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Task 6a – Final Paper Overview

Cara Patterson

EDPC 690

Joe York

3/27/09
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Task 6a – Final Paper Overview

About the Research Proposal

This evaluation planning process is centered around a curriculum web based on the

topic of slave spirituals. This unit is designed for juniors taking an English 11 American

Literature based course in the state of North Carolina. This unit would require two 90

minute class periods (2 days) to complete, will teach learners about different types of

slave spirituals and recognize their significance during the Civil War time period.

Learners will interpret the hidden meanings found in slave spirituals and how they

impacted the daily lives of slaves living in America’s South.

Upon completion of the curriculum web, students will be able to:

1) Demonstrate their knowledge of slave spirituals by taking a short

interactive PowerPoint quiz.

2) Distinguish between three different slave spirituals and determine the

significance that each one entails by completing a worksheet.

3) Describe in journal entry format why spirituals were so important to the daily

lives of slaves.

4) Develop and create a slave spiritual handbook/brochure using Microsoft

Publisher or a slave spiritual informational slide show using Microsoft

PowerPoint.
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5) Explain and discuss their created final product to the class.

The resources for and constraints upon the evaluation are provided by the facility

where the curriculum web will be evaluated. The materials that are needed for this unit

are listed as followed:

• Computers with Internet capabilities

• Software Programs: Microsoft PowerPoint and Microsoft Publisher

• Printer

• Headphones (optional)

• Pen and paper

• A copy of Frederick Douglass’s, My Bondage My Freedom (Chapter 18)

• American Literature textbook (Elements of Literature: Fifth Course, Holt

Rinehart Winston)

All of these materials are available at Nash Central High School, located in Rocky

Mount, North Carolina where the curriculum web will take place. Therefore, there is no

initial cost that will be expected to be put out by the evaluators or the designer of this

curriculum web. The time allotted for this curriculum web is about two days (two 90

minute class periods) for students to complete it successfully. The preparation of the

evaluation process must be prepared by the end of March. The actual field test project

will take place during the month of April and final reflection of evaluation needs to be

completed by the first week of May.

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The complete task analysis of the instruction can be cross curricular. Therefore, the

unit is aligned with North Carolina State Standards for an English III level class and a

U.S. History level class as well as the NETS Standards for Students. The curriculum web

is centered on four NC state objectives for an English III course:

• Competency Goal 1: The learner will demonstrate increasing insight

and reflection to print and non-print text through personal expression.

• Competency Goal 2: The learner will inform an audience by using a

variety of media to research and explain insights into language and

culture based on how slaves used spirituals to communicate important

messages.

• Competency Goal 5: The learner will interpret and evaluate

representative texts to deepen understanding of literature of the United

States.

• Competency Goal 6: The learner will apply conventions of grammar

and language usage (North Carolina Standard Course of Study, 2006).

This curriculum web is also centered on one North Carolina state competency goal

and one objective for a U.S. History based course:

• Competency Goal 3: The learner will analyze the issues that led to

the Civil War, the effects of the war, and the impact of

Reconstruction on the nation.

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• Objective 3.02: Analyze and assess the causes of the Civil War

(North Carolina Standard Course of Study, 2006).

This curriculum web is also aligned with several of the NETS Standards for

Students:

• 1b - Basic operations and concepts: Students are proficient in the use

of technology.

• 2b – Students practice responsible use of technology systems,

information, and software.

• 3a- Students use technology tools to enhance learning, increase

productivity, and promote creativity.

• 4b – Students use telecommunications to collaborate, publish, and

interact with peers, experts, and other audiences.

• 5a - Students use technology to locate, evaluate, and collect

information from a variety of sources (Bitter and Pierson, 2005).

Students will be mastering these NETS standards while working in small groups to

complete the unit successfully.

The learning environment is a crucial part of any successful educational lesson and

evaluation process. The learning environment will take place at Nash Central High
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School located in a standard classroom on the second floor. The temperature in the room

is usually set at 68 degrees and there are two windows that can be opened if need be. A

virtual mobile lab will be brought to the classroom in order to complete this task. Each

student will be provided a laptop computer for their convenience. In addition, the teacher

computer will be hooked up to the television located in the front of the room. This way

the teacher can guide students in the right direction and they can view a big screen to

follow along. Students participating in this lesson are between the ages of 16 and 17 years

old. Evaluators of this lesson will be fellow colleagues that have a variety of teaching

experience from 1 year to 20 years of experience. Their ages will range as well from 22

years old to 55 years old.

