Meghan Starr Te 808

Running Head: INQUIRY METHODS AND A SOCIAL STUDIES CLASSROOM
Student Motivation
Inquiry Methods in a Social Studies Classroom
Meghan Starr
Michigan State University
INQUIRY METHODS AND A SOCIAL STUDIES CLASSROOM Starr, 1
Context:
The 2019-2020 school year marks my 3rd year teaching in the Plymouth-Canton
Community Schools District that services students in the cities of Plymouth and Canton, MI. The
Plymouth-Canton community is a quickly rising area roughly 40 minutes outside the city of
Detroit. I am currently placed at Plymouth High School, which is part of the unique
Plymouth-Canton Educational Park. At “The Park”, as we more frequently refer to our
community, we house all three district high schools on one property (Plymouth, Canton, and
Salem High School). Our unique makeup not only allows for our schools to share sports,
performance, etc. facilities, but also share students. Students travel from building to building for
various classes, which allows for a college-like atmosphere and the ability to offer more elective
courses.
Across “The Park '' student demographics are roughly homogeneous. Each school
averages around 2,000 students each, which makes the total student population roughly around
6,000 students. Within each school roughly about 15% of the population is of Asian decent, 9%
identify as Black, 4% Hispanic, and 70% White/Caucasion. In my own classroom, I teach
primarily 9th grade World History and 10th grade U.S. History. Within this group, I house 23
students who have an IEP or are labeled as Special Education, an additional 14 that have 504
accommodation plans, and 13 students who are receiving extra support for struggles with varied
examples childhood trauma (ie. childhood cancer, abuse, etc.) or behavioral management
concerns.
The Challenge:
Throughout my educational experience (grade school, college, and in my teaching career)
I have often heard the argument that what is being taught in secondary schools is unnecessary
and will not follow you into your adult life. In recent years, this criticism has increased with the
rise of open communication on online sources and popular videos such as Boyinaband’s “Don’t
Stay in School”. This specific video makes arguments such as not being taught how to pay taxes
or how to vote (Boyinaband, 2015). However, I do agree that there are aspects of our educational
system that could use some reworking and this popular video makes some important points, there
are many aspects of our educational system that are essential to a well rounded understanding of
the world.
The past few years I have been faced with students who so insist nothing we cover in my
class is helpful in their adult lives and phrases such as “I like you, but this is pointless”.
Considering this growing frustration, I have begun to realize the potential for a student’s
academic success to be tied into their opinions of school. In particular, students who do not
identify themselves as college bound. For anyone it can be difficult to find motivation to work
hard or be successful when we do not understand why we are there. I hope to dive into students
mindsets and ask some important questions about my own teaching. In the long run, it is my role
as an educator to hook my students in and some self reflection could assist in discovering a
distinct path moving forward.
Justification:
Many teachers can relate with my frustrations about the continued criticism outlined
above, however, as I have continued to think about this frustration I have begun to ask myself
where this feeling comes from and how I can help guide students to see the importance of a well
rounded education. My mindset was questioned this past year recently sat through a professional
development by Dr. Jay Marks who is the Oakland Schools’ Diversity and Equity Consultant. Dr.
Marks opened my eyes when he described prior knowledge as a result of students entering into
the learning environment with a “backpack”. This “backpack” is not just full of books, but full of
things such as their cultural background, future goals, family problems, learning disabilities, and
even individual emotions. This new perspective made me wonder if it is possible that a student’s
perception of school is based on the “backpack” that a student brings with them into the
classroom. As I considered Dr. Mark’s thoughts I began to realize that it is imperative as
teacher’s to not shy away from criticism. When faced with criticism, we are given an opportunity
to ask ourselves why the problem exists, how it is affecting our students, and what could be done
to improve. For this reason, I think it is my duty to not just listen to noise, but to dive deeper.
Research Question:
One of my biggest pet peeves in my everyday life is when someone complains, but does
not take the time to even try to fix the problem. After my first few years of teaching and having
the continued frustration about student motivation, I think it is time to put my words into action
and dig deeper into the mindsets of my students and the strategies that I can use to better their
motivation. This has led me to want to focus on the research question, ““Under what conditions
are students most (or least) motivated in a social studies classroom?” Moving forward in my
research I want to focus on a few goals that will help outline my sub questions. I will first define
what inquiry-based education is as well as highlighting the barriers teachers face when using
these types of tactics. From there, I want to turn my focus to my student’s “backpack” and how
that might showcase itself in my social studies classroom.
This focus first brings me to the subquestion, “What are some types of inquiry-based
approaches?”. This question will give me an opportunity to outline tactics that are recommended
by other educators as well as from my own practice. In addition, I hope to discover “What
factors keep teachers from using more inquiry-based instructional tactics?”. By asking this
subquestion I hope to dive further into what barriers keep teachers from utilizing inquiry
instruction. Inquiry strategies are often promoted in professional development, but many still do
not use these strategies so I hope to gain more of an insight into why. Additionally, I hope to look
more into my students perceptions when it comes to my specific course by asking the question,
“What do students perceive as their purpose in a social studies class?”. Finally, I hope to branch
further off my previous question by adding a layer of what my own perceptions of social studies
education is. In order to compare my students perceptions and my own I will ask the question,
“How do student perceptions and teacher perceptions of social studies education align?”
Literature Review
A student poll pointed out that 74% of 5th graders felt engaged in school and only 32%
of high school juniors felt similarly (Mathewson, 2019). Along with these shockingly low
numbers a similar poll had 40% of teachers and administrators stating that their students were
engaged and motivated (Collier, 2015). When entering into this investigation, I was initially
drawn to the impact of the family and made many assumptions based on the daily frustrations in
my classroom. The research found presented many different perspectives such as student
motivation and classroom environment and interestingly de-emphasized the impact of the student
environment outside of school. After diving into previous work in this area, three distinct trends
seem to emerge: A student’s self-concept, reasoning for completing the task, and the impact of
their surrounding environment. This literature review will attempt to outline these three trends
and the multiple perspectives involved in each.
The most consistent trend amongst all of my research was the continued emphasis on a
student’s self-concept. Studies by both Niebuhr (1995) and Steinmayr (2019) both concluded that
the strongest correlation between grade point average and motivation was a student’s belief on
how they would inevitably perform (Niebuhr, 1995, Pg 10). Steinmayr, specifically outlined the
impact of expectancy components that show how a student expects that they will perform a
specific way and performance goals that motivate students to compare themselves to other
students (Steinmayr, 2019, Pg 2). Steinmayr will even conclude that out of all potential variables,
a student's self concept about their ability was the biggest change in academic achievement even
more than intelligence scores (Steinmayr, 2019, Pg 6). If a student can perform with better
academic success with more self concept in comparison to natural ability, more questions began
to emerge about the impact of self-concept.
The impact of self-concept brought about more questions in regards to the impact of
achievement on motivation. Shockingly, Steinmayr concluded that prior grades will show more
about how well a student will do in school in comparison to their natural abilities or cognitive
capacities. This specific study hypothesized that this phenomena is a result of conclusions in a
student’s mind about how their performance has been in the past and compared them to their
peers and how that will continue (Steinmayr, 2019, Pg 8). Another perspective offers that grades
might cause students to stop challenging themselves in fear of failing (Mathewson, 2019). A
similar study by Fyans and Maehr (1987), also highlighted that the biggest correlation seems to
be in how well a student believed they would do on the subtest before taking it (Fyans and
Maehr, 1987, Pg 13). The frequency of this finding became increasingly frustrating with the
realization that any educator, parents, etc could be responsible for spreading this mindset for
students. Fyans and Maehr did point out that these findings could be a result of students being
realistic about their abilities and might not even be related to motivation at all (Fyans and Maehr,
1987, Pg 15). Even though this is true, the findings in Steinmayr, Niebuhr, and Fyans and Maehr
are all important lightbulb moments for all educators.
Stanford University's Carol Dweck discusses a potential reasoning for this concern when
describing the differences between our students having a “fixed” or “growth” mindset (Collier,
2015). Fixed mindsets are highlighted by students believing that their intelligence is fixed and it
often leads them to be quickly brought down by bad grades, etc. They lose motivation fast
because they do not believe they can succeed (Collier, 2015). In comparison, a growth mindset
sees intelligence as flexible and that there could be reasons why a test did not go as well as the
last (Collier, 2015). This monumental work by Dweck pushed my research into discovering more
about student mindsets and inner struggles.
This new focus led me to discovering more about students’ reasoning for completing the
given task. This focus led me to the research by Barkoukis (2014) that discussed the impact of
extrinsic and intrinsic motivation. Extrinsic motivation refers to being motivated by outside
forces such as rewards, grades, etc. (Barkoukis, 2014, pg 406) in comparison to intrinsic
motivation which is the type of motivation where the desire comes from inside the individual
(Barkoukis, 2014, pg 407). In this study it is clear that more intrinsic motivation leads to higher
grades (Barkoukis, 2014, pg 410). Even though this is true, the more shocking discovery in this
piece was the potential for three types of extrinsic motivation. These types include, identified
regulation where the he activity is considered to be important for the individual, introjected
regulation where doing an activity has the goal of avoiding negative feelings (ex. guilt)), and
external regulation that is based off rewards or social approval (Barkoukis, 2014, pg 406). Of the
three types of extrinsic motivation, only identified regulation leads to higher grades as it does
have a student’s goal and desires at its core (Barkoukis, 2014, pg 410).
A similar study to Barkoukis done by Gillet (2017) added to the above discussion by
introducing the idea that sometimes students have to generate motivation within themselves in
order to continue productivity and ensure motivation levels do not drop (Gillet, 2017, Pg 233).
Even though there is truth to this point, another piece by Mathewson (2019) tries to argue that
students should not have to force the motivation. Beccy Siddons who is a teacher and advisor at
the Metropolitan Regional Career and Technical Center stated, “Ninth graders who have spent
their whole life being told what to learn, some of them don’t even know what they're interested
in because they haven’t been given the opportunity”. Siddons brings up an interesting point
about student motivation as the work students are required to perform in the classroom can often
feel disconnected to future goals for students, which leads to important questions about where
students are meant to get their motivation. Mathewson (2019) outlines a case study of the
Metropolitan Regional Career and Technical Center where student work is completely done on
an intrinsic based model. Students spend almost all of their time learning individually. Their
classwork completely aligns to personal goals and allows them to work on real world problems.
Mathewson acknowledges that it would be difficult to use this type of system in the current
public school system, but challenges educators to consider why we are teaching certain topics in
our classroom (Mathewson, 2019).
The final distinct theme that made it out of my research is the impact of the environment
of the student. Throughout my research, it became clear that the environment within the
classroom was distinctly significant. A recurring theme in regards to the classroom environment
is the impact of the teacher. In Wentzel (1997), it is discussed that students who perceive teachers
as caring were more likely to put in more academic effort (Wentzel, 1997, Pg 414). As educators,
we can not underestimate the impact we can make by being caring and understanding to our
students. Wentzel also points out that a lot of change can be made based on the reward structure
we utilize, classroom organization, and even the curriculum (Wentzel, 1997, Pg 416). For
example, Collier pointed out that it is important to not compare students as that could cause a
student to acquire a fixed mindset about their abilities (Collier, 2015). Pearce (2010) gives a case
study about an alternative school located in Australia that works with students at risk. Educators
from this alternative school emphasize the importance of creating an inclusive classroom where
students feel welcomed, that there is mutual respect, they are allowed to communicate with each
other, and they are treated as an individual and not like a number. When students know that you
are on their side and are not the enemy, they will inevitably be more engaged (Pearce, 2010).
In addition to the impact of the educator, the classroom goals and feeling can also make
an impact on student motivation. Wolters (2004) outlines how students tend to adopt the goals
that they perceive the goals of the classroom to be (Wolters, 2004, Pg 242). For example, if they
believe that competition is the goal of the classroom then they may hold off on completion to
ensure they do not bring attention to themselves (Wolters, 2004, Pg 246). In order to ensure we
create a productive environment for our students we can utilize a few suggestions given
throughout the completed research. Wolters discusses a mastery-based classroom where mastery
of concept or skill is the goal. Students who perceived their class as having mastery structured
goals were more likely to not procrastinate, put in more effort, move forward in tough situations,
and would take more classes in that subject later on (Wolters, 2004, Pg 243). In addition, Collier
(2015) suggests an expectancy-value model where students expect themselves to do well and
they value more of what is being learned in school. We can accomplish many of these goals by
using hands on approaches to learning, giving smaller chunks of information at a time, as well as
being given an opportunity to make more choices about what they do or learn while in school
(Collier, 2015).
Another environment that many students receive their motivation to learn is their family
environment. When entering into my research, I hypothesized that much of the research I
discovered would be based on this topic, however, only a few sources emphasized the family as a
main cause of motivation or disengagement in school. Actually, Niebuhr (1995) even went as far
as to say that there does not seem to be a relationship between family environment and success in
school (Niebuhr, 1995, Pg 11). In contrast, Fyans and Maehr put a stronger emphasis on the
impact of family on school success and even state that family is an important factor for student
achievement across all subject matters (Fyans and Maehr, 1987, Pg 17). More specifically, they
highlight the educational background of the parents and how that seems to correlate to
motivation in certain subjects. For instance, the educational background of the mom seems to
correlate to motivation in english and social studies (Fyans and Maehr, 1987, Pg 13). In addition,
the documentary “The Empty Desk: Identifying and Assisting the At-Risk Student” directed by
Pearce highlights many at home pressures that may cause a student to show disengagement in
school. For example, students may be dealing with substance, learning English as a second
language, be concerned with financial constraints at home, or even education not being as valued
in the home. Even though family background does not seem to have as strong an impact as I
previously hypothesized, it is still a distinct factor that should be considered.
Throughout this literature review there were three clear themes that seemed to emerge: A
student’s self-concept, reasoning for completing the task, and the impact of their surrounding
environment. It seems as if self-concept or a student’s view of their abilities in school was at the
core of each piece and I hope to continue this discussion throughout my individual research. In
addition, I was shocked to find so few sources emphasizing family background as a factor for
student motivation, which leads me to believe that this is a topic that may need to be
deemphasized in my research. I hope to add to the research already completed and search for
more insight into what is necessary to positively impact my students to increase their
self-concept and self-efficacy.
Design and Method

