Running Header: MOTIVATING STUDENTS: WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?

Motivating Students:

What’s the Problem?

Amber L. Mann

June 15, 2017

Dr. Vega, Advisor

Summer 2017

Kennesaw State University

MOTIVATING STUDENTS: WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?

Capstone B Report

Description of Experience

In May of 2016 a job offer for a position as a middle school Business Education

instructor changed the focus of this project from high Social Science teachers (searching for a

way to make history relevant) to middle school Connections teachers focused on strategies to re-

shape the student view of ‘recess during Connections.’ Clements Middle School is apart of the

Newton County School District, located east of Metro Atlanta in the suburb of Covington. The

school serves a population of 748 students with a total of 11 Connections teachers. The ethnic

breakdown of the student population is: 82% African-American, 7% Hispanic, 7% White, and

1% Asian, Hawaiian, and multi-racial. 85% of the population is categorized as Economically

Disadvantaged, 52% as remedial, 15% are considered Students with Disabilities, and 2% are

English Language Learners. Clements Middle School is a Title I school.

The goal of this capstone experience was to develop a problem-based learning module for

each Connections teacher to facilitate student mastery of standards in a motivational and highly

engaged environment. During the June 2016 summer curriculum-planning meeting, teachers

participated in a professional learning opportunity to learn about the design components of

Problem-Based Learning (PBL) and to develop draft PBL modules. The group of teachers agreed

to use College and Career Readiness standards as the focus of the curriculum. The plan focused

on creating a module within the school’s Learning Management System (LMS), Canvas, so that

all Connections students would participate in one-to-one device online learning experienced

weekly, during Wired Wednesday.

Before module development began, the need for this project was confirmed through

seeking feedback from the school’s stakeholders. Interviews with administrators, students from

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MOTIVATING STUDENTS: WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?

each grade level, Team (core subject) and Connections (elective) teachers, were conducted to

explore the desired changes each group sought. These interviews indicated administrative desire

for standards-based instruction that allowed students to develop employability skills and that

utilized technology. Student feedback indicated that Connections classes should be a fun place to

learn something you can use in ‘real life.’ Team teachers expressed that the Connections period

should closely resemble the core classroom structure to avoid spikes in behavior disruptions

following Team planning time. Finally, Connections teachers stated a major concern of teaching

from bell to bell, of practicing tight classroom management practices in conjunction with using

technology devices. Based on this information, a professional development session was planned

to present PBL research, the essential components of PBL units, and the process for developing a

PBL module.

After the professional learning session, teachers submitted PBL units to an Office365

SharePoint site to provide feedback to each member. Feedback included recommendations for

integrating web-based applications during the Activating Strategy, collecting data prior to the

work period to differentiate, and using web-based competition applications to review concepts at

the close of the lesson. The district Instructional Technology Specialist, Katrina Stanfield, was

contacted to assist with identifying and providing training for tools that would achieve these

goals. ‘Tech Tuesdays’ were planned to offer teachers an opportunity to practice integrating

technology resources during PBL lessons. In August, Wordle and Nearpod were presented and

integrated into the modules to allow students to communicate their prior knowledge at the

beginning of the lesson. September’s session resulted in the inclusion of Office365 forms and

Classflow so that teachers could use data to remediate small groups during lessons and students

could be grouped by learning preference based on their Classflow responses. The final session

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MOTIVATING STUDENTS: WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?

prior to implementation added Quizlet Live and Kahoot to offer students an opportunity to

compete while providing instructors with data on learning strengths and weaknesses.

During Professional Learning Committee (PLC) meetings in August and September,

Connections teachers loaded their College and Career Readiness module into Canvas. Great care

was taken to ensure that the module followed the school’s lesson plan format including an

Activating Strategy, Direct Instruction, Guided Instruction, Work Period, and Closing. Each

component included Georgia Performance Standards (GPS), instructions, resources, due dates,

and a rubric. With regard to assignments that required writing, a minimum grade requirement

was added to the LMS to ensure that students demonstrated mastery of the R.A.P.P. (Restate the

Question, Answer in your own Words, Prove the answer with Details, Proofread) writing format

before moving on to future tasks.