Students will use a variety of media in several ways to learn from this unit. The

media characteristics of the instruction will consist of programs such as YouTube,

Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Publisher, a selection of slave spiritual websites, and an

electronic rubric maker. The primary delivery format of this unit will consist of a teacher

made curriculum web that is divided into different categories: Introduction, Task,

Process, Evaluation, Conclusion, and Teacher Page. Students will work in small groups at

their own pace and will complete the different tasks outlined in the curriculum web. Two

days should be adequate amount of time for students and fellow colleagues to evaluate

this curriculum web. Also, the accessibility of the curriculum web can be accessed at

anytime on the Internet and would be available for ones convenience.

The information sought from the evaluation will be outlined in different

subdivisions: Learning Effectiveness, Learning Interest/Motivation, Content Quality,

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Technical Quality, and Implementability (Tessmer, 1993). The surveys that students will

take and the evaluation forms that fellow colleagues will fill out will hopefully answer a

variety of valuable questions.

Data Collection Methods and Design of the Instruments

There are select stages and subjects for the evaluation to be assessed correctly and

efficiently. Self-Evaluation has already been conducted by the designer to fix any obvious

errors or make any crucial Internet updates. An expert reviewer will be someone who is

an expert on the content of slave spirituals. The one-to-one evaluation will be conducted

by a fellow colleague (teacher) who will be given the website to explore prior to the

actual lesson presentation. The one-to-one evaluators will evaluate the lesson from a

teacher point of view and check to see if all media links work successfully and if

creativity in design exists. Small group evaluations will be the students who are

instructed to complete the curriculum web as a demo. Field Test evaluators will be fellow

colleagues or administrators who witness the actual unit in progress and ensure that the

unit is aligned with state standards. Another group of field test evaluators will be the

students that are in the class where the unit will be used as an instructional tool. These

different groups and forms of evaluations will give the designer suggestions on how to

revise the unit for future use.

Expert Reviewer:

The chosen expert for this evaluation will be a U.S. History teacher in my building.

This teacher has been teaching U.S. History for 10 years and was recently awarded
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Teacher of the Year in our building. This teacher has the required and necessary

background in Slave Spirituals as it serves as part of the U.S. History curriculum in the

state of North Carolina. Therefore, a U.S. History teacher is the best candidate because

they have already acquired the knowledge of slave spirituals and know the historical

background that is needed for students to learn successfully. The information will be

collected in person in the form of a checklist:

Questions Yes No Suggestions

Is the material
historically correct?

Is the material up-to-

date?

Is the style of text and

design interesting and
appealing?
Would students want to
learn this material?

Would this make

students want to learn
more about slave
spirituals?
How likely are students
to achieve the stated
objectives by the end of
the unit?
Is this unit aligned with
the Standard Course of
Study for the U.S.
History Curriculum?
Can this unit be used in
classrooms across the
United States?
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Do you think this unit

can improve students
scores on the U.S. History
EOC exam?
Can this unit also be used
in an American
Literature classroom?
Would you add or take
out anything from this
unit?
(Tessmer, 1993).

The data will be analyzed by taking into consideration the check list results and also

any notes or comments that were made by the expert reviewer during the process. Then

as the designer necessary changes will be made and taken into consideration before

conducting the next evaluation step.

One-to-One Evaluation:

The chosen one-to-one evaluator for this unit will be a fellow American Literature

English teacher. This teacher teaches AP English 11 which is based on the American

Literature curriculum. This teacher has five years of experience and a strong background

in American Literature. This teacher follows the NC Standard Course of Study for

American Literature and teaches slave spirituals as well to her AP students. This

evaluator will be able to access the unit from an English teacher point of view and

someone who has experience using technological designed units, due to Smart Board

access in her classroom.

The information will be collected in person based on this questionnaire:

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Questions Responses

Was there anywhere you wanted more

explanation?

