Assessing Student Gains via the Use of
Technology
The goal of my action research is to
ascertain
whether
academic gains are significantly higher for students
being
exposed to more technology during their daily
instruction
as opposed to those who are not. I teach
at a
campus
where the students have limited access to
technology. They get one thirty-minute period per week to
utilize
an unshared computer. They are directed
to learning
sites
and only have access to these sites while there. These
students
are digital natives in that they can quickly master
anything
pertaining to technology. I would like
to see
whether
given some leeway in the choice of sites they can
access
will result in increased academic gains.
Students will
be
given additional computer time to complete assignments,
access
homework assignments, collaborate, and complete
assessments.
I teach fifth grade at a school where
the student
population
is predominantly African-American and
approximately
fifty percent are considered at-risk.
The
school
is located in the midst of two subsidized housing
projects
which house low-income, socio-economically
disadvantaged
families. The students are most often
living
with
a relative or someone who is not a parent.
Ninety-five
percent
of the students are on free lunch. The
school is
three
years old, replacing one built in the fifties. The
students
shared another campus while their new one was
being
built.
In the three years the new school has
been in
existence,
there has been a high teacher turnover rate.
There
is a large percentage of students with anger-
management
issues. The number of student referrals and
suspensions
is high. Student tardiness is also high.
The issue I am confronting is student
use of
technology
in the classroom. I would like to see
whether
students
will perform significantly better if exposed to more
technology
during instruction. There is not enough
technology
use by students during their instructional periods.
I
mean more than the overhead projector or a “Brain Pop”
video.
Students should use technology when accessing
lessons,
homework, and assessments. I will be
incorporating
the use of blogs, wikis, and podcasts in my
quest
to expose students to more technology.
My study will
help
me see whether increased student use of technology
for
learning purposes will result in significant academic
gains.
This research should serve to enlighten
my principal
and
colleagues to the possible benefits of utilizing additional
technology
in lessons. It may address the problem
of
inadequate
student gains, student motivation, student
completion
of lessons, and help change the culture of the
school.
Given the chance to use technology in a
learning
environment
may be just what’s needed by these students to
build
morale and foster participation.
My literature review will take on a
new focus since I
am
in essence starting a new inquiry. In
next week’s
addition
to this update, I should have a list of articles I have
perused
in order to find background information.
My target population is fifth grade
language arts
students.
They will range in age from 10years to
perhaps 13
years
old. There will probably be from 20 to
24 students in
this
group. Most are from single parent or guardian
households. These students will be my homeroom students.
They
will serve as the experimental group to compare to a
control
group.
My data collection methods will
include and may not
be
limited to observations, journals, surveys, interviews,
homework,
daily assignments, and tests. The observations
will
occur daily and students will record daily journal entries.
Surveys
will be conducted at the beginning and the end of
the
research period. My students receive
homework four
days
a week. I usually take two grades per
week from
homework.
I will compare my homeroom students’
grades to
those
of the other students I teach, using the same
assignments
for comparison. This data will be shared
using
narratives,
bar graphs, and pie charts.
Results of my action research will be evaluated
using
the
charted differences of academic gains achieved by both
sets
of students. Pre-tests and post-tests
will be
administered
to see where each student starts and stops on
the
academic scale during the observed time period.
Results will be shared with my
building principal and
other
campus personnel. I will use written and oral delivery
methods
to share my findings.
