University, Academy research partnership boosts student comprehension
Janel Shoun-Smith |
Jeanne Fain, associate professor of education, conducts a Socratic circle discussion at Lipscomb Academy Middle School.
The inaugural Lipscomb Academy Research in Teaching and Learning Fellowship has shifted the teaching culture at Lipscomb Academy Middle School
A group of eighth-grade Lipscomb Academy boys sits in two concentric circles, one group talking and one group listening to the other’s thoughts on the biblical topic of the day.
It’s called a Socratic circle, named after philosopher Socrates, and it is considered an excellent way to get students engaged in thoughtful discussion. It is not often used at the middle school level, however.
“Research through the years has shown that children, given the introduction of technology in their lives, are struggling with the concept of listening to each other,” said Jeanne Fain, associate professor of education at Lipscomb University and one-half of the team using the Socratic circle to teach academy middle-schoolers critical thinking and comprehension skills across content areas.
“Their thoughts and feedback (in the Socratic circle) have really surprised us. They have displayed much deeper analysis through the Socratic discussion,” said Fain. “We want students to take ownership of what they are learning and learn to love learning.”
The Socratic circles are just one of a range of teaching strategies that Lipscomb Academy Middle School Principal Lisa Bruce and Fain are using to boost comprehension among the middle school students.
It is all part of the inaugural Lipscomb Academy Research in Teaching and Learning Fellowship, a research partnership between the university and the academy established this past spring and carried out during the 2014-15 school year.
The fellowship is part of the college’s continual efforts to apply the latest research findings to real-world classroom teaching. A $15,000 fellowship is awarded each year to an administrator, faculty or staff member at Lipscomb Academy to work with university faculty to conduct research on a mutually agreed upon topic of significance. One fellowship per year is funded by a donor gift for the next three years.
“There is a disconnect in the field between research and practice,” said Fain, who teaches the college’s graduate-level research class and has a strong interest in encouraging teachers to see themselves as researchers as well as teachers. “There are many tough expectations for teachers today, so really reflecting on and thinking critically about their classroom practice can only help them to meet those higher goals. Conducting and analyzing research can help them reflect critically and thus improve students’ performance in the classroom.”
Bruce is this year's fellow and her research project asks the question: What institutional strategies can teachers in content areas use effectively to increase comprehension and improve classroom achievement?
Bruce and Fain started the project off by interviewing all the middle school teachers about what strategies they were currently using and found they were only using a few, Bruce said.
The pair then determined specific methods teachers can use to enhance comprehension and are holding collaborative professional development sessions each month on the selected topics: questioning, engaging discussion, constructing critical assessments, book and analysis tool selection, reading and writing text structures and vocabulary.
In the 30-minute power professional development sessions, Fain demonstrates for teachers how to analyze their own experiences and to develop the tools they need, such as a tool for evaluating the effectiveness of the questions they ask students. To enhance engaging discussion, Fain taught the teachers about the Socratic circles and debate techniques. In other sessions, Fain will discuss how to bring more diversity into the classroom through text selection.
After each month’s professional development session, teachers are videotaped and Bruce holds individual conferences to review the tapes and discuss changes needed. After all that, Fain observes their teaching practice personally and holds an individual coaching session with each teacher.
Overall, the project has shown positive results for enhancing student comprehension, the ability to critically analyze and demonstrate understanding, Bruce said.
“This is not the same school it was,” she said. “The culture has shifted. Teachers are much more aware of what they are doing in the classroom and how it affects the comprehension of the students. They are checking for true student understanding.”
“We are seeing more critical questioning in the classroom and within classroom assessments,” said Fain. “It’s a lot of work, but it is very empowering for the teachers.”
"When the College of Education established the Lipscomb Academy Fellowship this year, the goal was to inspire action research that impacts both teacher and student learning,” said Candice McQueen, dean of the College of Education and Lipscomb senior vice president. “Lisa Bruce and her faculty advisor Jeanne Fain have exemplified action research, best practices and faculty engagement with a focus on students. They are truly doing work that points to immediate change for both teachers and students."
Bruce’s final results will be measured by Education Records Bureau results to be collected in the spring.
Each year the Lipscomb Academy Fellow is expected to make presentations on the research results at local Christian schools as well as the larger professional community and to seek that they be published in the appropriate academic setting.
Academy teachers involved in the project have already presented details at the Association of Christian Educator Preparation Programs annual conference held on the Lipscomb campus in October and several teachers, along with Bruce and Fain, will present emerging findings at the International Reading Association in July. Applications for other presentation opportunities are in the works.
Bruce and Fain plan to submit the final results for publication in academic journals on literacy.
“It’s made us more current in terms of best practices and knowing what the students really need,” Bruce said of the research project. “These practices are now embedded into the work of many of our teachers.”