Part D - Findings and Implications

I was able to implement my WPP, Motivating Middle Level Learners using Clickers, as planned.  For my first lesson using the clickers, I did a review assessment of the first 20 sixth grade common vocabulary words.  The students learned ten words each of the first two trimesters this year.  I taught the words using PowerPoint and packets which the students created.  The class average was 60%.  Besides becoming aware of the low percentage of students who understand the words, I also learned which words were more of a challenge.  I have been working on finding additional resources and examples to use for reteaching the misunderstood words. 
For the last ten common vocabulary words, I created an interactive Smart file with questions throughout for which the students will be using the clickers to answer.  I was hoping that this would keep the students engaged.  Unfortunately, the clickers turned out to be a bit of a distraction the first time I used them.  However, the next day I was much more prepared and proactive about the importance of being quiet while waiting for others to answer the questions.  It definitely went smoother.

I do not have enough data yet to check for growth, but I will take an assessment after we finish studying the words using the interactive smart files and clickers.  This assessment will be equivalent to the review assessment I mentioned above.  If the class average is significantly higher than 60%, my project will have been a success.  Regardless of the results, I will continue to improve my Smart Response lessons.  I am confident that they will enhance my students' learning.  I have already seen qualitative results in my lowest few students.  They usually do not voluntarily take part in the lessons, but they were excited and involved in the lessons using the clickers.

As a person who is constantly having internal dialogues regarding problems in education, I am glad that I was "forced" to take action in the form of my WPP.  The process makes sense and is conducive to finding solutions.  Over the summer, I plan to choose another wicked problem to solve.  I am thinking I may focus on the other end of the spectrum, finding ways to challenge my advanced students on an individual basis depending on their own strengths and weaknesses.  A second wicked problem option we are currently dealing with at my school, and most Michigan middle schools, is weak writing scores on the MEAP.  Both of these are challenging possibilities for projects to tackle this summer.

I learned a couple of valuable lessons as I planned and implemented this project.  An obvious lesson is that I should have tried out the clickers before using them for the first time in class.  We wasted about ten minutes of valuable class time figuring out the technicalities associated with connecting the clicker radar, logging in, and starting/stopping the class and assessment. I would suggest that a person using these for the first time have a few students come in before class and do a trial run.  Another lesson I learned was that you should make a copy of the original lessons and/or assessment.  I didn't want to lose my results so I put the pie charts into the actual question pages and saved.  Unfortunately, I had not made a copy, so when I brought it up for the following class, the answers were there.

As I continue this project in my other language arts classes, I plan to add a few things.  First, I am in the process of revising the smart files I used to introduce the words.  I am currently searching for visual representations and interactive tools in the Smart Gallery to add to my explanations of the words.  Another revision I'd like to make involves the types of questions included in my assessments.  In the lessons mentioned above, I used only multiple choice questions.  I would like to experiment with true and false and short answer questions in the future.