Running Head: ACTION RESEARCH

Action Research Sarah Wood CLASS 526: Capstone Azusa Pacific University

ACTION RESEARCH Abstract I am conducting a study to increase student to teacher connections in hopes that it will improve student behavior and, in turn, increase student participation. To

accomplish this, I plan to attempt to connect with each student once a week, if only in a short conversation. I will keep track of with whom I have connected by placing a mark by their name on my seating/participation/special needs chart. Section One: Introduction I chose this area of study for various reasons. For one, I want to connect better with my students. I know I have good relationships with a lot of my students, but I also realize that some of my students get lost in the crowd. A few weeks can pass by, and I sometimes realize I cant remember the last time I directly addressed a certain student, which seems to common when I see 180 students every day. The second reason I chose this area of study is because during this first year of teaching high school, I have been in a constant battle with classroom behavior and participation. I have found resolutions to some of the issues Ive encountered, but a handful of my students seem to be impossible to engage. Some students lack of engagement is due to behavior, and some of it is due to lack of effort. Im hoping that if I can help students feel more relational and connected with me, they might feel more included and cared for, resulting in better behavior and/or participation. The Problem Statement that will be the focus of this study is: Will increased studentteacher interaction improve student behavior and participation? Section Two: Implementation I already use a seating chart daily to track student participation. It is also used to discreetly identify my students with special needs as well as GATE students through color-coding. On this chart, I am beginning to make marks that will only be identifiable to me by each students name when I make contact with them each week. I plan to greet students at the door whenever possible, engaging them in conversation when reciprocated. I also plan to connect with students in class, while

ACTION RESEARCH they are preparing their warm-up, working independently and in groups, etc. I can also utilize the time after class to speak with stragglers. At the end of each two weeks, I will compile information based on student participation scores as well as number and severity of behavioral issues. This information will be compared to past weeks to determine whether Section Three: Results

Talk about the results of your study. Were they what you expected? What surprises occurred? Use of graphs, tables, and charts are appropriate in this section. Walk the reader through what each one represents and means. The results of this study were not exactly what I anticipated; however they were not entirely surprising either. I saw almost no correlation between my deliberate communication with my students and their participation in class.

As you can see from the chart above, participation was completely sporadic and seemingly unaffected by my action research.

ACTION RESEARCH As for the impact on behavior, however, I saw great results.

Section Four: Conclusions I plan to conduct this action research study again, and I plan to make changes to it. First of all, I was not able to be at the door every day when each class entered. I always try my best to make it there, but because I am a teacher without a classroom, I not only have to set up each class as I arrive, but I cannot foresee the issues I will encounter. I would love to have a door where I can post pictures and various responses to questions in the target language. Section Five: General Comments I really like the entire concept behind this topic for action research. I am, however, a very forgetful person, and with all that is currently on my mind (teaching, Masters, moving cross-country), I felt very distracted from focusing on this research. Like I said, I plan on conducting this research again and hopefully implementing this intentional increased communication.