Rationale

SCHOOL INFORMATION

My capstone project was centered around one of my Introduction to Food and Nutrition classes that consisted of 24 students. Since I teach an elective course, I have students in all grades 9-12 in my classes. At the high school, the year is split into semesters. First semester runs from August-December, and second semester runs from January-May. My study looked at my second semester, 2nd period class, although the need I determined was based off observations from the same course which I taught first semester. My first semester class consisted of 15 male students, and 9 female students. Of them, I had 9 freshmen, 3 sophomores, 6 juniors, and 6 seniors. Similarly, my second semester class consisted of 11 male students, and 13 female students. Of them, I had 18 freshman, 1 sophomore, 2 juniors, and 3 seniors. My school is one-to-one with technology, meaning that each student is provided a laptop for educational purposes in and outside the classroom environment.

THE NEED:

WHAT I SAW FROM THE PREVIOUS SEMESTER

As I reflected on my 1st semester Introduction to Food and Nutrition class, there were a total of 6 daily work grades in the grade book. These were various activities such as individual projects, advance organizers for note-taking, research assignments, and more. As I looked into their grades, I found that 19% of the total number of assignments were missing or incomplete. Based on observation, students were often distracted by laptops and their various uses, aside from the task at hand. I often found students also distracted by their phones, and that they struggled to disengage from their phone during work time. The students took a test over Kitchen Basics (topics such as measuring and equivalents, equipment identification, and table etiquette were covered), and I found that 29% of students scored under 80% accuracy. Prior to taking the test, students were provided class time to complete a review game with similar questions as the test to prepare them, but was not seen to be utilized by all students.

The distractions as stated above disengaged a portion of the students from using the review game to study for the test, and therefore, not all students performed well. On the other hand, this course provided 2-3 days per week where students worked collaboratively in the kitchen labs to create a dish from a recipe provided. On these days, my 1st semester students worked together in a positive manner, and communicated effectively through each step of the process. Most often, distractions such as cell phones or laptops were of low interest on those days due to the collaborative and engaging nature of the task.

MY RESEARCH:

& THE 6 CONCEPTS OF THE PGW MODEL

To understand how to implement a strategy that would increase student engagement, a sense of community, and overall student achievement, I examined the Productive Group Work model and conducted a literature review over the model and the six main concepts that make it successful. Productive group work aims to help teachers manage all areas of group work in the classroom. Overall, the goal of productive group work is that “all students are engaged with the academic content and with each other, and the end result is consolidated and extended knowledge for all” (Frey et al., 2009, p. 6). Discussed below are the six main concepts of the PGW model that make it successful when used together effectively.

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Positive interdependence: provides students with tasks or roles in the activity, where students understand their responsibility in accomplishing the task.
Face-to-face interaction: encourages that all students know all parts of the content, and that communication between each other is progressive.
Individual and group accountability: ensures that students are being assessed individually and for his/her own work, not solely for the work of his/her group members.

Interpersonal and small-group skills: where students are resolving conflicts, problem-solving, and communicating effectively with their peers.
Group processing: encourages groups to discuss what parts of their work went well, and what would require improvement for the next time.
A meaningful task: provides groups with a looming task that requires each student’s effort to complete, and it is important that this task could not be completed individually by students.

MY LITERATURE REVIEW

Website_Literature Review_Ford_2020

THE CHANGE

WHAT I DECIDED TO DO FOR MY STUDENTS

Based on literature review ideas, I was able to make changes in the classroom to support my students. I identified how important it was that students were supported with the same opportunities to collaborate and engage in content on classroom days, as is offered during lab days. As I reflected on my first semester class, and through my research, I decided to implement the Productive Group Work Model as a collaboration tool in the classroom setting to increase engagement with my second semester class. With this implementation, students were provided more effective ways to interact with their group, while it eliminated distractions, and enhanced their learning through well-designed and intentional interaction with others.

This cooperative environment fostered a positive community culture where students would feel accepted, safe, and motivated, which encouraged their success in the classroom. My students also developed positive interdependence and individual accountability while collaborating with their base groups systematically throughout the semester. I believe that my study demonstrated progressive growth in student engagement, follow-through on tasks, and a deepened understanding of content.

"We must view group work as more than a means of completing a project or task. Productive group work is an essential stepping stone to learning and mastery."

(Frey, Fisher & Everlove, 2009).

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