How can i validate my 12th grade students' `perception of working in groups as a useful tool for their individual learning process?

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(1)Running head: validation of the students’ perception of group work as a tool for individual learning process. Action Research How can I validate my 12th grade students’ perception of working in groups as a useful tool for their individual learning process? Javiera Del Río R. Universidad Alberto Hurtado This research was carried out to obtain the degree of an English teacher Tutor: Paula Díaz Seminar teacher: Pablo Silva 2016.

(2) Validation of students’ perception of group work as a tool for individual learning process 2. Table of contents I. Abstract……………………………………………………………………………… 4 II. Introduction………………………………………………………………………… 5 III. Context………………………………………………………………………………6 IV. Problem………………………………………………………………......................7 V. Research Question…………………………………………………………………..9 VI. Rationale……………………………………………………………………………10 VII. Literature Review………………………………………………………………..13 a. Stage of cognitive development……………………………………………...13 b. Individual learning process…………………….………………………….….14 c. Social constructivism……………………………………………………....…14 d. Validity…………………………………………………………………..........16 VIII. Methodology……………………………………………………………….....….17 1. Conventional sources………………………………………………….…….17 a. Surveys……………………………………………………………….....…...17 b. Observations………………………………………………………….....…...18 2. Inventive sources…………………………………………………………..….18 a. Self-assessment……………………………………………………...……....18 b. Performance assessment…………………………………………….………18 3. Procedure to collect data…………………………………………..................19 4. Interventions…………………………………………………………….…….20 5. Action plan……………………………………………………………….……21 IX. Data analysis…………………………………………………………………..……22 1. Survey analysis……………………………………………………………..……23 a. Survey analysis of intervention 1…………………………………………..….23 b. Survey analysis of intervention 3………………………………………….......25 c. Survey analysis of intervention 5……………………………………………...27 d. Survey analysis of intervention 6………………………………………….......29 2. Checklist analysis………………………………………………………………….32 a. Checklist analysis of intervention 1……………………………………………32 b. Checklist analysis of intervention 5……………………………………………33 3. Self-assessment analysis……………………………………………………………34 a. Self-assessment analysis of intervention 3……………………………….........34 b. Self-assessment analysis of intervention 6…………………………………….36 4. Performance analysis……………………………………………………………….38 a. Performance analysis of intervention 3…………………………………….......38 b. Performance analysis of intervention 5…………………………………….......39 X. Reflection……………………………………………………………………………...40 XI. Conclusion………………………………………………………………………........42.

(3) Validation of students’ perception of group work as a tool for individual learning process 3. XII. References……………………………………………………………………….......44 XII. Appendix…………………………………………………………………………….45.

(4) Validation of students’ perception of group work as a tool for individual learning process 4. Abstract This Action Research aims to validate the 12th grade students’ perception of group work as a useful tool for their individual learning process. The Action Research took place in a school located in La Granja for fourth months. In order to gather data, there were made interventions in relation to the literature review that supported the findings of the main concepts for the investigation. In terms of the analysis of the data, it can be said that there was an increase in relation of how to work in groups properly. Furthermore, it was difficult to validate the learning process by itself. However, with the help of some instruments and assessments, students could perceive that they were learning. Resumen La investigación acción busca validar la percepción de los estudiantes de cuarto medio sobre el trabajo grupal como una útil herramienta hacia su proceso individual de aprendizaje. Ésta investigación acción fue realizada en un colegio localizado en La Granja durante cuatro meses. En relación a la reunión de información, fueron hechas intervenciones de acuerdo al marco teórico que respaldaba los resultados de los conceptos principales sobre la investigación. De acuerdo al análisis de la información, puede decirse que hubo un crecimiento en relación a cómo trabajar en grupo apropiadamente. Además, fue complejo validar el proceso individual de aprendizaje por sí solo. Sin embargo, con la ayuda de algunos instrumentos y pruebas los estudiantes pudieron percibir que estaban aprendiendo..

(5) Validation of students’ perception of group work as a tool for individual learning process 5. Introduction One of the most important aspects that people have to understand when living in a society is how to interact or how to work with people. This is one of the things that schools are in charge to teach students during their learning process. Nowadays, that is only seen in theory due to most of the school prepares students to compete with each other and to have a good score in standardize tests. That is because at the end of their school process, most of the students are not able to fit in a society where it is needed to think, to communicate with each other, to share their thoughts and to know how to work as a team. There are different strategies to teach that important value of working as a team to students. One of them is by implementing group work in the subject. However, there are some teachers that may think that it is a waste of time due to students do not know how to work in groups and there is no time teach them, so at the end of the day only a few of them will work as a group. In addition, it is necessary to have individual assessment because the school needs grades and, as a teacher, it is required having good grades in order to demonstrate (to other people) that students are learning the subject. What would happen if there is a connection between group work and individual learning process that may actually be seen by using different instruments? This Action Research aims to uncover if it is possible or not the use of group work, as it corresponds, to validate students’ perception of their individual learning process through different assessments..

