What teaching strategies can I implement with my first grade students to promote an interactive and participatory learning envioronnment?

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(1)Universidad Alberto Hurtado Faculty of Education English Pedagogy. What teaching strategies can I implement with my first grade students to promote an interactive and participatory learning environment?. Paulina Acevedo Rebolledo. December 4th, 2015 Santiago.

(2) Paulina Acevedo Rebolledo Abstract This Action Research aims at finding strategies that promote an interactive and participatory learning environment. This study was developed in a private school with first grade students. This research focused on developing teaching strategies that could foster students’ participation and interaction inside the classroom. The chosen strategies were focused on who the students were, specifically, considering their age. The information was collected by using interviews and a descriptive journal. At the end of this Action Research Project, the results are the expected, the strategies worked for this class and they were used in others levels as well, having positive results. Keywords: First grade students, participatory, interactive, learning environment, motivation. El siguiente Proyecto de investigación acción tiene como objetivo encontrar estrategias que promuevan un ambiente de aprendizaje participativo e interactivo. Este estudio fue desarrollado en un colegio privado con estudiantes de primero básico. Esta investigación está enfocada en desarrollar estrategias de enseñanza que promuevan la participación e interacción en la sala de clases. Las estrategias escogidas se enfocaron en quiénes eran los estudiantes, específicamente, considerando su edad. La información fue recolectada usando entrevistas y un registro descriptivo. Para el final de este proyecto de investigación acción, los resultados fueron los que se esperaban, las estrategias funcionaron para esta clase, y de la misma manera fueron usadas en otros niveles, con resultados positivos. Palabras claves: estudiantes de primero básico, participativo, interactivo, ambientes de aprendizaje, motivación.. 2.

(3) Paulina Acevedo Rebolledo Acknowledgements. Along this five year journey of becoming an English Teacher, many people have been with me through it. Some of them are still here, while some of them are not. However, they did amazing things in order to see me here. Firstly, I would like to thank my family. All of them made the most incredible and biggest sacrifices in order to support my dreams. Thank you for your unconditional love and support, and enormous patience. This one goes for all you, dad, mom, Leyla, Maxi, Montse, Renato, Otita and Tolin; Ricardo, you are also included. Moreover, this also goes for you Nena, I know that you are in a better place in which you are supporting me in every step that I give. It does not matter if you are not physically here, your spirit is always here, with me. Thank you for everything my dear and lovely godmother! Secondly, I would like to thank my boyfriend, along with his family, who have been with me along this entire process, since day one. He knows everything that we have been through in order to be where we are now. Thanks for your genuine love and support. Thirdly, I would like to thank my friends, those whose support was unlimited in this process. Diego, Yvi and Gaby, you are the best. Finally, I would like to thank my teachers especially my tutor (Soledad Araya), who guided me through this process. Thanks for your support in every step, you know how difficult it was. Additionally, to those who are no longer here but were part of this process. Especially to ‘Don José’, who taught me a lot of what I am now. Thanks for the journey. Now, it is time to find another one. 3.

(4) Paulina Acevedo Rebolledo Index. Introduction........................................................................................................... 6 Context .................................................................................................................. 7 School ............................................................................................................... 7 The class: 1st grade ‘A’ ..................................................................................... 8 The problem ...................................................................................................... 9 Research Question .............................................................................................. 11 Rationale ............................................................................................................. 12 Literature Review ............................................................................................... 14 First Grade Students: Who they are and what defines them. .......................... 14 Teaching Young Learners: how they learn. .................................................... 15 Learning Environment .................................................................................... 19 Seating Arrangement: ................................................................................. 19 Behavior:..................................................................................................... 20 Creative Classroom Environment: .............................................................. 20 Participatory and Interactive learning environments ...................................... 21 Research Methodology ....................................................................................... 23 Instruments: .................................................................................................... 23 Descriptive Journal: .................................................................................... 23 Exit Tickets and Short illustrated questionnaire: ........................................ 24 4.

(5) Paulina Acevedo Rebolledo Short Interviews to the Teacher Assistant: ................................................. 25 Procedures: ..................................................................................................... 25 Data Analysis ...................................................................................................... 28 Reflection and Analysis ...................................................................................... 34 Conclusions and Implications ............................................................................. 36 References ........................................................................................................... 38 Appendix............................................................................................................. 40. 5.

(6) Paulina Acevedo Rebolledo Introduction. The first time I entered to the 1st grade ‘A’ classroom, I was as much nervous as in my first day at school. However, it was not a bad feeling at all since I was excited –for finally, being able to work with young learners. Once I had to plan my first lesson, I was hesitant because I did not know if the class was going to work as it was planned and whether the students would be able to understand or not. It may sound challenging and hard–working but teaching young learners is one of the most enjoyable and richest adventures I have ever experimented. The following Action Research is developed at a private school located in Peñalolén. Moreover, this study is divided into different steps that are going to be briefly described. The first step is related to the context, problem, research question and the purpose behind it. The second step is related to the literature review, methodology and data analysis. Finally, the last step which is related to reflections, conclusions and implications of this study. The main purpose of this Action Research is to present different teaching strategies that could be implemented with 1st grade’ students in order to promote a participatory and interactive learning environment. Furthermore, this study is a proposal for those who have experimented or are experimenting similar difficulties as I had.. 6.

(7) Paulina Acevedo Rebolledo Context. School. This study was developed at a private institution located in Peñalolén which is considered a high-income suburb in the Metropolitan Area. Parents and/or guardians pay a fee of around three hundred thousand Chilean pesos per month, which is a very high fee for any school. This school was founded by Roberto Polain Cartier, a noteworthy man that started the Scout movement in it. In addition to the previous statement, Catholic and Scout principles are the school’s guidelines. This institution houses students from Nivel Inicial (Playgroup – three years old) to 12th grade. Approximately, there are around 20 to 25 students per class until 6th grade. However, from 7th grade the number of students per class increases to 28 to 32 students. Furthermore, each grade is divided into four different groups: Koala’s (from Nivel Inicial to 2nd grade), Pudu’s (from 3rd grade to 6th grade), Heron’s (from 7th grade to 9th grade) and Condor’s (from 10th grade to 12th grade). Additionally, from Nivel Inicial to 4th grade there is a teacher assistant (or ‘Colaboradora’) who is in charge of creating material for the classroom, helping the students to complete activities, etc.. 7.

