Methodology

The private, all-male, boarding school where I conducted my research is in the

Midwest. This military structured boarding school services grades 7-12. It is a

multicultural setting of students from various states in the United States as well as

students from around the world. There are approximately 290 students at the Academy

with an average classroom size of 12.

Participants

The subjects of this study were seven senior students in AP Literature and

Composition. AP Literature and Composition is an Advance Placement course in which

students can receive college credit upon completion if they receive a 3 or higher on the

Advance Placement exam given through College Board. This class meets daily from

1:55 P.M. to 2:35 P.M. All students in the class were white. Prior to the project, all

students and parents were asked to give Informed Consent to participate in the project

(Appendix A). All students chose to participate in the project.

Procedure

Prior to the action research a typical day in AP Literature and Composition

involved a class discussion on the reading from the night before followed by individual

time to journal, work on a think piece or research essay. These three components made

up the majority of written work for my AP class. I have placed a great deal of

importance on these writing activities in order prepare each student for the AP exam.

The AP exam consists of 55 multiple choice questions and 3 essays. I have used the

writing activities specifically to prepare students for the essay portion. Throughout this

research I required a number of journals, think pieces and research essays assigned for
the novel that we were covering. Class discussion time was replaced by portfolio

development. Each student needed to design the format of his e-portfolio as well as

complete the writing assignments that would be considered for inclusion in the e-

portfolio. At the conclusion of the six weeks, each student submitted his e-portfolio on

the class website.

There were no identifiable risks with this project. The project was explained to

all students prior to participation. All students were encouraged to participate, but were

also granted the right to pass. All students chose to participate. Requirements were

established as to what types of artifacts could be included in the e-portfolios.

Journal Entries

Journal entries for this project were based on a series of prompts provided by me.

Students had an opportunity every class day during the six week period to complete these

writings. These works varied from reflection of current class readings to critical thinking

opportunities. The goal of the journal entry was to get students to connect to the

literature through their own experiences, thoughts and feelings. Six journal entries were

required to be included in the final e-portfolio.

Think Pieces

Think Pieces are similar to journal entries but are more thought out and worked

over. These are not yet formal essays, but serve more as an extended and more in-depth

thought. As a journal entry may take a few minutes to complete, a Think Piece would

revisit that journal entry and expand on the thoughts or research the prompt more. Think

Pieces were a way to make students complete the reading on time and come to class

prepared to discuss the reading. When students have thought about the reading, before
they get to class, they get much more out of class discussions or lectures or labs. Think

Pieces were shared with the other students. This allowed the opportunity to consider

other perspectives from other students. Think Pieces were not an everyday occurrence.

Students had opportunities every day over the six week period to develop their Think

Pieces. The final e-portfolio required three Think Pieces along with a reflection piece

stating why that artifact was an exemplary representation of a Think Piece.

Research Essay

Research Essays were more of a formal type of essay writing. These essays were

generally from 3-6 pages in length and included at least 2 outside sources. The research

essays were developed from a think piece question or a selection of the student's choice

and further researched. These essays were not just exploration pieces as the other ones

described above, instead, each research essay related directly to the piece of literature

being considered. These essays must be well revised and typed and were much more

demanding than Think Pieces or Journal entries. There was a writing process to these

papers and re-thinking must be present before the final essay is turned in. Students had

the opportunity to work on these essays every day in class. The final draft was to be

included in the e-portfolio along with a reflection piece on the process they went through

to complete the paper.

Data Collection

Data for this research included my active participant field notes, reflective student

rationales and surveys. All data was kept locked in my classroom to maintain the

integrity of the project.

 I took copious field notes as I observed student engagement as well as discussions

students were having about the writing. The reflection pieces included in the e-portfolios

were also analyzed. Through the reflection pieces, discussions and filed notes I was

looking for student attitude toward the literature.

Data Analysis and Interpretation

Data was collected in three different ways: reflective student rationale, teacher

field note observations and surveys.