The focus of the project in October was to prepare students for PBL and learning in 1:1

environments by having the students participate in a sample lesson and complete several digital

citizenship assignments. Another goal accomplished in October was a campaign to promote

College and Career Readiness week – with the week culminating in a College Awareness Day,

planned and run by each Connections class. In “Make More Money,” a high school senior named

AJ writes a letter to his counselor requesting to drop several classes so that he can work more

hours. Students write a problem statement, list Knows based on facts and Need to Knows based

on inferences, identify resources from which Need to Knows can be learned, use data to

determine AJ’s life time earnings based on education, question AJ, and refine the Know and

Need to Know lists. In the end, students work in teams to create a presentation where they make

a recommendation to AJ (Buck Institute for Education, 2006). Because Connections teachers are

often absent to attend Career Technical Student Organization (CTSO) events, BrainPop was

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MOTIVATING STUDENTS: WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?

utilized during teacher absences for digital citizenship lessons. Students were assigned to view

“Cyber bullying”, “Digital Etiquette,” “Plagiarism,” and “Copyright” videos, complete quizzes,

and choose an additional activity – such as the Primary Source or Make-a-Map activity

(BrainPop, 1999-2017). To introduce students to the problem and engage them in the upcoming

module, the Entry Document and module tasks list were read and discussed one week before

implementation began. The entry document was a letter to the Connections students of the

school, requesting that they conduct research to develop college and career plans, and to plan a

College Awareness Day.

November saw facilitation of the modules begin. Students read the Entry document as an

activating strategy and replied to a discussion post with their initial Problem statements. The

problem statement must include – How can we as ___, do ___, so that ___? As a group, each

class eventually developed this problem statement – How can we as Clements Middle School

Connections students, conduct research, so that we can develop college and career plans and plan

a College Awareness Day. The next assignment in the module required students to develop a list

of Knows and Need to Knows. The Know list had to be developed using facts from the Entry

document, and included items like:

The event will be held December 14, 2016

College research must include admissions, cost, major, and activity information

Career research must include education, job duties, salary, and job outlook.

The Need to Know list, compiled of information students would need to solve the problem,

included:

What location in the school will be used for the event?

How do you decide what college you want to attend?

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MOTIVATING STUDENTS: WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?

Where can you research college information?

How do you choose a career?

Where can you research career information?

After these steps, students used the Big Future College Search tool to choose a college and the

TypeFinder Facets test to assess their personality and choose careers to research. Students

created College and Career plan info graphics when their research concluded. It was then time

for them to revisit the problem. Students worked in teams to create stations where they could

provide their peers with the opportunity to explore college and career information, make choices,

and create artifacts. Ideas for stations included:

A computer lab where students could use the Big Future College Search tool and

TypeFinder Facets test

A gallery walk where students could view and provide feedback on College and Career

plan info graphics

A craft table where students could design their Future College t-shirt or pennant.

During implementation of the units, the facilitator of the initiative observed lessons using

Safari Montage video footage and a Project based teaching rubric. The rubric categorizes

teachers as beginning, developing, or Gold standard on the basis of Design and Plan, Alignment

to Standards, and Building the Culture. Six of ten Connections teachers were evaluated.

Observations showed that all of the teachers met the Gold Standard in the Design and Plan and

Alignment to standards categories, four of six met the Gold Standard for Building the culture.

Organizing an effective planning opportunity allowed teachers to develop modules that include

all Essential Project Design Elements, scaffolding and assessment strategies embedded in a

project calendar, tasks aligned to standards, and rubrics that require students to demonstrate

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MOTIVATING STUDENTS: WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?

content mastery. A lack of experience managing students in one-to-one technology environments

decreased some of the teachers’ ability to create environments where students self-monitor,

freely express their thoughts related to the content, and work in effective teams (Problem-Based

Teacher Evaluation Form, 2015). Those teachers met with the facilitator following observations

and later implemented seating charts, web blocking, and conduct logs to improve instruction.