(8) Paulina Acevedo Rebolledo The class: 1st grade ‘A’. According to the class itself, it is a 1st grade which belongs to Koala’s group and it has 21 students – eight boys and thirteen girls. Students have five modules of English lessons of 45 minutes each per week, and they work with a textbook – ‘Kid’s Box 1’ Second Edition by Cambridge University Press –every class. In the classroom, the students are divided into five rows, and occasionally, it changes to three rows – in which there are two rows of pair seating arrangement and one of individual seating arrangement. The classroom has different resources as a data projector, a white board, bookshelves with different books, and some additional materials of Spanish Language on the walls; and there are not spaces with English related materials at all (as an English corner, for example). In the case of English lessons, they were always focused on an English textbook. In that case, students had to complete a determine number of pages every class; and they did not have any other kind of input, apart from the textbook. Moreover, they were exposed to long activities, without pauses between one activity and the others. In every class, the teacher wrote on the board a list of students who followed her commandments; for instance, to be sat down correctly, to have the pencil case on the table, etc. Furthermore, students were exposed to exactly the same routine in every class. The teacher did not vary which row will find their materials first, or the calendar song, the hello routine, etc. Besides, lessons were focused on the teacher, therefore; students’ participation was minimal or non-existent.. 8.

(9) Paulina Acevedo Rebolledo The problem. After several observations, it was possible to identify that students’ participation during English lessons, did not exist. Therefore, four or five students were used to participate in the class since the teacher always asked them. Particularly, the students that participated during the lessons were those who did not talk to their classmates, did not stand up during the lesson, or just those who had their materials and did not have to ask for something. Additionally, those students who misbehaved or were tagged as ‘disruptive’, were not taken into consideration for any activity. Plus, those students, who did not fit in any of the categories before mentioned, did not participate either. Along with the aforementioned, the learning environment, in which the lessons were set, was not interactive. English lessons only considered using an English textbook without any other materials as flashcards, games, etc. As the lessons were focused on the textbook, students did not participate nor interact among them. Plus, students were exposed to long activities. Along with that, in several opportunities, students had to face activities in which they needed to apply some skills that they had not even developed yet in their mother tongue, as reading and writing. Personally, once I started planning/performing my lessons my host teacher explained me the number of pages I must cover depending the amount of time that I had. Therefore, she explained me that I had to focus on the textbook and if there was extra time, I could bring games, songs, etc. For the aforementioned reason, I needed to re-organize and re-plan my lessons in order to accomplish what my host teacher expected from me as well as what I wanted from my lessons. In this specific context, the fulfillment of a number of pages per. 9.

(10) Paulina Acevedo Rebolledo class is mandatory. Nonetheless, using a textbook should not be a limitation for the teacher, in order to plan lessons that promote interactive and participatory learning environments.. 10.

(11) Paulina Acevedo Rebolledo Research Question. The research question of this study is: ‘‘What teaching strategies can I implement with my first grade students to promote an interactive and participatory learning environment?’’ This question refers to participation as the ways in which the teacher can engage her students to participate in order to allow them with opportunities for learning a language. Moreover, it refers to interactive as the manners in which the teacher can plan activities that foster participation and at the same time, allow the students to interact with each other, and the content.. 11.

(12) Paulina Acevedo Rebolledo Rationale. The purpose of this Action Research is to present possible solutions for promoting an interactive and participatory learning environment when teaching English to young learners. As it has been previously described, there had been some difficulties when planning the lessons since this particular context required the use of the textbook in every class. The use of this only strategy was focused on achieving a certain number of pages per class. Moreover, the activities proposed were focused on individualizing the work, and not in interaction and participation. Therefore, the reasons for undertaking this Action Research were based on promoting participation and interaction among the students, in order to develop an interactive and participatory learning environment. At the same time, searching for strategies that could motivate the students to participate during the class, interact with their classmates and be able to learn and have fun at the same time. Its relevance in the context itself is to provide the researcher with the necessary and useful materials in order to improve her practice. Moreover, this study searches for the possibility of balancing the use of an English textbook while including other activities that could engage the majority of the students. As first grade students are between six and seven years old, they are constantly moving around and they cannot be sat down for a long period of time. In this particular scenario, as students only worked on the textbook, they were punished when they stood up or they talked to their classmates since they did not follow the teacher’s rules. The purpose of this study is to give the students the possibility of moving around while learning the language as well as interacting with their peers and participating in the lesson.. 12.

(13) Paulina Acevedo Rebolledo Additionally, visually attractive materials or other resources are essential when teaching young learners. If you only rely on the use of the textbook, the most probable thing to happen is that students will get bored along the school year. However, if you use other resources, that are brightly or colorful enough, or are different from the textbook, they can engage more in the lesson. Moreover, you can give them the possibility of interacting and participating during the lessons. Specifically, this Action Research could help many professionals as: me – as the researcher - , the school’s teachers, my classmates, and people that have had difficulties when setting an interactive and participatory learning environment for young learners. In first place, it aims at improving my teaching practice. As it has been mentioned before, I have not had before the opportunity of working with young learners. Moreover, I have had some limitations when creating different learning environments. Therefore, it aims at providing opportunities for setting participatory and interactive learning environments. Secondly, when it makes reference to the school’s teachers, it refers to what strategies they can put into practice when setting learning environments for their students. Mainly, considering their students’ needs and abilities in order to promote participation as well as an interactive learning environment. Lastly, when it refers to classmates and other English teachers, it relates to the aforementioned ideas. Finally, in the case that there were solutions, how those have helped her to improve her practice and whether they have been helpful or not. If there were not solutions for this problem, what it has been done in order to find an answer to it; and what could have been done instead in order to find possible solutions.. 13.