Participants
As stated above, I teach primarily 9th grade World History and 10th grade U.S. History.
For the purposes of this study, I have chosen to follow and analyze my 9th grade students as this
is both the larger group that I work with through the day and often houses more motivation
concerns than my older students. My goal by choosing only my 9th grade students was to
eliminate age as a factor in swaying my data. In my specific study, I am hoping to gather as
much data as possible to see varying opinions, so the larger number of students was chosen.
Within my three sections of 9th grade World History, I house 89 students. My students
account for a various degrees of economic background, racial identities, and special education
identifications. More specifically, within my three World History sections there are twenty
students with Individual Education Plans (IEPs) and four with 504 Accommodation Plans. My
three sections of World History are unique as they all showcase three very different learning
communities. My 3rd hour course is co-taught class that holds roughly 50% that are identified as
a special education student. In comparison, my 4th hour course is identified as a general
education course but has a large number special education students as well as students who are
part of a unique program to my district called the Journey Program. Students in this program
have been identified and then opted in to work specifically with trained educators who work to
assist at-risk students (low-income, behavior concerns, trauma backgrounds, etc.). Finally, my
6th hour course has the makeup of a usual general education population.
Setting
Students that will be a part of my study will answer questions based off the unique
environment that my classroom is in. I teach in the abnormal structure in the Plymouth-Canton
Educational Park (PCEP). Students in my classroom represent all three Plymouth-Canton
Community Schools high schools (Salem, Canton, and Plymouth High Schools), however, my
students are primarily Plymouth High School students as that is where my classroom is located.
Students are all specifically assigned to a roughly 2,000 population of one of three schools, but
are all operating within the midst of the 6,000+ population of PCEP. In Plymouth-Canton
Community Schools, students maintain almost homogenous student makeup throughout the
school year in each specific course even though many surrounding districts change teacher and
class at the semester break.
In my specific classroom, I have my room set up in a “boardroom” style (see Figure 1
below). The two main goals behind utilizing this set up was to give me easy access to each
student and to create more of a circle environment in the confines of my classroom to encourage
classroom discussion. My specific classroom set up does not apply to my subquestions, “What
are some types of inquiry-based approaches?”, “What do students perceive as their purpose in a
social studies class?”, and “How do student perceptions and teacher perceptions of social studies
education align?” On the other hand, my set up can and will apply to my main research question,
“Under what conditions are students most (or least) motivated in a social studies classroom?” as
where they sit in the room or how they feel in the classroom environment can make a difference
in how students showcase motivation. In addition, my subquestion, “What factors keep teachers
from using more inquiry-based instructional tactics?” can also be impacted by my classroom
environment as it is possible that classroom restrictions can keep teachers from using more
inquiry-based instruction.
Figure 1: Classroom Set Up Diagram

