First off, here is your article link :)
http://www.socstrp.org/issues/PDF/4.1.3.pdf
Questions:
1. Did the author provide supporting background information, as well as clearly stating the problems, so that the study is well situated? What are the research questions? Are the questions in the study clearly defined?
2. Who were the participants in the study? How do you feel about the sample size in this study?
3. What data analysis techniques were used in this study? Do you feel that these techniques were appropriate and correct for this study? Did these findings clearly and accurately answer all of the research questions?
4. What did you personally think about this article? Does is apply to you in any way?
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1. Did the author provide supporting background information, as well as clearly stating the problems, so that the study is well situated? What are the research questions? Are the questions in the study clearly defined?
ReplyDeleteThe author did provide supporting background information. The problems were clearly stated the questions are How do elementary education student teachers integrate social studies, music,
and/or the arts into their teaching of mathematics or literacy? How do the student teachers respond to and evaluate the results of teaching (an) interdisciplinary lesson(s)?
2. Who were the participants in the study? How do you feel about the sample size in this study?
The participants in this case study are 4 pre-service teachers and the study takes place in a small rural town. The number of participants seems small and it is all taking place in one school district during a 12 and a half week period. I think that there should have been more participants in the study.
4. What did you personally think about this article? Does is apply to you in any way?
I personally enjoyed this article I will be able to use it as part of my literature review. I think it applies to all teachers as I personally feel that social studies is being pushed out of the curriculum and it is an important subject area to learn.
1) The supporting information is well done with much detail. The questions (both of them) are clearly stated in the article on page 34 and well defined.
ReplyDelete2)There were only four participants and I believe more would have been helpful. They were all teachers from the same college who were 21 and 22 years old.
3)Data collection was through observation and I believe that should have not been the only form of collection. The findings were clear but not as detailed as they could have been.
ReplyDelete4) It was interesting to see how social studies is pushed aside because of testing. But these teachers took risks and did their best to include social studies as much as possible.
Sorry my response is small...I had the whole thing done and something happened with my account! I really do not like technology when it does not work correctly! :(
Dave-nice post! I too found the sample size to be a little small, however glad that this article will help you with your literature review!
ReplyDeleteLaurin-I hate when that happens! I definitely always make sure I copy and paste before I hit submit or type it in Word. Thanks for reposting! I agree with you that it is very interesting to see how social studies is getting pushed aside. Do you think this is the case in all three schools--elementary, middle and high or more specifically the case in one of the schools?
1. I think that the author clearly stated the research questions. I think this study is well structured and easy to read and follow. The background information is there and supportive of the study. It is an issue that is very real in the classroom today and needs to be addressed.
ReplyDelete2. The sample size is rather small, although, this is a qualitative study and the author states “Generalizability of the findings to a larger population of student teachers was not a goal.” The researchers were obviously conducting this research in order to improve their teacher preparation program. They did not intend to come up with findings that would apply to all student teachers. Although, any teacher that reads this article would be better informed of the issue at hand and it could encourage them to start thinking about ways to integrate social studies into other subject areas.
4. This article applies to me right now. I am teaching 5th grade and we have the NYS Social Studies exam coming up in a month. I view this test as a catch 22. I think adding a test in this area forces teachers to fit the subject into their curriculum. On the other hand, it is another test, and the timing of the test is poor. The students are tested on 4th grade social studies part way into 5th grade. This means they go through an entire summer in which they forget material and then in the fall 5th grade teachers are scrambling to cover as much material from the year before as possible from September to November. Teachers need to be creative to fit this material in. This involves cross-curricular teaching like this research article mentions.
Colleen--Great post! Very insightful ideas and thoughts! With your students coming from elementary school where it is clearly easier to push social studies aside, do you find that preparing for the 5th grade social studies test is harder than perhaps tests in other subject areas?
ReplyDelete1. Yes the author clearly stated the research questions. The information was organized and easy to follow.
ReplyDelete2. The participants were 4 pre-service teachers. I think that if there were more participants the results would have been better. I also thought that if they had used people that went to different colleges would have possibly changed the results.
