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- All Subjects: Education, Elementary
- Creators: Lansdowne, Kimberly
Description
Due to government initiatives, education in the classroom has focused on high stakes test scores measuring student achievement on basic skills. The purpose of this action research study was to augment fourth grade students' knowledge of basic content by teaching greater meaning and depth of understanding--to teach critical thinking using Socratic circles. Using a constructivist approach, a comprehensive plan was designed and implemented that included an age-appropriate platform for argument and inquiry, a process that required critical thinking skills, and allowed the intellectual standards for critical thinking to be developed and measured. Ten students representing the academic levels of the whole class were selected and participated in seven Socratic circles. Over a period of 15 weeks, a mixed methods approach was employed to determine how students were able to apply the intellectual standards to reasoning during Socratic circles, how this innovation provoked participation in student-centered dialogue, and how Socratic circles improved students' evaluation of competing ideas during their reasoned discourse. Results suggested that Comprehensive Socratic Circles increased participation in reasoned discourse. Students' ability to evaluate competing ideas improved, and their application of the intellectual standards for critical thinking to their reasoning increased. Students also increased their use of student-centered dialogue across the sessions. These findings suggest that Socratic circles is a flexible and effective teaching strategy that fosters critical thinking in fourth graders.
ContributorsCleveland, Julie (Author) / Rotheram-Fuller, Erin (Thesis advisor) / Dinn-You Liou, Daniel (Committee member) / Lansdowne, Kimberly (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
Description
Research shows that teachers hold different expectations for different students and these varying expectations influence students’ academic performance (Good & Brophy, 1997; Jussim, Smith, Madon, & Palumbo, 1998; Rubie-Davies, 2007; Rubie-Davies, Hattie, Townsend, & Hamilton, 2007). Teachers form expectations of students based on personal beliefs about individuals’ capabilities (Rubie-Davies, 2015). Teachers’ differential expectations for students can have positive and negative influences on student learning opportunities and their future potential (Weinstein, 2002). The purpose of this action research study was to better understand if gifted second-graders perceive their teachers’ expectations and if there is a difference in their academic performance or classroom behavior. The research focused on observing and interpreting ideas from the perspectives and experiences of the six gifted second-graders. The innovation focused on the voice of the students in making change in their classroom environment. It focuses on classroom observations and reflections of the six participants to discuss their thoughts and feelings about their perceptions about their teachers’ expectations. The greater purpose behind the design of the innovation was to provide a space where students could share their thoughts, feelings, and ideas, without fear of punishment from their teachers. Participants shared their ideas through online selfie videos in order to inform teachers’ practice. Data were available from several sources including the Teacher Treatment Inventory questionnaires, transcriptions from interviews, and videotaped lessons. The study aimed to determine: (1) How do gifted second-graders perceive to understand and respond to the varying expectations of their teachers for their academic success? and, (2) How do the varying expectations of teachers’ impact the classroom learning of gifted second-graders? Findings suggest teachers with low expectations for their students establish a climate of failure, but teachers that value their students’ abilities create a climate of success. Students achieve more when their teachers have purposeful and clear expectations. As indicated by the literature, when teachers listen to student voice in classrooms, it improves students’ morale. Creating an inclusive social learning environment in a gifted classroom requires teachers to build their classrooms around student voice to enhance the supportive and caring environment (Fraser & Gestwicki, 2012).
ContributorsZichichi, Tara (Author) / Dinn-You Liou, Daniel (Thesis advisor) / Lansdowne, Kimberly (Committee member) / Coleman, Karen (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018