Concordia University St. Paul DigitalCommons@CSP Concordia University Portland Graduate CUP Ed. Dissertations Research Spring 4-1-2020 Teacher Perspectives of Physical Activity and Student Engagement in Middle School English Language Arts: An Action Research Investigation Alphonsina M. Savell Concordia University - Portland, asavell@outlook.com Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.edu/cup_commons_grad_edd Part of the Education Commons Recommended Citation Savell, A.
Teacher Perspectives of Physical Activity and Student Engagement in Middle School English Language Arts: An Action Research Investigation (Thesis, Concordia University, St. Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.edu/cup_commons_grad_edd/ 435 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Concordia University Portland Graduate Research at DigitalCommons@CSP. It has been accepted for inclusion in CUP Ed. Dissertations by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@CSP.
For more information, please contact digitalcommons@csp. Concordia University - Portland CU Commons Ed. Dissertations Graduate Theses & Dissertations Spring 2020 Teacher Perspectives of Physical Activity and Student Engagement in Middle School English Language Arts: An Action Research Investigation Alphonsina M. Savell Concordia University - Portland Follow this and additional works at: https://commons.edu/edudissertations Part of the Education Commons CU Commons Citation Savell, Alphonsina M., "Teacher Perspectives of Physical Activity and Student Engagement in Middle School English Language Arts: An Action Research Investigation" (2020).edu/edudissertations/422 This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Theses & Dissertations at CU Commons.
It has been accepted for inclusion in Ed. Dissertations by an authorized administrator of CU Commons. For more information, please contact libraryadmin@cu-portland. Concordia University–Portland College of Education Doctorate of Education Program WE, THE UNDERSIGNED MEMBERS OF THE DISSERTATION COMMITTEE CERTIFY THAT WE HAVE READ AND APPROVE THE DISSERTATION OF Alphonsina M.
Savell CANDIDATE FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF EDUCATION Mark Jimenez, Ed., Faculty Chair Dissertation Committee Catherine Beck, Ed., Content Specialist Aaron Cooley, Ed., Content Reader Teacher Perspectives of Physical Activity and Student Engagement in Middle School English Language Arts: An Action Research Investigation Alphonsina M. Savell Concordia University–Portland College of Education Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the College of Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education in Higher Education Mark Jimenez, Ed., Faculty Chair Dissertation Committee Catherine Beck, Ed., Content Specialist Aaron Cooley, Ed., Content Reader Concordia University–Portland 2020 Abstract The researcher sought to determine how teachers in a middle school academic setting perceived the incorporation of movement with regards to student engagement. Three seventh grade English Language Arts instructors from the same middle school, one of whom was the researcher, incorporated three different physical activities into the academic class period and observed academic engagement indicators. The three movements used were 4-minute walking breaks, 2- minute stretching breaks, and a discussion technique that involved throwing, standing, and walking.
Results showed that teachers perceived changes in academic engagement with all three activities, though the results for stretching indicated mixed positive and negative changes in academic engagement behaviors. Based on the teacher reports, all three activities can be useful in improving academic engagement, but the activities must be directly linked to an academic task for best results. Results also indicate a need for further research with regard to more varied activities and possible implications of whether academic engagement changed by movement has any impact on academic achievement. Keywords: teacher perceptions, physical activity, academic engagement ii Dedication This dissertation is dedicated to my daughter, Seraphina Marie, that she may understand that all things are possible.
Though challenges may arise, success comes to those who continue to work toward their goals. This work is also dedicated to my parents, Shana and Arden, who have supported my every endeavor. My success is only possible because the foundation they built was not simply solid starting ground, but a springboard that has propelled me to achieve my highest potential. And finally, this research is dedicated to my brother Joseph, a body in constant motion, whose presence is both energizing and grounding.
Without him, I would not have learned the power of perseverance. iii Acknowledgements Many thanks go to the professors and advisors who have worked with me through this process. For the friends, family, and colleagues who have been with me through the process, there are not enough words of appreciation. It has been long and arduous, but they have helped see me through it.
iv Contents Abstract. iv List of Tables. ix List of Figures. 1 Introduction to the Problem.
1 Background, Context, History for the Problem. 2 Statement of the Problem. 4 Purpose of the Study. 5 Rationale, Relevance, and Significance of the Study.
6 Nature of the Study. 7 Definition of Terms. 8 Assumptions, Delimitations, and Limitations. 10 Chapter 2: Literature Review.
11 Introduction to the Literature Review. 12 Review of the Research Literature and Methodological Literature. 13 Neuroscience in Education. 13 Recess Policies and Student Development.
23 v Physical Activity and Academic Achievement. 24 Movement-Centered Classroom Strategies. 28 Interventions to Increase Physical Activity. 32 Review of Methodological Issues.
35 Struggles with Sampling. 36 Synthesis of Research Findings. 37 Critique of Previous Research. 45 Purpose and Design of the Study.
45 Qualitative Research: Action Research. 47 Research Population and Sampling Method. 50 Identification of Attributes. 50 Data Analysis Procedures.
52 Limitations and Delimitations of the Research Design. 52 Validation: Credibility and Dependability. 56 vi Chapter 4: Data Analysis and Results. 57 Description of the Sample.