(6) Validation of students’ perception of group work as a tool for individual learning process 6. Context The school where this Action Research takes place is located in La Granja with high levels of vulnerability, which is the reason why the school has been immerse in PIE program. In addition, the school has won the “Excelencia Academica” for the first time so they have been extremely worried on improving the results of SIMCE and preparing the students to obtain a good PSU score. The school counts with primary and high school levels. The level in which this AR is going to be focused on is 12° grade. In 12° grade there are a total of 45 female and male students. The sitting arrangement of the classroom is the classical. There are four rows with approximately eight desks per row and the students are sitting in pairs. Furthermore, the class counts with an overhead projector and there is a computer and speakers for every classroom. However, those two last sources are in the computer room so if the teacher wants to use them, he or she has to ask for them beforehand. In terms of the English class, it is really notorious that the classes are grammar-center. In every lesson the teacher focuses on introducing the grammar structure that students will have to learn for the test. As a consequence, the activities done in class are usually filling the gaps, circle the correct answer or create sentences using the grammar structure. When it comes to do the activities, students always ask to work with their peers and even if the teacher does not allow them to work in groups, they do it anyway. That is why when they have to deliver something individually, a worksheet for instance, most of the time the.

(7) Validation of students’ perception of group work as a tool for individual learning process 7. received answers are the same. Nevertheless, it is hard to say that students copy each other because in classes they work very well but always with a peer. Problem During this year I have been doing my practicum with the same level, which is the one selected to conduct the AR. Throughout these months, there has been the possibility to observe the class for a period of time at the beginning of each semester before starting with the practice itself. In the time of observation and in my practice, I could notice that something has been repetitive during the first and second term, which is in the post stage of the lesson where students have to produce the activities. In this moment the request of working with their peers appears. Although this is a large class, and sometimes it is difficult for me to maintain the focus on the lesson due the class is too noisy, students understand when they have to pay attention to the teacher. Nevertheless, when students know they have to do something individually, as a test or some activities, they misbehave a lot. For instance, they begin to yell, they do not want to work, they do not pay attention, and it is almost impossible to manage them without saying that the activity will be graded. That is why there have been several moments when I have had to change my planning due to I want my students to engage with the lesson and with individual activities, but to achieve that is almost impossible. Furthermore, there are also cases in which I had to have a.

(8) Validation of students’ perception of group work as a tool for individual learning process 8. plan b or change from an individual planned activity to a group work activity due to the same reasons mentioned before. Moreover, there are also moments when students have to work by themselves and they are allowed to help each other with the condition that the answers from the activities will be different. I have to strongly emphasis in that condition and repeat it several times during the lesson; otherwise I will receive almost the same answers from them. There are also moments when they worked in group work, but the teacher had to be the whole time with the groups due to they began to chitchat a lot and they were not working as they supposed to do it. Even though they love to work in groups, most of them use it as an excuse to talk and to learn as it corresponds. Having said that, I am not against working in groups due to there are a lot of researches based on the importance of working in groups in the classroom and the benefits of it. For instance, one of the most well-known investigations about it is ZPD which implies “learning awakens a variety of internal developmental processes that are able to operate only when. the child is interacting with people in his environment and in cooperation with h.is- peers.”(Vygotsky, 1978) However, it is hard for the students to perceive their individual progress with the subject when working in groups..

(9) Validation of students’ perception of group work as a tool for individual learning process 9. Research Question In relation to what was observed and the problem statement, I could notice that the main concern is related to know whether students know they are actually learning by working in groups in the English class. For that reason, my research question is: How can I validate my 12th grade students’ perception of working in groups as a useful tool for their individual learning process?.

(10) Validation of students’ perception of group work as a tool for individual learning process 10. Rationale This Action Research question has been developed for three main reasons. The first one is related to the students. It is important to have evidence whether students are learning or not in order to students succeed. Furthermore, it is necessary to know if the strategy of the teacher is working with them. In other words, it is always important to improve what the teacher is doing and to be aware if the strategy is working in order to increase the students’ learning process. The second reason is related to the teacher. As Burns (2010) says, “Action research (AR) can be a very valuable way to extend our teaching skills and gain more understanding of ourselves as teachers, our classrooms and our students.” (P. 2) In this sense, the principal idea is to realize if my teaching practice is working with the twelve grade or how to change it if I notice that is not working. Furthermore, I might also be able to understand my context in a better way and help my students with their English learning process. The third reason is related to the school itself. I strongly believe that an important aspect of conducting an Action Research is also associated to the extrinsic part of the 12th context, which in this case is the school. As it was pointed out in the context section, the school is working really hard on improving the students’ learning process. In that sense, this Action Research would be beneficial for them because they could have evidence of the impact on the students when working in groups and they could implemented as a strategy in the teaching practice..

(11) Validation of students’ perception of group work as a tool for individual learning process 11. Moving on to the reason why this is a problem for my teaching practice, I have two main concerns. The first one is related to all the changes I have to do when teaching, an example of it has been taken from my journal. “August 18th, 2016. 10:30 AM aprox. The teacher explains that they will have to work on a worksheet related to a reading comprehension and what they review in the class. Then, a student interrupts the teacher and asks: -. Student 1: Pero profe reparta una sola por mesa y la hacemos en pareja.. -. Teacher: The activity is individual so you will have to bring me back your. own worksheet. -. Student 2: Ya pero igual podemos trabajar con el compañero verdad.. -. - Teacher: Of course you can, but remember that the answers have to be. different otherwise I would think that you copy. 11:00 AM aprox. The teacher is helping the students with some doubts. She realizes that they are doing the worksheet together but they are working. August 19th, 2016 08:30 AM planning time. The teacher is reading the worksheet the students did yesterday and she realizes that all the peers that were working together have the same answers.” (DelRío, August 19th, 2016) Those are an extract of situations that make me have problems to not know whether students are actually learning during the lessons..