3. Personally I think that was a real easy article to read. I liked that it was about social studies because we havent really talked about that yet. This article can also help with my lit review, so thank you! :)
1) Yes, the research questions were clearly stated... They were even numbered for us! They were stated on the fourth page of the article. I believe they are clearly defined as well.
ReplyDelete2) There were four pre-service teachers and I felt that was quite small for such a study. The results were important and if there had been more participants the results would either have been better reinforced or they would have found, like Kristen said, that student teachers from other colleges might have altered the data by the schools they were placed in or the different teaching they had received.
3) I think the data analysis techniques were primarily observation but also it seemed as though there was some discussion with the four student teachers. The students teachers also recorded their thoughts about lessons, etc. in a response journal (there were quotes within the article). I thought these techniques were exactly what was needed for the study. Yes, I do believe the findings accurately answered the research questions.
4) I thought it was a good article overall. The sample size (I think) should have been much larger though. As younger teachers, we do need to think about how we can integrate multiple subjects into our lessons because not all subjects are given ample time to be taught. With high-stakes testing a lot of what students need to be taught is falling by the wayside which is unfortunate and we need to spark a change within the system so students don't leave school with only having mastered how to take a test.
1. The author provided a clear background for the purpose of this study. It clearly states why this study was necessary and how NCLB has been the most ridiculous law enacted during the Bush administration. Way to go NCLB. The research questions are also clearly stated. As others have mentioned in previous blogs, the questions are:
ReplyDeleteHow do elementary education student teachers integrate social studies, music,
and/or the arts into their teaching of mathematics or literacy?
How do the student teachers respond to and evaluate the results of teaching (an)
interdisciplinary lesson(s)?
2. The participants were 4 female student teachers in a small rural town. I do not think I have a problem with this because it says that they were chosen out of 14 interns due to the schools they were at had no social studies time. It helps to create more credibility for questions like these and research of this kind. It also leaves room for more research to be done in an urban setting and with regular teachers instead of student teachers. Maybe use male teachers too. Genius!
3. The data techniques seemed reasonable because they looked at the 5 different areas from the student teachers. Reflective writings and lessons and so on. They looked for patterns and saw what could be frustrating for the teacher or helpful. It was a good way to get findings for this type of research.
4. I personally liked this article a lot. They went about their research in a good way and had a logical way of getting the information they wanted. They also left a lot open in order to do more research as I previously mentioned. It pertains to all of us because NCLB has completely restructured the curriculum in American education. We will feel the effects of it in our teaching and the way we prepare for lessons. It was a good article overall.
I enjoyed this article because I think that social studies is definitely pushed aside too often in almost every grade. I think that most children don't know a whole lot about our own history. I think the author did a good job with supporting background information. This article is set up very well, it reminds me a little of the article that I chose, because everything has headings and is easy to read. The participants were 4 female student teachers. The sample size was definitely too small, it would have been nice if they had more college students do this study. I did like how all four student teachers were teaching different grades. It was also interesting that this study was done by student teachers, because most of the articles we have read so far have been teachers at elementary schools. The research questions were stated on page 34, and again very easy to find. The table on page 35 was also nice because it summarized the different approaches. I think it's very important if there is not a lot of time for a certain subject during the week, to integrate it into another subject that gets a lot of time and emphasis, such as literacy. You can teach elementary students certain subjects such as social studies through literacy by chosing books to read or doing interactive things such as playing literacy games. Overall, I thought this was a very well put together article :)
ReplyDeleteQuestion 1:
ReplyDeleteYes, I think that the author provided a very good background of knowledge. After I read the beginning I felt that I received a great foundation of the problem that exists for social studies due to the NCLB features. The research questions are very clearly defined and they are: (1) how do elementary education student teachers integrate social studies, music, and/ or the arts in their teaching of mathematics or literacy? and (2) how do student teachers respond and evaluate the results of teaching (an) interdisciplinary lessons(s)?
