Cycle 6 Working in Pairs and Cognitive Load Theory Modifications: 6 Respondents ACTION TAKEN: Based on the principles of Cognitive

e Load Theory (CLT) I modified my rubric for clarity. In doing so, I removed many of the unnecessary words from the rubric and made the categories easier to differentiate through the use of colors. In modifying my rubric I attempted a more general approach, with no totals scores and only visual indicators of achievements in bar graph form. The students were put into pairs for this project due to their previous interest in working with a partner. Finally, in this cycle of research I did not have a group critique of the students artwork to measure the importance they placed on the formalized group feedback. RESEARCH QUESTION: How will assigning projects to students working in pairs, modification of the rubric based upon cognitive load principles, the remove of the group critique, and using a multimodal approach to provide a critique of the circles projects affect student-learning outcomes, as evaluated by the students? PREDICTED OUTCOME: My prediction was that the students would prefer the new rubric because it was easier to read while watching the video. I also believed they would prefer working in pairs as indicated by their previous survey responses. EVIDENCE USED TO EVALUATE THE ACTION: The evidence used to evaluate the actions in this cycle was a survey monkey questionnaire with the following questions: 1. Having received video feedback for the sixth time, how do you feel about it? 2. How did you feel about working with a partner compared to working in a group of three? Was having two people better than having three? 3. Do you feel as if you learned as much working with a partner as you did working by yourself? 4. Any other thoughts on working in groups? Information such as, what was the best part, and what was the worst part, would be very helpful. 5. We did not have a group critique with this assignment. How do you feel that affected you learning? 6. The rubric has been simplified in order to make the information easier to understand. What do you think about the changes? 7. Is there anything else on the rubric that could be modified to help deliver information? EVALUATION: This cycles results mirror those in the previous cycle with 50% of the answers offering video feedback top marks, 33% of the responses stating it was somewhat better than written, and 17% generating a neutral response overall (Figure 6.1.) Taken together these two cycles create a positive trend in students feelings towards video feedback.

How do you Feel about Video Feedback?

17%

I like it a great Deal

50%

I Like it I don't like it any more or less

33%

Figure 6.1. Having received video feedback for the sixth time, how do you feel about it? Reponses for group work also continued to remain positive. As before, approximately 80% of the students responded positively to the use of groups, and 20% suggested that there was no noticeable difference compared to working alone. This two-cycle trend indicates that the students prefer working in groups, even when asked to generate the same of work as they would individually. However, only 33% percent suggested they learned more by working with a partner than they would have on their own. The remaining students responded that they had learned the same. While working in groups does not indicate a significant change in improved learning from the student perspective, it is not viewed as detrimental to learning either. These results may suggest an increased amount of group work would be acceptable, and possibly beneficial, to the students and their learning. Question five, which asked how the students felt about the removal of the group critique was responded to with mixed results. 33% percent of the respondents stated that they preferred group critiques without providing any further details (Figure 6.3.) 50% of the students indicated that they preferred not having the group critique, and provided varying levels of detail. One of the students indicated they simply liked it better, another student thought this was better because, I got to hear more of what the teacher thought, and finally one students response indicated that the teachers feedback on the video response was enough and the critique was not needed.

What do you think about the changes to the rubric?

0%

I like it a great deal

17% 0% 33%

I like it I don't feel any differently about it I don't like it

50%

I dislike it a great deal

Figure 6.2. The rubric has been simplified in order to make the information easier to understand. What do you think about the changes? The modifications to the rubric received positive (Figure 6.2) feedback with 83% of the students preferring the changes made. The lone negative response suggested the changes were hard to understand. While this negative response stated that they made the information less clear, they did not provide any feedback on what was unclear, or how to make improvements. Overall, these responses suggest that the changes have been beneficial. REFLECTION: Taken as a whole, the survey responses for this cycle were overwhelmingly positive. This continued to signify that the changes I am making with my research are having a positive influence on my course. I was surprised by the positive responses to group work, and I will need consider their implications to my curriculum next year. The structures of art classes lend themselves well to working in groups, however, the nature of photography is that it tends to be an individual process. While installations, large-scale paintings and similar group works are easy to accomplish, photography is a medium that frequently comes down to one artists vision. In my twenty years as a working photographer, I have only attempted one collaborative effort. I realized while I enjoy the process of working with a partner, my needs and expectations are more easily met when I work alone. This is why I am surprised by the students preference for group work. This preference could be due to their developmental levels, the role that art classes have in schools, or the nature of the assignment. Middle school students are at an age where the social aspects of their lives are important. They are rarely alone and constantly searching for social approval. This