(12) Validation of students’ perception of group work as a tool for individual learning process 12. For that reason, it is necessary to have assessments to validate that individual learning process. In order to do that, there can be used some instruments such as self-assessment and presentations evaluated with a specific rubric. The second concern is that students are leaving the school this year and I strongly believe that a good strategy I could provide them with, besides English, would be to promote how to work in groups effectively. That is because they will have to face reality and an important aspect of it is how to relate with people and how to work with them. Finally, at the end of this Action Research I would like to know if group work is a good strategy to improve the individual learning process of the students. As a result, the evidence might allow me to suggest that group work is a good strategy to use or if it is necessary to change it..

(13) Validation of students’ perception of group work as a tool for individual learning process 13. Literature review To begin with literature review section, the first step to do it is to define what it means. According to Burns (2010), “Theoretical framework draws substantially on the literature in a particular research area in order to lay out in detail what is already known about the topic and to provide a theoretical base for the study.” (P.14) In relation to this Action Research, it is important to highlight some concepts that will make a clear understanding about the main focus of it. Stage of cognitive development As they are students from 12° grade, they are around 17-18 years old so the cognitive development stage for them is based on formal operations. According to Inhelder & Piaget (1958) formal operation Is essentially hypothetico-deductive. By this we mean that the deduction no longer refers directly to perceived realities but to hypothetical statements—i.e., it refers to propositions which are formulations of hypotheses or which postulate facts or events independently of whether or not they actually occur. (p.251). In other words, students are able to think abstractly about situations that may or may not happen. In addition, Inhelder & Piaget (1958) mention, There is a reversal of the direction of thinking between reality and possibility in the subjects’ method of approach. Possibility no longer appears merely as an extension of an empirical situation or of actions actually performed. Instead, it is reality that is now secondary to possibility. (p.251) As their logical thinking grows, their capabilities of problem solving and reflection are developing in higher levels, which mean that students are able to produce the assessments thought to validate their individual learning process.. Individual learning process.

(14) Validation of students’ perception of group work as a tool for individual learning process 14. There are a lot of theories referring about the process of individual learning. Nevertheless, the most well-known theory is the constructivism which means “Constructivism is a theory of learning, and it is also a theory of knowing. It is an epistemological concept that draws from a variety of fields, including philosophy, psychology, and science” (Walker & Lambert, 1995 p. 1). This theory has different approaches about the learning process. One of them is the cognitive constructivism that refers about the individual learning process. “Cognitive constructivists concentrate on the importance of the mind in learning,(…) although Piaget did not reject the role of social interaction, his main purpose was to shed light on the development of cognitive structures in learners” (Schcolnik, Kol & Abarbanel, 2006 p.13) Social constructivism It refers to “Vygotsky, on the other hand, focused on the effect of social interaction on learning (…) He emphasized the social origin of cognition and the effect of social interaction on learning” (Scholnik, Kol & Abarbanel, 2006 p.13). As social constructivism is related to learning process through interaction, it is accurate to say that it has a connection with cooperative learning due it is defined as “a technique teachers use to group students together to impact learning in a positive way” (Firestone, M., n.d). According to the previous quote, it can be saying what Richards (2006) mentions, “Learning is not an individual, private activity, but a social one that depends upon interaction with others.” (p.25) However, the idea that learning is a social process does not remove the fact that there is an internal process of learning as well. Nonetheless, something has to happen in order to see that process of learning..

(15) Validation of students’ perception of group work as a tool for individual learning process 15. According to Scholnik, Kol & Abarbanel (2006) “if, as Piaget claims, learning results from a need to return to equilibration after disturbance to a system, teachers need to create a learning environment that leads students to disturbance”(P.14) in other words, the teacher needs to provide with a system in which students demonstrate that they are learning. In addition, the system that needs to be created for the students’ learning process could be easier to be seen if the learning process happens as the social constructivism claims. That is because of the concept developed by Lev Vygotsky (1978) which is Zone of Proximal Development meaning “the distance between the actual development level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance or in cooperation with more capable peers” (p.86) Having said that, it is appropriate to say that individual learning process can happened through social constructivism, which can be observed by working in groups work, as this Action Research question claims. In addition, it is necessary to organize the group work dynamic in order to students have to have clear instructions about what they have to do. Furthermore, it is important that students can organize their work and one way of doing it is by using roles. (Barkley, Cross & Major 2005) In that sense, it could be easier for the students to perceive their learning process while working due to they are going to work in an organize way, and all the students will have something to do. Validity In order to observe if the individual learning process is happening, and that students could also notice their learning process, it is necessary to have valid indicators. “A.

(16) Validation of students’ perception of group work as a tool for individual learning process 16. validation argument will typically include several parts, and will be supported by many different kinds of evidence, none of which by itself is likely to be sufficient to justify the intended interferences and uses of a particular test.” (Bachman, 2004 p. 260) According to what was described, the main purpose of the use of validity is to have the proper evidence by using different types of assessments in order to obtain the results about the objective that was focused. To conclude with Literature Review, it is important to say that according to what was written, all the concepts mentioned before are highly connected. It is necessary to have them all in order to understand the focus of the Action Research. In that sense, the authors affirm that individual learning process can be perceive through group work but in order to observe it, it is necessary to have an instrument that validates that learning process..

(17) Validation of students’ perception of group work as a tool for individual learning process 17. Methodology In order to conduct this Action Research, it is necessary to know the best strategies to collect required data. According to Burns (2010) “it is important to be aware of a few things about data collection in AR. First, the techniques you use should be well matched to what you are trying to ﬁnd out.” (p. 56) In relation to the AR question, it is important to collect specific information related to the theme of the AR. For that reason, the data collection selected can be categorized into groups like existing archival sources, conventional sources and inventive sources. In this AR it is going to be used conventional sources and inventive sources due to with the use of those sources, the data collection that is expected to have for the purposes of answering the AR question could be identified. Conventional sources As Pine (2009) says “Conventional sources are items that require communication, observation, or follow-up with members of the population and that often require instrumentation to standardize the information collected.” (p.252) There are several sources that can fit with the definition above. However, the ones that will be used in this AR in order to collect data about group work are: Surveys. This is a necessary tool for the AR purpose due to one of the most important data to collect is about students opinions regarding their learning process. For that reason, with surveys it is possible to find out what students think about their.

