TE 804: Teaching Investigation Plans and Reports
Note: Titles and parts written in plain text are meant to be included in your final report. Notes in red italics (including this one) are advice on writing the report that you can erase from the final version.
Name: / Partner:Mentor Teacher: / School:
Subject: / Grade Level:
Working with your partner
We encourage you to work with a partner. Your partner could be your mentor or another intern. If your partner is another intern in this class, you can choose whether to turn in individual plans and reports or joint plans. Indicate your choices below by deleting the choice you are not making.
· Teaching investigation plans: Individual Joint with partner
· Teaching investigation report: Individual Joint with partner
NOTE: You can turn in a joint report with your partner ONLY if your results and conclusions report an analysis of a combined data set that includes data from both classes and discusses patterns in the combined data.
Before Lead Teaching
This section includes your plans for a teaching investigation in which you will use data to solve problems and revise your theories of teaching.
Problems, Patterns, and Theories – Due January 26
Problem
Describe the classroom problem related to teaching for motivation or understanding that you wish to investigate. Here are some examples of problems that previous interns have investigated:
· Connecting lab activities with contents of books and lectures
· Helping students articulate and share ideas in class discussions
· Helping students develop good written explanations
· Looking for possible connections between motivation and gender stereotypes
· Establishing the problem to start a learning cycle
· Using math skills in science classrooms
· Working with students who have particular academic or motivational problems
For examples of teaching investigations that addressed some of these issues, see the TE 804 Readings and Resources page of the course website.
Checklist for Problem. Check to see if your problem meets the criteria below. Erase this section if you feel that you have met all the criteria. If you are having trouble meeting some of the criteria, use this section to explain your difficulties.
· Is your problem related to teaching science for motivation or understanding?
· Is your problem manageable—something you could change or improve?
· Is the problem stated clearly?
· Is the problem testable? Does it involve issues with individual students or the whole class that come up frequently?
· Can you identify the ways in which this problem connects to the literature you’ve read in your teacher preparation program?
Patterns and Theories
Patterns
Describe the patterns in your students’ behavior and/or academic work that you are concerned about. Be specific in your descriptions. How many students are involved? What are some examples?
Checklist for Patterns. Check to see if your description of patterns meets the criteria below. Erase this section if you feel that you have met all the criteria. If you are having trouble meeting some of the criteria, use this section to explain your difficulties.
· Have you described specific characteristics of the pattern?
· Have you described important characteristics of the context (e.g., time of day, grade, class demographics)?
· Are your patterns generalizable enough to discuss with others?
· Did you include examples? Did you include data that help describe the pattern?
Theories
Explain your current theories about the nature and origins of this problem and how you as a teacher might address it. Connect the theories that you have to a theory or theories from your teacher preparation program that help support your current thinking.
Checklist for Theories. Check to see if your theories meet the criteria below. Erase this section if you feel that you have met all the criteria. If you are having trouble meeting some of the criteria, use this section to explain your difficulties.
· Do your theories suggest explanations for the patterns?
· Do your theories include ideas about how your students might be thinking or motivations for students’ behavior?
· Do your theories explicitly connect to some of the perspectives you’ve encountered in your educational courses or readings (e.g., TE 150, TE 250, TSMU, Weinstein, etc.)?
Plans for Action and Data Collection – Due February 9
Planned actions
Explain how you will try to address the problem during your lesson. What will you try to do differently to address the problem?
Checklist for Planned Actions. Check to see if your assessment tasks meet the criteria below. Erase this section if you feel that you have met all the criteria. If you are having trouble meeting some of the criteria, use this section to explain your difficulties.
· Do your planned actions address the problem?
· Are your planned actions connected to your theories? In other words, do your actions make sense given your theory for why the problem is occurring?
· Are your plans flexible?
Plans for data collection
Explain how you will collect data that will help you to improve your understanding of the problem and assess the effects of your actions. Your data collection should include one or more of the following:
· Assessments of student motivation and/or understanding relevant to your problem.
· Observations by your partner, mentor, or field instructor.
· Your notes on your lesson plan made immediately after teaching.
· Student work from your lessons.
· Videotape of your lessons that you will analyze.
Be specific in your plans for data collection. What will you be looking for in the data and how will you try to make sure that you collect the data that you need? How will you be assessing student motivation and/or understanding?
The best data collection plans include strategies for collecting data before and after your planned actions.
Checklist for Data Collection. Check to see if your data collection plan meets the criteria below. Erase this section if you feel that you have met all the criteria. If you are having trouble meeting some of the criteria, use this section to explain your difficulties.
· Will your collected data help you understand the particular problem you are encountering?
· Is your plan for data collection specific? When and how will you collect the data you need?
· Will the data you collect help you know whether your actions have had any effect on the problem?
After Lead Teaching: Results and Conclusions from Your Teaching Investigation Due April 20.
Results: Data and Patterns
Describe the data that you collected and the patterns that you found in the data. Be specific. Include examples, numbers, or copies of observation notes.
Checklist for Data and Patterns. Check to see if your results meet the criteria below. Erase this section if you feel that you have met all the criteria. If you are having trouble meeting some of the criteria, use this section to explain your difficulties.
· Do you present data collected in one of the above ways?
· Are your data specific and focused on observable events?
· Have you collected enough data (perhaps on more than one day) to see patterns?
· Do you point out patterns in your data?
· Do your data support conclusions about student motivation and/or understanding?
Conclusions: Theories and Next Steps
Explain how your results confirm your theories about teaching or cause you to modify your theories. Describe the next steps you will take to address the problem or to move on to related problems.
Checklist for Theories and Next Steps. Check to see if your theories and next steps meet the criteria below. Erase this section if you feel that you have met all the criteria. If you are having trouble meeting some of the criteria, use this section to explain your difficulties.
· Have you used your results to modify your theory?
· Have you developed and described insights into your problem and how to solve it?
· Do you have a plan for what you will try next to address the problem?
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