(14) Paulina Acevedo Rebolledo Literature Review. As it has been previously stated, this Action Research was conducted at a private school located in Peñalolén, with 1st grade ‘A’ students. Moreover, it searches for teaching strategies that can promote an interactive and participatory learning environment for the students. The following Literature Review is divided into four different areas. The first one refers to First grade students: who they are and what defines them. The second area refers to teaching young learners: how they learn. The third area refers to learning environment. Finally, the last one refers to participatory and interactive learning environments.. First Grade Students: Who they are and what defines them.. The first grade ‘A’ class has 21 students, eight boys and thirteen girls, who are between six and seven years old. They are talkative and charismatic, they are willing to learn and to participate. They enjoy moving around the classroom, especially when they have the possibility of singing and dancing; in fact, they really enjoy ‘Head, shoulders, knees and toes’ song. They are always willing to help when the teacher or their classmates need help. They always want to go in front of the classroom, and write or stick things on the board. Moreover, they always realized when you are wearing something different, for example, your hair, or make up and they point it out, enthusiastically and charismatically, Reilly and Ward (2008) referred to very young learners to those ‘‘children up to the age of seven [between] three to six years old.’’(p. 3). McKay (2006) and Linley (2005) agreed and defined young learners as children between five and twelve years old. Therefore, first. 14.

(15) Paulina Acevedo Rebolledo grade students are considered young learners or very young learners, since they fit in the descriptions given before. Moreover, young learners have plenty of characteristics that differentiate them from other students. According to Shin and Crandall (2013), ‘‘children are: energetic and physically active, spontaneous and not afraid to speak out or participate, curious and receptive to new ideas, imaginative, easily distracted and have short attention spans’’ (p.25) among others. The aforementioned ideas are completely associated to first grade students. During classes, it was possible to identify that children moved from their chairs, they tend to stand up and then, sit down. Moreover, they tend to be concentrated in an activity for as long as 10 or 15 minutes, and then, they moved or talked again. Furthermore, they are really curious and imaginative within the classroom and outside. For instance, every time they are able to draw something, they have plenty of explanations for you in order to comprehend it. Besides, when you are wearing something that called their attention, they will immediately ask you about it. First grade students also love to move around the classroom, they really enjoy dancing and being physically active.. Teaching Young Learners: how they learn.. It is relevant for this study to consider two authors that define learning stages, who are Piaget and Vygotsky. On the one hand, Piaget (1970, quoted on Shin & Crandall, 2013) established that ‘‘children learn through their own individual actions and exploration’’ (p.33). Considering this idea, it is important to allow children to discover their learning. For 15.

(16) Paulina Acevedo Rebolledo instance, instead of giving them activities in which they cannot explore or they cannot discover things; give them the space for doing it. In that way, students can be an active part of the construction of their knowledge and at the same time, they can meaningfully learn the content. On the other hand, Vygotsky (1962, quoted on Shin & Cradall, 2013) ‘‘found that children construct knowledge through other people’’. Moreover, he established the wellknown Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) which is defined as ‘‘the difference between the child’s capacity to solve problems on her/his own and her/his capacity to solve them with assistance or ‘scaffolding’’’ (p.34). Considering what Vygotsky concluded, it is relevant to bear in mind what a teacher could do to help the children. For instance, instead of giving them a task to complete by themselves, it could be giving a task/activity in which they share with their classmates, or they need teacher’s help. Regarding both authors’ opinions, there is a significant difference between them which refers to how children learn. Nevertheless, if a lesson is planned considering both theories, it will possible succeed since students cannot be exposed to only one learning method. For instance, if the class only consider the teacher’s needs and not the students’ needs, or if the class only considers individual work, or only group work, among others. As it was stated before, the most remarkable and easily identifiable characteristics of young learners are being energetic and physically active. Therefore, it is necessary to find possible ideas in order to use that energy in pro of the students. Shin and Crandall (2013) proposed that ‘‘you might incorporate kinesthetic activities that encourages young learners to get up and move around’’ (p.26). This particular method is defined as Total Physical Response (or TPR). 16.

(17) Paulina Acevedo Rebolledo It is important that as teachers we bear in mind students’ characteristics in order to improve the class atmosphere. If in any case, you find yourself trying to motivate your students to do something, it is a good idea to make them move around the classroom. For instance, you could use some activities as following the rules, in which they can mimic some movements; or you can play songs that they can relate to (as the ones in the textbooks); or songs that you can find on YouTube that generally have characters dancing around and children can copy the movements. TPR is an amazing method to work with children. In many opportunities, you can use it not only for giving the class a break from the content, but for teaching purposes; as action verbs (for instance, swim, play basketball/tennis, etc.). Additionally, Reilly and Ward (2008) established that ‘‘very young children have a limited attention span and it is important to change activities before they get bored’’ (p.11). Therefore, while planning lessons is remarkably important to consider short activities that can be switched if needed. Considering this, if one activity is too long for the students, you can break it down into smaller activities. A clear example is if they have to complete a task in which they have to color, cut, stick and write; the easiest way to split it is to give students some minutes for completing one part, and then, change the activities (as giving the time to move around) for then, going back to the next step of it. Furthermore, it is important to establish routines for the students to know or to anticipate to the class. However, it is a good idea to change them during the school year, in order to prevent the students from getting bored. Plus, you can set a starting routine that engage the students to the class. At the same time, you can set an ending routine that establish what students’ duties are when the class is over, and also, that allows the students to calm down (for the recess or for a next class). Additionally, you can define attention getters that 17.