Reflective Student Rationale

The selection process for including an artifact in the student's e-portfolios

required an additional reflective rationale. In interpreting this data, I focused on the most

common responses that dealt with student's attitudes toward the reading. I looked for

comments that showed how the students felt about the readings.

In an early reflection, one student stated, “I don't know what is happening in this

chapter, this entry is the only way to get my information on the novel straight.” Two

others expressed in early journal entries that, “I do not like this novel or these journal

questions.” The four other students did not illustrate a positive or negative opinion

toward the early reflections and journal entries.

In the final entries for the reflective rationale, five out of the seven students in the

class responded positively to the process of selection. One student stated, “The journal

questions are meant to make us think in more depth about the themes and lessons taught

in the novel. They are trying to get us to write down the ideas and thoughts we have on

the certain questions asked in the book and see if we can decipher them.” Another
student saw the selections as, “I realized something about myself without ever saying

them out loud until I really thought about it” and “If not my favorite journal, it had to be

my second favorite. I especially liked this question because it allowed me to go further

into my research of Ken Kesey.”

Negative reflective rationale included: “I really don't feel these journal prompts

help me make a connection to the reading. This book is boring and I don't think I will

ever complete it.” “I am way too behind on the reading and don't have time to complete

these journals.”

The data from the reflective rationales indicates that five out of the seven students

saw the journal entries in a positive light after completion. These five students indicated

a change in their attitude toward completing the reading on time and making a connection

through the journal reflections.

The two students who did not see the reflective journals in a positive light

maintained their attitude about the readings upon completing the reflective rationales.

They indicated that they enjoyed the readings with or without the reflective rationales.

Overall, the data from the reflection journals seemed to indicate that student

attitude toward reading of the class improved. Over 70% of the class responded to the

reading positively after completing the reflective rationales.

Active Field Note Journal

As an active field participant, I made daily observations noting the students’

attitudes during the project. My notes constitute statements made by the class to each

other and to me during the class period.

 The initial day of field notes recording showed the majority of students

responding to the journal prompts for the reading but not doing any further reflection on

what their thoughts or other classmates thought indicated about the reading. One stated,

“These questions are just basic plot summary.” Another student said, “I'm going to finish

the book first then go back and complete all the writing requirements.” Another stated,

“All we have to do is write journal entries and compile them into a portfolio? Then I'm

not going to work on that now.”

The mid-point of field note observations showed a slight change in attitude

toward completing the reading and making honest reflections toward their journals. The

mid-point field notes also indicated a concern for the selection process each artifact went

through in order to be included in the final e-portfolio. One student asked, “Can I include

all of my journal entries for the portfolio if I have a rationale for each?” Another was

looking for a different type of reflection piece because he felt his ideas could be better

expressed that way, “What about some other type of reflection for the portfolios? Are

those allowed?” I observed four of the students became more engaged in the portfolio

selection process than in completing the reading.

The final field note observations indicated that five out of the seven students saw

their e-portfolios as accurate representations of their attitudes toward the reading. One

wanted to complete another artifact for his portfolio, “I wish I had more time to complete

a video on one of the characters from the book.” Another stated, “These rationale pieces

really make you think about what is the underlying message of the book.”

Surveys
 A survey with various question types (Appendix B) was used as a pre-study tool

for data on student attitude toward reading. The survey consisted of thirteen questions

about reading, reading frequency and portfolio awareness. The first survey indicated

that 100% of the students did not enjoy all of the novels that were read for class. Five out

of the seven students disagreed with the first question, “I like the books we read for

class” while two strongly disagreed. The first survey also indicated that five of the seven

students had never completed a portfolio before and only four students considered

themselves familiar with the process of portfolio creation. Five out of the seven students

were not familiar with reflective writing.

A Likert Scale Survey (Appendix C) was used as a post-study tool for data on

student attitude toward reading, reflective writing and portfolio creation. The final

survey consisted of sixteen questions. The final survey showed 5 out of the seven

students now liking the books they read for class. Four students showed they felt

reflective writing helped them understand reading assignments better. All students

pointed out they saw portfolios as a useful analysis tool after completing the survey. All

students also agreed they liked e-portfolios better than portfolios.