Alright, so the blog has been quiet lately while I have been contemplating the context of my next post. I have decided to ask for some reaction and/or reflection to some "academic surveys" I had our Middle and High School students complete. As you may or may not know, we have been looking into the apparent fact that our student body seems to be composed of students doing very well and students doing poorly; in short, little or no "middle ground" students in the mix. In order to solve this issue and to hopefully begin to understand a student's perspective on why simply turning work in complete seems to be such a challenge for some. I can say with complete certainty, that students not turning work in was something I constantly strived to "fix" in my own classroom. With that being said, I also know that this situation is NOT unique to Prairie Farm Schools. Below, you will find the survey and the results for Middle and High School; the student's answers appear below each question and the number in parenthesis reflects the number of students that answered similarly and the answers in italics are responses that 5 or more students listed as an answer. Please look over the results and feel free to provide any input you feel relevant. I will be discussing the results with our students this week on Thursday and Friday during Panther Time and hope to have some student involvement in formulating some approaches to help us figure this thing out. An item that I noted is that our students, for the most part, certainly see their ownership of this situation.
(Please excuse the formatting; I took the time to make it readable only to see that after I hit "publish" it came out like this...)
MS Academic Performance Self-Evaluation
Please answer the following questions as clearly as possible; we hope to use this information to enhance the opportunities for all students.
Have you ever failed a class or been failing at any point during a quarter? YES NO
If you answered “yes” can you explain why?
Frequent absences (1) Too difficult (2)
Didn’t turn work in (12) Not paying attention (1)
Late work (1) Failed big project (1)
Lack of effort (2)
Poor test grades (4)
List and explain anything that you feel would help you raise your grade(s). (You can explain things that would be helpful both before you were failing and after; if you have NEVER failed or been failing a class, please still take the time to answer this question.)
More work time (14) Correct mistakes (2)
Better/ clearer instruction (7) Try harder (11)
Complete work at home (8) Extra credit (2)
Panther time in morning (1) Less homework (2)
More help (6)
What areas of school are most important to you? Are there any ways we can enhance or improve these areas?
Sports (7) Art (3)
Phy Ed (18) FCE (2)
Math (18) Band/ Choir (5)
Lunch (10) Language arts/ reading (5)
Science (11) Business (1)
Academics in general (4) Study hall (1)
Social Studies (5)
Answers to 2nd part (ways to improve areas):
Better equipment (2)
More time to ask questions
Are there any things that you would like to see incorporated into our school? Are there things that we currently do, but you would like to see more of? (In academics, athletics, co-curriculars, etc.)
Computer classes (1) Group work (1)
Dances (2) Field trips (3)
Open gym (2) Foreign languages (3)
Outdoor activities (1) Powder puff FB (2)
Activity days (2) Track facility (2)
Longer study hall (1) Golf team (1)
Dress up days (1) Hands on activities (1)
Intramurals (3) Tutors (1)
Art club (1) Laptops (1)
Soccer (4)
More help (2)
HS Academic Performance Self-Evaluation
Please answer the following questions as clearly as possible; we hope to use this information to enhance the opportunities for all students.
Have you ever failed a class or been failing at any point during a quarter? YES NO
If you answered “yes” can you explain why?
Not understanding (8) Not explained well (5)
Too much homework (3) Distracted (2)
Low test scores (7) Frequent absences (5)
Didn’t try/ turn things in (17) Too much weight on single item (2)
Lost paper/ teacher didn’t grade (3)
List and explain anything that you feel would help you raise your grade(s)?
(You can explain things that would be helpful both before you were failing and after; if you have NEVER failed or been failing a class, please still take the time to answer this question.)
Less homework (15) Study groups (2)
Better explanation/ clearer assign. (14) No tests (1)
More help (4) More extra credit (16)
More time in class to do work (15) Computers (2)
Turn in all work/ on time (6) Less worksheets (1)
Talk with teachers (4) Panther time (1)
Coordinate test dates (1) More effort (3)
Fair grading practices (4) Engaging classes (5)
Tutors (1) Retake tests (5)
What areas of school are most important to you? Are there any ways we can enhance or improve these areas?
Sports (9) Art (2) Tech ed (5)
Phy Ed (11) Ag (2) Graduating (2)
Math (20) Band/ Choir (2) Preparing for future (4)
Lunch (1) English (7) Panther time (1)
Science (15) Theater (1) Foreign languages (1)
Academics in general (8) Psychology (1)
History (5) Computers (3)
Answers to 2nd part (ways to improve areas):
Improved teaching methods Hands on activities (2)
Valuable feedback Computers
Book clubs Field trips
More poetry Guest speakers
Creative outlets Flexible scheduling
Intramurals Tutors
More ITV/ on-line opportunities Extra help
Group work Less homework
Are there any things that you would like to see incorporated into our school? Are there things that we currently do, but you would like to see more of? (In academics, athletics, co-curriculars, etc.)
Better Technology/ computer classes (14) Foreign languages (5)
Intramurals (4) On-line/ ITV classes (2)
Improved athletic equipment/ facilities (11) Open campus at lunch (6)
More school spirit (1) More class choices (5)
Softball (3) Flexible schedule (2)
Hockey (3) Support for co-currilculars (1)
Soccer (2) Drama club (1)
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In addition to the student "ownership" as an interesting item, I also am impressed by the student recognition for "better technology". While I think we are striving to increase and improve this, it appears that the students also recognize the need for this as they prepare for their adult lives in our 21st century.
ReplyDeleteI noticed that also... It was evident at both levels and is certainly something our students expect.
ReplyDeleteThese are interesting survey results at both the MS and HS levels. I too agree that student responses demonstrate that they are taking ownership! As I read their responses I keep asking myself, ‘why’. Why do students feel they need less homework? Is it because they struggle with juggling all the things they are committed to or because they have two exams the next day? Why do students need more time in class to do work? Is it because they need assistance in understanding the content, or do they lack time and energy when they get home to complete it? Why would students come up with idea that they need ‘engaging classes’ (where have they heard that term?) and what does engaging mean to them?
ReplyDeleteI am impressed with the level of thought in our student responses. I am proud of our students who often demonstrate their commitment to Prairie Farm. As I watched the students in the pep band perform at the Stout field house I was filled with pride as they shared their talents with a larger community. They represented Prairie Farm in excellent fashion!
I appreciate that students are being offered the opportunity to have their voices heard. Also, I am hoping that during this week’s Panther Time that students can be honest and open about the ‘why’ for then we can move forward on the ‘how’.
Our students have more to do and more responsibilities than many adults. The biggest issue in attempting to solve this type of problem is the scale of it. There is no one thing that we can change to solve the problem. At this time, we can at least "see" some of the issues our students have. Utilizing this data and eliciting real change is another story; as with any experiment, a researcher attempts to limit the number of variables to see if the results are due to one or two things. In this case, we have several variables and no real way to limit them... As it is with any type of social experiment. So, to address the time issue (which many students cited) I would say that we certainly need to look into it to determine if and how much time is being given and if the time is being used... It is likely a combination of both. I feel that a process has started, now the difficult part will be to continue to work together to change some things.
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