(18) Paulina Acevedo Rebolledo could be changed every week, or month. Lastly, it is important to consider how instructions are given, how praising is established, requests, clarifications, or the use of mother tongue is set in the classroom. All of the aforementioned concepts, are essential steps when planning a lesson for young learners; and they are completely helpful when doing it, so you can anticipate to situations, or just set a class that can be meaningful for your students. The last point to cover in this section is the use of teaching resources or classroom materials to teach young learners; and there are as much as you can think of. For instance, there is technology, textbooks, flashcards, games, songs, etc. However, they are not magical instruments that can help students to learn, or that can easily motivate them instead they are tools which can help you to plan lessons for young learners. Once you have decided what you want to include in your class, you can start defining how it would be included, and its purpose. For example, if you use flashcards, they must be big enough, therefore; children in front and in the back of the classroom will be able to see it. Moreover, if you include an English Corner, it must be colorful and brightly enough so the students can be visually attracted to it. In the case of using technology, you must choose the right tools, and also, check before giving the class, or anticipate a Plan B, in case of any problem as no electricity. Lastly, if you choose a video, song, or chant from the internet (or YouTube) you must watch it beforehand. Therefore, you can anticipate to any mistake that it possibly has, or just to the fact that students will be enjoying the video/song and it will be considered as meaningful content.. 18.

(19) Paulina Acevedo Rebolledo Learning Environment. According to Scrivener (2011), ‘‘no one can tell you the ‘right’ way to do something. There is no perfect lesson, no single correct answer, no single route through a lesson’’ (p.55). Regarding this point, everything that people could say about your class, are suggestions or invitations to change something with the purpose of improving your practice. However, they are not obligations, so you can accept it or not; you can decide if it will bring something positive or not to the class. Moreover, there is not a magical tool that can define whether your class is right or wrong, there are only opportunities that will guide you to your own definition of a good/perfect lesson. Regarding Rogers’ ideas (n/d quoted on Scrivener 2011), ‘‘there are three core teacher characteristics that help to create an effective learning environment […] respect, empathy and authenticity’’ (p.16-17). Moreover, Rogers established that when a teacher has those qualities, she/he can create deeper and stronger relationships in the classroom. These ideas can easily refer to setting a learning environment. If you consider respect as an important point that your students must know and follow, you need to start by doing it yourself; as well as the other two aspects.. Seating Arrangement: An important point to consider when setting a learning environment is the seating arrangement and there are plenty of possibilities for doing it. According to Moyles (1992) when children are facing each other it promotes opportunities for collaborative work.. 19.

(20) Paulina Acevedo Rebolledo However, it must be considered that as young learners have short attention spans, the most probable thing to happen is that they start to talk to others instead of working in an activity.. Behavior: Another point to bear in mind is behavior and how you are going to decide what to do in different situations. Shelton and Brownhill (2008) suggested that there are different strategies when it comes to behavior inside the classroom. Nevertheless, it is necessary to focus on who the students are; for instance, you should not yell to young learners instead, you can firmly talk to them in order to make them understand a situation. Besides, you could include spaces in your classroom as a calming corner for them to reflect/relax if facing a complicated situation; as well as you can include teddy bears or other puppets to encourage the students to behave as it is expected inside the classroom. However, you must always remember who your students are; in this case, young learners that cannot concentrate for long periods of time, therefore; apply what you have already known: short activities, attention getters, routines, warmers, etc.. Creative Classroom Environment: Considering Horner and Ryf (2004), ‘‘in a creative environment, children engage in purposeful activities. The texts they encounter are relevant and challenging.’’(p. 2). If we consider the context of this school, in which it is mandatory to use the textbook, we need to be able to look for solutions and to try our best when planning lessons in order to be creative.. 20.

(21) Paulina Acevedo Rebolledo If we are able to connect textbook’s activities with other resources, there might be a possible solution in which meaningful activities can be developed. Finally, as Leimanis-Wyatt (2010) proposes ‘‘add texture to your room’’. If, like me you are ending your career and you cannot make a lot of changes in terms of the classroom itself, bring things to the class. For instance, you can make an English corner that is colorful and brightly enough that motivate your students, bring some carpets and create a space for storytelling, grab some old papers and create some amazing hats for reading, create a reusable board for making students feel part of the classroom and the learning.. Participatory and Interactive learning environments. When referring to participatory learning environment, the idea makes reference to participation of the students and the teacher during the class. Particularly, it refers to the engagement during the lesson. According to Kenton (n/d) ‘‘participation is the active engagement of people in decision-making processes.’’ Therefore, when students are engaged to the lesson, they can be part of decision-making processes. Nonetheless, it is important to consider the context in which you are and who your students are. In this case, first grade students are young learners, however; they can contribute to plan a lesson; and they can help you to choose materials, etc. On the other hand, when it refers to interactive learning environments, the idea is focused on how the students and teacher create interaction among them; how they exchange ideas, beliefs, etc. And how they relate to each other. Other aspect in this section is based on. 21.

(22) Paulina Acevedo Rebolledo the creativity of the lessons; in terms of what activities you choose in order to promote students’ characteristics.. 22.

(23) Paulina Acevedo Rebolledo Research Methodology. The following Action Research is defined as a qualitative study. Burns (2010) defined it as ‘those that are analysed without using numbers’ (p.106). The idea behind it, was to observe and analyze different strategies that could help students to participate and to interact among them, by creating an interactive and participatory learning environment. For the purpose of collecting information, the researcher used a descriptive and reflective journal, exit tickets and brief interviews to the teacher assistant.. Instruments:. Descriptive Journal: Burns (2010) established that ‘‘keeping a journal is common in AR.’’ (p.89) Moreover, she also stated that ‘‘it allows you to record the events and happenings in your location, your reflections, beliefs and teaching philosophies, your ideas and insights about your practice’’ (p.89). Considering what Burns stated, the purpose of using a journal was specifically that, being able to express, in a written form, what happened during the lessons. Nonetheless, without forgetting the reflections and personal opinions of what happened as well. Considering the age of the students involved in this research, the use of a journal was not something that could affect their attitudes towards the interventions. Moreover, it was a. 23.