Question 2
The participants of this study were four female student teachers. They were 21 or 22 years old and senior elementary education majors. They were selected from 14 other interns because their school was known to have little or no time for social studies instruction. This was their first placement as well as the first time that they exposed to teaching children who live in poverty. I think this sample size is particularly small, four participants does not make for valid results.
Question 3:
The data analysis technique that were used in the study included: gathering descriptive data. There were five data sources, the student teachers’ lesson plans and the author’s lesson observation notes (how student teachers integrates social studies, music, and/ or the arts), the student teachers’ reflective journal writing about the assignment and last but not least, a graphic representation of what made the lessons meaningful for children. I think that these techniques were appropriate and correct for this study. I think that this study required qualitative data and that is what the author gathered. I think the findings accurately and adequately answered the questions. The author broke down the four student teachers’ lesson plans as well as how they perceived integrating social studies, music, and/or the arts in literacy and mathematics. Furthermore, the author mentioned that this particular assignment influenced their teaching thereafter because even though they did not have it as assignment the pre service teachers tried their best to integrate different subjects.
Question 4:
I enjoyed reading this article very much and I definitely could relate to it. This assignment provided the pre-service teachers with the opportunity to be creative and use integrated teaching techniques which I personally think children benefit from. It essentially compelled them to think out of the box and while still getting the necessary requirements completed according to the standards, the student teachers also provided their students with interesting and creative learning experiences.
Colleen mentions the 5th grade social studies exam that all new york state students must take. It is scary to see how much time is still dedicated to other subject areas in the weeks leading up to this exam. I know for a fact that teachers do not worry about this test. In all actuallity it really is more based on reading and being able to construct an essay. A major portion of this exam is Document based questions and the students must use the information from the documents to construct a well organized and thought out essay. Very little social studies content is needed to do very well on this exam. Just a side note for everyone.
ReplyDeleteThis article was really good and I am glad that Colleen and David mentioned the fith grade test because when I was doing practicum in Cortland. They took weeks to prepare for that test. My teacher was really afraid that they would not do very well. She took Math time and other times of the day over to prepair them for the social studies exam. So in the districts that have students that struggle still take time to teach social studies to make sure their students do well.
ReplyDeleteThe questions were clearly stated in the article and there were two of them. They were answered with the data that was collected from the lesson plans, observation, and journal reflections. This was an important study but as everyone one has said the sample size being only 4 pre-service teachers is really small. Good article over all!
1. After reading the article I do think that the author provided supporting background information. Both of the questions were clearly stated in the article. The problem is a problem that can be seen in almost every classroom, which makes it very easy for teachers to read and understand.
ReplyDelete2. The participants in the case study were four teachers. The setting was a small rural town. I do feel that the study was very small but it did help that specific school.
4. Like most other I enjoyed this article. It was very easy to relate too! I have taught in various classrooms and it always seems to be the same…there is never enough time for science or social studies. It a problem that will not go away!
I thought this was a very accurate example of trying to fit everything into a busy schoool day. Social Studies is often put aside in favor of math and science. This did lead in nicely to the questions, which were very clear, but seemed to be pretty similar in nature.
ReplyDeleteConnie brought up a good point a couple classes ago; that these studies will often have a small sample size due to the nature of action research small places. However, four student teachers seems to be a very small group. I would have like dto have seen a survey or interview given to some more experienced teachers.
The findings were well laid-out and interestiing to read. The narratives from the student teachers was a good way to present information. However, it seemed to me like the findings were just a series of examples of good lesson ideas.
I agreed with pretty much everything the author and the participants had to say, and it was very bias against NCLB, as are most educators. But, again, it seemed to be a rant against NCLB and then a few good ideas form some tecahers who are still learnig the harsh realities of the classroom. But, I did like the article.
Looks like everyone agrees that the sample size is too small. I also loved the discussion about the 5th grade social studies test. Obviously, the time social studies receives in elementary school is not going to fully help prepare the students for the material in 5th grade. Hannah--also thanks for mentioning that it is not just social studies getting cut, it is science too! :)
ReplyDelete