FIN Commons

A.        Zoom-Lens Inquiry: Focusing on Students

1)      What data will you gather and analyze on individual students? (e.g. student work, self-reflections, interviews, videotaped think-alouds or problem-solving)
Student interviews, self-reflections, and videotaped problem-solving; students participating in classroom activities or other activities, such as sports, possibly dramatizations of classroom activities.

2)   How do you imagine this data will help you understand the problem/issue you’re investigating? In other words, how does the data connect to and inform the overall focus of your inquiry?
It will help the instructor of the Leadership Training class define what he needs to know about his students, and what information and resources will help the students become more engaged in the class and more aware of decision-making and goal-setting processes.

4)      When will you analyze this data? (e.g. mid-semester team retreat, after lesson-study session, at the end of the semester;)
A mid-semester team retreat will analyze footage with issues debated by students from three classes, helping the instructor of the Leadership Training class define what changes he wants to make to his instructional practice, i.e. what additional information, methods, and resources need to be presented so students become more engaged and articulate better what helps them succeed.           

5)      How will you analyze the data? (e.g. analyzing student work with a rubric or analytic
rame like Polya’s method for problem-solving or Perry’s scheme for student development; analyzing themes in student self-reflections according to their performance in the class – how did the responses of students who did not pass compare/contrast with students who performed well?)
 Define levels of engagement and motivation as demonstrated by students in the Leadership Training class and correlate survey responses with grades and attendance records.

6)      What questions/concerns do you have about this element of your Inquiry? How can your
 Inquiry Coach support you in this phase of your Inquiry?
 What would help Les understand better what his students need to become more engaged and motivated?

B.        Mid-Range Shots: Focusing on the Classroom

1)      Please name ONE specific lesson in a particular course that will give you a good vantage point for observing student learning relevant to your Inquiry.

A Leadership Training lesson will focus on ways to overcome obstacles to college success in which students will dialog with data on intrinsic motivation presented by students from a Social Psychology class and with testimonials by students from an Intermediate Algebra class.

2)      How do you imagine the Lesson Study will help you understand the problem/issue you’re investigating about students and their learning? In other words, how does it connect to and inform the overall focus of your inquiry?

After the lecture/discussion, students will write down what they observed about intrinsic/extrinsic motivation in the Math students, along with any new discoveries they have made on their own motivation levels.
It will inform and guide the inquiry into what helps students become more intrinsically motivated.

3)      When and how will your team conduct this Lesson Study? Please detail the timeframes
and participants for the three parts of the Lesson Study process (collaboratively planning the lesson, teaching/observing the lesson, and debriefing/analyzing videotapes & student work from the lesson).
 The team will decide on a timeline and protocol in March that will allow the videographer to tape a presentation by Social Psychology students in which they discuss their findings on intrinsic motivation, and student videographers to interview and tape students from an Intermediate Algebra class on their experiences and discoveries in their current and previous Math classes.  
The team will also work with the instructor of the Leadership Training class who is preparing to teach a unit on decision-making processes and intrinsic/extrinsic motivation, Students will reflect on what they have viewed, both during class and following class, with a written assignment; members of the FIN team will observe students during the lesson and analyze footage and student work during the debrief.

4)       What kinds of things will the observers be looking/listening for during the lesson? What artifacts of student learning and student experience will the team collect during the lesson? Will you videotape any portion of this process (pre-planning, lesson, debrief)?

The observers will focus on questions asked, issues brought up, general group dynamics, and how students understood the lesson, as reported in their follow-up assignment. 

5) What questions/concerns do you have about this element of your Inquiry? How can your
      Inquiry Coach support you in this phase of your Inquiry?
     Specific methods to elicit student reactions and define student learning on intrinsic
     vs. extrinsic motivation.

C.        Wide-Angle Lens: Focusing on Larger Trends in Institutional Data

1)   What data from your Institutional Research Office will you integrate into your Inquiry? For example, will you look at patterns of student success, defined as grades of CR, A, B C? Retention rates (completion of semester without withdrawal)? Persistence from one semester to the next, or from one course to the next in a sequence? Comparisons of student outcomes disaggregated by race/ethnicity, gender, age? Data from surveys on student engagement? For a sample Inquiry using this kind of data, go to http://facultyinquiry.net and look for the category “Using Institutional Research,” then see the Learning Community Impact study posted there.)
The focus will be on certain questions asked in the CCSSE and/or SENSE, possibly followed by a future iteration of the CCSSE that could correlate the GUID 10 class on Leadership Training with survey responses.

2)   How do you imagine this data will help you understand the problem/issue you’re investigating? In other words, how does the data connect to and inform the overall focus of your inquiry?
How do findings by the instructor of the Leadership Training class add to the debate on how to help students become more intrinsically motivated?  What other factors, including the rural culture, need to be examined? Do faculty and student support services need to include a different perspective on students?  Does the mission of the college need to reflect the students’ perspectives more?

D.  Video Footage

We are asking each team to collect at least 10 hours of video footage in the Spring semester.

1)   Beyond plans detailed above, please describe any additional footage you intend to gather.
Students who will be videotaped while presenting findings, dialoguing with footage, and reflecting on their own experiences, may be followed into other classes or captured during extra-curricular activities. Given the fact that the video has been a key element from the inception of the COS project, there may be close to 50 hours of video filmed.

2)      How will this footage inform the central questions of your Inquiry?
It will answer questions on how the college give students a voice and support their developing identity, and how instructors can improve their ability to reach students in the classroom and beyond.

3)   What questions/concerns do you have about this element of your Inquiry? Is there any support you’d like from the FIN Leadership Team in this area?
What additional components should be included in the COS inquiry, as suggested by other colleges?

E.         Inclusion of Student Voices

As noted during the Kick-Off Convening, an additional $1,000 will be made available to each team to support making student voices a central part of each Inquiry. We encourage you to be creative and draw upon students as co-inquirers who can provide expertise in helping you understand the problem/issue you are investigating. Please describe how you plan to include student voices in your Inquiry (e.g. hiring students to capture video footage, interview other students, review data from your inquiry and tell you what they see).
Student videographers will tape and review data and be given an opportunity to interpret and expand upon the data.

Timeline/Calendar

So that we can visualize how the work will proceed over the next several months, please give a timeline for when the above components will occur. It can be in either calendar or outline format.

Early March:
Defining a protocol for/videotaping of Social Psychology class presentation and interviews with Math students, and possibly student athletes.

Spring Break mid March:
Brainstorming with Les Courtemanche on what to include in Leadership Training lesson, including a written assignment.

Early April:
Taping Leadership Training lesson and debrief.

Mid/End April:
Presenting footage to all other team members and the FIN coach; brainstorming on research data needed and which students to showcase in other activities.

End April/early May:
Mark, Les, Renata, and other FIN team members view footage and help Mark define focus of initial video and/or guide subsequent research and inquiry activities.