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PRETEST AND POST TEST
PRETEST AND POST TEST
At the beginning of my research, I began with a pretest over the upcoming unit, Kitchen Basics. This pretest provided a baseline for what concepts we would cover throughout the unit. On the pretest, the class average was a 57%. This demonstrated to me that many of my students were unaware of much of the content that we would learn. With the changes made through my action research, by the end of the unit, my students were able to recall on average 91% of the content.
CLASSROOM OBSERVATIONS
CLASSROOM OBSERVATIONS
On classroom days, students were observed throughout the class. I was specifically looking at student engagement during this time, and used the student engagement data collection tool to do this. Students were analyzed for on and off task behaviors. For off task behaviors, I was looking to see if students were on their phones, talking unrelated to the task, and using their district laptops for other purposes such as games or other websites. When students were seen off task, I adjusted and encouraged them to get back on task with their group members.
For on task behaviors, I saw students working quietly or talking and asking questions with their group members about the assignment or task. Every five minutes, I recorded behaviors around the room, and kept track of students on and off task. Overall, my students were on task 84% of the time, and off task the remaining 15% of the time while working on projects or assignments in the classroom.
KITCHEN LAB OBSERVATIONS
KITCHEN LAB OBSERVATIONS
The class had 24 students, and there are 6 kitchens that students had available. Students were placed into groups of 4 at the beginning of the semester. They began by introducing themselves, getting to know each other, and building a strong relationship that would continue through the semester. During kitchen labs students first would complete the lab roles and procedures form. Then, I would provide a brief explanation of the lab and what utensils and equipment I recommended they use for best results. After this, I let students begin the lab.
During lab, I would monitor students in their groups while utilizing the student engagement data collection tool seen to the left. During labs, I looked to see and hear four concepts: effective communication, problem-solving, questioning, and off task behaviors (there is a brief description of them provided on the document). I continued to walk throughout the classroom, engaged in the lab with them, and determined if I could identify the group demonstrating any of those four concepts. If they did, I would document a tally on the sheet.
The info-graphic demonstrates that 43% of the time students showed effective communication skills; 28% of the time students were seen problem-solving; 23% of the time students were asking each other questions; and 4% of the time students were identified to be off task during labs.
STUDENT REFLECTIONS ON KITCHEN LAB PERFORMANCE
STUDENT REFLECTIONS ON KITCHEN LAB PERFORMANCE
Each time when students would cook in the lab, they would fill out a Lab Roles and Procedures sheet where they identified the role they would take during the lab. On the back side, there were reflection questions for each group member to complete. The reflections were only completed biweekly, so that I could see improvements made after the approximately 5 labs in which they would engage. Due to this plan, students engaged in a total of four reflections, the last one being a final lab reflection where they analyzed their individual and group successes overall.
Reflection #1
Reflection #1
Following the first few labs, students identified various skills they needed to improve on to be successful. This info-graphic demonstrates that more than 5 times students discussed they needed to improve in their teamwork, along with preparation, efficiency, and leading the group. Not a single student claimed that nothing needed improvement.
Reflection #2
Reflection #2
Following the first lab reflection, students worked on making improvements. The data still demonstrates that students wanted to continue to improve their teamwork, preparation, and more. On the contrary, four students claimed that nothing needed improvement, and that the group was working well together.
Reflection #3
Reflection #3
About 4 weeks into engaging in labs, students continued to make adjustments and improvements in their efficiency, preparation, teamwork, and leadership. More than 7 students claimed that nothing needed improvement, and that their group was able to work efficiently to the end.
THE FINAL LAB REFLECTION
THE FINAL LAB REFLECTION
Students completed a lab reflection at the end of the research that was organized by self reflection questions and group reflection questions. This exercise encouraged students to reflect back on themselves on how they performed as a group member, how they assisted their group, what roles they played, and more. It also encouraged students to reflect on how they were able to work collectively, make improvements together, and communicate effectively through the process.
STUDENTS' SELF REFLECTIONS
STUDENTS' SELF REFLECTIONS
Self Reflection Prompt #1
Self Reflection Prompt #1
When students were asked to respond to this prompt by utilization of a Likert Scale, all of the students responded that they either agreed or strongly agreed with the prompt.
Self Reflection Prompt #2
Self Reflection Prompt #2
When students were asked to respond to this prompt by utilization of a Likert Scale, all of the students responded that they either agreed or strongly agreed with the prompt.
STUDENTS' GROUPS REFLECTIONS
STUDENTS' GROUPS REFLECTIONS
Group Reflection Prompt #1
Group Reflection Prompt #1
When students were asked to respond to this prompt by utilization of a Likert Scale, all of the students responded that they felt neutral, agreed or strongly agreed with the prompt.
Group Reflection Prompt #2
Group Reflection Prompt #2
When students were asked to respond to this prompt by utilization of a Likert Scale, all of the students responded that they felt neutral, agreed or strongly agreed with the prompt.
TRIANGULATION OF DATA
TRIANGULATION OF DATA
In order for a research study to be reliable, triangulation of data should occur. The validity of the data collection methods provides an increased confidence that the benefits of the study are largely due to the connections between research and data collection methods. The goal of triangulation is to collect data about student learning from different three methods. From the different methods, teachers are able to examine them against each other to identify an accurate portrayal of individual student progress. The reliability of my research was based on the variety of methods I used to collect my data, and the way in which I evaluated them for individual student learning outcomes.
Based on the unsatisfactory results from the pretest students completed prior to the study, I worked to create an environment that students thoroughly enjoyed during kitchen labs and mirrored that environment as much as I could in the classroom. Students demonstrated that they were consistently engaged during classwork and performance was replicated in the kitchen labs. Students performed extremely well collaboratively while working on projects and assignments, and also during kitchen labs. Due to the high amount of student engagement in both settings, students were able to increase their knowledge of Kitchen Basics from a class average of 57% to 91%.
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