Following implementation of the units, each teacher surveyed their students to assess

whether they viewed the module as fun and if the believed they learned skills that would be

useful during college and in their career. An overwhelming majority of students responded that

they had fun during the College and Career Readiness module. Using the College and Career

Readiness Performance Index (CCRPI) and the PBL Gold teaching standard as a guide, students

were asked the following including:

Did you have the opportunity to take a career assessment during the College and Career

module?

Were you more likely to attend school during the College and Career module?

Were you able to guide yourself through the module, with minimal assistance from your

teacher?

Were you able to express your choices and ideas about your learning throughout the

module?

Did you have the opportunity to work in an effectively functioning team, with minimal

involvement from your teacher?

Almost all of the students surveyed responded that they took a career assessment and were more

likely to attend school during the module. However, less than 70% of students responded

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MOTIVATING STUDENTS: WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?

favorable to the questions regarding independence, freedom of expression, and well-functioning

teams.

Team and Connections teachers, along with administrators, participated in a survey to

assess with the module resulted in best-practice instruction and if the desires of all stakeholders

were being met with this strategy. A majority of respondents agreed that the modules were

standards based and integrated technology and employability skill development. Team teachers

reported that student dispositions prior to and after the Connections period remained mostly the

same. Finally, Connections teachers stated that their plans allowed them to teach for the entire

period and that they learned and practiced effective classroom management strategies for one to

one environments as a result of facilitating the module.

Barriers and Obstacles

Protection of instructional time served as a roadblock to plans for College Awareness

day. In order for the student’s plans to work, the schedule would have to have been modified to

allow presenters to man stations as their peers participated in them. For this reason, students

created course specific stations and students rotated through three options. Course specific

stations were:

Business Education – Design a College Pennant

Technology Education – Green Screen College and Career Dreams

Gym – NCAA Athlete Challenge

Art – Design a College T-Shirt

Music/Band – Create a College Fight Song

Students received colored raffle tickets to ensure they stayed in the same group and Connections

teachers who were not facilitating an activity monitored and organized hallway traffic.

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MOTIVATING STUDENTS: WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?

The original curriculum developed required students to master writing standards

throughout the module before they could move on to additional tasks. During implementation,

several students became frustrated while having to wait for teachers to re-grade assignments. As

an option for enrichment, students were directed to complete the Budgeting 101 course from the

St. Louis Federal Reserve while in between module task.

Another deviation from the original plan was in the final product. The school suffers

from the digital divide issues of all equipment not being functional, all students not having

technology skills, and all teachers not properly teaching technology skills. Students used

PowerPoint, Word, and Publisher when their machine could not access the Internet, they could

not use the Canva info graphic creator independently, or their teacher could not help them.

Observation of instruction and evaluation was conducted to determine if PBL during the

Connections period met the desires of administrators, students, and teachers. Prior to

implementation, administrators complained that instruction was not standards based and did not

utilize technology effectively. Students believed the period should be more fun and they wanted

to apply what they learned to their daily life. Team teachers felt that students returned from the

Connections period ill-equipped to continue the school day. Finally, Connections teachers were

challenged to teach for the entire period and to manage before well when technology was in use.

During implementation, administrators rated Instructional Planning as Proficient for

several Teacher Keys Evaluation System (TKES) observations. The rubric for this standard

states that plans reflect standards, effective strategies, resources and data (TKES Performance

Standards and Rubrics, 2014). Most student survey respondents stated they had fun during the

module and created a career plan they could use in their real life. Responses from team teachers

indicated that students’ dispositions remained largely unchanged during the Connections period.

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MOTIVATING STUDENTS: WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?

Lastly, Connections teachers agreed that the PBL template helped them to effectively plan for

bell-to-bell instruction and, they were able to learn and practiced effective behavior management

strategies in a one to one device environment during the module.

