Using Research to Improve Student Engagement in Literature through Prior Knowledge: ECI 523: Teacher as Researcher
Question: How to apply my own active teacher research to help engage students in literature using new technologies?
ECI 523 focused on the importance of using the results of active research to apply in the classroom. During my own research findings I found that students will become more engaged with a work of literature by building prior knowledge through web 2.0 tools. I compared a student reading a work of literature without building prior knowledge to then allowing students to complete a web search and post their findings on a class Wikipage. The research data showed that by using web 2.0 tools to build prior knowledge that their quiz scores were significantly higher and they made more personal connections with the literature compared to not using web 2.0 tools.
Excerpt from the Findings of the Active Research Process: ECI 523 Final Research Essay:
To find out data about how students felt about completing a web-based search activity and posting their findings on a Wikipage I gave them a short survey. The results showed that students were more engaged in the literature when they completed a web 2.0 activity prior to reading the literature to build prior knowledge. After taking the quiz I asked a few students about their feelings of completing a web-based prior knowledge activity before reading:
Marryn respoded,” When we make connections to a text using an online internet activity, you can see many different point of views and get a lot information from not only one source. You get information from many different genres of sources. For example: newspaper or political cartoons. You find more out about the story. After the online internet activity you read the story better. I really like doing that. I prefer doing it before other short stories.”
Tori states,”I like using online activities because it is like researching the topic before you know it. This helps me to not go into what I am reading blind like the first story when we did not complete a web based activity.”
A lot of students really felt that the online internet activity benefited them to be able to understand the short story like these students.
ECI 523 focused on the importance of using the results of active research to apply in the classroom. During my own research findings I found that students will become more engaged with a work of literature by building prior knowledge through web 2.0 tools. I compared a student reading a work of literature without building prior knowledge to then allowing students to complete a web search and post their findings on a class Wikipage. The research data showed that by using web 2.0 tools to build prior knowledge that their quiz scores were significantly higher and they made more personal connections with the literature compared to not using web 2.0 tools.
Excerpt from the Findings of the Active Research Process: ECI 523 Final Research Essay:
To find out data about how students felt about completing a web-based search activity and posting their findings on a Wikipage I gave them a short survey. The results showed that students were more engaged in the literature when they completed a web 2.0 activity prior to reading the literature to build prior knowledge. After taking the quiz I asked a few students about their feelings of completing a web-based prior knowledge activity before reading:
Marryn respoded,” When we make connections to a text using an online internet activity, you can see many different point of views and get a lot information from not only one source. You get information from many different genres of sources. For example: newspaper or political cartoons. You find more out about the story. After the online internet activity you read the story better. I really like doing that. I prefer doing it before other short stories.”
Tori states,”I like using online activities because it is like researching the topic before you know it. This helps me to not go into what I am reading blind like the first story when we did not complete a web based activity.”
A lot of students really felt that the online internet activity benefited them to be able to understand the short story like these students.