WHO NEEDS SCHOOL SPIRIT?Leah NoreigaSummer 2011

Do you defend our school’s name?

No

Do you boast to your friends about our

school?No!

Area of Focus

SCHOOL SPIRIT

Personal Lens• SGA advisor

• Create events, fundraisers, dances• Cancelled

• Fire Hall• Once a month• No teachers, no parents• Freedom to dance• Innocent middle schoolers?

Setting

• Middle School• AACPS• Diverse Background

• Single Parents• Military Parents• Very involved parents• Homeless students

• About 800 students• Old High School Building

Setting

• Technology• After School Hours

• Wednesday and Thursday• After School Buses

• SGA Group• 10 students• Meet biweekly

Keywords• SGA: Student Government Association• After School Hours: an hour beyond the

regular school that gives opportunities for students to get extra help or make up work.

• Activity Buses: buses that provides transportation to home after the after school hours are done

• Fire Hall: a dance held at the local fire station once a month that is supervised by the employees of the event.

Research Question

How can I improve school spirit using SGA and

technology?

Rationale

• School Spirit can:• Decrease negative attitudes• Create self-esteem • Create relationships• Increase pride

Literature Review 3 key areas

Student Involvement

Technology Parent Involvement

Increases Student

Motivation

Connect Ed-keeps everyone informed

Getting input or ideas

Increases Student body

support

Blogs-enhances performance and

engagement

Get their support

Social Networks-boast about achievements,

events, etc

Methodology• Teacher research

• Beneficial-done by teachers for teachers

• Not done by university researchers• Qualitative research

• interviews • Questionnaires• Observations• Surveys

Participants:

• Four students from each grade 6-8• SGA • Teacher volunteers

Preliminary Data Collection

School Spirit Survey given to 7th and 8th graders

Evaluation of Intervention

School Spirit Survey given a 2nd time to 6th, 7th and 8th graders

Procedures of Verification

• Wolcott’s (1994) Strategies• Talk less• Observe fully• Use research journal• Seek feedback

• Guba (1994) Triangulation

Ethical Considerations

• Allow participates to express any concerns

• Participating is voluntary • Fake names will be used• Share findings with participants

Action Plan

Timeline

Phase I:September:

• Select 12 students, 4 from each grade, send home letters

• Pass out School Spirit surveys to students at lunch 7th and 8th graders (evaluate data)

• Set up comment box and announce to school about the use

• Interview the selected students about school spirit

October:• Dance will be announced by SGA-observe reaction• Set up Shutterfly website for SGA, announce use

by sending flyers to first period teachers to announce

• Dance heldNovember:

• Interview the selected 12 students about the dance

• Using suggestions, SGA plans second event

Phase II:December:

• Second event announced-observe reactions• Remind students about comment box and shared

drive• Interview 12 students after the event • Give out School Spirit Survey at lunch again to all

grades

Action Research Team

• Leah Noreiga, main researcher• Ms. Marcian, 2nd SGA advisor• School One various teacher

volunteers• Dr. Michaloski

References• Bolch, M. (2009). Making the word heard. Tech & Learning, 29(11),

46. http://www.techlearning.com/article/20894 • Bryner, J. (2005). Rewards not working? Instructor, 115(4), 19-20. • Butler, K. (2010). Tweeting your own horn. District Administration,

46(2), 41-44. • Cochran-Smith & Lytle. (1999). Research on teaching and teacher

research: The issue that divide. In M. Cochran-Smith & Lytle (Eds.), Insided/Outside: Teacher research and knowledge (pp. 5-22). New York: Teachers College Press.

• Creswell, J. (1998). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five traditions. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

• Dana, N., & Yendol-Silva, D. (2003). The reflective educator’s guide to classroom research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

• Eisengberg, M. (2010). Educational technology, reimagined. New directions for youth development, (128), 25-33. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/yd.372/pdf

• Greene, P.K., & tichenor, M. S. (2003). Parents and schools: No stopping the involvement! For parents particularly. Children Education, 79(4), 242-43.

• Guba, E. (1981). Criteria for assessing the trustworthiness of naturalistic inquiries. Educational Communication and Technology, 29(2), 75-91.

• Guo, Y. (2010). Meetins without dialogue: A study of ESL parent-teacher interactions of secondary school parents’ nights. School Community Journal, 20(1), 121-140.

• Holladay, J. (2009). A new model for mix it up. Teaching Tolerance, (36), 62-63.

• Mertler, C. (2006). Action research: Teachers as researchers in the classroom. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

• Mills, G. (2000). Action research: A guide for the teacher researcher. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

• Pearson, A. (2010). Real problems, virtual solutions: Engaging students online. Teaching Sociology, 38(3), 207-214. http://tso.sagepub.com/content/38/3/207

• Philip, D.N. (2010). Social network analysis to examine interaction patterns in knowledge building communities. Canadian Journal of Learning and Technology, 36(1), 1-19.

• School spirit study group, (2004). Measuring school spirit: A national teaching exercise. Teaching Psychology, 31(1), 18-21.

• Unknown. (2009). School Spirit Survey. Retrieved June 27, 2011, from BTHS News: http://www.bthsnews.org/forums/topic/7815-school-spirit-survey/

• Unknown. (2011). Parent or Guardian Permission Form for Research. Retrieved June 27, 2011, from Le Moyne College Institute: http://www.lemoyne.edu/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=yFwbDHcOooI=&tabid=1201&mid=3423

• Viadero, D. (2009). Scholars: Parent-School ties should shift in teen years. Education Week, 29(12), 1.

• Wade, R.K. (1997). Lifting a school’s spirit. Educational Leadership, 54(8), 34-36.

• Washburn, J., & Hammond, J.M. (1982). Student leadership camp for improving school climate. Educational Leadership, 39(7), 518-520.

• Wolcott, H. (1994). Transforming qualitative data: Description, analysis, and interpretation. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Any Questions???