TLWYA Inquiry Project

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TLWYA Inquiry Project

• Online Discussion Forums
• ECI 521
• Andrea Urso

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Introduction and Inquiry Question

• Can using online discussion forums enhance class
  discussions about literature?
• Through my TLWYA inquiry project
• I wanted my students to discuss literature in a
  way that would engage all students and lead to a
  higher quality, more in-depth discussion of
  literature.

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Integration

• Relevant research from my TAS
• Since an online discussion forum gives students
  time to reflect, their responses are more
  meaningful (Wolsey, 2004)
• Students will be inclined to give careful and
  thoughtful responses when they are writing for an
  audience that will be responding to them
  (Warlick, 2002)
• written communication tends to be more
  reflective than spoken interaction, so the use
  of online discussion forums can lead students to
  an enhanced, higher quality discussion about
  literature (Sherry, 2000)

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Integration, cont.

• Relevant research from my TAS
• Students are able to communicate and explore
  ideas without the presence of the teacher, which
  allows students to improve their ability to
  reflect and think critically (Choi, 2002)
• Online discussion forums can lead to more
  interaction between students (Wolsey, 2004)
• Many of the students who are not engaged in
  face-to-face classroom discussions are not
  comfortable enough to speak out in front of their
  peers. These students will be more likely to
  participate in an online discussion because they
  are more comfortable responding in an environment
  where they are not face-to-face with their peers
  (Warlick, 2002)

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Outcomes-Based Education Matrix
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Advanced Technology Competencies

• The students used online discussion forums from
  Quick Topic to discuss the two young adult novels.

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Implementation

• Students from my two ninth grade honors classes
  participated (50 students)
• Students chose to read either The Giver or The
  Last Book in the Universe
• While reading, they took notes on some of the
  following topics in order to generate ideas for
  the online discussion.

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Implementation, cont.

• Pre-Discussion Questions
• General response to the novel
• General response to the characters or setting
• General response to the novel/characters/setting
  compared to general response to Fahrenheit 451
• symbols and themes of the novel
• the future in the novel
• the future in the novel compared to the future of
  Fahrenheit 451
• important issues raised in either novel and the
  relevance of those issues both in the novel and
  in our society today

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Implementation, cont.

• Before posting any responses, I provided the
  students with some guidelines and a rubric
• Student Guidelines and Rubric
• The students were introduced to the online
  discussion forum for the first time in class. I
  asked them to check out the links provided about
  the authors, and they proceeded to start on their
  first response. http//www4. Students chose to
  read either The Giver or The Last Book in the
  Universe
• .edu/twarren/onlinebooks/index.htm
• After completing the online discussion forum, I
  had the students post a Post-Discussion
  Reflection.

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Results

• Student engagement
• Will the students that were not engaged in the
  face-to-face discussion participate online?

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Results, cont.

• Quality of Response
• Still some repetition
• Improved compared to the face-to-face discussion
  about Enders Game
• Responses were more thoughtful and in-depth

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Results, cont.

• The Giver
• The tone for the entire discussion was set in the
  first response
• made some brief comparisons about the communities
  of Fahrenheit 451 and The Giver, but went into
  more detail about how boring Fahrenheit 451 was
  I couldnt wait to keep reading just so I could
  be done with it, I had no interest in finding out
  what happened. (Taylor D)

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Results, cont.

• The Giver
• I agree with Mary Brent, F451 was nothing but
  boring. Just attempting to finish the book was
  literally painful because from the first sentence
  in the book, I knew I would not remotely
  understand any sequence of events that would
  happen in this book. I also agree with the point
  that no one, not just teenagers, would find book
  burning interesting. I also found it unusual to
  read a book about burning books and about people
  who are not allowed to read books. (Alex S)
• I feel that Ashley H. made a good point about
  how no one really wants to read about book
  burnings. Personally that isnt one of my
  favorite things to do or discuss about. (George
  S)

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Results, cont.

• The Last Book in the Universe
• In contrast, a post from The Last Book in the
  Universe group started out by saying
• I think that The Last Book in The Universe was a
  very good book and I enjoyed it more than I did
  Fahrenheit 451. (Emmie R)
• The writer went on to discuss Lanayas character
  from The Last Book in the Universe.
• Overall, the group that discussed The Last Book
  in the Universe made more comparisons about
  settings, characters and events in The Last Book
  in the Universe and Fahrenheit 451, and there
  were more insightful questions posed for the
  other group members to respond to.

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Results, cont.

• The Giver
• Since the receiver had to receive all of the
  memories, some of them would include pain. The
  Giver sometimes talked about release too.
  Understanding how important his job to the
  community is, do you think that the Giver would
  ask for release? (Matt S)
• The Giver depicts a very bland future for
  society as a whole. They have taken the
  randomness and fun out of life by controlling
  everything they possibly can. The governing body
  controls all the weather, colors, music, and some
  of the more basic human instincts. It goes beyond
  what the government in Fahrenheit 451 tried to
  do. The government in Fahrenheit 451 just tries
  to keep people from thinking too deeply rather
  than just controlling the base emotions and urges
  of people. The system in Fahrenheit 451 is based
  more on ridding society of conflict because of
  differing opinions. It also encourages the
  citizens not to think too deeply but doesnt go
  farther than that. The society has been altered
  to accept instant gratification rather than
  having to work or wait for it. The society in The
  Giver on the other hand isnt about the
  individual but is about the society getting
  gratification. (Corey G)

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Results, cont.

