Reflections+and+Wonderings

= My thoughts and reflections during the Action Research Process =

I have shared witht he students (6 weeks after starting mya ction research inquiry) that they are the forcus of my inquiry. They were surprised. I asked myself, "Why didn't I tell them sooner? they are now asking questions and giving me the feedback I have been looking for. I think also that because I acknowledged that I am not extending them the way they are needing that I care enough about their learning to look for answers and listent to them when providing feedback and feedforward. I have also extended the focus group to include 5 other students from my class as I can see they also require extending in their learning.

These students are focussed and diligent. they complete tasks quickly. Whay I have noticed is that they do not 'go deep'. They give me what they think I want and see no point in taking it further. This is something I need to address. I will ocnference with them when they finish their work or tasks to ask how they can use what they have learned or how they can go deeper witht their learning. I will provided them with online activities that enable them to reserach further also.

A limit on the use of electricity in my classroom, due to construction issues, prevents me running more thatn the 2 classroom computers. This is frustrating because other students see it as unfair when these students regulary use the computers and they miss out on time because of it. I have a student who thinks he/she already knows that he/she needs to know and is not motivated to more than he has to. All except one of the students wants me to direct them and give them the information. I am trying to empower them to think of ways they can take their learning further in a meaningful way and to use the extension resources that are available int he classroom for them without first coming to show me what they have done during group lessons.

We have set a class goal this term to 'manage ourselves'. The other thing these students are now doing is meeting to discuss their ideas and understandings when completing thier work. For example they have decided that they will self check their maths work using a calculator when practising new strategies so that they are not interupting my group lesson during maths by seeking affirmation before moving on to their next maths activity. This is also good because when I work with them as a group they have checked thier answers, worked out where they went wrong if there is a mistake and are able to talk about this. If they can not work out what they did wrong it is addressed as a teaching point in their group lesson. They are also discussing what they know and how it connects to what they are doing.

One of my original focus students has come to me to ask if he can tutor a peer in spelling as he feels he has a lot to offer this student. He has also started to understand the concept of challenging himself in learning by taking his learning to the next step. The "Ok now that I know this ..what am I going to do with it?" He is moving past the aquistion of knowledge to the 'why is tyhis important?' 'what difference does this make?' what am I going to do next?' It has just started to happen but is something I had started to think might never happen. It just goes to show that persisitence and having those learning and reflective conversations with students can develop the ability for a student to think more deeply about thier learning and how they can apply what they have learned. (INTRINSIC MOTIVATION)