Sarah Moss I.D.

110145278

Professional Inquiry Project Findings

Focus
The focus of my inquiry is ‘What strategies can I use to engage all students in their narrative
writing in an inclusive middle school classroom.’ This relates to the AITSL standard 4.1,
Support Student Participation, (Australian Professional Standards for Teachers 2017).’

Justification
This focus was chosen as it is an area I wanted to further develop, particularly regarding
behaviour management and creating engaging and authentic learning experiences. During
my English classes, I identified disruptive behaviour from some students. By creating an
engaging English unit, a preventative approach to behaviour management could be made.

The need to discipline disruptive behaviour within a class can be detrimental in the learning
of the other students in the class, often due to the loss of instructional time for teachers
(Dart et al. 2016). Therefore, instructional time needs to consistently provide students with
access to success using strategies such as; modelling, providing opportunities to respond to
instruction, clear expectations and positive acknowledgement (Scott, Hirn & Alter 2014) and
providing instructional choice. The engagement of students relies on positive emotional
experiences, building a positive environment, the foundation of the relationships and
interactions in the classroom (Macklem 2015).

Context
I conducted my placement at an outer regional school, consisting of approximately 1200
students from Reception to Year 12, with 85 teaching staff. It is a category three school,
according to the Department for Education Index of Educational Disadvantage and
considered disadvantaged. I worked with a Year 8 English class, consisting of 27 students.
The class was well natured and enthusiastic towards learning, though a few students were
identified as consistently disruptive. Two students in the class were on NEPs. Devices were
available for each student and online learning was predominantly used.

The five-week English unit on narrative writing, focussed on content descriptors; apply
increasing knowledge of vocabulary, text structures and language features to understand
the content of texts (ACELY1733), create imaginative, informative and persuasive texts that
raise issues, report events and advance opinions, using deliberate language and textual
choice, and including digital elements as appropriate(ACELY1736) and use a range of
software, including word processing programs, to create, edit and publish texts
imaginatively (ACELY1738). A variety of learning experiences took place, including individual
and group work and written and online learning. Students learnt different literary
techniques, such as writing in second person, dialogue, starting and ending, using
adjectives, building tension and structure.

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Design
To develop a clear understanding of student learning and attitude, I collected data from
them once a week at the end of the same double lesson. This was in the form of an ‘exit slip’
(appendix 1) containing different questions each week. I also collected observation notes
from a template (appendix 2) from my supervising teacher at the end of these lessons. My
own journaling (appendix 3) occurred during my NIT time, based on my personal
observations and thoughts regarding my practice and the engagement levels of students.

I focussed on specific strategies that were inclusive for the needs of all learners to engage in
the learning process and outcomes. This involved having clear expectations, making the
learning relevant to the students and allowing them time to respond to learning tasks. After
collection, data could be interpreted through recognising patterns that emerged, such as,
positive or negative responses and engagement levels. This would then inform me as to
whether changes were required to support students.

Data and Analysis

As I observed the students throughout the unit in the different learning experiences, it
became apparent that the majority of students had a positive attitude towards learning. The
first lesson of the narrative unit conducted with students was a diagnostic assessment, using
prior knowledge and a writing prompt and die to create the plotline of a narrative, written
in a double lesson. All students felt they were able learn effectively during the lesson,
relating to the environment and instruction given. All but two students found the lesson
engaging and were able to complete the task within the time constraints (table 1).

Table 1

Supervisor observation and personal observation were in line with these results (table 2).
Clear expectations, relevant learning tasks and time to respond to tasks were effective in
having students achieve well in an engaging and inclusive narrative learning experience.
However, it was also evident that there were areas which could improve outcomes and in
lessons for the following week; breaking down instruction and creating a more inclusive
environment, including talking and quiet time for writing tasks.

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Table 2

During the lesson that occurred in week two, students were working in groups to read and
answer questions to share with the class. With the addition of breaking down the
instruction, it is evident that all students had a positive experience during the lesson and in
meeting outcomes (table 3).

Table 3

While supervisor and personal observations (table 4) were again in line with student
feedback, while students were able to understand tasks, many of them failed to remember
what they were meant to be doing once the first task was completed. Therefore, it was
identified that the focus for lessons in the following week would be to write down this
instruction in a place where students could easily refer to it and continue with the tasks set.

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Table 4

Week three’s lesson saw students working collaboratively to create continuous stories with
input from a variety of students to write the narrative with the aim to understand structure.
The results show that all but one of the students were engaged and were able to
understand the task and complete it (table 5).

Table 5

The supervisor and personal observations were again in line with the student feedback,
students were engaged and able to effectively understand and complete the tasks during
the lesson. As these lessons are sequential and are working towards an overall goal of
writing a narrative, it was identified that my feedback could be improved to be more
effective in the long term as students work towards the outcome (table 6).

