Artifact # 9
Developmental Study and Media Survey used to build an understanding of the physical, emotional, social, and intellectual development of children in the fourth and fifth grade, in which I am doing my internship. It serves as a website resource for teachers and parents about development and the role media plays in students’ lives.
Context
I created this web page using Netscape Composer to meet the requirement
in my Curriculum and Instruction and Media and Technology courses during
my pre-service training at Appalachian State University. I worked
with two classmates to discover students’ opinions of gender roles, how
the media influences their opinions, and how the data we collected corresponds
to their developmental level. We used the Fall 2000 Block’s Developmental
Study, as a resource, to increase our awareness of the developmental level
of fourth and fifth graders.
Impact
This web page provides easily accessible information that will be useful
to all teachers and parents who are inquiring about development or media
influences at the fourth and fifth grade level. The Media Survey
was performed under two formats. We conducted a general survey, in
which the entire class participated in, and an in-depth survey, in which
we selected a few students to interview one on one. The interviews
gave us information about how these students view gender roles and how
the media affects those views. This information will help parents
and teachers see the influence media has on students and gain a little
insight into their opinions of gender roles. We then related the
survey responses to the Developmental
Study (Fall 2000) and observed how they compared. This information
will help parents and teachers recognize where the students are developmentally.
Alignment
This Developmental Study and Media Survey contains a range of various
information. We used technology, in the form of video and audiotape
and web pages to collect data about what students know and are learning
and how they are developing (Tech. Competency
12.2). We communicated the information to parents and colleagues
by posting it on the Internet, where it can be easily accessed for use
(Tech. Competency 12.3). Through
this project, I learned how students on a fourth and fifth grade level
develop. I consulted the Developmental Study (Fall 2000) to gain
information about development, in order to provide learning opportunities
to support their development. An example of a learning activity we
did with the students is writing a poem about the Ideal Teacher, in which
we stressed the fact that gender was not an issue. We also realized that
our original survey was too complex for the developmental level of the
students, so we had to revise it and make it more appropriate (INTASC
2). The Developmental Study and Media Survey project gave us
opportunities to assess how media affects the students’ thinking.
We evaluated the written and taped responses form the surveys, as a means
of formal assessment. The surveys formally assessed all of the students
by asking the same direct questions, concerning Media and Gender Roles.
We informally assessed the students as they wrote their Ideal Teacher poems.
After collecting all of the data, we informally assessed our own strategies.
We discussed what we taught the students, whether the project was completed
successfully, and what we learned from the experience (INTASC
8).