Utilizing Instructional Strategies to Counteract Classroom Challenges
A Michigan State University TE 803 Case Study
Case Study Context
City High Middle School | 2023
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Grand Rapids, Michigan
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Located in the Creston Neighborhood of Downtown Grand Rapids
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International Baccalaureate Program School (IB MYP and DP)
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~ 700 Students, grades 7-12
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School of Choice District, so students come from all over Kent County to attend as it is one of the top public schools in the state.
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Relatively diverse student body: 50% Minority Enrollment and 50% Economic Disadvantaged
Five Classes of DP English A: Literature
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Seniors who will be taking the IB English Exam in May
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A few English Language Learners in the classes
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121 Students Total
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Average Class Size of 24 Students
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Focus Class: 30 Students*
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* Although this activity will be taking place in all five class periods, I will be collecting samples and numerical data from one focus class. I have chosen third hour as it has the most students and it was the original class I picked up for lead teaching. Overall data samples will also be collected randomly from other classes; however, all student work, audio recordings, and data numbers come from third hour statistics.
Patterns of Disengagment
WHAT?
Often I notice a concerning level of student disengagement with class time and materials. Students are often not actively involved in lessons- they are either attempting to multitask and work on assignments from other classes like math or language courses. Despite frequently having work time during class periods, students will often say "I'll do this at home," but the expected submission time is at the end of the hour. Yes, they will do their homework eventually, but not during the given daily work time or to their best ability. With assignments, due dates are frequently pushed back because students did not submit, even if the assignments are required by the International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum. There is a lack of self-regulation, despite this being a class of all highly achieving senior students.
WHY?
Often class time is dedicated to one of two things 1. lectures or 2. work time. Neither of these procedures involve direct instructions for students to follow along with. Without any form of expectations or requirements, students find it easier to disengage from English class. Students need to have their own autonomy within the class, or they feel like they are just being left behind.
With units revolving around reading, students take incredibly long to finish texts and often turn assignments in late. Students do not hold themselves accountable to keeping on the reading schedule. Students seem to depend on class discussions to tie up the loose ends for what they did not read, expecting to be taught the plot throughout class. Students need to be presented with not an incentive to read, but through a method in which they will actually enjoy it. Simply telling them to read is not inspiring and does not stimulate desire or engagement, but making a fun activity or being able to work with friends should.
Choosing a Plan
The Strategy: Cooperative Learning
The main instructional strategy I will be implementing into my classroom is cooperative learning through the form of book clubs. There will also be an aspect of incorporating student choice as well, because students will be able to choose the book they would like to read for the book club. This will be the format for two different units of self-selected novels, the first being from a selection of three translated texts (The Metamorphosis, The Stranger, and Perfume: The Story of a Murderer) and the second being from a selection of seven contemporary texts (Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Kindred by Octavia Butler, We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo, Krik? Krak! by Edwidge Danticat, The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy, The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, and One Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong). The unit I will be focusing this case study on is the first rotation of translated texts, and I will be utilizing my findings to perfect the second rotation.
Minor said it the best himself on page 133 of his text, “[S]chool goes best when kids feel powerful. To create the conditions for kids to be empowered, I need to consider choice, relevance, access, and engagement” I took all of these aspects into account when designing the plan of a Cooperative Book Club Strategy. Book clubs are a great strategy to incorporate Cooperative Learning into the English classroom because they are designed to increase engagement with a text, present students with diverse interpretations and responses to texts, stimulate collaboration, and allow for students to take part in self regulation. The two main issues I observe in my classroom have to do directly with student disengagement and self regulation, so this will definitely be a stimulating factor in fixing both of those issues. When reading a book with a group, your own perspective is not the only resource of interpretation you have. Students can (and will) connect with their classmates to build a better comprehension. This increases understanding and introduces students to multiple perspectives- which creates a more rounded comprehension!
Preparation
Get students in the mindset to work...