(24) Paulina Acevedo Rebolledo personal instrument that could be used to record what happened without invading them and/or forcing them to act/behave in a different way, which was not the real.. Exit Tickets and Short illustrated questionnaire: As this Action Research was developed with first grade students, or young learners, they still had difficulties when reading and writing. Therefore, the researcher could not expect from them to read a statement or to write a word/ sentence. Moreover, students could feel nervous or hesitant if they did not know how to complete the tasks, since they did not have the reading and writing skills developed neither in their mother tongue, yet. For the purpose of this study, the exit tickets were orally presented (Appendix 1) and they consisted of a set of questions that the students answered, regarding the lesson. As stated before, first grade students are completely different from more adult learners. Therefore, questionnaires should not be complex for them to answer. For the purpose of this study, the questionnaires (Appendix 2) were designed in base of an illustration. Thus, students could choose one illustration that represented their feeling towards the class and their opinions towards the same. Additionally, they could give their opinion, orally, if they wanted to. This instrument was also guided by the researcher, she asked the students a question, and they had to color the illustration regarding their own personal feelings. Due to time constraints, this instrument was not used for when analyzing information.. 24.

(25) Paulina Acevedo Rebolledo Short Interviews to the Teacher Assistant: This particular instrument was designed in order to complement the descriptive journal and students’ opinions of the lesson. Burgess (1984, p.102, quoted on Burns, p.74) described interviews as ‘‘conversation with a purpose’’. For this study, the interview was created as a guided, or semi-structured interview; as Burns (2010) affirmed ‘‘these types of interviews are still structured and organised but also more open’’ (p.75) Consequently, this short interviews to the teacher assistant was useful to consider a second point of view of the planned lesson, and what her opinions about it were. (Appendix 3). Procedures:. This Action Research was developed during the months of September until November 2015. Additionally, it was divided into different steps that are going to be describe below. . Observe the host teacher, find a problem and set the Research Question. The first steps for developing this Action Research are: observing the host teacher,. finding a problem and setting the research question. Firstly, I observed the host teacher did her classes. When she delivered her class, I realized that the majority of the students did not participate in it due to that, the rest of the class were passive members of it. Moreover, the activities proposed by the teacher, which relied only on the English textbook, did not foster interaction among the students and/or teacher-students or vice versa. Furthermore, students who were constantly speaking to their classmates or who stood up, were punished by the teacher. Therefore, that situation was the starting point for this Action Research. Secondly. 25.

(26) Paulina Acevedo Rebolledo and lastly, once the problem was identified, it was the moment of finding a Research Question that fit in that particular aspect. . Search for resources and develop strategies. The second steps of this Action Research were to find resources and develop. strategies. In the first part, the researcher searched for literature review that could support her Action Research and also, she chose the ones that were favorable for her study. In the second part, the researcher started to develop strategies that could be helpful for this Action Research. At this point, the researcher was able to identify different methods that could be applied with young learners that could foster participation and interaction. Nonetheless, without forgetting the use of the English textbook as a mandatory aspect of this particular context. The chosen methods were: routines and games. In the case of routines, they were used to divide the classroom into different steps in order to simplify the lesson for the students and also, to provide spaces in which they could be active participants of the lesson itself. The routines were established as starting routines and ending routines, as well as using brain breakers and attention getters. In the case of games, they were used to allow the students interact more among them and with the teacher and also, to actively participate during the lesson. Moreover, the researcher included the use of flashcards, mystery bags and praising during the lessons. These last strategies were used to motivate the students throughout the lessons and to increase interaction and participation as well. . Plan interventions. In this step, the researcher was able to choose different strategies that could be applied. during this Action Research. In this case, she was able to plan lessons that integrated different. 26.

(27) Paulina Acevedo Rebolledo strategies that could point to increase participation and interaction, therefore; that could build a participatory and interactive learning environment.. MONTH / WEEK. September 1. 2. October 3. 4. 1. 2. November 3. 4. 1. 2. 3. 4. X. X. X. X. X. X. Literature Review. X. Preliminary Intervention. X. Intervention X. Journal Entries Analysis. of. X. information Conclusions Figure 1 Action Plan Timetable.. 27.

(28) Paulina Acevedo Rebolledo Data Analysis. Along with the process of collecting information, it is the process of analyzing it. In this section of the Action Research, the information is going to be analyzed in order to identify whether there were (or not) changes in the teaching practice. As it was explained before, the researcher planned one intervention in which she introduced new strategies as well as using the English textbook – as a requirement in this particular context. Before planning the intervention, the researcher planned a lesson only using the textbook, as the students were used to work in English lessons. The collected information was equal to what started this Action Research: students did not participate or interact among them, or with the teacher. (Appendix 4) Additionally, this lesson was set on Monday, day in which the students had English lessons when they got back from the recess and, most of the time, it started within five or seven minutes of delay. Along with this previous intervention (preliminary intervention), the researcher planned a lesson in which students could participate during the class, interact among them and with the teacher but at the same time, had fun while learning. As this Action Research was developed with first grade students, there were plenty of considerations to bear in mind when planning it, as the use of routines, brain breakers and attention getters as well as the use of the textbook as a requirement of the school. When the intervention was conducted, students actively participated during the lesson, including those who had not participated before. All the students were willing to answer the questions and to participate along the activities; including those who did not do it before. Therefore, their participation during English lessons increased notoriously (as 28.

(29) Paulina Acevedo Rebolledo described in the Appendix 4). Moreover, the interaction among them and with the teacher increased as well. Therefore, the learning environment became more participatory and interactive in the classroom. For doing it, the strategies used on this intervention were: establishing routines, brain breakers and attention getters; setting shorter activities or breaking down longer activities; asking for a helper of the class and giving time to the students to move around the classroom. These strategies worked in order to promote an interactive and participatory learning environment inside this classroom. ‘‘I could not believe that with simple strategies the learning environment gets more participatory and interactive… I am surprised that all of them want to work in the class, especially M, he goes and asks me if he needs it; and also G I could not be happier after this!’’ (Acevedo, 2015) Along this intervention, there were two students that asked me for help when completing an activity, both of them were always punished since they stood up or talked to their classmates. Both of them, increased their participation during the class, and they interacted more with their classmates. As it was described in the journal extract before, students significantly increased their participation and interaction during the class; they got motivated with a few strategies that consisted on involving them in the lesson. Moreover, in this class, any of the students asked about the timing. On the contrary, they asked when the preliminary intervention was conducted. In fact, when the bell rang for the recess, they could not believe it. By the end of this intervention, I orally asked the students a set of questions and their opinions. As it was previously explained, students were young learners and the idea was to obtain the most certain answers from them, without exposing them to feel scared or nervous; 29.