59 Research Methodology and Analysis. 60 Overview…………………………………………………………………………61 Coding and Thematic Procedures. 62 Protocol Deviations and Problems with Analysis……………………………….62 Summary of the Findings. 63 Data and Results.
64 Early Notes on Academic Engagement Attributes. 64 Student Observation Codes. 66 Movement Perceptions Codes. 75 Chapter 5: Discussion and Conclusion.
76 Summary of the Results. 77 Discussion of the Results. 79 Contributions to Classroom Discussions. 81 Asking Insightful Questions.
83 Analytical Responses to Course Materials. 84 Discussion of the Results in Relation to the Literature. 86 vii Neuroscience in Education. 86 Physical Activity and Academic Achievement.
88 Movement-Centered Classroom Instruction. 89 Interventions to Increase Physical Activity. 91 Implication of the Results for Practice, Policy, and Theory. 92 Recommendations for Further Research.
101 Appendix A: Weekly Observation Reports. 109 Appendix B: Interview Questions. 110 Appendix C: Statement of Original Work. 111 viii List of Tables Table 1.
Teacher Perceptions of Movement Activities. 77 ix List of Figures Figure 1. Hailstorm discussions - Two circles .43Error! Bookmark not defined. x Chapter 1: Introduction Introduction to the Problem With the rise of technology and the instant gratification generation, keeping students engaged in academic learning environments has become an interesting balancing act for educators.
Lack of engagement to lessons in class has been correlated to decreased performance on a wide range of assessments over the years (Fuller, et al. Teachers must compete against a constant stream of distractions to try to keep students focused on tasks that most would agree are cognitively beneficial, but sometimes these helpful activities or lessons are not immediately recognizable as relevant or interesting to today’s students. Making content relevant to students in required courses can be a challenge. Every student at the middle school being studied is required to take an English Language Arts class.
Some of those classes are specialized for students identified with exceptional needs such as Special Education, English Learners, and Honors (Advanced) classes. Teaching students the skills they need to read, write, listen, and speak effectively can be difficult in a world with ever changing technological advances. These improvements in technology, while useful, are also creating a new problem for teachers of English Language Arts because students start to ask why they need to learn these skills. For example, one of the researcher’s students once posited that they didn’t need to learn to read or write well all the time; they’d just use YouTube if they needed to figure out how to do something.
While that may be the case for some activities, it does not change the immediate need for teachers to engage students in class because helping students learn skills in English Language Arts is still a requirement in education. Most students are “plugged in” at all times to various forms of social media and digital entertainment. As of 2013, 78% of teens between the ages of 13 and 17 had cell phones and 1 nearly half of those were smartphones (Madden, Lenhart, Duggan, Cortesi, & Gasser, 2013, p. Presumably, those statistics have increased over the last four years as technology continues to advance.
Because of an increase in access to technology, students’ brains are seemingly in overdrive at all times. When asked, then, to focus on a single task in school like writing an analysis which may or may not allow the use of technology, students can disengage and deactivate. Another realm of academic engagement involves emotional engagement. When students are dealing with trauma at home or in other areas of school—for example, if a student is being bullied outside of class, but must then attend academic classes with their tormentor—it can be difficult to get them to engage in academic activities.
In the book Fostering Resilient Learners, the researchers determined that in order to engage students in the learning environment, teachers must first acknowledge that what is happening outside the classroom has a direct effect on the cognitive functioning capability of students in the classroom (Souers & Hall, 2016). While the strategies for dealing with trauma are varied, some of the suggestions include deep breathing and taking a walk to help settle or refocus the mind if students are spiraling into a negative or panicked attitude. If such activities as monitoring breathing and taking a short walk can help students dealing with emotional trauma return to academic focus and engagement, it stands to reason that such activities could also assist students who are simply disengaged for other reasons as well. Background, Context, History for the Problem In order to provide the best learning environments, teachers are tasked with not only becoming experts in their content areas, but also experts in finding ways to reactivate their students.
While often mentally stimulating, technology often lacks adequate physical stimulus to 2 fully engage younger students. Identifying classroom strategies that improve student learning is a continuously necessary endeavor in today’s education system. As technology advances, students are able to access information about virtually any topic from anywhere. Rather than schools as a vehicle where students have access to information, educators must focus on methods that can help students with retaining, understanding and subsequently being able to analyze said information to synthesize new and creative ideas.
In order to get students to learn to their highest potential, teachers must find ways to increase active student engagement. Measuring student engagement can be done in a number of ways. In some studies, there is a direct approach that involves either self-reporting from the subjects or researcher observations of student posture, note-taking, or fidgeting (Darnell & Krieg, 2019). In Darnell and Krieg’s study, however, the researchers used a measure of heart-rate changes between lecture and active learning sessions within the lecture.
What they found was that heart rate increased during active learning like discussion and problem solving activities, but then returned to normal or lower rates during the remainder of the lecture (2019). This implies that while active learning does cognitively engage students in the activities, it has little to no measurable lasting effects. Thus, there is a need to find a different approach to improving student engagement, even after students have returned to lecture or informational input. With increasing engagement during lecture in mind, the researcher seeks to examine the issues of physical activity and engagement in the classroom setting through action research.
In the classroom setting, action research allows the teacher-researcher to implement various interventions and then reflect on the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of the strategies applied (Herr & Anderson, 2005).