Data
To collect data, I chose four different sources of data. I intend to use a student survey,
student attitude scales, field study, as well as researcher memos. By choosing a variety of data
collection techniques, I hope to be able to compare a variety of unique data. Below (Figure 2), I
outline which data technique I intend to use to answer each sub question.
Figure 2: Data collection techniques
Data Sources
Student Surveys Student Attitude Field Notes Researcher

Scales Memos
What are some

types of
inquiry-based
approaches?
x x
What factors keep
teachers from
using more
inquiry-based
x x
instructional
tactics?
What do students
perceive as their
purpose in a social
studies class?
x x
How do student
perceptions and
teacher
perceptions of
x x x
social studies
education align?
To begin my study, I will give each participating student a survey that also held an
attitude scale tool. By using this tool, I hope to gain insight into a variety of topics including
basic demographics, perceptions of school in general, perceptions of social study education,

student background, etc. Some questions were open ended and required a written response,
where others asked for student responses based on attitude scales (Appendix 2). Students will be
introduced to this topic in class and given an introduction letter to bring home to parents.
Students will then be given this survey via online sources while in class. More specifically, to
give this student survey, students were sent a google form via their school email or given the
option to access via our Google Classroom page.
After receiving base data from student surveys and attitude scales, I hope to utilize a field
study to support the student data. My goal is to look for paradoxes or behavior that seems outside
the class norm. Some behaviors I am interested in are what activities seem to be where students
become more unmotivated and what outside factors in the classroom lead to students to become
unmotivated. In addition, I hope to look more specifically at more inquiry-based activities and
see how students respond to those types of activities. Overall, my goal in using a field study, is to
be an observer and to focus in on behavior that I may not dial into regularly.
Finally, I intend to use a self-study to better improve my individual teaching. As
mentioned in my literature review, much of student motivation comes directly from the teacher
and I hope to take a critical eye to my own teaching and how my actions or words are affecting
my students. This type of individual deep dive has intentions to think introspectively and
critically and to not allow my fears of criticism keep me from future success. In addition, I hope
to think critically about what I consider to be goals of social studies in comparison to what
students consider goals of social studies. Students deserve the best out of each of their educators
and I hope to take this as an opportunity to best improve my individual practice.

Timeline
My study will take place over a three week period, beginning 3/16/2020 and ending
4/3/2020. In the first week, students will be given a welcome letter and information to parents
about potential opt in or opt out opportunities (see Appendix 1). In addition, students will be
given the student survey, which they will complete in the classroom during one class period.
While gathering this data, I will individually begin actively utilizing field study practices. I hope
to choose at least 2 days a week throughout the three week period to record what I notice in the
classroom. Specifically, I will choose inquiry-based instruction techniques to monitor more
closely. During the final week, I will spend time analyzing student survey data as well as
working through an extensive self-study of my individual teaching (see Figure 3 for overview).
Figure 3: Timeline Overview

