Marcia's Revised Purpose Statement/ Rationale

Hey ladies,(Jeta and Christy) this is my revised purpose statement--I have decided to exam how I establish democratic values and practices in my literacy classroom. Also, the IRB process is still a major concern. I hope you ladies are doing well with your research mini-project. The following is just a piece of my mini-project--please have a look and give your opinion, okay: Purpose Statement The purpose of this study is to examine how I establish democratic values in my classroom through direct instruction and student assessment. In this study, the qualitative approach will be employed to gain a better understanding of democratic classroom practices. Democratic values are the incorporation of equality of opportunity—the range of personal freedoms allowed in the classroom—justice, and academic opportunity(Raywid,1987). How my interaction with students will allow these values to “play out” in my classroom is the main focus of this pilot study. The examination of the Equality of opportunity will be based on allowing students to express their ideas and thoughts on topics/subjects they will be tested on. Most academic support is not based on gender or level of knowledge, but on the advancement of knowledge(McEwan, 1994). Along with the range of personal freedoms is the ability to speak ideas and negotiate rules—during this study I will see if freedom in the classroom is either allowed on hindered based on my level of instruction and interaction. The data collection will consist of audiotapes of my instructions, students’ surveys through writing and assessment, and self-reflection through field notes and journal writing. The data collection process will be based on the data collection, as well as teacher surveys and student interviews focusing on their definitions and experiences on how their democratic values are highlighted or hindered in a learning environment. 1. What are the democratic values I establish in my classroom—what do they look like in the classroom setting? 2. What are the personal freedoms that a democratic classroom allows without compromising the established rules? 3. How do democratic values play out in my classroom? 4. What role does my ethnicity have on my level of instruction as well as interaction? By means of this study, I, the teacher in the study, will establish how democratic values are established by providing students with opportunity of equality and academic opportunity, in addition to expanding students’ range of freedom. Another purpose for this study is to establish the best learning environment for my students. The findings that emerge will hopefully confirm that the values that were established in my classroom were in fact democratic in practice. Keywords: Democratic values, equality of opportunity, range of freedom, and academic opportunity. Rationale With President’s Obama yearlong war with Congress over healthcare reform coming to a bitter end, his next focus is on public education. As he mentioned briefly in a CNN interview (March 2, 2010): There will be an overhaul of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) policy and public education in general. The question is, “What form will this overhaul take?” With the recent firing of 60 percent of the high school teachers in the Detroit school district, the president applauded the measures taken by administrators and politicians to only retain 40 percent of its teaching staff. The rationale for my investigation into my values and practices as a teacher is simple—to improve my pedagogy through the incorporation of democratic values such as equality of opportunity, freedom, and academic opportunity(Selvi, 2006). Self-reflection or self-correction of my teaching and the learning climate of my classroom is needed in order to provide the best learning environment for students and at the same time I will grow as a teacher. The single most important factor(Shechtman,2002) in the classroom is the teacher; it is not new books or expensive equipment, but the values and practices of the educator in front of the classroom. In this mini-inquiry study, the technique of qualitative research will be employed to uncover the factors that allow and hinder democratic values in my classrooms. The data will consist of written words from students through surveys and journal writing. Additionally, an extensive case study(reflect on my life experience in and out of the classroom) of my teaching practices as they relate to democratic values will take the form of student writing and surveys, self-reflective journals, and audiotapes of classroom sessions. The audiotaped sessions will consist of three 20-minute teaching instructions and the transcription of each session (5 to 7 minutes of the lessons).