List of Data Collection Tools

1. Online journaling with prompts:

I think journaling, as a metacognitive strategy, will not only help students continue along their trajectory of growth mindsets but also help me see where they are in gaining this mindset or not throughout the year. It will be a good check in for me on how I can help foster this further individually and as a class. I am planning on giving a version of the following prompts after giving back a graded assessment for them to do as homework and then I will follow up with a comment for them.

How did the listening quiz go? How did you study/practice for it? What was a useful study/practice technique? What didn't work so well for you? What do you want to try next time? How can I help you in the future to feel more prepared?

2. Self-surveys:

I plan to use a conglomerate version of the PALS surveys (Patterns of Adaptive Learning Scales) to see how my students see and feel about their performance in class at different parts of the the term and after completing and presenting at the end of our project unit. I will keep these in an in-class portfolio my students have and hopefully after seeing the patterns in their own responses, it resonates with them on how they have improved and/or how they can continue improving based on those trends. It's very similar to how I used a performance-assessing rubric last year with other section teachers, though this year I will not be basing their answers to this for a grade. This will hopefully encourage them to be transparent and actually use this information in a productive way (and not end up in the trash like they did last year sometimes!) and again should reach my same metacognition-increasing goal as the journals.

3. Interviews:

Last year, some of the most valuable breakthrough moments I had with students who self-admittedly were "struggling" in class were outside of class time, one-on-one. It not only builds a more personal rapport, but it shows them a different side to approaching my class with me on their side and not just at the front of the class. Using the same reflective prompts I will have each of my students see me during the term and reflect on their progress and mindset (fixed, growth, or in-between). Again, it should help me track their progress but also adapt how I approach speaking to them in general when advising and teaching them.