Action Research Update

Update your AR Reflective Blog.  Give an update of what you did this week in your action research analysis and future implication.

• What new questions have come up? My action research question has been focused on how to get my visual art students to take responsibility for the work that they create.  I have been focusing this action research specifically on my eighth grade students and although I have tried a few techniques, there are still questions that I have about this action research.  I have yet to ‘reach’ some of the students in my class - they seem to just go through the steps: do the minimum work, get their grade, and often times throw the work away when they get it back.  With 30+ students in each class, and only nine weeks with each group, I still question how I can get all students to take responsibility and ownership for the quality work they create.
• What direction are you now headed? I plan to continue to implement the changes that I have made, while adjusting slightly for each class and/or grade level.  One of my main goals as I continue is to provide students with an audience for the work they create.  I think that this opportunity will be the most effective in providing students with a sense of responsibility and ownership for the work that they create in class.
• Will you continue in the same area or are you headed in a different path?  I am going to continue in the same area, I feel that this is an area of great need within my classroom.
• Why have you decided to go this direction? I want students to see and feel the positive connection to the work they create and their audience.  I know it is important for them to learn various art processes, but I also want them to make a positive connection to the work that they create.  I think having an audience is an important aspect of that connection so I will continue to develop this with my classes (specifically my older students).
• What did the data tell you? While I am not finished yet with my data collection, I have learned a lot from the data I have collected thus far.  I have been able to see what changes are effective with my students as well as the ones that are not as effective.  Data I will be collecting soon (as we near the end of the second quarter) will be from the parents of my eighth grade students.  I will be sending out a survey for them to fill out about their reaction to the pictures and explanation/reflection that students have sent to them throughout the quarter.  I think this data will be very helpful in deciding my next step with providing students an audience for their work.