Can you guide through the unit by yourself

without help?

Can this unit be accessed at home?

Did you feel challenged or bored?

Would you use this in your classroom?

Did all links work successfully?

Could you hear the videos successfully?

What was something new that you learned

about slave spirituals?

Is the rubric efficient and fair?

If you could change one thing what would it

be?

(Tessmer,1993).
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The data will be analyzed by taking into consideration the questionnaire results and

also any notes or comments that were made by the one-to-one evaluator during the

process. Then as the designer necessary changes will be made and taken into

consideration before conducting the next evaluation step.

Small Group Evaluation:

There will be two small group evaluations conducted for this step. One group will

be based on four learners (students) the other group will be based on two educators. This

way there will be distinguished results based on two different types of evaluators.

The group of students will consist of four AP English 11 students. These students

will be in taking an AP American Literature class. Their American Literature curriculum

is based on the North Carolina Standard Course of Study and slave spirituals is part of the

curriculum for the year.

The small group of instructors will consist of two teachers in my building. One

teacher will have some background in U.S. History as they served as a student teacher in

a U.S. History classroom. The other teacher is a Science teacher who has been teaching

for three years and has experience using technology in the classroom.

The information will be collected in person based on the following two surveys

listed below. The surveys will be conducted after the unit has been viewed in detail by

both groups. The groups of students and the group of instructors will spend some time

viewing and analyzing the unit, but they will not be completing nor witnessing a

completion of the unit.

Student Small Group Survey:

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1. How much did you already know about slave spirituals before viewing this unit?
a. Nothing c. Some

b. Very Little d. A lot

2. Did you have any problems getting through this unit?”

a. No c. Yes
b. Maybe d. Don’t know

3. Were the directions clear and easy to follow?

a. Yes b. No

4. Did all website links work successfully?

a. Yes b. No

5. Did all videos work successfully?

a. Yes b. No

6. How much time should be allowed for students to complete this unit?

a. Yes b. No

7. Does this unit make you want to learn more about slave spirituals?

a. Yes b. No

8. Do you like using technology for learning about literature rather than using your
textbook?

a. Yes b. No

9. What aspects of technology do you like using the most in the classroom?

a. Internet b. Smart Board c. Study Island d. WebQuests

Educators Small Group Survey:

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Questions Yes No
Could learners complete this unit
successfully without any help?

Could English and History teachers

fit this unit into their curriculums?
Did the unit have clear objectives and
was it aligned with state standards?

Was the material and equipment easy

to use and acquire?
Is the format of the unit organized in
a logical order?
Do you think learners will be
challenged and stay engaged by this
type of unit?
Would you use this type of format for
a unit in based on your curriculum in
your classroom?

The data for these two surveys will be analyzed by results from the students and the

other educators. Data will be calculated and converted into percentages. Then as the

designer necessary changes will be made and taken into consideration before conducting

the last evaluation step.

Field Test:

There will be two groups chosen to conduct the field test evaluations. One group

will be the students in a either an U.S. History classroom or an English 11 American

Literature classroom where the unit will be implemented. The other group will be two to

three educators or administrators from my building that will witness the instructional unit

taking place.
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Arrangements will be made prior to when the actual field test needs to be conducted

to ensure that the curriculum web will fall nicely into either subject’s area of curriculum.

All revisions and necessary changes will have been made prior to this last step.

Therefore, this will be the most complete and precise version of the unit. The

environment will be a traditional classroom environment that was described earlier in this

report. All materials will be readily available and should be in working condition.

The field test will be created around two types of evaluations. First a checklist will

be created for the students or the learners. Then another checklist will be created for the

educators or administrators witnessing the implementation of the unit.

Learner Checklist:

Questions Yes No Comments

Did all technology equipment

work while completing the unit?
Did you find the directions hard
to follow?
Was the learning environment
comfortable?
Did you have enough time to
complete the unit?
Did you learn something new
that you didn’t already know
about slave spirituals?
Were you supplied all the
materials that you needed to
complete the unit?
Do you think you could complete
this unit by yourself rather than
in a group?
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Did you enjoy completing this

unit?
Would you like to learn another
topic for this class in the same
way?
Would you like to see some of
your other teachers create a unit
in a similar way? Why?

