Olivia FoorImpact on Student LearningCI 40404/08/2014

The documents presented to show both students’ growth are pieces of an assignment in which students had to read various documents discussing colonization’s impact on Kenya and then use those documents to write an essay answering the question, “How did colonization affect Kenya?” This DBQ (Document Based Question) assignment is a large part of their grade and there were many small components that led up to the essay so that I could assess their understanding of the documents before they began writing. The students used the document to answer scaffolding questions to gain basic knowledge about each document. They then used analysis sheets to further analyze the content of the documents and determine their importance in answering the overarching question. These small pieces all were designed to help the students make sense of and organize each document so that they would be better prepared to write their essays.

Student 1:Student 1’s attached work contains his scaffolding questions and his final DBQ essay. I

chose these pieces to show his progression, because his scaffolding questions had various missing elements. Two of the questions that were not answered were 28 and 30. These were two questions that asked the student to analyze the documents and use them to argue a point that each question was asking. When this student did not answer the only two questions that really asked for any deeper analysis of the documents, I was concerned that he would not be able to analyze them in his paper either. This lack of analysis on his scaffolding raised red flags for me. The other questions were all fairly simple questions that asked for things straight from the text. By not answering the more complex questions from the beginning, I was concerned about the amount of analysis and explanation he would be able to provide in his final DBQ essay. However, as his essay shows, I was pleased to see that his level of explanation and analysis were good and his paper was very well done. In the days following the scaffolding questions activity, the students had to analyze each document using an analysis sheet (which is shown with Student 2’s work) and he asked a lot of questions about the documents and I was able to model to him how to analyze a document and pull out the important information. From the quality of his essay, I can tell he used these strategies and really understood the documents he used. He had solid explanations and arguments throughout, in addition to an overall well written paper. I believe that spending the time to model document analysis with the student and showing him step by step what information to pick out and how to discover the importance of a document to the overarching question really made a difference in the quality of his work and his ability to offer good analysis in his DBQ essay.

Student 2: Student 2’s attached work contains his document analysis sheet and his final DBQ essay. This particular student has severe learning impairments and several IEP modifications that are used in class. When I started student teaching, he often spent his class time sleeping or not paying

attention to the material. As time has progressed, however, there has been a change in this student and he has been much more engaged in his work and class in general. This DBQ process was the first time I have seen him put in this much effort into his schoolwork. He worked diligently throughout the entire process, making sure to ask questions when he needed help understanding something. I took extra care to make sure I was readily available to help him unpack any document. I also made sure that he stayed on task and focused on the work to be done. This student’s work reflects the effort he has been putting in. His analysis sheet was almost completely finished and the parts that he did finish were very well done. He has limited capabilities to express his thoughts in writing, but what he wrote on his analysis sheets was enough to let me know he understood the documents and the important parts of each. The students had class time to work on their DBQ essays, from outlining to typing. This student spent his time focused and working hard on his paper. Considering the struggles he has in education, his DBQ essay was leaps and bounds better than the work I assessed when I first arrived at the school. He has a good essay structure, each paragraph is supported by at least one document, and he explains what each document means. The work he produced illustrates how far he has come in his work. From this DBQ essay and another test that has been recently given, this student is on track to vastly improve his grade. I truly think the support and encouragement I give him is a large part of his success. I pick every opportunity to let him know that I am invested in his education and I want him to succeed. Every assignment that he does well on only perpetuates the cycle of success for him. I can tell how happy and excited he is every time he receives a graded paper or test back with a good score. The affirmation and recognition of his improvement has increased his confidence in himself, and his work definitely reflects this change.