms. Smith had to come talk to her and persuade her to put her book

away (Field notes, September 28, 2012). Students may also come across difficulties while

reading and feel discouraged from asking the teacher or fellow classmates to clarify this

confusion because of the emphasis of silent reading being silent.

Of the three techniques examined in-depth in this inquiry project, I would employ

both the technique of dramatization and partner work in my own future classroom

because I believe that both techniques would engage students in a math classroom. (I

would not employ the technique of silent reading in my classroom only because it is not

that applicable to a math classroom.) I would not use the technique of dramatization as

much as Ms. Smith or Toni Billingsley for fear of being worn out. I think I would use it

only a couple of times per class period randomly so that I could engage students while

still conserving some of my energy. One of Ms. Smiths students told me that one of the

reasons why she likes Ms. Smith is because Ms. Smith is very unexpected (Interview,

November 14, 2012). Indeed, Ms. Smith uses her dramatization in a randomized fashion

during the class period. I would like to replicate this spontaneity in my own classroom, so

that my students are always surprised and entertained by math.

I will also ask my students to work in partners frequently for do nows,

homework, and in-class example problems. All of these assignments will be either

ungraded or graded based on completion; thus, the problem of one partner dominating the


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work because of grades will be eliminated. Partners will be required to turn in their work,

which will ensure that they do not wander off task. I like the use of the end of class index

cards used in Education 202. I would like to use a similar idea in my classroom: I would

hand out index cards and ask students to write on one side if they understood todays

material and on the other side if they thought that their partner contributed to the

classwork.

There were also some alternative techniques that I did not see implemented in Ms.

Smiths classroom, but that I would like to incorporate into my own classroom. The first

technique is the use and teaching of current technology in the classroom. Doering, Beach,

and OBrienargue that an English classroom needs to incorporate multimodal, interactive

Web 2.0 tools because the way that adolescents are communicating with each other these

days has changed to become more Internet based (2007). They explain that knowing how

to use visual rhetoric to design multimodal texts is an important skill for adolescents;

thus, English teachers should teach their students this vital skill. The teaching of this skill

will also engage students because it is so relatable to their daily lives. Similarly,

DAmbrosio argues that mathematics education should teach students how to use current

technology to solve math problems so that students can become aware of the capabilities

and limitations of technological instruments (2001, pg.309).

I would also like to use ethnomathematics in my classroom (DAmbrosio, 2001). I

was very surprised that Ms. Smith never incorporated culture into her classroom. In my

neighborhood study I discussed that one method to engage students in the classroom is to

draw from not only the diverse backgrounds of the students, but also to draw from the

diversity of the neighborhood itself. In class, students can share their cultural


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backgrounds and connect it with what they are learning in class or they can have a Show

and Tell session similar to the one that Michie conducted in Holler If You Hear Me

(2009). Teachers can also take their students on local field trips to the cultural

establishments around the area so that their students can learn more about various

cultures. Freire argues that teachers should establish an intimate connection between

knowledge considered basic to any school curriculum and knowledge that is the fruit of

the lived experience of these students as individuals (1998, pg. 36). Thus, I think it is

important for a teacher to draw on the culture of the students and I hope that I can do this

successfully in my future math classroom.

For my senior year, I am going to be taking Mathematics in the Elementary and

Middle Schools (EDUC 531) in the fall semester and Teaching in Middle and Secondary

Schools (EDUC 627) in the spring semester; both classes require a math classroom

placement. My urban education advisor informed me that I would be able to stay in the

same placement for the entire academic year. I would like to use this opportunity to see if

a teacher changes strategies or incorporates more strategies to engage students as the

school year progresses. Unfortunately, I have only been able to observe Ms. Smiths

classroom for one semester. I feel that I would have had an even better understanding of

her teaching if I were to observe her for an entire year. I would also like to use my math

classroom placement to see if the classroom teacher uses an activity similar to silent

reading so that he or she can complete administrative tasks. I was unsure of how to

incorporate independent math tasks that would be engaging for the students into the

classroom. Furthermore, I hope that I would be able to observe the use of culture at my

placement. I was a little bit disappointed that Ms. Smith never incorporated culture into


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her classroom. I wonder if this is this just characteristic of her classroom or if it is

something common in most or all of the classrooms of Penn Alexander School. If I get

placed in Penn Alexander School again (which I think there will be a high probability), I

can observe if the classroom teacher incorporates culture and if he or she does not, I can

interview some of the other teachers and ask them if they incorporate culture in their

classrooms and learn why they choose or choose not to incorporate culture.


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References

DAmbrosio, U. (2001). In my opinion: What is ethnomathematics, and how can it help

children in schools? Teaching Children Mathematics, 7(6), 308-310.

Doering, A., Beach, R., & OBrien, D. (2007). Infusing Multimodal Tools and Digital

Literacies into an English Education Program.English Education, 40(1), 41-60.

Freire, P. (1998).Pedagogy of freedom: Ethics, democracy, and civic courage(P. Clarke,

Trans.). Chapter 2: There is no teaching without learning (pp. 29-48). Lanham,

MD: Rowman & Littlefield.

