Inquiry into Public Education - Students' Responses
In the first few days of the research unit, I had talked to several students about their thoughts on the project and I wanted to get a sense of how the entire class was feeling. I passed out a short, anonymous questionnaire in the middle of the unit that had a few direct questions regarding specific aspects the research process that we had been discussing [Additional student responses and analysis]. Even with more evidence that the students still felt like there wasn’t enough guidance and structure, I did not have much control over the planning of the unit and establishing parameters for the project, so I helped students on an individual basis.
Mid-Unit Survey Questions:
1. Do you understand what ethnographic research is? What kind of ethnographic research could
you use for your project?
2. Describe your research progress; what aspects of your topic have you done research on? What
do you still need to research over the week?
3. Are you working well with the rest of your group? Do you think that the work is divided equally?
1. Do you understand what ethnographic research is? What kind of ethnographic research could
you use for your project?
2. Describe your research progress; what aspects of your topic have you done research on? What
do you still need to research over the week?
3. Are you working well with the rest of your group? Do you think that the work is divided equally?
At the end of the unit, I passed out another anonymous survey that had several open-ended questions asking for students’ opinions on different elements of the project. As I had hoped, most were honest about their feelings, and some gave constructive answers as to how the project could be improved [Additional student responses and analysis].
Final Survey Questions:
1. Name one thing that you learned from or found valuable in this project.
2. Describe one aspect of this project that was ineffective.
3. Are you satisfied with how your final paper turned out? What could we have done to help
you with the writing process?
4. How could this project be improved for the future?
5. Do you have any additional thoughts or comments about this project or the research process?
Final Survey Questions:
1. Name one thing that you learned from or found valuable in this project.
2. Describe one aspect of this project that was ineffective.
3. Are you satisfied with how your final paper turned out? What could we have done to help
you with the writing process?
4. How could this project be improved for the future?
5. Do you have any additional thoughts or comments about this project or the research process?
However, in their more formal, written reflections which were also completed at the end of the unit, students expressed the same ideas, frustrations, and criticisms about the class and their work, but they all seemed to be able to find one thing that they learned or found valuable. With more time dedicated to this particular assignment asC compared to the quick in-class surveys, and because they knew this reflection would be assessed for a grade, more thought seemed to be put into this paper, which may be why many students were able to find something positive about this project. Because this final writing assignment was more formal and did give the students more time to reflect, the students were more likely to consider all aspects of the unit and their research and realize that there was something positive in the experience.
Samples of Students' Formal Reflections:
Click for additional samples
Samples of Students' Formal Reflections:
Click for additional samples
"This project encouraged me to fight harder for students’ rights; the students are not the problem, it’s the system. Our students are being treated like criminals! Because of outdated zero tolerance policies, they get suspended for being out of uniform and arrested for leaving safety scissors in their schoolbags. At many of our neighborhood schools, hundreds of students are suspended every school year and only a fraction of those students are suspended for legitimate reasons." |
"There is one gripe that I have to mention. Though the subject was interesting, I feel it was not the right time for a project such as this. If we were to start over, I think we’d absorb the information and be more motivated to work if it were a video project or something similar, not a research paper . . . Overall, I’d say the project worked. However, it could have been more fun and engaging had it been through a different medium." |
"Initially, I wasn't too thrilled about the idea of being assigned groups to research a topic (public education) that I personally didn't care too much for. I expected the research to be tedious and the actual writing to be dreadful. Thankfully, I was able to choose a question that was more math and statistics based while still fulfilling the requirement that our research be related to the topic of public education by writing about education spending and student performance."
Over the course of the four-week unit, observations that I made, conversations that I had with students, and written comments made in progress checks and reflections revealed that many students were disinterested or confused in the class and were not sure how this research project fit into an “English class.” Challenges in communicating with my classroom mentor about lesson plans and the shortened pre-planning time made it more difficult to identify what the unit’s final product would look like and how we would help students get there.
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