LOS LÍMITES ENTRE LA VIDA Y LA MUERTE ACERCAMIENTO AL CUENTO “EL ALAMBRE DE PÚA”

The third step of the action plan is to conduct further research with new student- participants based on the questions raised throughout the study as well as the study’s findings. The teacher-researcher will use what she learned as a result of the present study in order to include the use of metacognitive tools in other curricular units and to use those tools in more meaningful ways. Through collaboration with her colleagues, the teacher- researcher believes that this process will be successful as it will include the input of expert classroom teachers.

Conducting further research with future student-participants could be a challenge because of the time it takes to conduct such research. At the same time, the Seaside High

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School administration may not give permission for the teacher-researcher to conduct another research study. These challenges could be overcome by convincing school leaders that metacognitive instruction is important. In addition, school leaders could be reminded of the importance of teachers conducting research with their students in an effort to improve their teaching practice.

Suggestions for Future Research

The teacher-researcher learned a great deal as a result of the present study. If she had the opportunity to conduct further research, she would gather her data in the fall semester of the student-participants’ senior year rather than in the spring when they are approaching graduation. She would also consider conducting similar research with non- seniors in hopes of the student-participants being more invested in the study.

The teacher-researcher feels that it would be useful to conduct similar research in other subject areas. Graphic organizers work well for writing, which applies to virtually all other subject areas.

The teacher-researcher believes that it would be useful to rethink the structure of the study. If given the chance, she would like to give greater consideration to the graphic organizers and assignments chosen for research in an effort to maximize time and energy but also demonstrate real growth. In addition to the research outline, the teacher-

researcher would suggest that the student-participants complete another assignment that includes a research component so that they can take what they learned from the outline assignment regarding research citations and apply that to the new assignment. She feels that this would be a good demonstration of the student-participants’ growth.

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Conclusion

The teacher-researcher considers the study a success, even though it did not produce the anticipated results entirely. The study was very informative for the teacher- researcher as well as for the student-participants, and it revealed four major themes: (a) student-participants’ comfort level was raised concerning graphic organizer use, (b) student-participants’ writing appeared to be largely unimproved by graphic organizer use, (c) student-participants more often consider metacognition, and (d) student-

participants gained confidence in reading due to graphic organizer use. In hindsight, the teacher-researcher realizes that she should have more carefully chosen the graphic organizers and more thoughtfully planned the gathering of research. Regardless, the teacher-researcher believes that she is a more effective teacher as a result of the study. She will use the results of the study continually in her teaching.

The present study revealed that graphic organizers significantly impacted the student-participants; the teacher-researcher feels that more should be done to include the use of graphic organizers in curricula outside of English. She feels that the findings of the present study are important because including metacognitive tools in instruction can make what students are learning more meaningful for them. If what students are learning becomes more meaningful for them, then they become more invested in their education and benefit more from it. Metacognitive instruction matters because it can help students to become more invested in what they are learning, and it can help them to learn more effectively. As demonstrated in the present study, metacognitive tools can increase students’ confidence in both reading and writing, and they have the potential to help students read and write more effectively. Teachers must give their students all of the

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tools that they can so that students can gain the most knowledge possible and, as a result, be as prepared as possible for the future.

As a result of the present study, the teacher-researcher has developed an action plan to (a) consistently use metacognitive tools in the British literature curriculum, (b) share the findings of the present study with colleagues at Seaside High School, and (c) conduct further research with new student-participants based on the questions raised throughout the study as well as the study’s findings. While there are obvious challenges to this action plan, the teacher-researcher will do all that she can to implement the plan.

Regarding future research, the teacher-researcher would like to see the impact of including metacognitive instruction in other subject areas with other students. She would also like to conduct research earlier in the school year to find out if the timing of research makes a difference. In addition, the teacher-researcher would like to restructure her study in order to maximize time and energy.

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