RTLE Assignment 2

Research topic: Student engagement

Sub-topic: Creating a community of culture and support in the classroom.

Part A: Literature review

Creating a community of culture and support in the classroom is a major theme within

education. Teachers must discover a suitable pedagogical technique that caters for all

students within the classroom. As such, to promote a community of culture and support in the

classroom, the teacher is responsible to create opportunities for all students to participate in

regular education. It is crucial for an inclusive environment to occur within the classroom to

support the participation in the educational process of all students within a community (Erten

& Savage, 2010). To create a community of support, the teacher must establish fundamental

relationships with each student (Middleton & Perks, 2014). Middleton and Perks describe the

feelings of relatedness as one of the three pillars of intrinsic motivation. They define

relatedness as the need to feel connected to others, to care for and be cared by others and to

feel as if one belongs with other individuals as part of the community (Hattam, 2010).

Jerlad (2011) argues that cultures in a schooling environment are not built overnight.

Culture is born form an organizations visions, beliefs, values, and mission (Jerald, 2011).

During the research, Jerald incorporated structured interviews as a main form of data

collection. The interviewees stated their beliefs about a positive community culture within a

school. Research suggest that a strong, positive culture serves several beneficial functions in

a classroom. Students are more likely to attend class if they feel accepted, valued, respected

and included. To promote a positive cultural community, schools must promote positive

relationships between and amongst students, staff, and parents. Students emotional and
social emotions must be taken into consideration. This may be achieved by anti-bullying

campaigns, peer-support programs and implementing teaching strategies within the

classroom such as collaborative learning.

In 2005, Neil Humphrey, Ann Lendrum and Michael Wigelsworth published a longitudinal

study on a comprehensive, whole-school approach to promote the social and emotional skills

of students. Their research combined quantitative and qualitative inquiry to discover

implementations to create a community of culture. Based on their findings, they discovered

major strategies to implement a positive school culture. This includes encouraging positive,

respectful relationships between staff and students and encouraging students to look after

each others learning (Humphrey, Lendrum & Wigelsworth, 2013). The research also stated

to acknowledge all students differences and how they contribute to a multicultural

environment to avoid any forms of racism and discrimination from occurring within the

classroom. Social and emotional factors contribute to creating a classroom climate that is

more conductive to learning and that promotes positive developmental outcomes among

students.

Parent involvement (PI) in education is associated with positive outcomes for

students; however, little is known about how parents decide to be involved in children's

education. To promote a community of culture within the classroom, parents must be

integrated within the community to understand the schooling environment and identify the

key areas of improvement for their children (Anderson & Chen, 2016). According to Kafia

(2014), all families need access to classroom ideas and an understanding of school

requirements and procedures. To implement parent involvement, open door teaching

strategies is beneficial as the teacher offers a variety of scheduling options to arrange a

meeting (Kafia, 2014). Parent classes is an effective form of communication and community

culture as parents have the opportunity to discover the content their children are learning, the

achievements of their students and the areas they can develop to become successful learners.

To maintain student engagement, a teacher must provide support for students

learning needs. Certain students need additional support to obtain the full range of

educational opportunities. Classroom teachers, schools and support staff must be better

equipped to understand the differences in learning needs that students have (Sukdeep, 2014).

They must also be better equipped to have the capacity to support those needs. By catering

for all students needs and creating a support system in the class. Student engagement is

maintained when have an opportunity to learn through an effective teaching method. To

promote an inclusive classroom, effective pedagogical techniques must be implemented to

support students involvement. There are multiple teaching methods that supports student

engagement within the classroom. Collaborative learning is a teaching method that involves

joint intellectual effort from teachers and students. Collaborative learning refers to

methodologies and environments in which learners engage in a common task in which each

individual depends on and is accountable for each other. This teaching methods supports

student learning and engagement as students can learn from one another, rather that focus on

content individually. Students develop their social and emotional skills as they converse and

socialise with their peers (Arsal, Razon, Tenenbaum & Turner, 2011). Also, if class content is

difficult to comprehend, students discover new methods of learning.

The meaningful use of technology is a major theme within education and supporting

student learning. The incorporation of information and communication technology (ICT) are

digital applications, devices and means of communication for educational purposes. The
implementation of ICT supports student learning as it enhances student engagement, caters

for differentiation and fosters socio-emotional skills. There is evidence that ICT can be used

effectively to support pupils talk and improve their discussion when they work in small

groups on collaborative tasks (Baey, Rappa & Yip, 2009). ICT is a form of digital learning,

challenging the traditional roles of a mainstream classroom. Students develop their numeracy

and literacy skills through various ways.

