Assignment 2: Journals Review

Journals:
1. Using student interviews to guide classroom instruction: an action research project (Buschman, 2001)
2. Using action research to implement the national geography standards: Teaches as researchers (Bednarz, 2002)
3. An action research project on preparing teachers to meet the needs of underserved student populations (Buck & Cordes, 2005)

(A) Comparison (Similarity&Differences)
1. Samples
Journal 1: Students
Journal 2: Students and teachers
Journal 3: Students
2. Settings
Journal 1: Jefferson Elementary School
Journal 2: Elementary and Secondary School (Texas)
Journal 3: Community organizations that served elementary or middle-level-aged children
3. Procedure
Journal 1:Identify problem, research, plan and act
Journal 2:Identify problem, plan&research, action research, analyze results and take action
Journal 3:Reconnaissance, planning, first action step, monitoring, reflecting, rethinking and evaluation
4. Data Accumulation and Analyzation
Journal 1: Student interviews, classroom observations and teacher self-assessment
Journal 2: Students questionnaires, class surveys, individual student interviews, results of the performances assessment in field-tested curriculum unit and collection of materials prepared by participants
Journal 3: Questionnaires, written reflections&responses, field notes, course documents

(B)Analysis
Journal 1:
This journal start off with problem identification in finding ways to implement problem solving in mathematics classroom.Two major questions were focus on:Do student interviews provide teachers with a more detailed, accurate and complete picture of children's mathematical understanding? AND Does this knowledge help teachers improve the way that they teach mathematics? Data collection are more of qualitative techniques where it involved student interviews, teacher self-assessment,reflection journals and sessions for sharing results with other team members. The important goal of this action research project was to examine the effect of the interviews on the ways that teachers teach mathematics not on the changes of the student performance.

Journal 2:
Elementary and secondary school teachers involved in Geography and Assessment to implement Geography Standards. The programs consisted of three phases that is training workshop, field tests and opportunity to reflect and share six months following the training. The research methods used were student questionnaires, class surveys, individual student interviews and the results of performance assessment in the field-tested curriculum unit. In addition, copies of materials prepared by participants were collected and reviewed as a measurement how well participants aligned to instruction and assessment to the curriculum. Detailed notes were taken during presentations were revised and analyzed in order to come out with research findings.

Journal 3:
For reliability and validity purposes, multiple research approaches, data sources, observers, peer debriefing and an external auditor were utilized. However, certain controls for internal validity could not be address as this was a single-group quasi-experimental study (i.e., level of sensitization of preservice teachers to desired outcomes). In this study, both qualitative and quantitative data analyzation were used.

(C)Evaluation
Journal 1:
Teachers benefited from students interview where it gave a picture of children's levels of mathematical understanding in school by just two simple approach applied in this study. The first approach is cognitively guided instruction where teaching is most effective when new knowledge is linked to existing knowledge and that teacher will be more aware what tasks student could perform with their knowledge. The second approach is theory of constructivism where understanding of problems are constructed personally and students will solve problems in ways that made sense to them.On the other hand,students interview increased their focus and meeting the needs of individual students. For instance, teachers will be able to identify students who were ready for the next level of conceptual understanding, focus on students misconception and etc.

Journal 2:
Action research has attributed many benefits based on the research that resulted after whole-group dialogue. The analyses came to three primary findings :
1. Teachers learned that performance assessments increased student time-on-task, motivation and performance. Students indicated that more time will be spent in performance assessment as compare to traditional exam preparation.
2. Teaches concluded that classroom practice improved through the process of planning performance assessments and reflecting on the entire teaching/learning relationship by strengthening the links among curriculum, instruction and assessment.
3. The action research subgroup found that it can be valuable to listen to students ideas and comments on what they have learned. Different students will interpret things differently, so from dialoging with students many things were unfolded.

Journal 3:
Quantitative Analysis: Data collected from 20 preservice teacher questionnaires, coded and analyzed. A t-Test was performed n the close-ended items. The items were addressed to several areas related to preservice teachers self-assessment on how confident to teach diverse students and their knowledge of the strategies that foster or impede success of underrepresented population. Qualitative Analysis provides technical understanding of this project and increase the preservice teachers confidence and knowledge in regard to teaching science to diverse student populations.


(D)Summary
Journal 1:
There are many ways to measure skills acquisition and performance levels of children. Over-reliance of tests and quizzes to measure may give an incomplete and bias results on students performance (NCTM, 2000) as it does not tell teachers how children think mathematically.In contrast, assessment of students understanding can be enhanced by the use of multiple forms of assessment such as interviews. During the interview, children not only will get immediate feedback but teaches will gain valuable diagnostic information on children's performance at the same time. Interview can also foster insight into how children think and reason, how they demonstrate creativity and abilities in solving mathematics in different strategies.

Journal 2:
Action researchers involved and initiate action in order to improve in educational enterprise (Slater, 1996). Research were crafted to suit their own interests, context and particular student populations.However, in this study, there was no control group to measure greater effect for the action research subgroup. Analysis of Renaissance Weekend Dialogue was the evidence of the value of performance assessment in Standard-based-Geography where all participants conducted a form of action research by field testing on curriculum units and assessments.In this context, teachers were supported and encouraged to think deeply about the National Standards and their expectations for student performance, to develop and test new curriculum units and assessment techniques and also to integrate ideas and skills in personal learning experience. In addition, teacher-to-student and teacher-to-teacher dialogue helped in creating a positive and rich learning environment.

Journal 3:
Preservice teachers work to develop a develop a better understanding of how to address the needs of diverse used. Teaches on the other hand were revise in order to prepare them to be confidence and knowledgeable to meet the needs of youth populations underserved in science education.

(E)Synthesis
Journal 1:
Interview was chose as the assessment tool for this study as Buschman believe that by interviewing students will provide a more accurate and complete view of what children know and can do. With the information provided, instruction can be match to individual needs and abilities of children. In addition,spending one-on-one with teacher will benefit children in a sense that feedback will be given immediately on mistakes thus improve their mathematics skills.

Journal 2:
Three issues related to action research and geography require further study. That is where the National Council for Geographic Education (NCGE) begins a new project fostering collborative research in geography education. First is the transfer of techniques conducting research in classroom. Secondly is the dissemination of staff what are the most effective ways to initiate action research-based programs? Should the model be collaborative, encouraging linkage with other teachers or a university geography educator or individual? The third issue focuses on intellectual challenges to action as research whether it is a practical knowledge (procedural knowledge on how and when to do something) or formal knowledge (conditional and generalizable knowledge)?

Journal 3:
Pre-service teachers needed to influence their confidence, skills and knowledge. Reflective practices are beneficial where in serves to help pre-service teachers to sort out thinking about problematic situations that occur and helps them to reflect about that situation.