(18) Validation of students’ perception of group work as a tool for individual learning process 18. learning process. In addition, it is also possible to know how students really feel about working in groups. Observations. In order to make the observation less subjective, there is going to be a checklist in the interventions in which the observations are going to be necessary. This tool is mainly to observe if there is any change with a previous intervention, and if the purpose of the lesson is achieve properly. Inventive sources Pine (2009) mentions “Inventive sources are usually more creative, complex, and deep. We use these sources when we want deeper or qualitatively different information than we can gain from existing and conventional source.” (P.252) The sources selected for this AR are: Self-assessment. One way to validate students’ individual learning process, and to help them to realize students are learning, it is necessary to use something so they can be aware about their own learning process. For that reason, self-assessment is the best way to know the students’ point of view in terms of their own learning process. Performance assessment. This tool is related to presentations that students will have to do in some interventions. The purpose of the presentations is to observe if the work that they have to do in groups is working or not. In order to assess the presentations, there is going to be a rubric (see appendix 6) that will help to measure what students have done..

(19) Validation of students’ perception of group work as a tool for individual learning process 19. Procedure to collect data In relation to the procedure of the collecting data, it is accurate to say that the tool implemented first was the surveys. This is because in relation to the AR questions, it was necessary to know students opinion regarding group work and individual learning process. There were 5 surveys that were applied at the beginning and at the end of the lessons according to what the interventions were about. The observations with a checklist were implemented in three different interventions. This was in relation to observe how students worked in different group works, and if there was any difference regarding the last intervention and the next one. Furthermore, all the checklists were different due to the objective of the lessons are not the same, so the perspectives of the checklists had to change according to the goal of the lesson. Moving on to self-assessment, there were three tools implemented at the beginning, middle and very end of the interventions. This was mainly to observe if there is a change in terms of the perception that students have regarding their own learning process when working in groups. Finally, with performance assessment there were two tools implemented, the first one at the beginning of the interventions and the second one at the end of the interventions. This is because it was necessary to observe if there was a change when students worked in groups during the process of implementing the AR. In other words, if students learned to work in groups properly, and if by performing their work, they were able to be aware of their own learning process..

(20) Validation of students’ perception of group work as a tool for individual learning process 20. Interventions The interventions were thought to observe the impact that group work activities had in relation to students individual learning process. These interventions took place since October 13th to November 04th. The purpose of the interventions was to know how students worked in groups and their assumptions in terms of their learning process. For that reason in 4 interventions students had to answer surveys related to how they feel about working in groups and their own process of learning. In addition, there were two performance assessments in which students had to present their work. The first one was in third intervention; students had to prepare a speech related to the end of their school process. The second one was in the fifth intervention; students had to present a hobby that they enjoy. Those presentations were thought in order to observe changes at the moment to present as group, and also if students could notice any change in terms of their first presentation and the last one. The observation with checklists was thought for interventions 1, 4 and 5. Those interventions were the ones in which students had to prepare their work for their presentations. In that sense, the idea was to observe how students were preparing their work, how do they work in groups and if there is any change in them when working. Finally, self-assessments took place in interventions 3 and 6. The self-assessment was focus on how they thought they worked in group work and how much they thought they were learning. In intervention 3 students had to work in larger groups while in intervention 4 students had to work in pairs. That was mainly the difference between.

(21) Validation of students’ perception of group work as a tool for individual learning process 21. those two self-assessments, to know which one do students think they are learning the most. In terms of the last self-assessment in the last intervention, it had a purpose to summarize the students learning process of the semester, and if they could notice any change from the first intervention to the last one. Action plan The steps to achieve the purpose of the Action Research are represented in the following Gant chart. Activity August - Observing the X class selected.. -. September X. Writing context Defining problem. Defining question.. the. X. the X. X. the X. X. Writing problem. the. X. -Writing the question -Writing the rationale. - Searching lit.review, - Writing lit.review. - Defining methodology. - Defining the instruments - Planning interventions - Applying interventions and instruments - Analyzing data collected.. X X X. -. -. October. November. X X X X X X. X. X. December. January.

(22) Validation of students’ perception of group work as a tool for individual learning process 22 -. -. Reflecting on the results Action Research deliver. Presentation. X X. X. X. X.

(23) Validation of students’ perception of group work as a tool for individual learning process 23. Data Analysis In relation to the information gather throughout this process with the instruments selected, which were surveys, checklists, self-assessments and performance assessments. Each of the instruments was implemented in the interventions, and the analysis of them was thought to obtain data related to the topic, hence to compare the results if it was possible. Surveys analysis This instrument was conducted in different interventions, each of the surveys were made with different questions related to the objective of the interventions. However, each survey had a common topic; which was questions related to students’ perspective in relation to group work and their individual learning process. Survey analysis of intervention 1.. Figure 2. Survey intervention 1.