In order to prepare students for the process of becoming self autonomous, I will start with a “gradual release.” I intend to start the students with more casual group work with think-pair-share work for smaller questions. The students will gain more confidence in being able to share their opinions to their peers after this gradual release. This follows along with what Minor suggested in his text, “[E]stablish partnership and teach students how to work collaboratively… Allow them to work on low-stakes tasks together in preparation for higher-stakes collaborations later.” This provides a level of comfort to students, rather than just throwing them to the wolves immediately.
While working in the groups, the students will be working in separate areas throughout the school so they can have more ability to have large group conversations. Before allowing them to spread out, I will inform them of the three rooms they are allowed to choose from and will have a discussion with them about expectations of utilizing the different rooms around the school because I will not always be with them. I will check on them frequently, but to go with the theme of self regulation, I will not be a consistent presence walking them through this. I acknowledge that, as seniors, my students have more freedom amongst the school, and this would need to be adjusted for a different context.
Implementation
What we do now...
Students will meet in their book club groups two days of the week, on both Wednesday and Thursday, making it a more casual aspect of the curriculum. Additionally, Wednesday and Thursday are “block periods,” so they run for an hour and a half, rather than just fifty minutes. Odd hour classes meet on Wednesday, where even hours meet Thursday. At the beginning, I will introduce the texts in a fun, casual manner. These texts will be used by the students when they take their IB Exam in May, so it is important they choose a text they feel they will actually connect with and enjoy so they can create a more well-rounded, developed Paper 2. Each week, they will be presented with a new topic to discuss in their book club group (i.e. setting, characters, theme, etc), so they will have a starting point. They will also continue working on the book club awards, updating them each time. During the second to last week of book club, they will complete an assessment for their text.
For the first two weeks of book clubs, there will be slight teacher involvement. I still would like the groups to run autonomously, but I understand that groups may run clunkily if given no push at the beginning, groups may not be able to run as smoothly as possible. Similarly, all the beginning assignments and assessments will be creative and low stakes, easing them into the process. The first thing I want my students to experience with their book clubs is enjoyment, as that is the root of why I decided to implement them. Having an excited mindset about a project is the first step in getting students excited to actually engage within their materials.
After the first weeks, students will be expected to regulate their groups without teacher involvement. Students will meet in the classroom for the weekly topic suggestion, and can then go off on their own. The teacher will only monitor from this point on, as the students have been presented with the means to running book clubs like a well-oiled machine.
The Timeline
The Starting Data
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Screenshots of emails regarding late work submission and two different assignments from previous lessons. Assignment two was an IB required assignment, and only 5 students from this class submitted on time.
Currently, students are not engaging fully with their presented materials. In the focus class, an average of 60% of students do not turn in work on time when regarding novel/literature units. Within class discussions, a handful of students will dominate conversations, but the rest of the students will work on alternative assignments or “zone-out.”
Audio recording from a previous group work activity in which students did not start participating without teacher interjection.
Student Work Samples
Each week, students completed "Book Club Awards" to keep them on task and have a fun way of measuring accountability. These were not intended to be an intense assignment, but a fun, creative, and engaging way for groups to bond with each other. While participating in their group discussions, they would have to focus not only on the text, but on the discussion itself, making them aware of how often certain people spoke rather than others. I focused on which group members were given different awards, so I could gauge participation for the times I did not spend observing groups. The member often varied, with no one name appearing more than three times for the same award. This showed that all students were participating in these self run discussions in a variety of ways, not one person taking the reins and dominating conversation. There was a true equity of voice present. Additionally, the submissions of these were always on time, because they were submitted as a large group rather than individually.
To measure progress towards the end of the book club rotation, students were given an assessment relating to themes and quotes from the text. In this, they had to take three given quotes from the text they were reading, and put it into context with the plot and relating to a central theme of their choosing. On non book club days, lessons are revolving around the IB English Exam Paper 1 and 2, with Paper 2 relating to novels they have already read. This assessment was intended to be written in the style of Paper 2, utilizing a text they are familiar with to analyze themes. This was completed during class time and had an average 93% on time submission rate; however, absences are also included in this statistic, and they were given an alternative assessment the next time they present in class.