Week of Research Weekly Completion Goals
Week 1 (3/16-3/22) ● To begin the week, student’s will be given an introduction letter,
the project is discussed with class and parents are notified about
permission slip coming home. Parents told they have until
Thursday night to notify me if they rather their student not
participate (see introduction letter in appendix 1)
● Friday, they will be given the student survey and will complete
in class (see student survey in appendix 2). Students filled out
the survey on google forms.
● I will also begin my field notes in class on Friday.
Week 2 (3/23-3/29) ● Will continue my field notes on at least 2 class periods. I plan to
choose class periods where more inquiry-based methods are
being used.
● Throughout this week, I will begin looking at and analyzing
student survey data.
Week 3 (3/30-4/5) ● Will continue my field notes on at least 2 class periods. I plan to
choose class periods where more inquiry-based methods are
being used.
● During this week, I also plan to work through research memos
where I intend to reflect on my guiding questions and analyze
how they interact with my lesson plans.
Role and Issues
When approaching my research, there are many areas that could potentially become
ethically unclear. For this reason, I hope to set a plan of action in place to ensure my students are
protected throughout. To begin, I plan to give a welcome letter to both students and parents on
the first day of my research plan. This will help me ensure that more parents are knowledgeable
of my study and the goals surrounding it. In addition, I will give parents the opportunity to have
their student “opt out” to ensure that student participation is approved by all parents.
Once my research has begun, my biggest concern is keeping my role as teacher and
researcher separate. When approaching my student survey and attitude tests, I will avoid looking
at specific student responses to ensure I am not accidentally offended by student responses. In
addition, students are able to fill in their answers online to ensure no accidental human error on
my part. My biggest concern about my role in the classroom does occur during my field study.
While students are working on inquiry methods, I will likely have to both field questions as well
as deal with behavioral issues. Even though this is true, I intend to take at least a minute every
5-10 minutes to go to my desk and write down when I observe. In reality, many of the questions
and behavioral concerns could lead to good data and observations that could be written down
when it comes to my specific research question. I also hope to use at least a few minutes of
passing time between classes to reflect once again and write down anything else that comes to
mind.
Data Analysis
Procedures
As we entered into our data collection period, we also entered into the COVID-19 school
closure of the 2019-2020 school year. This brought with it many new challenges and possible
ethical concerns that need to be acknowledged. Data collection became challenging on all fronts,
however, a distinct timeline and data collection system allowed me the ability to still gain some
insights from the collected data. When approaching my data collection process, I decided to code
my data utilizing emergent themes or patterns as the core of my analysis process. By not
deciding on themes or patterns prior to beginning, my hope was to avoid any researcher bias in
the form of trying to fit student responses into a predetermined category. For a similar reason, I
decided to use more of an open-ended response technique throughout my work in hopes of
hearing new thoughts and ideas that I may not have considered before.
In our current COVID-19 world, I was forced to entirely communicate any aspect of my
study through email, Google Classroom, and Remind text. To begin, on March 16th, I was able
to send a mass email to all of my World History students and their parents that held my
introduction letter for parents (see Appendix 1). In that letter, parents were asked to send me an
emailed response if they were uncomfortable with their student participating. On the Friday of
that same week (March 20th), all World History students were sent the student survey via google
form (see appendix 2) via their student email. In addition, students were sent a remind text to let
them know they had been sent the survey. Students were given until Wednesday, March 25th to
complete the survey. Only one reminder via Remind text was sent throughout that time frame. In
total, 46 of my roughly 92 World History students responded to the student survey. A change that
I was forced to implement to my survey based off the circumstances was a question asking for
their name. The goal of this question was to only ensure that I receive just one response per
student and not to look at each student's individual answers. To ensure no impact on my
individual opinions of students, I made it a point to never look at any individual responses.
When receiving my student data, I began by organizing my data in a google document
(see Appendix 3). When approaching open-ended questions, I began by first reading through
student responses individually to get a sense of student perceptions. After reading through at
least once, I went back to the top and began changing the font color of each student response to
the biggest emerging theme that I noticed while reading through. This allowed me to narrow
down my ideas and begin to differentiate. I continued this process until all responses were
assigned into a theme. Finally, I transcribed the major themes into a chart that can be found in
my research analysis document (see Appendix 3).
When approaching my field notes, I was faced with the challenge of not having students
to watch and interact with. For this reason, I was forced to take a more theoretical approach. To
help organize my thoughts, I created a chart with my research question and each sub question in
the left column and my thoughts on the corresponding right column. I began by quickly typing
my initial thoughts and then transitioned into taking the time to imagine each class period and do
a mental tour around the classroom. I asked myself questions about how students generally
behave during inquiry-based instruction, how they interact with each other, and when they tend
to start “checking out” in a class period. After completing this task, I challenged myself to go
through each point and attempt to generate a sub point. This process was extremely insightful,
however, is plagued with research bias. I hope to have an opportunity to revisit this process this
coming fall.
Finally, I took some time to take some researcher memos. Unfortunately, with my current
parameters this process became similar to the process used for my field notes. Even though this
is true, I did add a few important details that I hoped to investigate while using the research
memo strategy. First, I went through lesson plans, professional development work, etc. and
created a list with corresponding research about some of the most used inquiry-based methods in
a social studies classroom. Below, I intend to go in more detail in regards to my findings. In
addition, I took the time to be more analytical about my practice and dive into my actual day to
day lesson plans. I was lucky enough to have brought home my lesson planning book, so I went
through each week and tallied up the use of each inquiry-based strategy as well as other
strategies such as lectures. My goal is to take some time to consider how much I truly utilize
inquiry methods in my classroom and if I am balancing them throughout my plans. Also, I hope
to compare this tally to a question on my student survey about the tactics that they believe
motivate them the most. For both my researcher memos and field notes, I was able to use a
similar coding process as outlined above for student surveys. This gave me an easy to use
thematic chart (see Appendix 3).
To best overview the data collected, I will go through each sub question and end with a
summation of my main research question. As I began to dive into each sub question, varied data
sources were appropriate for different questions. More specifically, subquestion one and two
utilized my field notes and researcher memos and subquestion three and four utilized student
surveys. However, when approaching data collected for my main research question, each data
source was utilized (see Figure 4).
Figure 4: Triangulation Chart
Theme #1: Theme #2: Theme #3: Theme #4:

Collaboration Interest Discussion Critical Thinking
Student X X X X
Surveys/Student
Attitude Scales
Field Notes X X X X
Researcher X X X X
Memos
Findings
What are some types of inquiry-based approaches?
After considering professional development, social studies methods coursework, and my
own practice there seems to be four inquiry methods that are the core of social studies
curriculum. To begin, is a practice called Data Based Questions (DBQ). The DBQ process is a 6
step method that utilizes a target question that is supported by primary and secondary sources.
The goal of a DBQ is to give students an opportunity to think like a detective and look for clues
throughout the documents (The DBQ Project). A similar phenomena can be found in the C3
Framework for Social Studies State Standards. The 3 C’s in C3 (college, career and civic life)
highlights the goal of the framework. By aligned to the Common Core Standards, C3 hopes to
give an opportunity to students to critically analyze world problems while they prepare for life
after school (C3 Teachers). The process to achieve this goal looks very similar to a DBQ,
however, utilizes sub questions to break down the big question.

In addition to DBQs and the C3 Framework is Project Based Learning (PBL). The goal of
PBL is to use classroom projects to deal with real world problems (PBL Works). By making
connections to real world problems in the classroom, teachers have an opportunity to develop
more civically minded students. Finally, a common inquiry-based method in the classroom are
simulations. In a simulation, students are put in realistic situations that force them to make
decisions based on the parameters of the simulations. For example, this past school year I used a
U.K. Parliament simulation utilizing the Choices Program (more specifically in regards to the
Congo crisis) (Choices Program). Students were asked to think outside the box, make distinct
arguments, and put themselves in the mind of the representatives that would have been in
parliament at the time. It seems as if inquiry-based methods are opportunities for students to
make real world questions, ask questions, and think critically.
What factors keep teachers from using more inquiry-based instructional tactics?
When given the opportunity to reflect on the day to day routines in my classroom I began
to identify some frustrations and concerns that could lead to an inability to add more
inquiry-based instruction in classrooms (thoughts and opinions can be seen in Figure 5). The
thoughts and opinions that are addressed are all theoretical and does not utilize proper field
notes. For this reason, the thoughts and opinions in both my field notes and researcher memos
are similar as data was collected in a similar fashion. It is also important to note that the content
that I gathered was based on my own thoughts and opinions and would have been better
conducted with interviews from other social studies educators.

Theme #1: Time
The first theme that became clear was the impact of time, or lack thereof, in the
classroom. Inquiry-based instruction is often time consuming and when you only see students for
five hours a week, it is often hard to fit all aspects in. Learning can be messy, therefore, time
consuming at times. One of the most important aspects is the reality that many students process
information at different speeds, therefore, completion occurs at different times.
Theme #2: Administrative Concerns
To branch off of time constraints, we are also plagued with a heavy amount of
administrative tasks and standards that make introduction of meaningful inquiry methods tough
to implement. These tasks can include collecting data for evaluation goals, collecting extra
professional development, or reflections on evaluations. In addition, there are expectations to
give a large common assessment at the end of each semester where data is looked at extensively.
It can be uneasy to find a balance between utilizing inquiry-based instruction and hitting every
concept that makes it on the common assessment.
Theme #3: Student Behavior
When reflecting on discussions that I have had with students, it is clear that many
students struggle to “buy in” to inquiry-based instruction. At the beginning of each school year, I
ask my students what social studies teaching activities/strategies they enjoy and it often shocks
me how many say they prefer lecture style. I intend to compare this mindset to actual responses
about instructional tactics later. When reflecting, I also was reminded of a conversation that I had
with a student at the end of semester 1. This student expressed to me that she was excited to see
that a student had been moved into another section as that student had been very distracting.
Prior to that conversation, I had often thought that this student was not motivated herself and that
conversation reminded me about how much of an impact peers can have on behavior. In addition,
students are often motivated by grades over the internal benefit of learning. It is clear that
extrinsic motivators can often overtake our intrinsic motivation.
Theme #4: State Requirements
In World History, we begin our year in the introduction of religions and end in modern
eras. This extensive amount of content can often be overwhelming and make it tough to utilize
the type of inquiry-based instruction that I would prefer. In the current school year I have found
myself telling students “if I had more time” more often than I would hope. Reflecting, there are
many school days where I felt the necessity to utilize more direct instruction in order to complete
the topics necessary.
Theme #5: Unequal Distribution of Student Academic Level
This school year, I have had the challenge of working with more students categorized as
special education than any other year. For this reason, it has become extremely challenging to
find tasks that both challenge higher achieving students and are clear enough for my special
education students. I would love to hear more from students from multiple levels about their
thoughts on inquiry-based instruction and the usability of that type of content. In addition, I am
curious to see some student responses in regards to student motivation and how many point
towards comprehension of material.