(24) Validation of students’ perception of group work as a tool for individual learning process 24. This question it is extremely important for the AR purpose. That is because it is notorious that more than half of the students like to work in groups due to they can have a good time while working. This can be interpreted as students do not use group work for the purposes of it, which is to share their thoughts; to learn from each other and to increase their own learning process with their peers. In other words, are students using group work to only have a good time or are they really learning something? In relation to what it can be observed in figure n.2, it is proper to say that students use group work for the pruposes of having a good time rather than use it as a tool for their learning process.. Figure 3. Survey intervention 1. The aim of this question was to know if students understood the reason why the roles were used. The purpose of the roles was to lead their groups to truly work as it corresponds, so they could see a change when working. Furthermore, it is a tool to observe if with the implementation of roles students could learn in a better way due to everybody has to do.

(25) Validation of students’ perception of group work as a tool for individual learning process 25. something important in their work. In terms of the results of figure n.3, it is observed that more than the half of the students understood that the purpose of the roles is to organize the groups, which is mainly what the roles do. Survey analysis of intervention 3.. Figure 4. Survey intervention3.. In terms of figure n.4, the main purpose was to know what they think about the roles. In the previous interventions, it was clear the objective of the roles and what the teacher observed of it. However, it was needed the opinion of the students due to they were the ones that implemented this tool. As it was observed, more than half of the students think that the use role helped in their groups so it has an implication in their learning process. That is because, as the groups are organized they can achieve the goal of the class ergo they could produce the expected outcome by working..

(26) Validation of students’ perception of group work as a tool for individual learning process 26. Would you use roles in a future group work? 0%. a. Yes, because it works really well for us.. 13% 46% 41%. b. Yes, because if we have a role we can work faster and better. c. No, because we did not know how to work with roles.. Figure 5. Survey intervention 3.. The objective of figure n.5 was to know if they could use roles as a strategy when working in groups. That is because the purpose of this AR is to use group work as a strategy for their learning process. Students have to know how to work properly, and one way of doing it is with roles. The results show that most of the students will use it in a future because they understood the purpose of the roles and how to work with that. However, there is also a percentage of students that will not use it due to they did not understand how to work with roles. Those students may need more classes using roles in order to understand how to work with them or extra help by the teacher.

(27) Validation of students’ perception of group work as a tool for individual learning process 27. Survey analysis intervention 5.. Do you think it works selecting the roles as a group? a. Yes, because everybody likes one role better than another. b. Yes, because we all knew how the roles worked. c. No, because there were some of us that wanted t have a different role d. No, because we did not follow the roles at all. 3% 8% 35% 54%. Figure 6. Survey intervention 5.. Figure n.6 may be similar to the survey of intervention 3. However, the difference is that in this intervention students had to organize their groups and they selected their roles own as a group. It can be said that as they were used to work with roles, it was not difficult for them to keep doing it without the help of the teacher. They had become more autonomous at the moment of organizing their work..

(28) Validation of students’ perception of group work as a tool for individual learning process 28. Figure 7. Survey intervention 5.. Figure n. 7 was thought to see the difference between the first intervention up to intervention 5. It can be observed that there is a difference due to students like working in groups for the purposes that group work has, which is to share their points of view and to learn from each other rather than having a good time. Although, the numbers are pretty close from each other, it is accurate to say that there has been a difference and students are learning to work in groups properly.. Figure 8. Survey intervention 5..

(29) Validation of students’ perception of group work as a tool for individual learning process 29. The activity for intervention 5 had one part of working outside the classroom. This is important to know it due to the idea is that students continue working in groups not only in English subject. It can be said that students think that they work properly as a group outside the classroom.. Figure 9. Survey intervention 5. There is accordance between the previous question and this one in terms of the numbers. Students finished their work and the majority of them do it as a group, even though there is a percentage of students that did not work as a group. It is hard to know if all students are telling the truth in terms of if they truly finish their work as group. However, the number says that they did it. Survey analysis intervention 6. This was an open survey for the students. For that reason, there will be two answers for the questions to analyze. Those were the most common answers given by the students. According to the first question: How good or bad was for you working in groups? Why? Although there were two students that answered that for them was a bad experience, most of the students answered that it was good because they could learn by their peers. This.

(30) Validation of students’ perception of group work as a tool for individual learning process 30. means that students learned the first thing of working in groups, which is learning from each other.. Student 1. Answer: It was good because it is good to work with classmates and learn with them.. Figure 10. Survey intervention 6. Student 2 Answer: It was good because it is a good way of learning from our peers.. Figure 10.1. Survey intervention 6. The following question of the survey: Do you think that working in groups has an impact in your personal learning process? Why? Although there were three students that said that form them it was better to work by themselves due to they learn better that way, most of the students answered that they were able to learn because when they were discussing in their groups they discovered they knew something new. In addition, when they did not understand something, they asked their peers and that helped them a lot with their learning process. Student 1 Answer: It had an impact because we discuss a lot as a group and that helped me to know how much I knew about the topic. Figure 10.2. Survey intervention 6..

(31) Validation of students’ perception of group work as a tool for individual learning process 31. Student 2 Answer: It had an impact because when I did not know something, I asked my peers. Figure 10.3. Survey intervention 6. Finally the last question of the survey: How important is for your process of learning is to know how to work in groups? Why? In this question it was notorious that there was a change in terms of how they perceived group work. That is because now students were able to realize that group work can be a synonymous of learning rather than only having a good time. Student 1 Answer: It is important because if we know how to work in groups, we can learn better. Figure 10.4. Survey intervention 6.. Student 2 Answer: It is important because group work helps us with our learning process if we use it properly. Figure 10.5. Survey intervention 6. Checklists analysis The checklists were tools used by the teacher in two different interventions. Each checklist was different and the main purpose of them was to know how students were working in groups..