In 2017, Ryan Allison published a study focusing on student support within the

classroom and how to overcome disruptive behaviour. The research investigated how the

level of disruptive behaviour across classrooms was influenced by the level of support within

the classroom. When collecting data, Allison interviewed individuals who were involved in a

schooling environment. The interview revealed multiple opinions of how student engagement

impacts the behaviour of a student. It is evident that disruptive behaviour occurred between

classes when students were struggling to understand content and there was limited emotional

and social support (Shin & Ryan, 2016). Therefore, to maintain student behaviour and

maintain student engagement, the teacher must support students in their learning through a

social and emotional context. Also, disruptive behaviour is controlled when students

understand class content and are confident in completing class tasks.

Overall, there seems to be multiple omissions within the literature regarding

classroom approaches to student engagement. As such, creating a community of culture and

support in the classroom is a sub-topic that focuses on utilizing effective methods to maintain

student engagement. Previous research has been conducted discovering multiple ways

community culture and support impacts student learning and engagement.

Part B: Data Collection protocol

The following data collections methods are based around interview protocol conducted

by the researcher. They are outline as follows:

Interview protocol: Clearly state the teachers name, teaching area, context and other

concerns at the beginning of the interview. The participant is to receive the attached WSU

protocol to obtain a full understanding of research projects, its purpose and ethical research

practice. The interviews conducted will run for approximately 5-15 minutes. The researcher

will be asking questions and the participant will answer. However, time may exceed if

participants wish to extrapolate certain points and questions. Below, there are possible

questions for the interview, based on thematic features within the literature.

Research questions Possible questions being asked within the

interview

How do you cater for the diverse learning 1) Do you cater for the diverse learning

needs of students in your classroom? needs in your class? If so, what are

examples of inclusion are evident in

previous lessons.

Personally I do attempt to cater for

the diverse learning needs of my

individual students as it allows me

as an educator to both understand

the learning capabilities of my class

as well as create a positive and

equitable teaching environment.

 Examples of inclusive tasks within

my lesson plans especially when

catering for a student from an EALD

background when using video media

is to switch on the closed captions in

order to aid in building vocabulary.

2) How has catering for student needs

created a community of culture

within your classroom and

maintained student engagement?

The catering for student needs has

created a sense of community

culture and therefore has aided

student engagement as the

differentiation techniques used has

not singled any student out yet has

been used in class generally. The use

of natural differentiation techniques

ultimately does not catalyse issues

among peers as all students are

treated equally and equitably.

Do individual teachers think that 3) Have you established professional,

fundamental relationships with students unique relationships with your

impacts student engagement within the students? Can you provide an

classroom? Do teachers thing that a positive example of how this is evident

relationships effects community culture within your classroom?

within a classroom. Do you think that a Within my classroom I have

sense of unity and belonging within a established professional and unique

classroom motivates student engagement? relationships with my students

through using students individual

names and also knowing the students

hobbies which could be embedded in

tasks with in the classroom to aid

student engagement and retention of

knowledge.

4) Do these relationships maintain

student engagement? By having

certain relationships, are students

motivated to learn and participate in

class work?

The building of positive student

relationships ultimately maintains

student engagement as it allows

students to feel valued and therefore

want to engage with content when in

an equitable setting. The importance

of positive student teacher

relationships assists in student

engagement as students are more

 likely to engage in content if

students have a positive perception

of their educator.

5) Do you have to approach each

student differently when creating a

relationship to promote a community

of culture?

The manner which I approached students

depends on their individual needs in the

classroom as I attempt to utilize their

hobbies out of school such as sport in a

manner which is adaptable to an overall

classroom setting as the building of positive

student relationships is vital in the creation

of an equitable classroom where students

are engaged

Do educators feel that the culture of a 6) As a teacher, how do you maintain

schooling environment impacts student students social and emotional skills

engagement? What are the implications of within the classroom?

emotional and social feelings within a The maintenance of social/ emotional skills

classroom? Do these emotions impact within a classroom through the use of

student engagement and a learning collaborative tasks in class and the use of

community? pastoral care or peer support programs

timetabled into the schools schedule.

 7) Is it difficult focusing on students

emotional and social skills?

Why/Why not?

I Personally do not find it difficult on

focusing on students emotional and social

skills in the classroom as the use of small

tasks that involve peer collaboration or

whole class collaboration allows students to

engage with each other in a supervised

manner that can be restricted if these skills

are not creating positive learning

environments .

How do individual teachers maintain 8) How do you support student learning

student engagement when learning difficult in the classroom? Provide an

content? How do teachers support student example when a student found it

learning when students have limited literacy difficult to complete class work and

and numeracy skills? Do teachers needed direction.

incorporate pedagogical techniques that Student learning is supported within

caters for students form all learning my classroom through the use of

backgrounds? scaffolding and breaking down

content using features such as think

pair share tasks as this allows

student to individually attempt to

deconstruct content to then

collaborate with peers and then with

 the whole class using teacher

guidance. This was specifically

evident in my Year 9 history class

through the deconstruction of a

WW1 source on propaganda

9) Do you believe that students are

motivated to learn and are engaged

with class content when support is

available for students?

