Memo #8: Melillo, Research memo

MaryElizabeth Melillo

FNED 547

Research Memo for Student Surveys

    In my research I have used student surveys to collect information to determine  the impact of the student/teacher relationships on student engagement in the classroom, whether or not diverse learners are trying to learn, desire not to learn or do not learn due to fear of failure, and to determine what types of lessons are more engaging to my students.  From these surveys, I have created a matrix to examine the information by each question.

    Using the first and second surveys, students have informed me that they prefer group instruction and that being in a group and using the computer makes them want to engage in the class lesson.  Additionally, most of my students feel as though they either always engage  or most often engage in the class lesson.  In this analysis of their responses, I feel as though their responses are accurate in regards to what I have seen in the classroom daily.  Also, students feel as though their relationship with their teacher does impact their participation/engagement in the lesson.  In my first survey, seven out of sixteen students said it always impacted them.  In my second survey, four out of fifteen said it always impacted them while six felt it sometimes impacted them.  The majority of my students felt as though they are part of the learning in the classroom in the first survey, and the second survey indicated they were divided equally among always part of the learning, most often part of the learning, and sometimes part of the learning.  I hope that this change is due to the growth in our relationship which has made them more willing to answer honestly about how they are participating/engaging in class.  Overall, there is participation/engagement in the learning due to a desire to succeed according to the class majority.

    Reviewing the types of learners my student identify themselves as and their interests keeps me aware of how I’d like to continue to build my lessons. In my first survey, the majority students identified themselves as interpersonal, musical, bodily-kinesthetic learners.  In the second survey,  the majority of my students were musical, intrapersonal, interpersonal learners.  I wonder if the shift in learning styles is based on instruction or better understanding of the learning styles themselves.  The interests of my students vary.  Some of the top interest areas were drawing, models, hands-on, acting, listening to music, alone time, and multimedia.  My next task will be how to incorporate both these learning styles and areas of interest into my instruction.