(30) Paulina Acevedo Rebolledo and also, giving the possibility of expressing themselves. Therefore, they used their mother tongue. The first question was: What part of the class did you like the most?. The majority of them answered in chorus: ‘The Mystery Bag’. Then, I asked them why and a few of them answered –using Spanish. One of the students answered that she liked it because it was a surprise. Other student answered that he liked because he did not know what was inside of it, and they could discover it. The other answers pointed out to the same idea: a surprise. According to their answers, when the strategy was set up, students immediately started to participate in the lesson in order to discover what was inside the bag. When I interviewed the teacher assistant about her perception on the use of the Mystery Bag, she answered that ‘‘all the students participated and they were happy, they all smiled, I really liked it’’. Then, I asked if she could appreciate more participation during the lesson and she answered ‘‘Yes!,I was very happy because M and Ma participated in the lesson, and they never did it before’’. According to those answers, the strategy did work in terms of increasing participation during the lesson. The students enjoyed it and also, they could learn through it as it had materials for the class (as socks, t-shirt and skirt), so they had fun and also learnt at the same time. Regarding question two: Did you like singing and dancing through the lesson? The students answered in chorus yes! Then, I asked them their reasons and a few students answered. One of them said that she really liked ‘Head, shoulders, knees and toes’ song because they could do it faster and faster every time. As a brain breaker for this level, students. 30.

(31) Paulina Acevedo Rebolledo danced and sang the previous song, and we increased the speed as we danced it and sang it. The rest of the students also answered that they liked that song since we did it faster and slower. By using this strategy it was possible to identify that interaction increased as well since students interacted among them during the song and when they had to perform it by their owns, without the teacher. They were able to decide when they had to sing, or when they sang it slower or faster. Furthermore, this strategy enhanced the students’ characteristics, as being energetic and physically active. By giving the space of moving around the classroom, it was possible to foster interaction and participation, therefore; promoting a participatory and interactive learning environment. Students were able to participate through all the lesson, by giving their answers when needed or giving their opinions as well. During the English lesson, you were able to hear the students giving their answers, or discussing their opinions, even helping their classmates. In terms of journal analysis, there were some concepts that highlighted from others as in the case of motivation. Students’ motivation to complete the activities and to participate during the classroom increased as the learning environment was more participatory and interactive. As it was described in a journal extract before, even the students that were tagged as ‘disruptive’ worked and participated in the lesson. This situation increased during the weeks, and they started to actively participate more and more. In terms of interaction, the students started to share more with their classmates and the teacher. As for the intervention (and the following lessons), I asked for a helper which received a necklace in order to identify him/her; students were more motivated to participate in the lesson since they could be chosen for other class. The strategy of including a helper worked 31.

(32) Paulina Acevedo Rebolledo to promote a participatory and interactive learning environment. The students were willing to participate, interact and help the others. Moreover, as we had built a bond among us, students answered to what I asked them during the lessons. Considering the preliminary intervention and the intervention itself, students’ motivation increased through the lessons since they were given activities that encouraged them to participate and not only received the content, as they were focused on the students and not in covering a certain number of pages. Despite the fact that the researcher had to focus the lessons on the textbook, her practice improve since the textbook became a technique and it was no longer considered as the main resource for the class. Additionally, during the planned intervention students did not ask for the timing, they did not ask how much time they had left for the class, they got engaged into the lesson. In fact, as I wrote in my journal ‘‘during this lesson, no one asked how much time they had left for the recess. When they heard the bell, they said ‘¿SE ACABÓ?, ahh! Pensé que era el primer timbre… Estaba muy entretenido!’. After listening to those expressions, I realized that they enjoyed the class and after that, I asked to the teacher assistant her opinions on it. She answered that ‘‘the children were really enthusiastic during the lesson. I was impressed of how you connected with them and vice versa. Moreover, they did not ask the time, it was a surprise, they really liked the class’’ After listening to her opinions, it was clear that students were motivated during the lesson, and that motivation was reflected on their attitudes towards the class, and their feeling as well. Furthermore, when the teacher assistant mentioned that they did not ask the time, it was a surprise for me since they constantly asked the time. As the teacher assistant mentioned, they really enjoyed the class, therefore; they did not feel the necessity of asking the time. Finally, by increasing students’ motivation, they started to 32.

(33) Paulina Acevedo Rebolledo participate more in the lesson as well as interacting more; the learning environment was more participatory and interactive for the students.. 33.

(34) Paulina Acevedo Rebolledo Reflection and Analysis. After this process of conducting an Action Research, I realized that the interventions that I planned were successful in order to improve my teaching practice. Considering that it was a long process of searching for resources, collecting information and analyzing it as well as considering the difficulties which I encountered through my practicum. Firstly, I would like to address that even with the requirement of using the textbook in every class, I solved it in order to plan lessons that fit with what the school wanted and what I wanted from my classes. In this particular step, my tutor was a person that guided me through the way in which I could start doing things that represented me and at the same time, that accomplished the ideals of the school. Secondly, I would like to point out that the planned interventions worked in terms of promoting an interactive and participatory learning environment. The students increased their participation through the class, and their interaction. Moreover, they got engaged with the activities. Despite the fact that the activities were focused on the textbook, the way in which were presented changed their attitudes towards it. Along with that, they felt motivated when they had English lessons, and they demonstrated in every class. I believe that the strategies were straight to the point and they fostered interaction and participation. Furthermore, students who did not participate during lessons, were now participating and interacting in it. Furthermore, they had fun while learning the language. Personally, that was the most remarkable aspect of this entire process. Considering the age of the students, they were starting their ‘formal education’ since in preschool levels they learnt things but they played for obtaining a result. Additionally, they were starting to understand the ‘rules of the 34.

