A brief update

I haven't posted in awhile, as it's been a pretty busy end of term. However, I have finished all of my interviews for this year, and have one more left to transcribe before I'm done the data collection part of the process.


I thought I'd briefly update with some notes I've made about the one student researcher interview that I've done so far.

Common themes that occurred within student-researcher interview:

• Students find constructive feedback useful
• Targets should be simple to understand/clear and transferable
• Students feel they benefit from working with their targets often
• Recording and keeping track of targets is useful
• Teachers should ensure students consult and use their targets often in order to get more out of them
• Students who work often with their targets express more confidence about their targets and learning goals
• Peer assessment can be a negative process if students are not properly trained in how to do it
• Clear targets and success criteria are needed – the language needs to be simple enough for students to understand
• Clear expectations from the teacher result in students who know what the teacher is looking for when marking their work – less focus on things like SPaG
• Feedback has positive and negative effects on ego

 Things I’ve learnt about using student researchers:

• Need more training, especially in terms of following up questions and extending student responses
• Need to take a more ‘professional’ stance – they can be friendly, but don’t try to be their friend
• Be objective – don’t lead responses by giving your own opinion
• Need to simplify the questions they are asking – even less ‘teacher speak’ – must be clear to all levels
• Two student researchers would probably work better, as they would encourage more of a conversational environment – doing the interview one-on-one didn’t garner extended responses or probing
• Levels of comfort were definitely higher – more relaxed, less pressure

Using Images part 2

I managed to get the images to work this time, so here are some of the things year 9 students drew when I asked them 'What makes good feedback?'

This one I felt was, while grammatically quite poor, not too bad. A lot of the things they suggested came up with the year 7s, so it was nice to see ideas repeating themselves across year and ability groups. Confidence, making progress and growing are all repeated; they are quite positive aspects of feedback as well. I find it interesting that none of the groups mentioned very many negative aspects of feedback, minus one group of year 7 students.  Perhaps the new feedback system at our school has eliminated any negative feelings towards feedback


However, the images below I found really profound and deep. The group that produced these images were the proudest of their achievement, and you can see why. The concepts they suggested were really good. I even took their work to the head of the department. She was quite pleased with them as well, and suggested that I pass them along. I may do that! We shall see!

 

Overall, I think these images would make pretty cool displays, or go nicely on a PPT presentation. The vending machine idea appeals to me especially, because it's not a connection I would have made on my own.

Using Images to Collect Data

With only a few lessons left with some of my year 7 and 9 classes, I thought I might use the time to find out what students think good feedback is, whilst also working on their Speaking and Listening skills. I started with some year 7s, asking them first what they would define feedback as. They collectively came up with the definition of feedback as 'something someone tells you about how you can do better'. I found this interesting, as it implies an oral element.

Next I shared a bit about my interest in feedback with them, telling them that I am studying for my Masters at Cambridge (a fact they all found quite interesting, bless them) and that my focus is on how students perceive feedback. I told them that their task today was to identify and explain what good feedback was, using images they could find online.

I booked the group into a PC suite and had them create a PowerPoint with five or more images that they felt best represented 'good feedback'. I'm going to share some of their points below:
In one image, the student said that feedback should be helpful, allowing students to get from A to B, like a cycle. I found this really interesting, as it reflects a lot of what the literature says about the feedback 'loop' or 'cycle'.The same student also suggested that the feedback be helpful, suggesting clear ways to improve. Another good point they made was that feedback should not tell you how to be perfect, since perfect doesn't exist; instead, it should make you feel good about yourself and your progress.

I think the school will be pleased that more than one group also identified (either directly or indirectly) 'two star and a wish'. One group of boys even went so far as to show an image of a Post-it with 'Good work' written on it, as well as another image of a marked piece of work with check marks and underlined words, suggesting that these types of feedback are okay if you're trying to identify what is good and what is bad, but that they're not very helpful for moving forwards.

A couple of other statements they made about good feedback include:

- it should make you feel confident about your work

- 'You can conquer the world with amazing feedback'

- it makes you feel 'awesome' to know where you've got to go

- it encourages you to 'do things differently'

- 'You'll get there eventually'

- it can sometimes make you feel a range of emotions (they used an image of Emojis to support their point)

- provides you with different ways to improve

- it is the 'key to success' - this idea was mentioned by two separate groups

- it enables you to reach further, allowing you to get closer to your target

- it provides the last piece in the puzzle - 'It is the missing piece that the teacher provides.'

