Goal Based Solutions: Case Study

Case Description:
A group of fifth grade students completed an informational unit on
researching different animals. For this project, students were asked to work in small
groups to explore the animal’s: lifecycle, habitat, predators and prey. Students were
expected to utilize a group of resources provided by the teachers and develop a
research article that showcased all the learners learned about the animal. Learners
were expected to develop a strong: introduction, provide facts with citations of
where the information was gathered, introduce and explain relevant vocabulary
about the animal, and a conclusion which focused on the importance of having the
animal within the environment and plausible affects with the animal being
eliminated from the ecosystem. The purpose of this assignment was for learners to
become more independent in their ability to complete independent research
projects. Following this project, learners were going to begin developing their own
independent research project.
For this project, groups were assigned a particular ecosystem. Students could
choose any animal they wanted which lived in the ecosystem and collaborated on
the development of the paper. As students began working, teachers noticed an
overall disengagement in the activity. Learners were frequently seen off task,
spending little class time engaged with the activity. Learners, had been provided
some resources to use, however it appeared learners were not able to implement
the research materials into their work. Students struggled to develop ways to share
their research in a way that was not seen as copying word for word from the
original author.
Students were graded on a rubric, which had the following categories:
Introduction, Quality of the Topics in the Paragraphs, Domain specific vocabulary
and Information, Conclusion and Proper Grammar and Language Usage. Upon
grading student work teachers noticed an overall pattern. A majority of students
excelled in developing strong introductions to animal they researched. However,
students struggled providing relevant and important information with regards to
the animal of their choosing. In addition, learners struggled in using proper
grammar and language usage throughout their writing. Teachers reflect on causes
for strong introductions and conclusions, but limited content within the research
project. Upon reflection, the teachers realize there are school initiatives, which the
students might find more relevant. One such example is the push for College and
Career Readiness. The teachers begin collaborating with the principal and leaders to
develop a website for which students can publish research on future careers and
colleges students might want to enroll in upon completion of high school. Teachers
began reflecting on alternate ways for which students could gain research skills, but
in a more engaging and interactive way.

Relevant Questions:
1. What are some of the causes of student apparent lack of engagement?
2. What are fifth grade appropriate topics for learners to research?
3. What are other modalities to showcase student research capabilities?
 4. How might teachers motivate students to become excited about research
topics?
5. What resources might a teacher provide students to improve English
Grammar and Reading Proficiency?
6. What aspects of the school community might help learners find meaning
behind potential research topics.

Potential Solutions:
Because there is an apparent lack of student motivation, one solution might
be the Goal Base Approach. (GBS) According to one text, “The GBS method reflects
our theory that students should learn content and skills in order to achieve goals
that they find interesting and important and that relate to the subject matter.”
(Shank, Berman & Macpherson, 2013, p. 166) The idea is if students are actively
engaged in the learning, then students will gain the intended outcomes of the
instructional unit. There are several elements to the Goal Based Approach. There
needs to be: Learning Goals, Processing Knowledge, Content Knowledge, a Mission, a
Cover Story, a Role, Scenario Operations, Resources and Feedback. (Shank, Berman
& Macpherson, 2013, p. 173-179.) These components build upon each other such
that students can have a beneficial learning experience.
According to one article there are two types of learning goals, “Process
knowledge is the knowledge of how to practice skills that contribute to goal
achievement while content knowledge is the information that the achievement of a
goal requires.” (Shank, Berman &Macpherson, 2013, p. 172) By having students
actively researching different careers and universities, students are developing
research skills required of students to achieve by the end of the fifth grade.
The following is a potential solution the problem given. Students would be
introduced to a “Mission” and “Cover Story.” This would help learners see the
necessity of this project. (Shank, Berman & Macpherson, 2013, p. 174) School
leaders are trying to showcase their implementation of a school initiative of having
students be excited and motivated to go to college and go into careers requiring
collegiate degrees. To showcase this, leaders might develop a website. Students
could assume the role of Content Contributors and Editors. This would be seen as
the student’s role. Students will research different careers and universities they
would be interested in attending and job acquisition. This ties into the aim or goal of
the project because it is what the desired outcome of the project is. Students could
be provided a variety of options to showcase their newfound skills. Students might
develop, videos, posters articles and post them to the website. Students will choose
a research topic, which is meaningful to them. Because they choose the topic, they
are more likely to be engaged in the topic. Students will practice research skills by
locating and gathering relevant research information. Students will then publish
their work. Furthermore, by having students edit and review each other’s work,
they will improve their writing, as they are being able to see the quality of their
work being produced by their peers.

Reference:
Vol. II Chp. 8: Learning by Doing . Reigeluth, C. M. (Ed.). (2013). Instructional-
design theories and models: A new paradigm of instructional theory
(Vol. 2). Routledge.