Follow-Up

Continuation of the work began during this project will take place as Connections

teachers develop PBL units to teach standards related to Financial Literacy and Coding. Three

courses will be apart of this implementation, including Family and Consumer Science,

Technology Education, and Business Education. Each of these courses has standards related to

the topics identified above. The entry document for Financial Literacy will lead to the following

problem: “How can we, as middle level CTAE students, use financial literacy concepts to make

informed decisions about our future spending and saving choices?” Coding standards will be

taught with an entry document that prompts students to develop the following problem: “How

can we, as middle level CTAE students, use HTML coding language to develop a webpage that

informs peers about our Future Budgets?” Students will know that they will create a budget by a

specific date using Budgeting 101 curriculum and Excel software and that they will create a web

page using SoloLearn HTML training and Notepad software. They will need to know how to

deduct taxes, health benefits, and retirement savings from their income; and how to write code to

open a functional webpage. Resources provided to students will include Budgeting 101, GCF

Learn Free Excel Tutorials, SoloLearn tutorials, Notepad instructional videos, Apartment Guide,

and Zillow. Teachers will secure financial literacy guest speakers to present insurance and

retirement information to students. As a culminating activity, students will staff a Wax Museum

where they dress in their future occupation gear and present their Future Budget web page to

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MOTIVATING STUDENTS: WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?

peers. To protect instructional time, students may be invited to present these pages to their peers

during their Enrichment or Homeroom class period.

PSC Standard Reflections

Identifying the desires for improvement in Connections course instruction, identifying

PBL to resolve needs, implementing a Problem Based Learning (PBL) module, evaluating PBL

instruction and supporting developing teachers, and assessing the effectiveness of PBL

instruction provided the facilitator with experience to master several Professional Standards for

Coaches. The Capstone presents a Needs Assessment, Summer Professional Learning Session,

Technology Training Sessions, Online Curriculum Building Sessions, (PBL) implementation,

PBL teacher evaluation and support, and evaluation of the implementation.

Standard 1.3 establishes the importance of designing, developing, communicating, and

evaluating technology-infused strategic plans. During the Capstone experience, a Summer

Learning Session was designed to present PBL literature and the essential components of PBL

modules, and to assist teachers with developing course specific modules based on a departmental

theme. The process for participating in a PBL module was communicated to students by using a

sample lesson – Where is AJ?, and by allowing students to preview the Entry Document and the

module tasks. Throughout the implementation, teachers were evaluated using a PBL teaching

rubric. Those instructors who did not demonstrate the Gold Standard for the Build the Culture

Practice were supported by the facilitator with tools such as seating charts, web-blocking

software training, and a conduct log specifically designed to manage student behavior in 1:1

technology environments.

Standard 2.8 establishes the importance of modeling and facilitating the effective use of

digital tools and resources to systematically collect and analyze student achievement data,

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MOTIVATING STUDENTS: WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?

interpret results, communicate findings, and implement appropriate interventions to improve

instructional practice and maximize student learning. During the Capstone experience, Google

Forms was used to collect student achievement data – which measured students’ understanding

of why learning to code was important. Also, Google forms were used to survey students,

teachers, and administrators regarding the effectiveness of PBL on improving instruction in the

Connections classroom. When PBL instruction was observed using a PBL teaching rubric,

interpretation of the results led to a needs-based intervention where teachers were provided with

tools to improve their instructional practices. Following the PBL implementation, findings of

student, teacher, and administrative survey results were communicated to all Connections

teachers. The Business, Technology, and Family and Consumer Science teacher were convinced

the data support an improvement in instructional practice, and have decided to build additional

PBL modules to maximize student learning in the future.

Standard 3.2 establishes the importance of effectively managing digital tools and

resources within the context of student learning experiences. During the Capstone experience,

the facilitator evaluated the modules created by each Connections teacher and found there was a

need for technology training before PBL implementation began. Following three training

sessions, Connections teachers effectively used Wordle and Nearpod during the Activating

strategy so that students could demonstrate their prior knowledge by creating word clouds and

drawings based on their understanding module content. Office365 and ClassFlow were

integrated as Guided Work period tools to assist teachers with differentiating instruction based

on data. Finally, QuizletLive and Kahoot were integrated as Closing strategies to add

competition to the review of concepts.

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