(32) Validation of students’ perception of group work as a tool for individual learning process 32. Checklist analysis intervention 1. Yes. Students can form the groups without a problem.. More or less. It is observed. not. x. Students understand how to work with the roles given.. x. Students are properly working in groups.. x. Students’ continue with the roles given until the end of the lesson.. No. x Figure 11. Checklist intervention 1.. According to what was observed by the teacher, it can be said that at the moment of working in groups it is not difficult for the students to form groups. That is because students are used to work in that way and now is more mechanical the creation of the groups. However, this was the first time with the use of roles. For that reason, it took a lot of time for the students to understand the roles and the teacher had to go to almost every group to explain the roles so they could work. Nevertheless, once students understood the work with the roles, it was observed that the work was more organized than other times and there was less distraction from the part of the students..

(33) Validation of students’ perception of group work as a tool for individual learning process 33. Checklist analysis intervention 5. The analysis of checklist for intervention 5 is the following: Yes. Students work properly as a group in the classroom.. x. Students decided the roles and worked with them.. x. Students finished the first part of the task properly.. x. Students worked outside the class as a group and they bring the research.. More or less. No. It is observed.. not. x. Figure 12. Checklist intervention 5. In terms of what the teacher observed, it is accurate to say that students worked properly during the lesson with their groups. However, the part of the task that was thought to do it outside the classroom, not all the students did it. Although, there were only a few students who did not finish their research, with the information of the survey it is difficult to know if students finish their task as group. Nevertheless, this was the first time of students working.

(34) Validation of students’ perception of group work as a tool for individual learning process 34. outside the classroom as a group. For that reason, it is accurate to say it is necessary more tasks like this one in order to achieve the goal. When students had to present their work, there was rubric to use (see appendix 5). In that presentation, they seemed more prepared than the first presentation that they did. In addition, all students talked more than the first time and they were able to answer not only the teacher questions but also students’ questions. The organization of the groups also increased this time and mostly all the students presented when it was required.. Self-assessment analysis This tool was implemented in two interventions. One at the first work they finished and the other one at the very end of the interventions. Self-assessment analysis intervention 3. In terms of the self-assessment implemented, the results are the following:.

(35) Validation of students’ perception of group work as a tool for individual learning process 35. Figure 13. Self-assessment intervention 3. First of all, it is not the first time on using self-assessment so students knew how to answer that. In addition, they knew that this was not graded so the teacher asked them to be the more honest as they could. The way students had to answer the questions was by marking the percentage they put in the effort when working in the activity of creating a final speech. This goes from 100% to 10%. In terms of the results, it is proper to say that most of the students think that they did a good job in terms of working in the group. In addition, that it also seen in the last intervention with the teacher journal, so the results demonstrate what indeed happened during their work..

(36) Validation of students’ perception of group work as a tool for individual learning process 36. Self-assessment analysis intervention 6. This self-assessment was made with open questions (see appendix 5). For that reason, the analysis of the self-assessment was presented with the two most common ideas of answers that were received from the students. According to the first question: In a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the maximum, how much effort did you put in your group? Why? The results obtained from this question pointed out that students thought they were not putting effort in their work due to they talked a lot with their peers. Therefore, it is accurate to say that students think that discussion without any distraction is how they should be working. Student 1 Answer: I think a 5 because I talked a lot in group and I was distracted. Figure 14. Self-assessment intervention 6. Student 2 Answer: An 8 because I worked well but I talked a lot in my group. Figure 14.1. Self-assessment intervention 6. In relation to the second question: In a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the maximum, how much did you learn from your group? Why? The results obtained from this question pointed out that they understood that students can learn from their peers and that they are doing more than just having a good time, as they answered in the survey from intervention 1..

(37) Validation of students’ perception of group work as a tool for individual learning process 37. Student 1 Answer: I put a 6 because at the beginning I was not that focus but then I learned a lot Figure 14.2. Self-assessment intervention 6. Student 2 Answer: 9 because by working with my peer I could learn from them and also they learned from me. Figure 14.3. Self-assessment intervention 6. Moving on to the following question of the self-assessment: Mention at least one thing you think (of yourself) it is necessary to improve when working in groups. This question pointed out that most of the students want to improve when working in groups due to they could notice something to improve, so that means that for them it is important for their learning process.. Student 1 Answer: Cooperation because that is the most important part when we work in groups. Figure 14.4. Self-assessment intervention 6.. Student 2 Answer: Respect the time because we too slow and it was hard for us to finish on time. Figure 14.5. Self-Assessment intervention 6. Finally the last question of the self-assessment: In a scale from 1-10, with 10 being the maximum, how much do you think you have learned during this semester with.

(38) Validation of students’ perception of group work as a tool for individual learning process 38. the use of group work? Most of the students answered with a 5 and an 8. This could mean that even though students believe and know that they are learning, there are still things to improve in relation to group work, which can be done by implementing this with extra time. Performance assessment analysis There were two different performance assessments, but both of them were speaking activities. The first one was in intervention 3, in which they had two classes to prepare their presentations. The second one was in intervention 5, in which they had one class to prepare their presentations. Due to it could be too much to present the 46 rubrics of each presentation, there is going to be a brief summary of both interventions in relation to the rubric (see appendix 6). Performance assessment analysis intervention 3. When students had to present their work related to create a final speech there was a rubric to use (see appendix 5). What it can be said about that is that students were well prepared for the presentation as group. All of them help each other and it seems a good level of the content in terms that all of them knew what was the speech about. In addition, students were able to answer questions in English in relation to their work, so that means that there is an integration of what they have learned. Performance assessment analysis intervention 5. When students had to present their work, there was rubric to use (see appendix 5). In that presentation, they seemed more prepared than the first presentation that they did. In addition, all students talked more than the first time and they were able to answer not only the teacher questions but also students’.