Educator/Administrator Checklist:

Questions Yes No Comments

Was the instructional unit used

in the way it was intended?
Did the unit require special
training for the instructor or
learners?
Could equipment breakdowns
pose problems?
Could the content become
outdated over time?
Is the instruction adaptable to
different trainers and learners
from year to year?
Did learners master the
instructional objectives?
Were there any tasks that
students had the most trouble
with? Why?
Did learners seem engaged by
the unit and engaged?
Can the instruction be used in
different environments, not just
the traditional classroom
setting?
Do non-instructional solutions
need to be added such as
improved tools or incentive
items?
(Tessmer,1993).
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The data for these two checklists will be assessed by the designer. Answers and

comments will be reviewed and analyzed. Then the designer can start to reflect on the

feedback that they were given. Next the designer will be able to create a reflection report

compiling all data into either a qualitative, quantitative, or a mixed method process.

Method Process

Each of the four reports involved in the evaluation process will show the strength

and weaknesses of the unit. The data collected will focus on a mixed method of analysis.

Depending on the stages of the evaluation step qualitative and quantitative methods are

evident.

The feedback from the expert reviewer would be qualitative due to the fact that it is

the first step of the evaluation process. In addition, this is qualitative because the expert

reviewer is asked to complete a checklist based on a series of questions. The expert is to

check yes or no and then give suggestions where necessary. The expert reviewer is

researching the technicality of the content the unit entails and how it can be used in the

classroom. The expert reviewer becomes emerged in the content of the unit and if it is

historically correct and accurate.

The feedback from the one-to-one evaluator is in the form of a question and answer

form. Again this feedback would be assessed in a qualitative method. The one-to-one

evaluator is asked a series of questions and has to respond with answers. The questions

for the one-to-one evaluator focus on the aspect of workability of the technology

equipment. Also, the one-to-one evaluator is to provide feedback on the directions and
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format of the unit. This data is more detailed and time consuming and can’t be converted

into numerical data making it qualitative.

The feedback from the small group evaluators is in survey format. Therefore, this

data can be converted into numerical or statistical data making it a quantitative method

process. The small group evaluation is conducted by a small group of learners and a small

group of educators or administrators. This step is third in the process of evaluation

making the designer know exactly what they are looking for. The designer wants to take

the data from the small group of students and convert them into percentages to get a clear

understanding where things need to be changed or made more precise.

The last form of feedback comes from the field test evaluators. There are two

groups of field test evaluators. One is a group of learners who will be completing the unit.

This group of learners will complete a checklist requiring them to answer a series of yes

or no questions. Some questions require suggestions or explanations. The other field test

evaluator group is two or three educators or administrators who are witnessing the field

test process. These evaluators are to also complete a checklist based on their observations

of the instructional unit. Therefore, taking this type of feedback from the checklists

makes it a qualitative method. The checklists will provide feedback for the final stage of

the process and forces evaluators to give their opinions on the instructional unit. This type

of method provides the designer with ways that the unit can be used in the future to better

off other classrooms. It also provides the designer with information on how successful the

instructional unit was and if their unit achieved the goals they were striving for.

Conclusion
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From the expert reviewer evaluation report to the field test evaluation report, the

results will be beneficial to the designer. Once each evaluation stage is complete and

feedback has been assessed, reflections can be made. Hopefully, this slave spiritual unit

will be able to be in other classrooms across the state of North Carolina for years to

come.

Resources

Bitter, Gary and Pierson, Mellissa. (2005). Using Technology in the Classroom: Sixth

Edition. Boston: Pearson.

(2006). NC Standard Course of Study. Raleigh: Public Schools of North Carolina.

Retrieved March 22, 2009 from

http://www.ncpublicschools.org/curriculum/languagearts/scos/2004/29english3

(2006). NC Standard Course of Study. Raleigh: Public Schools of North Carolina.

Retrieved March 22, 2009 from

http://www.dpi.state.nc.us/curriculum/socialstudies/scos/2003-04/067eleventhgrade
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Tessmer, Martin. (1993). Planning and Conducting Formative Evaluations: Philadelphia:

Kogan Page.