Figure 5: Thematic Overview and Notes on Barriers to Entry
Theme #1: Theme #2: Theme #3: Theme #4: Theme #5:
Time Administrative Student Behavior State Unequal
Concerns Requirement Distribution of
s Student
Academic Level
Field Notes -Thinking -Evaluating -Students often X -Some students finish

outside the administrator pop express annoyance activities quicker than
box is hard in- tough to fill when asked to perform others
and them in with the an inquiry task -When students finish
sometimes it strategies being -They sometimes say quickly, they become
takes longer used it is time consuming or disinterested as they
than expected “busy work” (even wait for others to
-Messes up though I would argue finish
the flow of a completely against it) -Students who don’t
class week -Are often only finish become
when don’t motivated by the frustrated and may not
finish an grade- don’t have time to reflect on
activity by the necessarily care about what the point of the
end of a class the learning process activity was
day and the inquiry skills
-Students that can help them in
finish tasks at their adults lives
different -I always start out 2nd
times- semester having 1 on 1
different meetings with all of
processing my students and many
time students who have a
hard time buying in
acknowledge that they
have bad influences
that force them to get
off task
-Will never get every
kid on board and those
kids can often be
distracting or bring
down the mood
Researcher -Thinking -Have to give a -Beginning of the year -In World -Some students finish
outside the common multiple surveys- majority History, we activities quicker than
Memos
box is hard choice test with request lecture style begin the year others
and data that the PLC -Students often with the creation -When students finish
sometimes it and my evaluating express annoyance of Hinduism and quickly, they become
takes longer administrator look when asked to perform end at current disinterested as they
than expected at an inquiry task global issues wait for others to
-Messes up -Have to make sure -They sometimes say like pollution, finish
the flow of a that I hit all of the it is time consuming or etc. -Students who don’t
class week required concepts “busy work” (even -There are many finish become
when don’t that are on the test though I would argue time constraints frustrated and may not
finish an -We also often look completely against it) that make it have time to reflect on
activity by the at M STEP data that -Are often only tough to spend what the point of the
end of a class shows us our motivated by the too much time activity was
day students are grade- don’t on a singular
necessarily care about topic of inquiry
-Students performing on the learning process “If we had more

finish tasks at certain topics and the inquiry skills time”
different -In the midst of that can help them in
times- extensive changes their adults lives
different in the world history -I always start out 2nd
processing state standards we semester having 1 on 1
time have had many meetings with all of
teachers that are my students and many
unwilling to students who have a
compromise on hard time buying in
what they have acknowledge that they
done in the past have bad influences
-Pressure from that force them to get
many people to off task
conform to a certain -Will never get every
style or structure of kid on board and those
teaching kids can often be
down the mood
After considering the themes above, I was also curious about inquiry methods and how
often they are used in my classroom (see Figure 6). Am I allowing some of the above barriers to
cause me to stray away from inquiry-based methods? The data collected below was based on the
planned lessons written down in my lesson plan book, however, is likely not 100% accurate as
many small changes occur in the midst of a school day. The most accurate representation would
have been to conduct a similar tally using my class log that I fill out at the end of each day.
However, this log is in my classroom and not available to me at the moment. For this reason, I
would like to conduct a similar tally next school year.
When looking at the data presented in Figure 5, some sort of inquiry-based instruction
was used on roughly 50% of our class days. This large percentage does show me that
inquiry-based instruction is an important part of my day to day routine and is a key part of my
instruction. However, I do notice a poor distribution between the four highlighted forms of
inquiry-based instruction (DBQ, C3, PBL, and Simulations). It is clear that the DBQ is my most
used type of inquiry-based instruction at 17.6% of class days. This makes me wonder, if students
have a feeling of repetitiveness in my classroom. In addition, this year I have not used the C3
Framework frequently at 3.2% of class days. This is shocking to me as C3 is arguably my
favorite of four highlighted forms of inquiry-based instruction. I do believe that the unequal
distribution of these two forms of instruction is caused by the new state standards that I am
working with this school year as it has forced me to utilize resources from co-workers more
frequently. Another interesting statistic was the relatively low number of days that were
predominantly used by lecture at 12%. I hope to consider this number later on as I investigate
student answers in regards to motivation and favorite types of instructional tactics.
Figure 6: Breakdown of Teaching Strategies in my Classroom
Tactic Used in Class Amount of School Days Percentage Used
Lecture 15 12%
DBQ 22 17.6%
C3 4 3.2%
PBL 8 6.4%
Simulations 10 8%
Other Inquiry Methods 18 14.4%
Test/Finals/Quiz/Review Day 16 12.8%
Snow Day/Other Day Out of the 5 4%

Classroom
Other 27 21.6%
Total Days in School 2019-2020 125 X
What do students perceive as their purpose in a social studies class?
To approach the topic of student perceptions of social studies classrooms, I added a direct
question on my student survey. To ensure students did not feel obligated to answer a certain way,
an open ended approach was utilized. However, this did lead to variability in the responses in
each thematic categories explored below (see Figure 8). Specifically, not every student response
fit distinctly in a category so some researcher bias is present in the placement of some responses.
Another trend that I noticed is that students gave most of their responses in relation to history
education and not social studies as a more broad field. Only a few students identified this
difference in their responses. This is a challenge that I would likely change if to conduct this
survey again and would be a distinction that I would make clear when introducing this topic
directly to my students.
In addition, the data below only references 46 of my roughly 92 World History Students.
This low total does lead to the unfortunate reality that my data is likely swayed and inevitably
not completely accurate. The most troubling part of the makeup of the group that responded is
that roughly 50% of those students would identify themself as an “A” student, which is not an
accurate representation of my student population (see Figure 7). Even though this is true, some
insight can be gained by their responses, so I have chosen to still look at the data presented.
Figure 6: Participating Student Grade Demographics

Theme #1: Knowledge
One of the most shocking pieces of data gained throughout my student surveys was the
large proportion (35.7%) of students who identified the purpose of social studies as to just gain
knowledge or just inform students of history (see Figure 8). I intend to compare this piece of
information to my responses below. This theme was the first one that became clear in my first
time reading through student responses and is also the theme that shows the least variability in
the student responses in this category. This would lead me to believe that students may not hold a
high importance on the content that is learned in social studies. When I compare students' open
ended responses to answers when asked about social studies connection to everyday life (see
Figure 9), this message seems to be consistent. In Figure 8, only 32.6% of students polled
answered that they “agree” or “strongly agree” to the question “What I learn in social studies
connects to my life outside of school”. When looked at this data, the largest proportion of
students responded “neutral”(41.3%), which could be a result of many different factors. My
hypothesis is that it could either be an attempt to not hurt my personal feelings or a true struggle
to answer the question.
Theme #2: History Doesn’t Repeat Itself
The second theme that seemed to arise was the goal to learn from our mistakes or to not
allow “history to repeat itself”. This was a theme that was not shocking to me as it is a phrase or
mindset that I hear often when discussing social studies education. In the context of this data
collected, this represented the 3rd most common answer at 26.2% of students. The common
distinction amongst student responses was learning from past mistakes done in history and
hoping to make better choices later on.

