BRAIN EXERCISE: A RESEARCH ANALYSIS OF PRACTICE IN THE CLASSROOM AFFECTING

LEARNERS’ BRAINS AND THEIR KNOWLEDGE RETENTION

Prepared for:Shelly DeJean, Principal

Douglas Intermediate School615 Hamilton St.

Douglas, WY 82633

and

Meg Wood, InstructorEnglish 4010, Technical Writing in the Professions

University of Wyoming

Prepared by:Jessica Hollon

English 4010, Technical Writing in the ProfessionsUniversity of Wyoming

November 22, 2009

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLE OF FIGURES.......................................................................................................iii

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY................................................................................................iv

INTRODUCTION...............................................................................................................1

Background and Problem.........................................................................................1

Subject and Purpose.................................................................................................1

Limitations...............................................................................................................2

Scope and Criteria: Research Objectives................................................................2

METHODS..........................................................................................................................3

RESULTS............................................................................................................................5

CONCLUSION....................................................................................................................7

RECOMMENDATIONS.....................................................................................................8

WORKS CITED..................................................................................................................9

APPENDIX 1: Survey.......................................................................................................10

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TABLE OF FIGURES

Figure 1: Average Daily Practice Time in Reading and Math.............................................6

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

In recent years brain based learning has become a research topic in the area of education. As this topic came to the forefront of educational research, the issue of practice time given within the work day in classrooms has been continuously discussed as possibly improving students’ learning and knowledge retention. At Douglas Intermediate School, scheduling time for students to simply have guided practice of reading and math skills has been hard to do. With so many topics to cover, some teachers feel as though there is no time for students to explore and practice concepts without being immediately graded on these topics. This research set out to find a way for teachers to feel less trepidation about scheduling this time into their day. The research addressed four questions:

1. How does practice affect the brain? 2. On average, how much practice time do teachers in the levels of third through

fifth grade at Douglas Intermediate School give for daily practice (that is ungraded) in reading and math?

3. What programs and/or curriculums are available at Douglas Intermediate School to aid in students’ guided practice?

4. How might this new information affect how teachers structure their students’ day?

Both primary and secondary research was used to answer the above questions. A survey, a form of primary research, was given to all teachers at Douglas Intermediate School to access how they use guided practice in their classrooms. Secondary research included statistics on student knowledge retention at these grade levels, current research on brain based learning, as well as research on classroom best practices.

This research study shows less than half of the teachers at Douglas Intermediate School use ungraded practice to help student grasp concepts. Also present in the research is the information that this type of practice helps the brain be more successful in learning, especially in the areas of reading and math. Based on these findings, I recommend that Douglas Intermediate School do the follow:

Recognize the positive aspect ungraded practice of concepts can bring to the classroom

Utilize the curriculums and programs that the school already has in order to facilitate student practice of concepts

Involve teachers in workshops and trainings for the use of these curriculums Follow up on teachers’ daily use of such programs

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BRAIN EXERCISE: A RESEARCH ANALYSIS OF PRACTICE IN THE CLASSROOM AFFECTING

LEARNERS’ BRAINS AND THEIR KNOWLEDGE RETENTION

INTRODUCTION

BACKGROUND AND PROBLEM

In recent years, what has come to be called brain based learning has been a major

topic of discussion in education. The study of brain based learning is essentially how

different classroom and teaching techniques can affect students’ brains. Much research

on the effects of different techniques on students’ brains has lead to a lot of discussion on

implementing different types of guided practice within classrooms. Research has already

shown that, “Practice builds neurological connections and thickens the insulating myelin

sheath necessary for fluency, chunking of information, brain efficiency, and deep

learning” (Hill, 2006). However, teachers at Douglas Intermediate School, as well as

other schools, find it hard to justify giving time for students to practice skills when there

is pressure to cover so many topics in a short amount of time.