- two or more targets would be helpful

- clear wording of the targets - not in 'teacher speak.

Again, a lot of what they said is reflected in the literature. I am going to try to use a similar task with some lower ability year 9s to see what they think. I wasn't able to book ICT with the group, so they will be making posters and images, but I will try to take pictures with my phone once the lesson is over and will report back

Until next time

KC

Getting started

I've just had the second meeting with two of my student researchers. We went over the 'Do's and Don'ts' of interviewing students given in Flutter and Rudduck (2004) and then revised the interview questions. It was interesting to hear their thoughts on the questions, and how they sought to clarify what it was I was asking in each instance. I wasn't aware that some of the questions were perhaps unclear. So far, we've come up with the following ten questions for our pilot-before-the-pilot:

1. When was the last time you got feedback in English? What was the feedback? Can you give examples? How useful was it?
2. What do you find useful when getting feedback from your teacher? (Why?)
3. What don’t you like when getting feedback from your teacher? (Why?)
4. What do you usually do with the teacher feedback? How often do you get the opportunity to work with your targets?
5. What usually happens when you get feedback in English? How is feedback followed up?
6. How do you do peer assessment?
7. Do you self-assess your own work in English? How do you do this?
8. Are there times when you don’t get feedback, but you’d like to?
9. How are you told about moving from one level to the next?
10. Do you know what your teacher looks for when assessing your work?

These questions were adapted from those used by Gamlem and Smith (2013). I may choose to use similar questions for my thesis, but at this stage I'm not 100% sure. I think I will try and create a new set of questions in consultation with my student researchers next (school) year, depending on what they say.

I've arranged for the students to conduct their interview on Friday, so more to come later.

KC

References

Flutter, J.  & Rudduck, J. (2004) Consulting Pupils: What's in it for schools. RoutledgeFalmer.

Gamlen, S.M., & Smith, K. (2013) Student perceptions of classroom feedback. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 20(2), 150-169

Ready to Roll!

I had an informal meeting with two of the girls in my form today, where I shared with them my hopes for next year. I started by telling them about what I'm currently work on for my Masters and asked them if they knew what a thesis was. They didn't, so I gave them a brief explanation, letting them know that my focus is going to be on student perception of feedback. I then explained how, in my research so far, I've found that few people have consulted the pupils themselves, especially at the secondary level, on how they feel about feedback, to which they expressed shock. I then told them about how I worried that if I conducted the interviews myself, students wouldn't be as honest with me; my presence may influence their responses. They agreed that this would probably be the case, and seemed quite keen to help without my even asking! Therefore, I proposed that the join me as 'research partners' or 'consultants' for the project.

I must admit, I tried to outline all that they would 'gain' from the project in an attempt to sway their opinion; they were especially keen on being able to write in 6th Form applications that they were research partners for a University of Cambridge study - both got visibly excited at the prospect of being able to add such a title to their CV.

We then starting talking about the types of questions I would ask, and they agreed that some re-wording might be necessary to make the questions more accessible to other students. I'm going to meet with them next week to change some questions in preparation for their pilot-before-the-pilot interview with a year 7 student. I may also show them some of my initial interview footage, alongside a page of 'Do's and Don'ts' that I obtained from a Flutter and Rudduck book on consulting pupils (I can't include the specific reference now, as the book is at home, but will do so later). We can then work through my weak areas as well as explore the things I did well, so that they have a better understanding of what a good research interview looks like.

I was really pleased at how enthusiastic they were to be joining me. They really seemed to like the idea of working with me as research partners; they got very energetic as our conversation progressed, and I know they're going to give me lots of ideas and help when the project really kicks off. I was very careful not to use the word 'use' at any point in our conversation. I kept trying to say things like 'work together', 'we' and 'our'. I explained how they'd help me ensure my transcription of the interviews was correct, as well as helping me to generate codes (one of the girls said 'You mean, analyse the conversation, right?', which was nice, because it shows me that they're at least vaguely aware of how the project will work, prior to my even giving them any formal training). I'm hoping that the work won't impact on any of their class time, or personal time after school; my hope is that we can use form time to meet and discuss our findings, or perhaps they might be willing to give me some break or lunch times at random points throughout the year.

Basically, it was a really productive and positive meeting. I am really excited at the prospect of working with the students. I can't wait to get started fully next year!

KC

My thoughts on 'Students as Researchers: Making a Difference' Chapter 1

Here's the next book I'm on to, as mentioned in my previous post. Clearly it's been well read, judging by the cover!