developmental state could be a factor in why they prefer to work in groups. It could also be that art classes are seen as a time for students to distance themselves from the rigid structure core courses and be a place where they can be social. This nature of relaxed behavioral expectations is somewhat accurate in my classroom, because there is a great deal of self-structured work time. This is time where the students shoot images, edit, or research and they have the opportunity to socialize during that time. Another possible factor is that this assignment involved a great deal of new and challenging Photoshop work, and they may have found it beneficial to have another student to provide support. Finally, since my research is composed of one group of students, the potential exists that this group happens to be a very social group and would prefer to work with others. Thinking about this social nature of middle school students, I am surprised by their lack of interest in the group critiques (Figure 6.3.) As an artist, I find myself wanting feedback on my work from as many people as possible. Everyone has his or her own viewpoint or opinion, and I am constantly surprised as to where I will find a good idea or find motivation. The responses make it appear as though, while students want time to be social, they may not want to risk criticism from their peers. The responses on the survey indicated that the students valued teacher feedback more than they valued peer feedback. This may be due to the hierarchical nature of schools, where the teachers view can be the only one that matters. It could also indicate that students at this age do not find peer reviews helpful, or that they dont want to risk mistakes in front of their peers.

How was not having a in-class critque?

Video feedback was enough The critique was prefered Not sure Not having the critique was prefered

17% 33% 17%

33%

Figure 6.3. We did not have a group critique with this assignment. How do you feel that affected you learning? Regardless of the reason, I value critiques highly and I am not ready to remove them from the curriculum. A good in-class critique can teach students how to discuss artwork intelligently, and it provides the class with both good and bad examples of

artwork. It also gives the artist a chance to improve their work based on the feedback from others. The in-class experience is important to critiques because the teacher is able to draw more information out of students when their responses merit further explanation. Having a conversation about art is a good way to encourage and model the thinking process, resulting in more moments of realization. I believe these are all important reasons to continue having critiques. The responses regarding the new rubric were overwhelmingly positive. Personally, I prefer the modified rubric because I can see the information more clearly. These improvements make the rubric more intuitive which will help me when I am providing my feedback. I am concerned about the response, which stated that the new rubric is more confusing. Upon reflection, my best hypothesis is that this student was one who only looked at the total score on the bottom of the previous rubric, rather than how they performed in each category. Now that the total scores have been removed, they have to process the entire rubric, which is essentially new to them. It is my hope that as I use this rubric more frequently the students will grow accustoms to its layout and therefor have less confusion. An unexpected benefit of my action research is that while I am enacting my research, I have built a stronger bond with my students. At one point I reminded the students to fill out the survey questions, and one of them responded with, "Well as long as we're still special I'll do it." The goal of this research is to improve my course but another benefit has been empowering students by their active participation in improving their own learning. The collaborative effort between teacher and student provides them the unique opportunity to make a difference in their academic experience and they respond by improving their work. This process has given me with a chance to allow students ownership of their middle school photography course. I assume being able to define what improves their learning, and then having those thoughts implemented in their classes is a rare experience for them. In doing so, they have created a more open dialogue with me and invested deeper in the course by spend more time on their work. Logically this should lead to all of the students completing all of their work however, it does not. My first cycle was my strongest, and 10 out of my 11 students completed their work. However, those numbers have fluctuated and the average is six students are completing each assignment. Only two or three of the students have been consistently in that group of respondents. There are many factors that could be the cause of this, but the most likely cause is the view of art classes as non-core courses. Next cycle I will venture into the idea of using video feedback for writing. My students in all of my middle school photography classes will be writing reflections on other artists. I will take this opportunity to test video feedback for their writing samples, and over the much larger sample size of all middle school photography students. Average time per recording: 2:48