Yes, personally I believe that students are

more motivated to learn when support is

available for students as students feel that

their learning will be aided if there is any

task that needs clarification. Support is

essential for student learning especially

when navigating through tasks that are

considered to be content heavy .

How does the implementation of ICT 10) How do you implement multimedia

motivate students to learn through a new, and ICT within your classroom?

modern teaching method? Does ICT positively impacts student

engagement? Why/Why not.

ICT is often implemented throughout my

classroom through the use of short video

clips and gamification tools i.e. Kahoot

quizzes. The use of ICT positively impacts

 student learning as educators we are able to

integrate feature which students are familiar

with as well as integrating tools that a new

creative and innovative way in teaching

without students being aware that they are

actively learning new content

Attached bellows is the WSU consent form that will be given to participants involved in

data collections.
Dear Potential Participant:
I am working on a project titled Student Engagement for the class, Researching
Teaching and Learning 2, at Western Sydney University. As part of the
project, I am collecting information to help inform the design of a teacher
research proposal.
This research has been conducted to discover how positive schooling
environments maintains student engagement throughout their education. Also,
the research discovers how a cultural community motivates students to complete
their education.
By signing this form, I acknowledge that:
I have read the project information and have been given the opportunity
to discuss the information and my involvement in the project with the
researcher/s.
The procedures required for the project and the time involved have been
explained to me, and any questions I have about the project have been
answered to my satisfaction.
I consent to [describe what is involved for data collection].
I understand that my involvement is confidential and that the information
gained during this data collection experience will only be reported within
the confines of the Researching Teaching and Learning 2 unit, and that
all personal details will be de-identified from the data.
I understand that I can withdraw from the project at any time, without
affecting my relationship with the researcher/s, now or in the future.
By signing below, I acknowledge that I am 18 years of age or older, or I am a
full-time university student who is 17 years old.
Signed: __________________________________
Name: __________________________________
Date: __________________________________
By signing below, I acknowledge that I am the legal guardian of a person who is
16 or 17 years old, and provide my consent for the persons participation.
Signed: __________________________________
Name: __________________________________
Date: __________________________________

Part C: Data Collection Protocol Explanation

The above protocol incorporates a semi-structured interview as a method for data collection.

In this dyadic interview, two participants interact in response to open-ended research

questions. The semi-structured interview will provide an in-depth analysis of the broader

issues that where discusses within the literature review. The questions focus on personal

opinions in relation to how teachers cater for diverse needs to create a cultural community,

how relationships impact student engagement within classroom, and how teachers implement

support to maintain student engagement. It is designed to be semi-structured within a calm

and relaxed environment to ensure the participant is comfortable and for an informative

interview to be conducted.

This semi-structured interview will reveal insights into the participants own practices, career,

and inherent beliefs. Therefore, the research will focus on these factors to gain a deeper

understanding of the targeted concerns (Humphrey, Lendrum & Wigelsworth, 2013). By

following this process, it is ensured that the data is utilized to its full purposes for research

purposes. By maintaining the calmness of the participant and asking explicit questions, the

interview will conduct smoothly, avoiding any barriers that will damage rapport. It must be

clear that the participant does not have to answer every question that is asked and may feel

free to stop the interview.

These concerns are expressed within the literate review, namely the concern for creating a

community culture and supporting students in the classroom. This qualitative approach

allows for a deeper analysis of broader issues that educators face. The qualitative approach

allows for a deeper analysis of broader issues facing some educators concerning these

pedagogies (Oddershede, Donoso, Farias & Jarufe, 2015). It permits multiple themes that are

salient within an educational environment that may be explored. These themes focus on
student learning, student engagement, educators teaching methods and the culture of the

school. The literature review focuses on multiple strategies that teachers implement within

the school and classroom environment that focuses on the overarching research topic.

In regards to how this subtopic is situated within the overarching research topic, it

supplements the multiple strategies that teachers may implement to maintain student

engagement. To maintain student engagement, a positive relationship with each student must

be created. This will motivate students to learn as they try to meet objectives and reach

targets. Also, students will be engaged in classroom activities and lesson plans if the school

supports a cultural community. Each student must be treated equally and have the same

opportunity to an education. When a students social and emotional skills are accounted for,

they strive to achieve results as they enter a comfort zone within their classroom. This

establish positive relationships with their teacher and peers. The subtopic within the literature

report discusses systematic and pedagogical approaches that may be implied by single

teachers or whole school to maintain student engagement. A positive community culture

enables students to feel safe and comfortable within their own school. Therefore, when

students have a positive attitude in school, and support is provided for their learning, they

will become eager learners as they are engaged within class content (Sukdeep, 2014).

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