To start, I am going to use this blog as a form of note taking. I am going to jot down any interesting points here, and will elaborate on them later, when I have more time.

First of all, I often wonder if what I am proposing to do is something many advocates of Students as Researchers (SAR) would approve of. A lot of the literature that I've read so far, and this book specifically, suggest that we shouldn't 'use' the students for our own means, as 'data sources'. I don't think that I'm trying to 'use' my students by any means; I do hope that I can form a partnership with them, or involve them as Fielding and Bragg (2003) state. However, to fully involve them I really do need to make sure that the questions that we use in the interviews are not totally developed by myself. This isn't something I had previously considered. I suppose that I will create my own questions (the ones I've used for this pilot-before-the-pilot), share them with my student researchers and see if they have any suggestions on how we should re-phrase them. It would probably make the questions much more 'student friendly', so I can see the benefits of that. They might even have some really good ideas for how to elicit some interesting responses. Hmmm... 

Ultimately, I do want to share control of my research project, but at the end of the day it is going to be me who types the report, not them. This suggests that in the end, I am using them... which is disheartening. I plan to have the students help me validate my transcription and codes, which implies that they'll be helping me to draw conclusions along the way. I suppose, in this way, they are sharing the research with me, although I am going to naturally take on a 'lead researcher' role. I hope that if I work in this way, write the report, share it with them, and then make modifications based on their suggestions that it will remain sufficiently 'our' paper, and not just mine.

I also feel that I'm exerting too much control in focusing on feedback. Fielding and Bragg (2003) suggest that the best SAR projects are one where the students choose the focus, not the teacher. That being said, since this is for my thesis it seems logical that the topic be driven by my interests. Perhaps if I go on to do my PhD I could extend the project to one that the students choose the topic for, or perhaps study how they are able to work as researchers on multiple projects. Who knows... I'm just musing on things now!

Perhaps I could initial a separate SAR project, one not linked to my Masters, where students look into what makes a good lesson. I think that would be an interesting project to undertake, for the entire school. It links back to something I mentioned in an earlier post, about the possibility of students observing lessons and providing feedback to teachers on what works and what doesn't (in their opinion, not ours).

Anyways, those are my thoughts on the first chapter. More to come later.

KC

Reference

Fielding, M & Bragg, S. (2003). Students as Researchers: Making a Difference. Pearson Publishing. 

Submitting my essay

Well, I've officially done it. I submitted Essay 2 today. I spent a lot of time at the weekend, and over the last few evenings, adding the finishing touches. I had two different drafts reviewed by my supervisor, so it wasn't submitted in hast. Admittedly, I am very relieved. It feels nice to know that I can enjoy the rest of my summer holiday, without the thought of submitting the essay looming over me. It wasn't even that hard to get it finished this early; although I suppose if I had the responsibility of being a wife and mother things might be different. 

The BEST part of submitting the essay is knowing that I came in at a cool 6,479 words. You may not realise this, but the last time I submitted an essay I struggled (to say the least) with my word count. It caused me many sleepless nights, needless to say. However, what's done is done. I am not going to regret anything in life, because if that hadn't happened I wouldn't be in the position I am today; I am feeling much better about things; I'm proud of having submitted Essay 2 over a month early; and most of all I'm proud that I did it under the word count.

What that means now is that I can devote the rest of my summer to reading lots of literature about using students as researchers, and other such interesting and fun things! Don't expect that the blog will die down over the summer. In fact, I reckon that I may write more than I probably should (considering I will be in Canada, where the sunshine burns bright and a pool will be waiting for me out back). 

I also have to finish up my pilots-for-my-pilot. I'm meeting with some lovely girls in my form tomorrow to share with them my goals and a few tips I've learnt about conducting interviews. I may try to trial them interviewing one year 7 before the year is up. It'd be a useful starting place for us, as a team, to explore what works and what doesn't before we embark on a proper trial. I'll save that for the autumn, and I'll have my team interview other students in my form, just so they can get comfortable with the process. I'll do all the proper ethical paperwork then too! Not that I haven't kept things ethical this time around; I sent letters home to all the parents thus far! I'm a good girl, I promise, even if it isn't for 'official thesis business'. 

I'm just about to finish up with Cook-Sather et al., and then I'm going to start in on Fielding and Bragg, because frankly I haven't read enough of their work and it makes me feel quite ashamed. 

Stay tuned for more interesting and riveting posts about my forays into the literature around student voice/perception, student researchers and general student-led-goodness. 

KC