(35) Paulina Acevedo Rebolledo classroom’. Personally, I believe that being able to deliver a class in which students could learn and have fun at the same time, was one the things that makes me proud of this entire process. Finally, I would like to point out the fact that as I worked with young learners it was difficult to gather information from them about a participatory and interactive learning environment. For instance, I could not ask them if they perceived a participatory and interactive learning, since they might not know what it was but also because they could feel nervous or hesitant for not having an answer. Nonetheless, their opinions on the use of strategies worked out for this purpose since they could give their opinions and they justified them. From that point, the interview to the teacher assistant was very important to compare what I described in my journal to her opinions on the class.. 35.

(36) Paulina Acevedo Rebolledo Conclusions and Implications. At the point this Action Research finished, I realized that the strategies used along the process were helpful and useful for the purpose of it. The learning environment started to become more participatory and interactive. Moreover, the students that were tagged as ‘disruptive’ or those who were never chosen to participate, started to do it. Additionally, they felt motivated to complete their activities and they engaged to what I proposed to them. Furthermore, the students and I created a bond that allowed me to present new things to the class. Nevertheless, this process was exhausting due to different situations as was to focus on the textbook, I realized that it allowed me to be more creative inside the classroom and to develop materials that could help students. For instance, the use of feelings or weather flashcards was a strategy that students had never been exposed to before and they were willing to participate. Furthermore, the use of the whiteboard for sticking flashcards, and that they could do it by themselves was motivating enough for them. Personally, I felt that the strategies used in this Action Research achieved the objective of promoting a participatory and interactive learning environment with first grade students. Additionally, my host teacher asked me if she could use some of these materials with preschool students; and her thoughts about it were positive, she liked using the materials with them, and they worked as well. Considering the fact of repeating this Action Research, I would like to say that I would have included more strategies in a future intervention in order to analyze it in different aspects of the lessons. In this particular context, teachers evaluate students with a mark for their 36.

(37) Paulina Acevedo Rebolledo participation during the lessons. However, it is difficult to assess the students in participation if they did not participate due to diverse reasons, especially, if they were not considered during the lessons. It could be a good idea to design a rubric that could assess them in participation, considering real situations. Moreover, I would like to use the illustrated questionnaires, for analyzing the results, but also, in different lessons. Nonetheless, I could appreciate a change from my students, from that intervention and the following lessons, all the students participated during the lessons, and they were not only some of them chosen, everyone had the same right to participate. Lastly, in terms of what this Action Research meant to myself as a future teacher, I would like to point to what I learnt from it. Personally, I learnt that even though there were some requirements that I had to accomplish in this particular school, I could fit my perspective and their perspective as well inside the same lesson. Moreover, I learnt that young learners are energetic (as a fact, during my experience working with them) and that I have to make them move and they will enjoy it, since it feels like having a recess for a little time. Finally, I learnt that if you work hard on something and you put enough effort and a little more, you will received the expected results.. 37.

(38) Paulina Acevedo Rebolledo References. - Acevedo, P. (2015). Journal entry #1. - Burns, A. (2010). Doing action research in English language teaching. New York: Routledge. - Kenton, N. (n/d) http://www.iied.org/participatory-learning-action Retrieved on November 9th, 2015. - Leimanis, M. (2010). Classroom DIY: a practical step-by-step guide to setting up a creative learning environment. Routledge. - Linse C. (2005). Practical English Language Teaching: Young Learners. Mc Graw Hill. - McKay, P. (2006). Assessing Young Language Learners. Cambridge University Press - Moyles, J. (1992). Organizing for learning in the primary classroom: A balanced approach to classroom management. Open University Press - Reilly V. & Ward S. (1997). Very Young Learners. Oxford University Press. 1st edition. - Ridley, D. & Walther, B. (1995). Creating Responsible Learners: The role of a positive classroom environment. American Psychology Association. - Scrivener, J. (2011). Learning Teaching: The essential guide to English Language. Macmillan. 3rd edition.. 38.

(39) Paulina Acevedo Rebolledo - Shelton F. & Brownhill S. (2008). Effective behavior management in the primary classroom. Open University Press / McGraw Hill - Shin J. & Crandall J. (2013). Teaching Young Learners English from Theory to Practice. National Geographic Learning. HEINLE Cengage Learning. 1st edition.. 39.

(40) Paulina Acevedo Rebolledo Appendix. Appendix 1: Exit Tickets (orally presented) 1. What part of the class did you like the most? Why? Students’ Answers: The Mystery Bag. Dancing and singing Head, shoulders, knees and toes. Ss 1: I liked the Mystery bag because I did not know what it was inside and we could discover it. Ss 2: I liked singing and dancing because I loved that song. I really liked when we did it faster and faster. Ss 3: I liked the Mystery bag, because it was a surprise. 2.. Did you like singing and dancing through the lesson? Ss 1: I liked it because I loved that song. Ss 2: I liked it, it is my favorite song. Ss 3: I liked it because we sing it faster and faster.. Appendix 2: Hands Questionnaires. 40.

(41) Paulina Acevedo Rebolledo. Appendix 3: Interview to the Teacher Assistant 1. Did you like the class? Why? Yes, I really liked it. Students participated through it, they stood up a few times, they had their materials, they were willing to learn and participate. The children were really enthusiastic during the lesson. I was impressed of how you connected with them and vice versa. Moreover, they did not ask the time, it was a surprise, they really liked the class. 2. Did you like the use of the Mystery Bag? Why? Yes, I liked it. All the students participated and they were happy, they all smiled, I really enjoyed it. It was creative and fun for the children. Especially, If they did not know the content of it. Even I was excited to see what it had.. 3. Do you think that students participate more in this lesson? Why? Yes, definitely. I was very happy because M and Ma participated in the lesson and they never did it before. All of them participated in it. It was funny and creative and also, you encouraged them to participate. They really liked and enjoyed your lessons.. 41.