Theme #3: Better Understanding Others
A third distinct theme that arose was the desire to better understand other cultures,
people, religions, etc. This represented the smallest proportion of student responses at 9.5%. I
would theorize that this theme represents the widespread areas of the world that are discussed in
World History. Time is spent looking at maps of the world as well as investigating each continent
in every unit of study.
Theme #4: Critical Thinking
Finally, the most variable response fell underneath a category that I entitled “critical
thinking”. This category was the second largest population category with 28.6% of student
responses. This category held the most diverse responses, however, all stemmed from the base
concepts of critical thinking and comparisons between the past and present. When comparing my
main research question, “Under what conditions are students most (or least) motivated in a social
studies classroom?”, it is clear that critical thinking and inquiry-based instruction are key
motivators. If given the opportunity, I would love to investigate this theme more distinctly and
ask questions about the impact of this critical thinking on their daily lives and ways in which
they feel they have best learned these goals in their social studies classrooms.
Figure 8: Students Perceptions of the Purpose of Social Studies
Figure 9: Student Perceptions of Social Studies Connection to Everyday Life

How do student perceptions and teacher perceptions of social studies education align?
When approaching the last of my subquestions, I am looking to compare my individual
thoughts to the thoughts and opinions of my students. After reviewing my data, it is clear that my
data would have been more rich with a survey of other social studies educators. When
approaching my study again next school year, I intend to make this important change. When
considering the comments outlined in Figure 10, I did attempt to combat researcher bias by
writing my thoughts and opinions prior to reading student responses. My goal was to not allow
my students' responses to impact my thoughts and opinions.
Even though I did not look at student data prior to writing my thoughts and opinions on
the purpose of social studies, it is clear that many of my thoughts corresponded to student
responses. The biggest difference between my responses and those of my students is the absence
of any response about just the acquisition of knowledge. In comparison, this theme held the
largest amount of student responses at 35.7% (see Figure 8). This stark difference does make me
wonder how I could tackle this mindset at the beginning of the school year next year. A
conversation about the importance of social studies education and emphasis on the “why are we
here?” aspect could be very meaningful. It would be interesting to compare data next year around
the same time with the added discussion and approach change.
The other large difference between student data and my teacher data is the added “social
and civil” theme added below (see Figure 10). In the midst of an election cycle, many of my
colleagues and I have had recent conversations about helping students better understand their
role in society when it comes to voting, interacting with others, etc. I am curious if teacher
survey data would be even more heavy in “civic duty” next year after the presidential election.
Figure 10: Teacher Perceptions of Social Studies
Theme #1: Theme #2: Theme #3: Theme #4: Theme #5:
Knowledge History Better Critical Social and
Doesn’t Understanding Thinking Civil
Repeat Itself Others
Researcher X -Learning from -Better -Understandin -Civil duty-

Memos past mistakes appreciation g how the what does it all
and world made it mean, why is it
understanding to its current important to
of those situation (our vote, etc.
around the story) -Social- better
world or in the -Critical able to
U.S. (Culture, thinking- approach a
upbringings, thinking situation
religions, outside the box
values, etc.) -See the world
in a new way
based off new
things we have
learned or
discussed
Research Question: “Under what conditions are students most (or least) motivated in a social
studies classroom?”
Theme #1: Collaboration
The first emergent theme throughout my gathered data was an emphasis on the
importance of group work. The impact of collaborating with classmates was evident in all pieces
of data, but was most evident in the student survey. An overview of collected data can be seen
below in Figure 15. Based off collected student responses, 34% of students identified group
work as the time they feel most motivated (see Figure 12), 20.5% of students stated that they are
least motivated when asked to work alone (see Figure 15), and even when asked directly if they
preferred working alone or in groups 43.5% responded as group work as their ideal choice (see
Figure 14). It is clear that a large proportion of students would self-identify group work as their
ideal choice which does make me wonder about better practices to keep students motivated when
working in groups. Also, an important distinction did emerge in the data that even though groups
are a preferred choice, these groups should be small (see Figure 15).
When students were asked about specific types of activities that they feel most motivated
by, assignments that are usually completed in small groups continued to surface. More
specifically, small projects or small group document analysis (see Figure 13). When comparing
student data to teacher data, I did identify that students seem most motivated when told to work
in small groups and often show visual and vocal excitement to move next to classmates. With the
opportunity to observe my classroom in person, I hope to further these findings and other aspects
of small group work such as proper partnering techniques and student behavior concerns.
Figure 12: Student Responses on Motivation in a Social Studies Classroom

Figure 13: Student Responses in Regards to Specific Activities
Figure 14: Group vs. Individual Activities

Figure 15: Student Responses on Least Motivation in a Social Studies Classroom
Theme #2: Interest
Another theme that began to emerge was the importance of topic interest. 17% of
students stated that they are most motivated in a social studies classroom when they have an
interest in the topic (see Figure 12). In comparison, 11.4% of students stated they are least
motivated in social studies when they are not interested in the topic (see figure 15). Throughout
student responses, many students even named specific topics that they found most interesting
throughout the school year. This does make me wonder what topics students might find most
interesting and which topics need to be “spiced” up a little more to grab students attention. It
would be interesting to send a follow up survey to students that asked for more detail in regards
to this trend. I did mention in my field notes that the potential to get the attention of every
student is not likely, so it is important to give yourself a break at times.

Theme #3: Discussion
A shocking trend was the consistency of class discussion as a condition that motivated
many students. In fact, 12.8% of students in an open ended question focused on classroom
discussion as what motivates them most (see Figure 12) and 56.5% of students identified class
discussion as an activity that keeps them motivated (see Figure 13). When reflecting on the day
to day behavior in my classroom in my reflective field notes, there are many class days that are
sidetracked by meaningful discussion. In 2 of my 3 sections of World History, I often have to
limit the amount of students giving feedback to ensure we can make it through the goals of the
day. However, in my 3rd section of World History I am often met with little to no responses from
students and have had to resort to cold calling on students to get responses, at times. I would be
interested to see if my hypothesis is correct in regards to the feelings surrounding classroom
discussion and look at the data in a class by class basis.
Theme #4: Critical Thinking
The final emergent theme comes in the form of critical thinking. In comparison to the
other three themes, there was not an overwhelming emergent theme in specific questions relating
to student motivation in social studies. However, this theme became clear to me when 28.6% of
students responded with varied responses relating to critical thinking when asked about the
purpose of social studies (see Figure 9). Many of the responses within this response pool
discussed the importance of comparing the past to the present, acknowledging progress that has
occurred, etc. These detailed responses lead me to believe that more students see the importance
of critical thinking even if they did not utilize that language in their more specific student
responses in relation to student motivation.

