Tutorial Activity Week 4.

Table 1.1

Themes about the subject Researching Teaching & Learning 1:

Emerging from data Collected from week 1
Research is Research is Research is Useful
Informative Flawed/Limited
It can be expensive
Can proves/ disproves Allows us to know things
information can work
It can add on to your Data may be manipulated
previous knowledge Find solutions for problems

Can be biased Used to correct

Provide new information
and give you a new opinion
and/or perspective
It can explain cause and effect
misconceptions
Can be used to push Can inspire change
negative agendas or to scare
people

It can give valuable insights It can give valuable insights

into society and its commonly Time consuming into society and its
held beliefs commonly held beliefs

It gives better perspective Too many levels of

about things and concepts interpretation Gives credibility or validity
(that are being researched) to a perspective

Article One: The role of flexible learning programs in enabling behavioural engagement

https://doi-org.ezproxy.uws.edu.au/10.1080/13632752.2019.1633740

Summary:

 This study investigates the change in students’ behavioural engagement as a result of

participation in a Flexible Learning Program. Using an understanding of engagement as both
a process and a relationship between the students and their school
 To achieve this, we used a range of data sources which involved both student and teacher
voice, collected prior, during, and after the program. Data from the program’s complete
cohort of 46 students, collected over a span of five years
 Students staying engaged and at school until they complete 12 years of schooling is regarded
as important for the long-term economic status and wellbeing of the person, as well as for
the Australian economy and society as a whole (Council of Australian Government, 2009).
But the statistics in Tasmania, Australia, where this paper is contextualised, around school
participation and completion are troubling where there is only a 74% apparent retention
rate from year 7–12, compared with 84.5% nationally (ABS, 2018). This number becomes
concerningly lower when discussing young males from low socio-economic areas (Smyth,
McInerney, and Fish 2013).
 There is a multitude of approaches that have been taken from the state through to
individual school level to maintain retention in schools ranging from harsher punitive
approaches for non-attendance, through to alternative pathways through TAFE or other
registered training organisations. Among the mix of approaches to supporting engagement
in schools, there is recognition of the role that alternative education programs, such as
Flexible Learning Programs, can play in keeping students engaged in their education (Lamb
et al. 2015; Mitchell 2016; Te Riele et al. 2017; Thomas 2018).
 Flexible Learning Programs have been used in Australia and elsewhere as one approach to
reduce early school-leaving and increase engagement of disengaged students. As well as
increasing retention rates, Flexible Learning Programs aim to provide a quality education for
‘disadvantaged, disengaged or disenfranchised young people’ (Te Riele et al. 2017, 118).
 The reengagement program was hosted within a non-government school (K-10) in a city in
Tasmania, Australia. The host school has around 880 students and 56 teachers. The school
was located in a low Socio-Economic area and drew the majority of its students from
surrounding suburbs with high levels of disadvantage
 The reengagement program featured in this study is described by the Host high school as
‘individual, goal-based and choice-based’ for students who, for ‘whatever reason, have
disengaged from education’
 In terms of program structure, students were collected from their houses in the morning and
returned in the afternoon on a small school bus driven by one of the staff members.
Morning tea and lunch were prepared by the students and the group, including the staff, ate
together. On Fridays, students were involved in recreational activities such as surfing,
abseiling, and mountain biking. There were three staff involved in the program.
 In terms of curriculum, the timetable within the program was flexible, but typically followed
a structure of individualised numeracy and literacy lessons in the mornings, daily exercise in
the form of a 20-min run or cross-training, and more practical or specialised subjects in the
afternoon such as horticulture or cooking. The program followed the Australian National
curriculum and espoused academic excellence as one of its core principles. While learning
plans were personalised to address the current abilities of each student, they were tailored
to meet or exceed year level expectations by the time students completed the program.
 The program’s behaviour management approach could be described as non-directive
interventionist (Edwards and Watts 2010) where, in private consultations, students were
made aware of the impact of their behaviour choices, and counselled to make alternative
choices by using different strategies
 Results: This study has investigated the ways in which students’ behavioural engagement
changed as a result of participation in a Flexible Learning Program.
  participation in the Flexible Learning Program allowed them to gain the support they needed
to reach the behavioural engagement goals that they had set for themselves. Furthermore,
the study demonstrated that increased mainstream school attendance and conduct could be
achieved through participation in a Flexible Learning Program, and that successful
reintegration of reengaged students was achievable.


