My approved
topic of action research will revolve around the question “How will daily
recess affect the academic performance and behavior of students? I will be self-contained next school year so
that there will be no conflicts with team partners or scheduling. I will have a scheduled 15 minute recess
break before lunch everyday – whether we are inside or outside. I will document our recess activities and how
many students participated in each activity.
I will record weekly grade averages in reading, writing, and math, as
well as conduct averages. I will also record
any office referrals or bus write ups. I
hope to find that having daily recess helps students to consistently perform
better on class assignments and tests, improves school and classroom behavior,
and motivates students to monitor their own behavior and academic progress.
It sounds like you have already given a lot of thought as to how to conduct your research project! You are very smart to put recess before lunch. There are many studies out there that discuss the transitioning benefits of putting lunch between recess and class time. You might consider collecting data for another class room on your grade level that will NOT have daily recess. This would make for an interesting comparison. I look forward to seeing your formal plan!
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment, Mariellen. I have gone back and forth over how many classes I should include. I really wanted to have one class per grade level, but my site supervisor had some concerns about that, and I wasn't 100% sure I could address them all as I am still a classroom teacher myself and cannot "monitor" everyone very closely. Your suggestion is much more doable.
ReplyDeleteI have read 3 articles so far and in one of them it was suggested to put recess before lunch. We only have recess one day a week and it has always been after lunch. I am beginning to experience first hand the benefits of research and blogging. Thanks again!
I LOVE YOUR PLAN. Because of some teachers abusing recess in the past, recess has been "taken" away. They can go outside for 30 minutes, one day a week. I think it is important for child to run and play. We are loosing so many social skills. I am very interested. I may have to do this own on my own at a different time.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Alise. That makes me feel a whole lot better. Yes, that is already the issue I am having with developing the whole plan. My supervisor thinks the teachers I choose will abuse it. I have to select carefully. I have now read 5 articles and there are SO many benefits that recess gives to kids. I keep referring to the school in the district whose name I can no longer remember that had paraprofessionals to take the kids to recess. ( I went on an observation with my then principal 17 years ago.) The teachers ended up having an hour for lunch each day because the students had recess and lunch back to back, 30 minutes each. If it worked for them, why can't it work everywhere?
ReplyDelete