The summative assessment for each book club was a Literary Reduction pulled from the AP English curriculum. While my students are IB, the essay aspect of the two exams follow a very similar format, and this act of organizing really helped me during my AP courses. The intention of this assessment is that it will assist students in preparing for their Paper 2 because the aspects they need to write on in their essay are easily laid out on the organizer. Students could decide whether they chose to work with their group and work together to find quotes and themes or if they would like to complete the assessment individually to have their own examples that they most understood. We did not want one person stuck with a graphic organizer surrounding the theme of love, when the theme they felt they could write the longest on was abandonment. This assessment was a great way for groups to wrap up their work in their texts, and put all their knowledge into one place. They were given two class days to complete this, and the average on time submission rate was 95%. This is the first assessment of the new marking period, so a great place to start the end of senior year!
The Final Data
Screenshots of the submission rates for the last assessment three different English class periods. This shows there was a substantial increase of submissions throughout all classes, not just the control hour.
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For my focus class, average submissions rose from 60% on time to a whopping 96%!
Audio recording from one of the last book club sessions showing a significant increase in student participation.
Evidence Analysis...
Student work and materials stand as the physical representation of evidence within my case study. Student engagement within the materials was complex and in depth, through textual analysis and comprehension. Students turned in these assessments on time with a 60% increase from the starting data point (60% to 96%). Group conversations were rich and expansive, completely self regulated by the end of the rotation. While I needed to interject in the beginning, in the last few weeks I almost could not tear my students away from their book club groups. Audio recordings juxtapose an uncomfortable, disengaged classroom of two months ago, with the current, boisterous classroom discussions present towards the end of this case study cycle.
Final Claim and Reflection
Interpretive Cautions...
In collecting data, I used one class period for numerical data claims. This hour was my largest class, as well as one of my more complex classes, with students some days participating heavily, and other days staring blankly ahead at me. However, my numbers still only stand for 30 of my over 100 students. While looking generally, the numbers increase amongst all classes in their turn in rates, but I do not have audio recordings, student samples, or data points from other classes. This may limit my numerical proof in interpretation and claims.
Additionally, I must acknowledge the unique positionality I take teaching at City High. These students are regarded as the highest scholars in the state, so I have the ability to let them go free amongst the school and self regulate. While this technique worked within my classroom climate, I know it may not be a universal solution for classroom disengagement.
Final Claim...
Based on my data the strategy worked! I believed that, without routine, student autonomy, or student interest, students do not feel any sort of motivation or inclination to actively participate within discussions and with materials. After adding in a routine assessment of the Book Club Awards, giving students choice, and allowing them to guide their own discussions, the levels of engagement within my classroom have changed exponentially. These aspects are integral to a modern classroom, as now students are checked out more than ever as a result of increased technology and the pandemic. The book club groups stimulated my students, inspiring them to actively participate in discussions, and submit their assignments in a timely manner.
Reflection...
My future practice will be heavily inspired by the successes I saw completing this study. Too often, class curricula are created without the student in mind. Through standardized tests and a lack of choice, students don’t feel enveloped within the classwork. In adding student choice, even with only three options, I immediately saw students come to light and get engaged with the materials. Similarly, I saw more student participation in these small groups than ever in my large class discussions. Students who were often quiet started participating, when they had never before. Outside of the project, I have continuously noticed more participation in the bigger class discussions, as we have been moving into literary terminology, which my students are not completely confident in yet. Previously, if my students were unsure they would not even attempt to guess, but they are now guessing and throwing answers at me, even if not correct. I believe this is a direct correspondence to the scaffolding provided with the smaller groups. Students became gradually more comfortable speaking out in my classroom, starting with small, casual amounts through the book clubs, into larger, more formal class conversations.
Directly related to the results, the second rotation of group work has been altered, allowing for even more student choice. Now, students may freely choose a text after researching it. The text must be accessible for literary analysis and at least remotely related to their prior text in terms of theme, but students still have the final choice. Throughout the past few days, I have had numerous students coming up to me, excited, presenting me with their options for the next round of book clubs. This reinvigoration in a previously burnt out class of overworked seniors fills me with a new anticipation for years to come within my own classroom, especially as I continue these strategies.