SUBJECT AND PURPOSE

My research shows how practice within a classroom can affect a student’s brain,

and also shows how teachers at Douglas Intermediate School are already using practice

as well as what curriculums are available for the teachers to facilitate this practice within

their own classrooms. All research was done in the area of reading where, “In all grades,

1-12, research shows independent reading practice is important to build vocabulary,

fluency, comprehension, writing, and higher-order thinking skills” (Anderson, 1988) and

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in the area of math because, “Research shows that to be effective in building a math skill,

practice must be coupled with instruction to assure students are successful at a high level”

(Topping, 2000).

LIMITATIONS

Due to the feasible scope of this research, other schools outside of Douglas

Intermediate School in Douglas, Wyoming have not been part of this research. In

limiting the research to only Douglas Intermediate School, the only age group focused on

in this research is grades three through five.

SCOPE AND RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

Through this research there is an understanding of how practice affects students’

learning and knowledge retention in the areas of reading and math. There is also

documentation of how teachers at Douglas Intermediate School already are and can in the

future effectively use practice within their own classrooms. Through this research the

following questions are answered.

How can practice of concepts affect a person’s brain?

How much time do teachers, on average, at Douglas Intermediate School

currently given for ungraded student practice of reading and math concepts?

What available curriculums and/or programs are there for use in guided practice?

How might teachers restructure their days to allow for guided practice within their

classrooms?

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METHODS

Researching what effects practice has on a human’s brain and what available

curriculums there are to support this was a form of secondary research. This research

consisted of consulting past and recent research on the topic of brain based teaching, the

formation of the human brain, and best teaching practices within a classroom setting. It

also included researching curriculums produced by educational material production

companies.

By surveying teachers at Douglas Intermediate School in a form of primary

research I found how they currently use practice. This survey also addressed what

curriculum and programs they use as aids during this time and how this time is structured

within their specific classrooms. The type of survey used was an open-ended survey so

that teachers could respond to and add their own feelings, thoughts, and personal

information about their classrooms.

PRIMARY RESEARCH

By using the opened ended survey (see Appendix A) I was able to gage the

amount of time each teacher gave for ungraded practice. My findings were that less than

half of the teachers at Douglas Intermediate School used time such as this within their

classrooms.

I also learned that there is a large amount of available tools for the teachers at

Douglas Intermediate School to use that claim to aid in this brain based practice in the

third through fifth grade age group. I found the following programs were available for

teacher use:

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Accelerated Reader

Read Naturally

Reading Plus

Tune in to Reading

SSR time

Mountain Language

Accelerated Math

Fast Math

Mountain Math

SECONDARY RESEARCH

By researching the above programs I found that most are computer based, and

each claims to aid in the knowledge retention of some aspect of reading or math. The

programs Read Naturally, Reading Plus, and Tune Into Reading all work on fluency

within a students’ reading. Accelerated Reading is a way to track student reading

progress as well as work on stumdets’ comprehension. Some teachers also reported

giving a block of SSR (individual student reading time) each day that they do not grade

where students can read, and practice by repetition of reading and getting into a reading

habit.

Both the Mountain Language and Mountain Math are used differently by some

teachers at Douglas Intermediate School. In some classrooms it is paired with instruction

and done individually and not graded, but used as reinforcement, review, and preview of

concepts taught in class. These programs are not computer based, but both paper pencil

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tasks. Fast Math is a computerized math program that claims to teach math facts for

memorization in addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.

RESULTS

Objective 1: How can practice of concepts affect a person’s brain?

The human brain is a complex organ. It has many functions in each person’s

everyday life. Research shows that by exercising the brain, the functionality of the brain

can be increased. The myelin sheath in the brain can be thickened and much like a

weight lifter can bulk up by lifting more weight, students can also bulk up their brain

power by practicing concepts. Specific concepts practiced in a no pressure time in the

classroom can result in better retention of these concepts.

Objective 2: How much average daily time do teachers at Douglas Intermediate

School currently given for ungraded student practice of reading and math concepts?

