I am right with Jan and Trisha when they talk about having a sudden case of ADD. I can't narrow down anything. I keep going to these wonderful trainings with all this technology stuff and I get more and more overwhelmed on how I am going to use it in my classroom.
I am still wondering if I should have a "control group" to be able to look at data from students using technology versus students that aren't using it.
With some advice from Holly, I have made a daily exit slip for my students that asks what they thought about the actual class and then how they feel about their learning and the daily objective. I have made 2 different colors of these so that I can differentiate days on which I used technology and which days I didn't. So maybe that is a different, but equally good, solution to having a "control" group? We will see how it goes as I am implementing that this upcoming week.
After looking at my question... "What is the impact of using technology on student learning? Does it affect motivation to complete assignments, to learn the objectives or just cause chaos?" I'm wondering if collecting those exit slips is enough? They allow me to see if I used technology or not, but should I be writing or keeping track of a brief summary on what we did?
So many questions... I would greatly appreciate any feedback! :)
Courtney, First of all, realize that having this problem with ADD is a common feeling at this point in the inquiry process. Hang in there! I think you should consider a few other ways to collect data other than the exit slips. You might want to compare grade averages between technology and non-technology assignments that have similar concepts, you could write observations in your notebook (you should do this even if you don't use it for data. That notebook will be a life-saver!) You could interview a set of students: what they like/don't like when technology is used, how it helps or hinders their learning....
ReplyDeleteHope this gives you something more to think about!
This is tricky because even with a control group, the different classes will have different types of leaners. What is one class has more students that are self-motivated and the other class doesn't?? Thinking about what you said about "Does technology motivate student to finish a project?" That is something I would like to know as a fellow educator. How you measure this....I am not sure??
ReplyDeleteI like your use of exit slips to gain feedback from the students on how they feel their learning is going. It might be interesting to compare their actual score on a project with how they thought they did.
ReplyDeleteAs far as the motivation goes, I can relate! My project deals with motivation as well and it is a little tricky to figure out how to measure it. I plan on doing a survey which might work for you too?!
If you come up with another way to measure motivation I would love to hear it so I can try it too!
If you are thinking of doing a control group, maybe an entire unit using technology would be a way to go. Have one class using tech. and the other not and compare scores on the test. I don't know if this helps, but just a thought.
ReplyDeleteSome suggestions for additional assessment strategies could be to compare grade of past classes with current class for same content areas, one using tech and one not, or conducting student interviews regarding the use of tech, or dialogue journaling could also be used. Cherié Baker
ReplyDeleteWell, fellow math teacher and friend, here's my thought...technology can help students see multiple representations of the same equation/situation. This should help build more concrete understanding. Would love to see some data on this, but how to measure it without working yourself to death. I like the motivation piece and truly, it might be enough for this project??
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of the exit slips, but I do recommend that you reflect and record what you are doing in a journal. It will be helpful when you pull this project together.
ReplyDeleteIn response to your feelings about technology, I feel the same way, so many ideas to try, but I do not want to overwhelm or confuse my students in the process. Liz
Courtney,
ReplyDeleteAfter projects you might want to have students write a short paragraph letting you know how they feel about the technology and whether they believe it helped make their project more successful or less and why. Then you can maybe keep a frequency chart of good, bad or indifferent responses.
Courtney, wish I could help. Is one ADD person working with another like the blind leading the blind?
ReplyDelete