Embedded Files
Problem
In my classroom, I began seeing that students could stand to participate more fully in their learning. I saw that many were writing out basic responses to questions, but were not engaging in class-discussions. I wanted to see students have real conversations with their peers, and I also wanted to see them have opportunities to justify their thinking and respond to criticism from others. I wanted to see how students could thus expand their thinking through communication strategies and expand their communication through thinking strategies. This was the source of the problem where I began my inquiry.
Hypothesis
If my target group engages in peer-peer feedback, their agency in the classroom will increase. Specifically, they will develop confidence in communicating and receiving feedback on scientific problem solving, even when work is imperfect.
Target group
Students with IEPs (SETTS or related services) in my non-ICT standalone class (Physics, E Block). I chose this group, because this group has some learning difficulties relative to their peers, but fewer services compared to other students with IEPs (i.e. students in ICT or SC classes).
Planning & resources
Resources
Teacher Made Materials
Data collection
Data collection
Baseline data
I looked at the level of student discussion during step two of partner-based grid samples. I also looked at revised answers that students composed after discussing with their partners.
Measuring success
Length and quality of discussion, degree to which students revised grid sample responses after writing their first response and discussing their partner’s work.
Overall findings & impact
Overall, the project was mostly successful. Students ended up writing better revisions, talking for longer during problems, and working together for shared projects that required both of them to solve a different ‘key.’ See an example below. One problem observed was that some students did not participate at all, leaving their partner without the ‘key’ they needed to do their own work.
Actionable steps
If you want to use this strategy in your classroom, I recommend …
Eventually building to more challenging assignments like partners doing different parts of a more complicated assignment that they need both ‘keys’ to finish the end of.
Nick Bacon | nick.bacon@uamaker.nyc
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