(42) Paulina Acevedo Rebolledo Appendix 4: Descriptive journal entries. Journal Entry #1: Preliminary intervention The English class started at 10.15 am on Mondays. This class started at 10.22 am. The children were getting back from the recess, some of them were still eating their snacks. They all sat down and I said hello to them. They answered, not very enthusiastically since they wanted to have more recess time. After that, I asked them the date by pointing the calendar and they answered. I wrote it down on the whiteboard. Then, I asked them to go and find their textbooks in their cabinets, row by row; from the one next to the door to the one next to the windows. Students stood up and found their textbooks. Some of them, started to talk while doing it. After all of them had their textbooks, I asked them to open them in a certain page. I asked them the vocabulary they had reviewed before, they answered. However, only a few of them, the ones who always answered. In the meanwhile, G was playing with a pencil. M was looking into his pencil case. Others were reviewing different pages of the textbook. Ma was looking his textbook. After reviewing content, I pointed to a CD number, they answered, with difficulty, since it was a ‘big number’ and they only knew until 20. After playing the CD track, students started to laugh since it was a funny story. After that, they had to open their activity books and we started completing the activities. In this particular scenario, students are starting to read and write, they still had problems when writing letters and the activity they had to complete was about writing. I helped them by writing the words on the board once they had discovered them. Students were constantly talking to each other and they stood up a few times. After completing the activity, we only had 15 minutes left. Therefore, we continued completing the page until we had only five minutes left. Along these fifteen minutes, students stood up and talked. The students who always participated finished their activities so they were assigned to a classmate to help him/her to complete the activities. By the end of the class, the majority of them completed the task, therefore; the purpose was achieved: completing a number of pages. However, the teaching strategies did not promote an interactive and participatory learning environment. They only pointed at completing the pages of the textbook. By the end of the class, in the last five minutes, I asked the students to put back their things in their cabinets, row by row. They did it and we said goodbye; and the other teacher came to the class.. In this particular class, the use of the textbook by its own did not promote a participatory or interactive learning environment. In fact, that teaching strategy individualized the content since the activities were completed individually; and it did not foster participation through the class neither interaction. Moreover, as the students are young learners, the teaching strategies should include routines, brain breakers and so on in order to have an order in the 42.

(43) Paulina Acevedo Rebolledo lessons and to help them to follow the class. Additionally, the use of teaching strategies that foster students’ movements are also important. In this class, none of the previous strategies were included. Therefore, students were not motivated to work, neither to follow the class.. Journal Entry #2: Intervention.. This English lesson started at 8.30 am on Tuesdays. This class started at 8.35 am. Firstly, the teacher said the hello to the students. Students already had their textbook on their desks and they were in silence waiting for the class to start. When I said hello to them, they all answered. In this particular moment, I asked them who wanted to be the helper of the day. All the students raised their hands and J was randomly chosen. I explained them, that in every class we could choose a helper. They smiled. After that, I gave J a necklace in order to recognize her as the helper. After that, I looked for some flashcards on the Mystery Bag. J and I presented the flashcards and we asked their classmates the date, the weather and their feeling, while showing the flashcards. Once students answered the date, J stuck on it on the whiteboard. Subsequently, all the flashcards were stuck on the whiteboard (students chose the weather and their feelings). After that, we continued with the class. I showed them some clothes, and they had to answer what it was correctly. When I showed socks, every student answered, even those who did not use to participate. I was surprised that they were willing to answer. After that, we moved on and started to work on the Pupil’s Books. We completed a set of activities that consisted on listening to a recording and identifying different clothes. As the activity was presented as group work, all the students answered and if they had one incorrect answer, the rest of the class respectfully, corrected them. When we finished working on the Pupil’s Books, we started to work on the Activity books. Before even opening the books, I asked the students to stand up. They did it and we started to sing and dance a song (Head, shoulders, knees and toes song) all the students stood up and danced and sang the song energetically, we started to speed up after singing it. And they were all smiling, they really like doing it. After that, I asked them to sit down, and I said to them to put their hand in a certain way in order to sing another song. The purpose of this song was to relax them, after being that energetically moving around in order to continue with the class. This strategy was effective for this class, students got relax after moving around and then, listening to a relaxing song. After the songs, we continued working with the activity book. The activities were focused on the interaction of students. In one particular activity, they had to color different clothes, and they had to listen to a recording. Every time they listened to one, I stopped, checked if they completed, and moved to the next one. Moreover, in this part, M stood up next to me, and he asked me: Tía ¿me puedes ayudar?. I answered him Of course!. We went to his seat and I helped him. I was surprised that he was willing to learn and also, that he went and. 43.

(44) Paulina Acevedo Rebolledo looked for help. It was a giant step in his behavior in the class. He was one of those students, who were tagged as ‘disruptive’. During this lesson, no one asked how much time they had left for the recess. When they heard the bell, they said ‘¿SE ACABÓ?, ahh! Pensé que era el primer timbre… Estaba muy entretenido!. After those words, I could not be happier. Students were motivated during the lesson, they were willing to learn and to participate, and also, they interacted among them. It was a big change considering the observations and the preliminary intervention. Finally, I would like to add that, students participated more during the lesson. They were willing to complete their activities. I could not believe that with simple strategies the learning environment gets more participatory and interactive… I am surprised that all of them want to work in the class, especially M, he goes and asks me if he needs it; and also G I could not be happier after this! Moreover, they were excited during the class, since there were surprises (as using the Mystery Bag) and they wanted to know what was inside. During this lesson, all the students participated and interacted among them. They helped their classmates to complete a task. Moreover, they were motivated with the activities, and they did not complain for having to work on the textbooks. A simple change on the way of presenting information, can make a difference in the entire class; and in the learning environment you promote.. 44.

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