In my researcher memos, I dug in to different types of inquiry-based instruction that
utilizes critical thinking at its core (DBQ, C3, PBL, and Simulations). When I began to then
compare these types of inquiry-based instruction to student responses to instructional techniques
that they are most motivated by, some similarities began to emerge. First, 56.5% of students
identified small projects as a tactic that they believe motivates them (see Figure 13). In my
classroom, small projects are often abbreviated versions of Project Based Learning initiatives.
Also, 47.8% of students identified small group document analysis as an activity that keeps them
motivated (see Figure 13). Document analysis is the phrase that I utilize with my students to
identify activities that would fall underneath the umbrella of DBQ or C3 Framework activities. It
is clear, that even though critical thinking or inquiry-based instruction was not identified as a
distinct condition for motivation in a social studies classroom, that these types of activities do
spark their interest.
Figure 16: Research Question Data Collection Chart
Theme #1: Theme #2: Theme #3: Theme #4:

Collaboration Interest Discussion Critical Thinking
Student Most: Most: Most: Most:

-34% of students -17% of students -12.8% of students -28.6% of students
Surveys/Student
stated they are most stated that they are stated that they are expressed that critical
Attitude Scales motivated when most motivated when most motivated when thinking is the purpose
working in groups they have interest in they participate in of social studies
-56.5% stated that the topic class discussion -56.5% stated that
small/mini projects -56.5% of students small/mini projects
that are often a Least: stated that class that require critical
collaboration activity -11.4% stated they are discussions are the thinking are the
are the activities they least interested in activity that keep them activity they feel most
feel most motivated to social studies when most motivated motivated to complete
complete they are not interested -47.8% of students
-47.8% of students stated that small group
stated that small group document analysis is
document analysis is the activity that keeps
the activity that keeps them most motivated
them most motivated
-43.5% of students felt Least:
more motivated when -11.4% of students
working in a group stated that document
versus individual analysis activities
make them least

Least: motivated
-18.2% stated they are
least motivated when
they have to work in
LARGE groups
-20.5% stated that
they are least
motivated when
working alone
Field Notes Most: Most: Most: Most:

-Students seem -Students are -Students are often -DBQ
motivated and excited interested in topic- motivated in -C3
when told to work in naturally some topics discussions- -PBL
small groups- often catch the attention excitement over new -Simulations
vocally get excited better than others ideas or concepts
Least:
-Will never get every
kid on board and those
kids can often be
down the mood
Researcher Most: Most: Most: Most:

-Students seem -Students are -Students are often -DBQ
Memos
motivated and excited interested in topic- motivated in -C3
when told to work in naturally some topics discussions- -PBL
small groups- often catch the attention excitement over new -Simulations
vocally get excited better than others ideas or concepts
Conclusions and Discussion
Connections
When reflecting back to my initial literature review, I am reminded that the three main
trends that emerged were a student’s self-concept, reasoning for completing the task, and the
impact of their surrounding environment. Comparing these three themes to my collected data
does uncover some similarities, however, some distinct differences also appeared. The most
popular theme that I recognized throughout the research analyzed during my literature review
was the importance of self-concept. More specifically, if a student believes they can and will be
successful, they are more likely to be successful (Steinmayr, 2019, Pg 2). When comparing the
data gathered from students, this theme did not present itself specifically, however, I do see some
similarities to discovered themes of both “having fun” (8.5%) and “understanding directions”
(8.5%) when students were asked when they feel most motivated in a social studies classroom
(see Figure 12). Specifically, the theme “understanding directions” highlights a students belief
about their capability to perform the task at hand.
The second theme that presented itself in my literature review was a students’ reasoning
for completing the task at hand. In my literature review, I emphasize the importance of intrinsic
vs extrinsic motivation which is touched on but not emphasized in my final data (Barkoukis,
2014, pg 406). When looking at students' perceptions of their purpose in a social studies
classroom, only 32.6% of students could say that they “agree” or “strongly agree” that social
studies connects to their lives outside of school (see Figure 9). This leads me to believe that
many students may struggle to find the intrinsic motivation for social studies curriculum that
would lead them to be most successful. Another area of research that highlighted the importance
of a students’ reasoning for completing a task and where they get the motivation to complete
tasks is in the student survey question asking when students feel most motivated in a social
studies classroom (Barkoukis, 2014, pg 407). More specifically, 17% of students identified
having an interest in the topic as a main indicator (see Figure 12). In addition, something I found
interesting was that none of the students surveyed identified grades as an important motivator in
a social studies classroom. All of the above data seems to support the stance in my literature
review that intrinsic motivation is the most important type of motivation (Barkoukis, 2014, pg
410).
Finally, my literature review highlighted the environment of a student (both in school and
out) as having an impact on student motivation. A large theme throughout this section of my
literature review is the impact of the teacher, especially when it comes to personal connection
(Wentzel, 1997, Pg 414). However, this theme did not present itself in my collected data. This
was shocking to me as connecting with students is a large topic of conversation throughout the
education field and has often been the topic of professional development throughout my career.
In addition, students did not seem to identify any at home factors influencing their motivation in
the classroom. Even though the two above factors did not present themselves, the questions
asked did specifically ask them about motivation in a social studies classroom, which could have
made them consider academic factors more heavily. On the other hand, my literature review did
mention the impact of a classroom feeling and how students individually feel when entering the
classroom (Wentzel, 1997, Pg 416). In my student survey data, 4.3% did identify mood as a
factor that could help them feel more motivated in a social studies classroom (see figure 12).
Reflective Stance
As I begin to reflect back on the data collected and the reflections that have occurred
after, it has become increasingly obvious that my mindset has gone through various stages
throughout this process. When deciding on a research question, I was in the midst of much
frustration in regards to student motivation and my frustrations led me to put much of my
frustrations on students and parents and not look internally. As time has moved on, I have had
the opportunity to consider many other outside forces that could lead to a student to be
unmotivated in the classroom. These new insights have opened my eyes to aspects of my
teaching as well as student mindsets that give me hope to improve my practice and approach in
many different avenues. I outline many of the insights gained and desire for the future below.
Next Steps
My new mindset towards my own teaching and some distinct points of interest
throughout my findings have led to me to consider a few important places of focus that I intend
to implement next school year. When I entered into my inquiry, I had hopes to get to the core of
what students need to be most successful and even though my research study is incomplete based
on the unique time frame conducted, there are many important conclusions that can be drawn. As
I begin considering changes for my classroom for next year, I am most excited to take the four
themes (collaboration, interest, discussion, and critical thinking) and apply them directly to
classroom instruction. The data was distinctly clear that students feel motivated when able to
work in small groups, have the ability to participate in full class discussions, and want to be
given the opportunity to think critically. I hope to be able to apply more inquiry-based
instructional tactics in my classroom in order to reach these goals. Also, students also
emphasized the importance of being interested in the topics at hand, so I hope to better target
“hook” activities to assist students in becoming more invested in the topics being discussed.
Another piece of data I wish to better look at are the actual instructional activities that I
am using in the classroom. In Figure 7, I outlined the types of instructional activities that were
used in my classroom this school year. One area of improvement that does need to occur next
year is the diversity in instructional tactics used. Within the four identified common
inquiry-based instructional practices (DBQ, C3, PBL, and Simulations), Data Based Questions
(DBQs) were used overwhelmingly more than any other type. Next school year, I hope to look at
each unit and attempt to better balance practices throughout. Another area of interest was the
high amount of days (12%) where lecture was used for the majority of a class period. In
comparison, 13.6% of students distinctly identified lectures as a time in a social studies
classroom where they feel least motivated, which leads me to rethink this instructional practice
(see Figure 15). I do not believe cutting all lectures is completely necessary, however, ensuring
that I am utilizing different inquiry strategies throughout lectures or deleting some in
replacement of a PBL or simulation could assist in improving student motivation.
My final area that I intend to target as we move into the 2020-2021 school year is the
differences in opinions between what students and teachers believe is the purpose of a social
studies classroom. I was very shocked to see that the largest percentage of students (35.7%)
identified that just gaining knowledge of historical events was their purpose (see Figure 9). As I
reflected on this statistic, I began to think about how tough it would be to sit in a class where
memorizing pieces of information was the purpose. I hope to better target this mindset from the
beginning of the school year and hopefully generate a class discussion about the topic. It is
important that students see the worth of learning in order to become intrinsically motivated, so I
truly believe this needs to be a priority moving forward.
Future Considerations
Throughout the gathering of data, I was faced with more ethical concerns than I was
expecting. The most obvious was a lower level of student participation in my student survey.
More specifically, I was concerned about the unequal distribution of students when it comes to
their self-identified grade average in social studies classrooms. Roughly 50% of students who
participated in my student survey identified themself as an “A” student, which is not an accurate
representation of my student population (see Figure 8). In addition, I ended up using many more
open ended questions in my student survey than I expected prior to beginning this study (see
Appendix 2). The goal in making this choice was to ensure students were responding in an honest
way and I was not swaying their responses based on my pre-existing expectations. However, this
did lead to more variability in thematic categories presented. At times, I was forced to make
decisions on what I felt was the best fit for a response, which led to some researcher bias.
As we move past the confines of a COVID-19 world, I do plan to expand on and follow
up on many of the findings and thoughts that are presented above. I would love to gain some
more conclusive knowledge with a larger number of participants and share my findings with
members of the social studies department. More specifically, I would love to share my
conclusions with my district's instructional coach and curriculum director who facilitate
professional development as part of their role. As one of the least experienced members of my
department, I do not feel comfortable sharing my findings to a more experienced audience, but
the findings could give great insight to many. On the other hand, I intend to use my findings to
continue to better my practice. I hope to always be striving to improve and this is a great
opportunity to do just this. I would like to challenge myself to survey my students more often. In
my first few years of teaching I have been wary of asking for too much student input, but this
experience has shown me the distinct benefits to student input.