(39) Validation of students’ perception of group work as a tool for individual learning process 39. questions. The organization of the groups also increased this time and mostly all the students presented when it was required..

(40) Validation of students’ perception of group work as a tool for individual learning process 40. Reflection The reflection was in respect of the interventions made and the information gathered throughout this process. The evidence showed up good findings in terms of the perception of students in terms of group work. Students understood that group work was not only to talk with their peers, and that it is important to know how to work in groups so they could achieve the goals of the lesson. For that reason, the use of roles took an important place in this AR. This was the starting point to make students be aware of how to work properly in a group in order to learn from that work. It was difficult to make them understand the use of roles but with practicing and taking extra time and different strategies to explain roles, they got the idea. In terms of individual learning regarding students’ perceptions, it can be said that this was the most difficult part to have evidence about it and it was the weakest part due to as it is an internal process; it is extremely hard to make students be aware of that. Nevertheless, the surveys helped a lot to make my students realized about their progress of learning. To sum up, most of the students learnt how to work in groups and they were able to perceive a progress at the end of the intervention. Moreover, with the use of assessments it is possible to validate individual perceptions regarding the learning process. However, there is still something missing, which is to know if that learning was acquired in students’ minds or if it is forget once they use it..

(41) Validation of students’ perception of group work as a tool for individual learning process 41. For now the use of assessment was the only tool to perceive individual learning process. Nevertheless, the next step would be to observe if students acquire the goal of the lessons, and to observe how prepare they are to work in groups but also individually because it is also important to know how to work by yourself. Students know have the first tool to begin with a proper group work, but it necessary to increase what they have learned so far..

(42) Validation of students’ perception of group work as a tool for individual learning process 42. Conclusion To conclude this AR it had to take into consideration all the data that the process brings to the teacher. In terms of group work, at the end of the process students understood how to work in groups in a better way. Furthermore, it also helped me to realize that it is necessary to start from the very beginning. This might sound obvious, but as students had worked in groups before, I thought they knew some things related to group work as how to organize the group. However, that assumption was not true so I had to implement a new strategy which was the use of roles. That strategy helped me to teach how to begin working with a proper group work. In terms of the individual learning process regarding students’ perceptions, it was the most difficult part to analyze in the AR. That is because the learning process is too subjective, and to measure it by itself it is almost impossible. Nevertheless, I could realize that with the use of some instruments to validate that learning process; it is possible to observe it not only for the teacher but for the students, which was the main objective for the AR. There are some limitations regarding the time. I strongly believe that this was the starting point of group work and students learning process. In order to have better findings in terms of learning, it is required more time. For instance, to observe the difference between working in larger and pair groups and how to improve individual work too. In addition, students leave the school this year so unfortunately there is no way to keep working on that with the same students the following year..

(43) Validation of students’ perception of group work as a tool for individual learning process 43. Having said that and focusing only on the AR questions, it can be said that most of the question was answered. This was in terms of group work and the improvement of it. However, it is necessary more information about the individual learning process. Although, students answered the surveys by saying that they were aware of the knowledge that group left on them, and that they assessment also prove an incensement on their learning process. There is still a very subjective evidence to truly say that the learning process could be perceived as it corresponds to move on. For that reason, it is necessary to have more instruments to measure the learning process, but it was a good starting point for the investigation. Finally, conducting AR taught me to not take everything for granted. There is always a reason why things happened in the classroom, and it is our duty as teachers to find out what that problem is and how to improve it. I do believe that AR is a good way for improving that problem because it helped to realize what you as a teacher are doing well and what can be better for the best of the students. In addition, conducting AR taught me that the results of the AR can be totally different as the expected. However, as teacher the results are not the most important part. The most important part is to improve teacher’s practices in order to increase students learning process..

(44) Validation of students’ perception of group work as a tool for individual learning process 44. References Bachman, L. (2004) Statistical Analyses for Language Assessment.(pp.257-293) New York: Cambridge University Press. Barkley, E.F., Cross, K.P., & Major, C.H. (2005). Collaborative Learning Techniques: A Handbook for College Faculty. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Burns, A. (2010). Doing action research in English language teaching: a guide for practitioners. Routledge. Firestone, M. (n.d). What Is Collaborative Learning? – Benefits, Theory & Definition. Retrieved October 5, 2015, from http:///study.com/academy/lesson/what-iscollaborativelearning-benefits-theory-definition.html Inhelder, B., & Piaget, J. (1958). The Growth of Logical Thinking from Childhood to Adolescence: An Essay on the Construction of Formal Operational Structures. University of Michigan. Richards, J. (2006) Communicative Language Teaching Today. New York: Cambridge Schcolnik, M. Kol, S. & Abarbanel, J. (2006). Constructivism in theory and in practice. English teaching forum. Number 4. Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Walker, D., & Lambert, L. (1995). Learning and leading theory: A century in the making. In L Lambert, D. Walker, D. P. Zimmerman, J. E. Cooper, M. D. Lambert, M. E. Gardner, & P. J. Ford Slack, The constructivist leader (pp. 1-27). New York, NY: Teachers College Press, Columbia University..

