Running Header: Increasing Classroom Participation Levels Among Incarcerated Youth

Increasing Classroom Participation Levels Among Incarcerated Youth Jamie L. Morrow Azusa Pacific University

Increasing Classroom Participation Levels Among Incarcerated Youth Abstract While working as a substitute teacher for the Riverside County Office of Education (RCOE)

alternative education program, I have experienced low levels of participation among the students within these juvenile facilities. Despite the strict rules found in this type of learning environment, I wanted to explore the possibility of increasing their levels of participation. Would they be motivated by being entered into a drawing at the end of each hour if, and only if, they were doing the work that was assigned? Would putting tickets with their name on them into a drawing jar in hopes of winning candy, encourage them to stay focused and on task? On the other hand, is it possible that these students so jaded by the system that the chances of winning are not worth the effort they would have to put forth in order to earn the tickets? The students being used in this study are all located within Riverside County at either Butter Field Juvenile Hall in Riverside, Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta, or Twin Pines Juvenile Hall in Banning. They all range in age from 10 -19 years old with varying levels of education and special needs. All results were measured daily. They were tracked based upon the names of the participants on the tickets compared to those on the attendance roster. At the end of each hour I emptied out the bowl of tickets and put them into envelopes labeled period 1, period 2, and so on. This data was then entered into a spreadsheet that calculated the information and provided the bar graph showing the results of the data. Based upon the data collected, I concluded Keywords: Motivation, Tickets, Drawing, Focus, Participation

Increasing Classroom Participation Levels Among Incarcerated Youth Section one: Problem Statement How can I encourage more students to participate on the lesson at hand? I chose this topic because it is a tremendous challenge when teaching students who are in juvenile hall. I am a substitute teacher for the Riverside County Alternative Education Program (RCOE). It is a considerable issue with these students in getting them to focus on the work at hand, much less pay attention to any lessons I am supposed to teach. They are all aware that they are on no time limit with their

education; they may finish it as fast or slow as they choose. This leaves little leverage for a teacher, much less a substitute. Right now, I am lucky to receive a 40% participation rate from students who are doing their assigned work for each period taught. For example, in one of my recent classes I had fourteen students, six of them did the assignment that was given but the other eight chose to doing something completely off topic (this is permitted as long as they are not disturbing others). Section two: Implementation How do I plan to carry out my intervention? I plan to carry out this intervention by doing a raffle at the end of each lesson and/or class period, which ever makes more sense for that hour. I will hand out raffle tickets to the students who are participating in the lesson being tought. Students who chose to work on other things during this time period will not receive any raffle tickets. As I hand them a ticket I will have the students immediately write their names on the back of each ticket and hand them back to me. At the end of class I will draw three winners, each of whom will receive candy for their efforts that day.

Increasing Classroom Participation Levels Among Incarcerated Youth Step 1: Buy raffle tickets and a clear container Step 2: Introduce the students to my plan at the beginning of each class Step 3: Hand out tickets to students who are participating in the correct assignment Step 4: Have students immediately put their names and subject on each ticket & give them back to me Step 5: Continue doing this throughout the lesson Step 6: Draw three tickets from the raffle container right before the end of each class period Step 7: Give candy and positive reinforcement to those students and everyone whose names are on the tickets. Step 8: Leave a list of their names for their teacher to recognize. Section three: Results How will I measure results? I will measure my results by comparing one weeks worth of participation without this intervention method compared to two weeks of using this method. Each day I work over the next three weeks, I will compare the total number of students in each class period to the total number of participants in period throughout the day. Starting week two, I will measure data daily based upon the tickets from the drawing which will have their name and subject matter written on them. Below is my baseline data from my last two days of work.

Increasing Classroom Participation Levels Among Incarcerated Youth

Action Research Baseline Data

16 14

Total number of studetns Present

12 10 8 6 4 2 0 EnglishMathScience History EnglishMathScience History Students Present Students Participating Participation Rate

Participation in each subject by day

I chose this type of intervention for my Action Research Project (ARP) based on data from articles listed on the National Education Association website called NEA.org. Two articles unparticular address how to avoid power struggles with these inmate/students while the other one is on improving lives of student inmates. I also found helpful information off of the RCOE website, in their Substitute Handbook, which offers advice for substitutes working within juvenile facilities.

Increasing Classroom Participation Levels Among Incarcerated Youth Step four: Conclusion To be determined

Step five: General comments To be determined

Increasing Classroom Participation Levels Among Incarcerated Youth References McNeely, Robert (September 2007). Avoiding Power Struggles with Students. The dos and donts of dealing with classroom confrontation. Retrieved from
http://www.nea.org/tools/49922.htm

This article address the dos and donts of dealing with classroom confrontations, within juvenile facilities. It covers how these power struggles can lead to disruptions that break students focus and disrupt the learning process. It provides strategies for dealing with these students and avoiding conflict so that more learning may occur and students will stay focused on the academics they are learning. This source was created on a nationally accredited website and was created to assist teachers, those of who work in these facilities, to create a more controlled learning environment in which students do feel self motivated. This source was helpful on providing different strategies regarding classroom management and student participation. I like that it provided both good and bad examples and stated why each was good or bad.

Riverside County Office of Education (June 2010). Substitute Handbook, 22-24. Retrieved from
http://www.rcoe.us/personnel-services/files/2012/09/Substitute-Handbook-Revised-June2010.pdf.

This handbook provides substitute teachers who work within RCOE facilities tips. on working with these students. It provides classroom management expectations and how to meet those expectations along with safety procedures and much more. This handbook was created by Riverside County in June 2010 and is provided to every substitute teacher. This source was helpful to me when choosing this research topic because I was able to see if there were any policies the prohibited me in handing out candy and/or doing raffles in class.

Increasing Classroom Participation Levels Among Incarcerated Youth Rosales, John (September 2007). Prison Drama. Retrieved from
http://www.nea.org/home/10340.htm

In this article, teachers at the Ohio State Correctional Facility describe the looks and procedures of the classrooms in this specific facility. They provide keys to survival in these facilities along with how and why they became involved with teaching in them. They include information about their teaching style and how they try and encourage deeper levels of thinking. The article also addresses the fact that, due to the lack of requirements for these students, self motivation is a key factor in them earning their General Education Diploma (GED). This source was found on a nationally accredited website and was created to educate people on the truths of working as a project because it leads me to believe that no matter what steps I take to try and encourage these students to participate, in the end it all comes down to their motivation to want to learn.