Admissions Test for Class of 2029

Take the first step towards becoming a Wildcat and take an Admissions Test at Saint Ignatius – 3 Dates Available: Oct. 12, Nov. 2 and Nov. 13

Register Now
Saint Ignatius High School
Back to

Students Leading Pedagogical Change

Developing a Classroom Action Research Project, A Student's Perspective

 

"Students Leading Pedagogical Change: Developing a Classroom Action Research Project, A Student's Perspective"

by Shivam Pandya '24

I walked into the Alumni Meeting Room for our first focus group, half-awake at 7:30 a.m. For the next 45 minutes, a group of students and I detailed our experiences in the classroom: how we, as students, learn best; helpful (and less helpful) things that teachers do; and what makes learning, both in and out of the classroom, challenging (ironically, a lack of sleep was the #1 answer).

As a Student Research Fellow in the Center for Ignatian Pedagogy, these are the types of questions we tackle. The research we conduct feeds directly from our experiences: things that we want to improve for ourselves and our peers at Saint Ignatius High School. This past year, 12 of us were selected as the pilot cohort of student researchers. We spent many, many meetings whittling our brainstorming to a research topic, finally settling on retrieval practice. Distributed retrieval practice is when you recall information across spaced-out intervals, forcing yourself to remember previously-learned information without outside resources – this could be rereading notes, brain dumps, flashcards, practice quizzes, or a whole host of other study tactics. We chose it because we knew that cramming (massed practice) was a problematic way to study, and yet in the midst of managing extracurricular activities, sleep, other classes, and simply being lazy, we all did it.

We pitched the project to a group of thirteen teachers who self-selected to participate in the study, and seven teachers across three disciplines signed up to experiment with retrieval in their courses. We wrote a literature review that detailed every aspect and nuance of the study: the science behind retrieval, intrinsically and extrinsically motivating students to manage their time, and potential difficulties with conducting a study of this nature. We designed the study, detailing the exact research questions we hoped to answer and setting the guidelines for how to conduct the research. Every aspect of the study was either directly or indirectly associated with student researchers’ experiences and hopes for improved student learning, which is really unique to think about in a high-school research setting. 

At the beginning of this year (our senior year), we started our study. While the teachers implemented, documented, and evaluated the impact of retrieval in their courses, we committed to actively using retrieval in our own study processes for two classes: for me, that included Honors Anatomy & Physiology and Multivariable Calculus. Student researchers met biweekly to discuss our experiences and findings, and each month we collaborated with the teacher team to discern what worked and what didn’t, with the ultimate goal of identifying ways that we could improve the experience for both students and teachers. After a full semester, we submitted our final findings and wrote a reflection about our experience.

Not surprisingly, we found that retrieval worked. Our test scores, self-confidence levels (how well we thought we knew the material), and self-perceived time management skills were significantly higher when we used retrieval practice. As a student, I think the cool part about this experience, aside from designing and having a say in the entire process, is that our findings, both good and bad, will be used to improve the educational experience for future students here. The CIP is unique in this way, especially for us student fellows: everything about our experiences will help improve experiences for students down the road. Being a part of something so impactful is why I was drawn to participate in the pilot year of the CIP and why I think it has the potential to be a staple of the Ignatius experience for so many students.
 
Copyright 2024 Saint Ignatius High School