(45) Validation of students’ perception of group work as a tool for individual learning process 45. Appendix . Appendix 1:. -Intervention 1: -. Survey:. 1. Do you like working in groups? a) Yes, because I can share with my partners and the work seams easier with them. b) Yes, because everybody has to do something and we can learn by working with our peers. c) No, because I always have to do all the work. d) No, because it is hard to organize the group and I like to work by myself. 2. What is the best part of working in pairs? a) I can learn from my peers. b) I can have a good time while working. c) I can leave the work to others. d) There is not best part.. 3. Do you think is important the use of roles inside the group work? a) Yes, because we can all know what to do while working. b) Yes, because it is important that each of us has something important to do while working. c) No, because we do not follow the roles established. d) No, because I end up doing everything..

(46) Validation of students’ perception of group work as a tool for individual learning process 46. - Checklist for intervention 1: Yes. More or less. No. Students can form the groups without a problem. Students understand how to work with the roles given. Students are properly working in groups. Students’ continuo with the roles given until the end of the lesson. . Appendix 2:. -. Intervention 3:. -. Survey:. 1. Do you think the use of roles work? a) Yes, because we could be more organized while working. b) Yes, because each of us knew what to do. c) No, because we did not know how to work with that role. d) No, because I ended up doing everything. 2. Would you use roles in a future group work? a) Yes, because it works really well for us. b) Yes, because if we have a role we can work faster and better.. It is observed. not.

(47) Validation of students’ perception of group work as a tool for individual learning process 47. c) No, because we did not know how to work with roles. d) No, because is the same work with a role or without them. -. Self-assessment: 100%. 75%. 50%. 30%. I work properly with my group. I give ideas and share comments. I use the role given by the teacher. I finished the work in the deadline give. I learn at least one thing of the lesson by working in groups. . Appendix 3:. -. Intervention 4:. -. Survey:. 1. Do you think is good working in pairs? a) Yes, because it is easier to organize the work. b) Yes, because in that way both of us work equally. c) No, because we always end up working with one or two more peers. d) No, because in pairs it is harder to finish the activities on time. 2. Do you like peer groups or larger groups?. 10%.

(48) Validation of students’ perception of group work as a tool for individual learning process 48. a) Peer groups. b) Larger groups. 3. The worst thing of working in pairs: a) We never finished on time. b) I do all the work. c) We always get to work in larger groups anyway. d) I chitchat all the time with my partner. -. Checklist: 100%. Students work in pairs during the entire lesson. Students work properly with their peers and finished their work. Students are focus on the task. Students present their work and it seems they manage the topic properly.. . Appendix 4:. 75%. 50%. 30%. 10%.

(49) Validation of students’ perception of group work as a tool for individual learning process 49. -. Intervention 5:. -. Survey:. 1. Do think it works selecting the roles as a group? a) Yes, because everybody likes one role better than another. b) Yes, because we all knew how the roles worked. c) No, because there were some of us that wanted to have a different role. d) No, because we did not follow the roles at all. 2. Do you like working in larger groups? a) Yes, because we can share different points of view. b) Yes, because it is easier to finish the task. c) No, because it is hard to organize the group. d) No, because not all the group works as it corresponds. 3) Did the group work properly outside the classroom? a) Yes. b) No. 4) Did your group finish the part of working at home properly? a) Yes. b) No. c) We completed the task but only a few of us worked at home. -. Checklist: Yes. Students work properly as a group in the classroom.. More or less. No. It is observed.. not.

(50) Validation of students’ perception of group work as a tool for individual learning process 50. Students decided the roles and worked with them. Students finished the first part of the task properly. Students worked outside the class as a group and they bring the research.. . Appendix 5:. -. Intervention 6:. -. Survey:. 1. How good or bad was for you working in groups? Why? _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ 2. Do you think that working in groups has an impact in your personal learning process? Why? _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ 3. How important is for your process of learning know how to work in groups? Why? _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ -. Self-assessment:. 1. In a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the maximum, how much effort did you put in your group? Why?.

(51) Validation of students’ perception of group work as a tool for individual learning process 51. _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ 2. In a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the maximum, how much did you learn from your group? Why? _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ 3. Mention at least one thing you think (of yourself) it is necessary to improve when working in groups. _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________. 4. In a scale from 1-10, with 10 being the maximum, how much do you think you have learned during this semester with the use of group work? Circle the number. 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10.. . Appendix 6:. Rubrics for the presentations: 10 Students present on time.. Students are well organized while presenting.. Each member of the group knows what to do and the manage on the topic is equally.. 7 Students present on time but one member is missing. Students are organized but there are some confused parts.. Each member of the group knows what to do but it seems that some of them have more manage on the topic than the. 5 Students do not want to present even though there is time. Students are not organized and they do not know who has to present each part. Only some member of the group knows what to do and also only some member of the group have the. 1 Students do not present because they have not finish their work. Students have not decide how to organize their work.. None of the group knows what to do and there is no manage on the topic..

(52) Validation of students’ perception of group work as a tool for individual learning process 52 others. Students are able to answer the teacher questions.. . Only some members of the group are able to answer the teacher questions.. manage on the topic. Only one member of the is able to answer the teacher questions. None of the group is able to answer the teacher questions.. Appendix 7:. Authorization students signed to be part of the investigation.. Octubre 03, 2016 Durante este periodo se realizaran distintas actividades, encuestas y observaciones dentro de la clase de Inglés con fines de investigación para la titulación de Profesor(a) de Inglés de Universidad Alberto Hurtado. Por ésta razón, el participar es totalmente voluntario. Los resultados de la investigación no saldrán a la luz y tanto participantes como escuela se mantendrán en completo anonimato. Yo estudiante de IV° medio estoy de acuerdo en participar dentro de la investigación con fines netamente de titulación, siempre y cuando todo sea anónimo. ________________ Firma estudiante. _________________ Firma docente. ___________________ Firma estudiante en practica.

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