Article Two:

Teacher and Peer Support for Young Adolescents' Motivation, Engagement, and School Belonging

https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.uws.edu.au/docview/1707736247?
accountid=36155&rfr_id=info%3Axri%2Fsid%3Aprimo

 The purpose of this sequential explanatory mixed methods study was to investigate teacher
and peer support for young adolescents' academic motivation, classroom engagement, and
school belonging within one large, urban, ethnically diverse middle school. In the initial
quantitative phase, associations among aspects of teacher support (autonomy, structure,
and involvement), peer support (academic and emotional), and adjustment (motivation,
engagement, and belonging) were examined using student surveys (N = 209, 61% females).
 Results indicate teacher and peer support are academic and social in nature and have
unique implications for supporting motivation, engagement, and belonging in middle
school.
 An implication for educators is for them to understand the ways teacher and peer support
may help meet young adolescents' needs and promote their academic motivation,
classroom engagement, and school belonging. Findings may inform middle level educational
research and practice, especially in urban, ethnically diverse middle level schools.
 Support from teachers and peers can have a profound influence on students' success
(Wang & Eccles, 2013), well-being (Van Ryzin, Gravely, & Roseth, 2009), and overall
adjustment in school (Deci et al., 1991; Wentzel et al., 2010). Interactions with teachers and
peers play a central role in supporting young adolescents' academic motivation, classroom
engagement, and sense of school belonging (Wentzel, 2012; Wentzel & Wigfield, 2007).
 Motivation, classroom engagement, and sense of school belonging are important aspects of
students' overall adjustment in school. Motivation is a set of beliefs that drive and sustain
behavior and is an important precursor to learning and success in school (Wentzel, 2012;
Wentzel & Wigfield, 2009; Wigfield, Eccles, Schiefele, Roeser, & Davis-Kean, 2006).
 Engagement is a multifaceted construct that includes behavioral, cognitive, and/or
emotional involvement in an activity (Fredricks, Blumenfeld, & Paris, 2004). School
belonging involves students feeling a sense of acceptance, value, inclusivity, and
encouragement from teachers and peers (Goodenow, 1993).
 Results: Findings aligned with prior research indicating that teacher and peer support are
critical elements of a developmentally responsive learning environment that promotes
positive student adjustment at the middle level (Jackson & Davis, 2000; Wang & Eccles,
2013; Wentzel et al., 2010).
  The main conclusions from this study are that teacher and peer support are academic and
social in nature, may foster a responsive learning environment, and have unique implications
for supporting adolescents' academic motivation, classroom engagement, andschool
belonging.

ACTIVITY 2:

‘Ultra Plus college’.

The college’s moto is: ‘Try not! Do or not Do; there is no try’.

1. List some data you are likely to have access to at the school or through
your own teaching processes which would enable you to objectively
measure the level of disengagement.
2. Agree together on and define a specific target behaviour relating to
student disengagement that your group would like to tackle.
3. 3. Find 2 reputable, research articles with suggestions for tackling
4. disengagement in the form of the behaviour you have identified
5. (e.g. bonus points if these evaluate an ‘intervention’ of some
6. kind). Be ready to:
7. a) reference the articles,
8. b) describe the research process and
9. c) outline the results of the research.
10.4. Evaluate the process of the analysis of the data by referring to
11.your textbooks. Does the researcher follow the analysis process
12.recommended in your textbooks? Identify any discrepancies between
13.what is recommended in the textbooks and what the researcher did.
Does
14.the researcher explain the reasons for any differences from
recommended
15.research practice?
16.5. Describe 1 or 2 strategies (‘interventions’) as suggested by the articles
that
17.you would adopt to tackle the specific disengagement behaviour you
have
18.(based on your research articles).
19.6. Provide ideas about how you will use various, diverse measurement(s)
to
20.evaluate your interventions’ effectiveness.
21.7. Feedback your ideas to the rest of the tutorial.