Resources
Barkoukis, Taylor, I., Chanal, J., & Ntoumanis, N. (2014). The relation between student
motivation and student grades in PHYSICAL education: A 3-YEAR INVESTIGATION.
Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, 24(5). doi:10.1111/sms.12174
Boyinaband, director. Don't Stay in School. YouTube, YouTube, 2 Feb. 2015,
www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xe6nLVXEC0.
Collier, L. (2015, June). Grabbing students. Retrieved February 24, 2020, from
https://www.apa.org/monitor/2015/06/grabbing-students
Fyans J., & Maehr, M. L. (1987). Sources of student achievement student motivation, school
context and family background. Place of publication not identified: Distributed by ERIC
Clearinghouse.
Gillet, Morin, A. J., & Reeve, J. (2017). Stability, change, and implications of students’
motivation profiles: A latent transition analysis. Contemporary Educational Psychology,
51, 222-239. doi:10.1016/j.cedpsych.2017.08.006
“Join the Inquiry Revolution.” C3 Teachers, www.c3teachers.org/.
Mathewson, T. G. (2019, March 27). How to unlock students' internal drive for learning.
Retrieved February 24, 2020, from https://hechingerreport.org/intrinsic-motivation-
is-key-to-student-achievement-but-schools-kill-it/
Niebuhr, K. (1995). The effect of motivation on the relationship of school climate, family
environment, and student characteristics to academic achievement.
Speeches/Conference Papers.
Pearce (Director). (2010). The Empty Desk : Identifying and Assisting the At-Risk Student [Video
file]. Retrieved February 24, 2020, from https://fod-infobase-com.proxy1
.cl.msu.edu/p_ViewVideo.aspx?xtid=49824#
Steinmayr, Weidinger, A. F., Schwinger, M., & Spinath, B. (2019). The importance of students’
motivation for their academic achievement – replicating and extending previous
findings. Frontiers in Psychology, 10. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01730
The choices program. (n.d.). Retrieved April 13, 2020, from https://www.choices.edu/
The DBQ Project. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.dbqproject.com/
Wentzel R. (1997). Student motivation in middle school: The role of perceived pedagogical
caring. Journal of Educational Psychology, 89(3), 411-419.
doi:10.1037/0022-0663.89.3.411
What is PBL? (n.d.). Retrieved April 13, 2020, from https://www.pblworks.org/what-is-pbl
Wolters, C. A. (2004). Advancing achievement goal theory: Using goal structures and goal
orientations to predict students' motivation, cognition, and achievement. Journal of
Educational Psychology, 96(2), 236-250. doi:10.1037/0022-0663.96.2.236

Appendix 1: Introduction Letter

Appendix 2: Student Survey

Appendix 3: Research Collection Google Documents
Student Survey Data:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KRu9Cr3FWr1Zy7GuZf6I91Nke42wXkXphCYtKjGOsE
Y/edit?usp=sharing
Field Notes:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1RQTgSGzFoFKznRGLWlL-8g8yhBJk_PlqjtZsB0vQOMg
/edit?usp=sharing
Researcher Memos:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lzBlDjF4AAo9mZR65k1z7ahQ3Kt55zzC6EtI0ZwCcE8/e
dit?usp=sharing
Research Question Data Breakdown:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1IO6yuzQlma2UAF3CluN4IxtxgRakHjVNvDZKZTrQ8Lg
/edit?usp=sharing

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Running Head: INQUIRY METHODS AND A SOCIAL STUDIES CLASSROOM

Plymouth-Canton Educational Park. At “The Park”, as we more frequently refer to our

identify as Black, 4% Hispanic, and 70% White/Caucasion. In my own classroom, I teach

Throughout my educational experience (grade school, college, and in my teaching career)

distinct path moving forward.

classroom. As I considered Dr. Mark’s thoughts I began to realize that it is imperative as

that might showcase itself in my social studies classroom.

and the multiple perspectives involved in each.

to emerge about the impact of self-concept.

are all important lightbulb moments for all educators.

about student mindsets and inner struggles.

our classroom (Mathewson, 2019).

previously hypothesized, it is still a distinct factor that should be considered.

self-concept and self-efficacy.

Design and Method

eliminate age as a factor in swaying my data. In my specific study, I am hoping to gather as

a special education student. In comparison, my 4th hour course is identified as a general

Educational Park (PCEP). Students in my classroom represent all three Plymouth-Canton

class at the semester break.

In my specific classroom, I have my room set up in a “boardroom” style (see Figure 1

Figure 1: Classroom Set Up Diagram

Figure 2: Data collection techniques

Student Surveys Student Attitude Field Notes Researcher

What are some

basic demographics, perceptions of school in general, perceptions of social study education,

option to access via our Google Classroom page.

Finally, I intend to use a self-study to better improve my individual teaching. As

and I hope to take this as an opportunity to best improve my individual practice.

classroom. Specifically, I will choose inquiry-based instruction techniques to monitor more

Figure 3: Timeline Overview

Role and Issues

at specific student responses to ensure I am not accidentally offended by student responses. In

decided to use more of an open-ended response technique throughout my work in hopes of

When receiving my student data, I began by organizing my data in a google document

my research analysis document (see Appendix 3).

a social studies classroom. Below, I intend to go in more detail in regards to my findings. In

thematic chart (see Appendix 3).

source was utilized (see Figure 4).

Figure 4: Triangulation Chart

Theme #1: Theme #2: Theme #3: Theme #4:

What are some types of inquiry-based approaches?

After considering professional development, social studies methods coursework, and my

however, utilizes sub questions to break down the big question.

make real world questions, ask questions, and think critically.

conducted with interviews from other social studies educators.

Theme #1: Time

information at different speeds, therefore, completion occurs at different times.

Theme #2: Administrative Concerns

professional development, or reflections on evaluations. In addition, there are expectations to

concept that makes it on the common assessment.

Theme #3: Student Behavior

extrinsic motivators can often overtake our intrinsic motivation.

Theme #4: State Requirements

the topics necessary.

Theme #5: Unequal Distribution of Student Academic Level

towards comprehension of material.

Figure 5: Thematic Overview and Notes on Barriers to Entry

Field Notes -Thinking -Evaluating -Students often X -Some students finish