Harvey, S. and Goudvis, A. (2007). Strategies that work, 2nd edition. Portland, ME:

Stenhouse Publishers.

King, P., & Behnke, R. (2005). Problems Associated with Evaluating Student

Performance in Groups. College Teaching, 53(2), 57-61.

Michie, G. (2005). See you when you get there: Teaching for change in urban schools.

Chapter 5: Toni Billingsley. New York: Teachers College Press.

Michie, G. (2009).Holler if you Hear Me. (2nd

ed.). New York: Teachers College Press.

Noguera, P. A. (2008). The trouble with Black boys and other reflections on race,

equity, and the future of public education. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

(Chapters 6 & 7)


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D) Annotated Bibliography

Doering, A., Beach, R., & OBrien, D. (2007). Infusing Multimodal Tools and Digital

Literacies into an English Education Program.English Education, 40(1), 41-60.

This article argues that the English curriculum needs to be redefined to include

multimodal, interactive Web 2.0 tools. Web 2.0 tools are Internet services such asnetworking sites and blogs that are currently under development. The authors of this

article recognize that the way adolescents are communicating with each other has

changed; adolescents use the Internet as a primary tool for interaction. Thus, Englishteachers need to incorporate Web 2.0 tools into their curriculum so that they can engage

students and enable students to understand how to effectively design multimodal texts by

using visual rhetoric. Part of my inquiry project explores alternative techniques to engage

students, techniques not being currently utilized by Ms. Smith. Incorporating Web 2.0tools in the classroom is another valid technique to engage students.

Dugan, J. (1997). Transactional Literature Discussions: Engaging Students in the

Appreciation and Understanding of Literature. The Reading Teacher, 51(2), 86-96.

Dugan argues that transactional literature discussions is an approach that teachers can useto not only help students appreciate literature, but also help them read and write in

meaningful ways. This approach provides students with the opportunity to respond

aesthetically to the text that they are currently reading. (In other words, students have the

opportunity to respond to the text by using personal experiences, their emotions, and theirown thoughts.) It also allows students to work with other students as well as the teacher

to write, talk, and read about the books. Students also give written responses to their

readings and discussions, which allows them to improve their reading comprehension.Dugan conducted a study on six struggling readers. He used the transactional literature

discussion on these six readers and found that this approach helped them become moreactive readers who actually enjoyed what they read. Various aspects of transactional

literature discussions are evident in Ms. Smiths classroom and contribute to thetechniques that she uses to engage her students.

Harvey, S. and Goudvis, A. (2007). Strategies that work, 2nd

edition. Portland, ME:

Stenhouse Publishers.

Harvey and Goudvis elaborate on various thinking strategies that teachers can teach totheir students so that their students become independent readers who are engaged in the

texts that they read. They also define comprehension and explain how teachers can teach

students comprehension in an engaging manner. They elaborate on engaging teaching

techniques such as interactive read-alouds, authentic written response, topic

investigations and guided discussion. These techniques are illustrated with vignettes thatfeature student responses to lessons. These student responses serve to demonstrate the

effectiveness of these strategies. The teacher at my field placement uses several of thetechniques illustrated in this book. For example, she uses the read-alouds and guided

discussion.


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King, P., & Behnke, R. (2005). Problems Associated with Evaluating Student

Performance in Groups. College Teaching, 53(2), 57-61.

King and Behnke highlight the problems associated with trying to evaluate studentperformance when students are working in a group setting. King and Behnke first discuss

the benefits of using groups. They mention that society values collaborative work and

many people will have to work in teams or committees in their future careers, so workingin groups provides students with a valuable learning experience. However, manyproblems arise when trying to give students a grade when they work in a group. For

example, if all group members are given the same grade, the group may be motivated to

have academically weaker students contribute less to the group. The article concludeswith suggestions on how to avoid the problems that are associated with giving grades to

students who work in a group. Although this article is targeted at college students, it is

still applicable to middle school students and my inquiry project because Ms. Smith often

uses partner work and sometimes group work as a technique to engage students. Thisarticle presents some of the possible drawbacks of using these techniques.

Ray, K. (2004). Why Cauley writes well: A close look at what a difference good teaching can make.Language Arts, 82(2), 100-109.

Ray examines the teaching practices of Lisa Cleaveland, the winner of the 2002 NCTE

Donald H. Graves Writing Award. She notes that Cleaveland creates a passion for writing

for her students by giving them the freedom to choose their writing topics and theopportunity to share their writing with peers who share their passions. This freedom of

being able to choose ones own topic enables her students to view writing workshop as a

time when they can make something with their writing rather than just a task. Cleavelandis also able to engage students in reading by helping them realize that they can draw on

the techniques those other authors use and incorporate those types of techniques in their

own writing projects. Rays article is very similar to my inquiry project in that we are

both trying to evaluate the effectiveness of the techniques that the teacher uses to engageher students in literacy.


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E) Data

Appendix A: Photographs of Ms. Smiths Classroom

Documents

EDUC 202 Final Portfolio