After analyzing the survey given to teachers at Douglas Intermediate School, it

was found that teachers give differing amounts of this daily practice time. Interestingly,

for each teacher, math practice time was always less then reading practice time. (See

graph below)

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3rd te

acher

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3rd te

acher

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3rd te

acher

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3rd te

acher

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3rd te

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3rd te

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4th teach

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4th teach

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4th teach

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4th teach

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4th teach

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4th teach

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5th teach

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5th teach

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5th teach

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5th teach

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5th teach

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5th teach

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Average Daily Reading Practice Time (in minutes)Average Daily Math Practice Time (in minutes)

Objective 3: What available curriculums and/or programs are there for use in

guided practice?

According to staff at Douglas Intermediate School the follow programs are

available for their use:

Accelerated Reader

Read Naturally

Reading Plus

Tune in to Reading

SSR time

Mountain Language

Accelerated Math

Fast Math

Mountain Math

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Objective 4: How might teachers restructure their days to allow for guided practice

within their classrooms?

Teachers who utilize this practice time reported that they use student groupings,

and rotate through groups one group doing some type of practice. Other teachers report

using a center like time within their classroom that rotated once each day, so everyone is

at each center of practice once a week and the teachers floats between the centers. Also

reported was that some teachers use before and after school time for student to use the

computerized practice programs, because students can independently use these programs.

CONCLUSION

By taking a critical look at structuring of time at Douglas Intermediate

School it has become clear, that only a handful of teachers use this time to its full

advantage. Some teachers are thinking outside of the box in order to find time for

students to use these programs.

The amount of programs already available at Douglas Intermediate School

that have previously been purchased for student use, are not being used by many

teachers and students. Since research shows that this time is important to students

and student learning, the use of these programs or lack of use of these programs is

concerning.

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RECOMMENDATIONS

In light of this research I recommend that the principal and staff at

Douglas Intermediate School do the following:

Recognize the positive aspect ungraded practice of concepts can bring to the

classroom

Utilize the curriculums and programs that the school already has in order to

facilitate student practice of concepts

Involve teachers in workshops and training for the use of these curriculums

Follow up on teachers’ daily use of such programs

Once these steps are followed, hopefully the use of available programs will

increase students’ retention of facts and students’ success at Douglas Intermediate

School.

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WORKS CITED

Anderson, R. C. “Growth in Reading and How Children Spend Their Time Outside of

School.” Reading Research Quarterly, 23.3 (1988): 285-303.

Hill, N. M. Brain Changes in the Development of Expertise. New York: Cambridge

University Press, 2006.

Hollon, J. L. Survey of How Guided Practice is Currently Used in The Areas of Reading

and Math. 26 October 2009.

Topping, K. J. “Teacher Effectiveness and Computer Assessment of Reading and Math:

Relating Value-Added Learning Information Systems Data.” School

Effectiveness

and School Improvement, 11.3 (2000): 305-337.

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APPENDIX A

Survey of How Guided Practice is Currently Used In the Areas of Reading and Math

Prepared by Jessica Hollon

This survey’s purpose is to gather data that will help determine how teachers at Douglas Intermediate School are currently using practice time that is ungraded for reading and math. It is also gathering data on and what curriculums and programs are currently being utilized.

What reading curriculum(s) are you currently using in your classroom?

What is the average block of time you teach reading each day?

What amount of this time (on average) is used for students to explore and practice their reading skills?

Is this reading practice independent or guided?

Describe how this reading practice time is structured in your classroom.

Is this reading practice graded?

What Math curriculum(s) are you currently using within your classroom?

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How much time on average do you spend teaching math each day?

What amount of this time (on average) is used for students to explore and practice their math skills?

Is this math practice independent or guided?

Describe how this math practice time is structured in your classroom.

Is this practice graded?

If you could use other types of programs or curriculums for reading and math what would you use and why?

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