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Table 6

During week four’s lesson, students were planning their narratives for their final
assessment. From student feedback, it was evident that only one student didn’t find the
task engaging and all but two understood all tasks set. Overall, all students were able to
learn in the environment and felt they gain relevant feedback when it is needed (table 7).

Table 7

Student data is reflective of supervisor and personal observations, students were engaged
and on task, working towards the outcomes that had been set. It was evident that feedback
given to students was effective and beneficial in them being able to progress in their writing
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(table 8). While students were happy with achieving their outcomes, it became apparent
that not all students were putting in enough effort during class time, preferring to take it
home to complete, therefore, the focus for the following week was identified to being able
to hold all students accountable.

Table 8

Week five saw students writing and completing their narratives for their final assessment.
From the student feedback collected, all students were engaged in the task, working
towards the outcomes that were understood. All but one student was able to work in class
time to take on board feedback and complete their narratives to submit at the end of the
lesson (table 9).

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Table 9

The final week of the narrative unit saw a successful lesson in narrative creation. The
supervisor and personal observation match the student feedback. Students were highly
engaged, creating narrative based on instruction and set learning outcomes. Peer, self and
teacher assessment allowed students to be held accountable for their learning. The
strategies identified and used during week five were highly effective in engaging students in
narrative writing.

Table 10

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Reflection
In analysing the data collected and discussing these results with a critical friend, it became
apparent that throughout the five-week narrative unit, the initial strategies I chose to work
with were effective in creating engagement, though changes and incorporation of different
strategies would make the learning experiences more effective. Through collecting data
from three different sources, it allowed for triangulation of the data, reducing the chance of
producing errors in the findings.

The initial three strategies that I implemented in week one, setting clear expectations,
making the learning relevant and allowing students time to respond to learning tasks, were
effective in engaging students in their learning. However, it became evident that there were
aspects missing from these strategies that would benefit engagement and more specifically
the overall learning outcomes. The addition of breaking down instruction and writing this on
the board allowed me to meet the needs of all students, particularly reading/writing
learners (Countryman 2017). Providing comprehensive feedback to students impacted
students’ independent learning and productivity (Hargreaves 2014). Finally, holding
students accountable for their learning, meant that as they were working harder, they could
learn more (Tyler & Petrilli 2018). This saw students engaging more deeply with the tasks
and provided an inclusive environment that fostered student experiences, impacting their
learning and achievement and minimising disruptive behaviour.

Conclusion
As a result of conducting this inquiry, I now have a deeper understanding of the effect that
different strategies have in delivering successful lessons and programs to students in a
middle school English class. Though these strategies were designed around engaging
students in narrative writing, they can be carried with me across different teaching areas
and levels. While it is important that students are meeting the learning outcomes that have
been set, the experiences that the students have as a result of different strategies are just
as important in forming deep and meaningful connections to the learning. Through
identifying and incorporating different strategies in my lessons, my practice has dramatically
improved in using a preventative approach to behaviour managements in my delivery of
content, the environment that I create for students and how I can positively support them in
their learning.

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References
Australian Curriculum 2017, viewed 23 September 2018,
<https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/

Australian Professional Standards for Teachers 2017, viewed 4 August 2018,

<https://www.aitsl.edu.au/teach/standards>.

Tyner, A & Petrilli, M 2018, 'The Case for Holding Students Accountable', Education Next,
vol. 18, no. 3, pp. 27-33

Hargreaves, E 2014, 'The Practice of Promoting Primary Pupils' Autonomy: Examples of

Teacher Feedback', Educational Research, vol. 56, no. 3, pp. 295-309.

Countryman, A 2017, 'Adopting Teaching Strategies to Accommodate Different Learning

Styles', NACTA Journal, vol. 61, no. 1, pp. 91-92.

Scott, TM, Hirn, RG & Alter, PJ 2014, 'Teacher Instruction as a Predictor for Student
Engagement and Disruptive Behaviors', Preventing School Failure, vol. 58, no. 4, pp. 193-
200.

Dart, EH et al. 2016, 'The Classroom Password: A Class-wide Intervention to Increase

Academic Engagement', Psychology in the Schools, vol. 53, no. 4, pp. 416-431.

Macklem, GL 2015, Boredom in the classroom: addressing student motivation, self-

regulation, and engagement in learning, Springer International Publishing, Cham.

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Appendices
Appendix 1 – Weekly Exit Slip (student reflection)
Week One Week Two

Week Three

Week Four

Week Five

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Appendix 2 – Supervising teacher notes template

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Appendix 3 – personal observation template

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