• The Last Book in the Universe
• I really liked this book, it had depth and as
  Faber from F451 said, It has pores. It had the
  weak and downtrodden with an impossible mission
  working together with someone completely opposite
  from them. The difference is that its deeper than
  your average hero story. Spaz was epileptic,
  which makes him even more of hero to be able to
  accomplish his mission of saving his sister.
  (Olamide O)
• As I was reading the last book in The Universe I
  realized that the real reason I liked the book
  was because of its' characters. First you have
  Spaz, a weird little kid who lives by stealing
  peoples stuff. Then you have Little Face and
  Ryter, a cute little kid with no vocabulary and
  an uber smart old dude who seams to read minds.
  All the other characters are great to, but the
  one I liked the best was Ryter. In every
  situation through the book Ryter always has the
  answer. When I analyzed his character further I
  found that Wryter was not that difern't from
  Faber. Both Ryter and Faber are...1 old.2
  educated.3 differn't.4 seem to have a way to
  get inside your head.5 play key roles in
  helping the main characters.Ok, so my challenge
  is are there any other easily comparable
  characters in Fahrenheit 451 and The Last Book In
  The Universe? And if there are can you make as
  cool a comparison as me? (Josh B)

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Results, cont.

• In order to gather information about the
  students reactions to the online discussion
  forum, I had them post answers to the following
  questions
• In general, what did you think of using the
  online discussion forum? What did you like and
  dislike?
• How did using the online discussion forum compare
  to the in-class discussions about Enders Game?
  What did you like better/worse about each? Which
  did you like better?
• Think about what you didnt like about the
  in-class Enders Game discussions. Did using the
  online discussion forum improve those aspects?
• What could be done to improve the online
  discussion forums?
• Anything else you want to say about the
  experience.

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Results, cont.

• Students Post-Discussion Reflections
• What they liked
• dont have to raise hands/wait to speak
• more time to think and organize thoughts
• new and fun way to discuss literature
• could not be interrupted by other students
• got to discuss with another class
• less pressure than in-class discussion
• got to choose topics

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Results, cont.

• Students Post-Discussion Reflections
• What they liked
• less discussion of empty and meaningless topics
  because the online discussion stimulated more
  thought provoking posts and topics (Jack P)
• I liked the online discussion better because we
  could post when ever you wanted and you had time
  to look over what you said and not make a
  complete idiot out of urself. (Billy M)

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Results, cont.

• Students Post-Discussion Reflections
• What they didnt like/some suggestions for
  improvement
• harder to express ideas/opinions in writing than
  verbally
• everyone could see everyones posts
• I liked that you could read other peoples
  posts, but I felt like my posts were not as good
  as everyone elses posts. (Katie H)
• more impersonal than in-class/cant hear/see
  peoples expressions
• wasnt a true discussion

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Results, cont.

• Students Post-Discussion Reflections
• What they didnt like/some suggestions for
  improvement
• For improvements, it could be more of a chatroom
  but that would be hard to manage with two
  classes. (Kyle N)
• would like to see a threaded discussion
• The online discussion really improved on the
  in-class discussion, i felt like it went much
  better because we didnt really have Mrs.Urso
  sitting right behind us watching and listening to
  everything we said. It was more free in a way.
  (Meggan P)

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Reflections

• What I learned about my students and TLWYA
• Students like having choices
• Students like discussing literature in a
  different format
• Young adult literature connects well with and can
  be easily integrated into the curriculum

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Reflections, cont.

• What I learned about myself as a teacher
• my students do not need me to carry on a
  high-quality discussion about literature
• students can be excellent teachers
• I need to give my students more opportunities to
  make choices about their learning

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Reflections, cont.

• Can online discussion forums enhance class
  discussions about literature?
• YES they were a new and exciting way for my
  students to have an in-depth, high-quality
  discussion about literature

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Reflections, cont.

• Other Observations
• Online discussion forums are not without faults.
• They should not be used exclusively and should
  not completely replace face-to-face discussions.
• I could have used a face-to-face discussion and
  online discussion simultaneously for my inquiry
  project.

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References

• Choi, C. C., Ho, H. (2002, July/August ).
  Exploring new literacies in online peer- learning
  environments. Reading Online, 6(1). Retrieved Feb
  08, 2005, from www.readingonline.org.
• Sherry, L. (2000). The nature and purpose of
  online conversations a brief synthesis of
  current research. International Journal of
  Educational Telecommunications, 6(1). Retrieved
  Feb 08, 2005, from http//www.rmcdenver.com/TEN//d
  ialogue/htm.
• Warlick, D. (2002). Raw materials for the mind.
  3rd ed. Raleigh, NC The Landmark Project.
• Wolsey, T. D. (2004, January/February ).
  Literature discussion in cyberspace young
• adolescents using threaded discussion groups to
  talk about books. Reading Online, 7(4).
  Retrieved Feb 02, 2005, from www.readingonline.org