The Process portion of my action research project began on schedule on Monday, October 19th. Both groups received Activity #1 via Google Classroom. The control group received a reading assignment using the Chapter Assessment questions in the classroom textbook, Magruder's American Government published by Prentice Hall. This is a traditional assignment found in many Social Studies classes going back to the era of the 1950s. The test group received a choice board in the form of a Google Doc hyperdoc containing links to each learning task option. Interactive hyperdocs can engage and empower students to complete their online learning assignments. (Yang) For this activity, students chose from three learning tasks including two online options and one paper option: Edpuzzle, Webquest, and the textbook reading assignment which the control group received.
As recommended by Allison Yang, the assignments were accompanied by a quick video, just under 5 minutes, to clarify misconceptions about the assignment. Keeping videos short aligns with attention span data that show optimal video length as being between 6 and 12 minutes. (Hazlett) I created this video using Screencastify, a Google Chrome browser extension for recording screens and audio. I also posted the weekly agenda using Google Slides to Google Classroom. It is important to provide an overview of the coming week’s assignments to assist students in determining specific lengths of time required to complete each assignment. (Deaver) Several students already began the assignment on the first day it was posted. During our remote class on that Monday, two students expressed their interest in doing the EdPuzzle option, stating that they prefer learning through videos. A third student completed the Constitution Webquest task.
Activity #2, the Amendment Project, began Monday, October 26th. The control group received one set of instructions to create a children’s book using only Google Slides since our students are still all remote. The test group received a choice of three options; a children’s book, a current events scrapbook, or an essay. As previously with Activity #1, students received a short screencast video explaining the project instructions and rubric. Currently, students have until Friday, October 30th to complete the project. This deadline might need to be extended as the first marking period also ends on October 30th. Due to the added stresses of remote learning, many students are behind on their assignments and need extra time this week to complete those missing assignments.
Recognizing this need to adjust due dates and assignments comes from building relationships with my students and getting to know them as learners. As teachers, we lesson plan and post in Google Classroom, but success is also reliant on relationship building with our students. This is especially important now, to empower our students to feel comfortable asking questions and submitting assignments. One tool I have used is the “rate yourself” meme, where students can simply type the number of the image that represents how they currently feel.
Additionally, there needs to be a solid feedback plan. For all of my classes, students are encouraged to post questions right on the assignment in Google Classroom. These questions are sent to me by email, as well as pop up as notifications on my phone. Yes, I have the GC app on my phone. I think it is important to be available to my students outside of normal school hours during remote learning. Lastly, in addition to our bi-weekly remote classes, all teachers at my school hold remote office hours according to a schedule, by appointment, or both. (Deaver) Remote learning is not the ideal learning format for our students, but I am proud of them for continuing to meet the challenge each week.
Sources:
Hazlett, Candace (13 Nov. 2013.). Optimal Video Length for Student Engagement | edX Blog. edX Blog. Retrieved from https://blog.edx.org/optimal-video-length-student-engagement/
Hudson, Eric (20 March 2020.). Six Key Design Elements of Successful Online Learning. GOA. Retrieved from https://globalonlineacademy.org/insights/articles/six-key-design-elements-of-successful-online-learning-1
Deaver, Dan (n.d.). Online Lesson Plan For Teachers: How To Plan an Online Lesson. ReadTheory. Retrieved from https://readtheory.org/online-lesson-plan-for-teachers-old/
Yαηg, Allison (15 March 2020.). OREO Online Learning Wayfinding. αℓιѕση уαηg. Retrieved from http://alisonyang.weebly.com/1/post/2020/03/oreo-online-learning-wayfinding.html