Methods In order to meet my goals of helping students to value Spanish, to close the achievement gap and to build relationships

so they see each other as resources in their learning, I chose to pair up native English speaking students with native Spanish speaking students as compaeros or partners. To better understand how compaeros work together and the dominant language being used, I used a variety of data collection methods and analysis. I looked for information to understand what choices students made and to see if there was any correlation as a result of explicit instruction on working with a language model partner or compaero. Data Collection Surveys: Beginning of the Year & End of Trimester: At the beginning of the school year I had my students take the Baseline survey in Appendix A. The questions helped me understand how comfortable my students felt working with their classmates. I was able to understand better what students see as Bright Spots in their education and learning. When do they feel most successful? I understood better their attitudes towards receiving help from peers and their perception of whether or not they felt it was helpful. For the survey, I chose to use multiple-choice questions with an icon they could choose for their response. The End of Trimester survey provided me with feedback on how attitudes either changed or stayed the same. Initially, I gave the baseline survey orally, whole group, with the help of a parent who translated each question into English. However, when I realized students did not understand the concept of filling out a survey, I gave the survey a second time one on one with their compaero.

Here are some of the questions I asked in the survey: 1. Cuando estas aprendiendo algo nuevo, como te gusta trabajar? When you are learning something new, how do you like to work? (alone, with a friend or with the whole class) 2. En la escuela, como prefieras leer? At school, how do you prefer 2 to read? (alone, with a friend or with the whole class) 3. Te parece que un compaero de la clase te puede ayudar a leer mejor? Do you think a friend in class can help you learn to read better? (yes, no or sometimes) Student Tally Chart: To collect data about how my students were working with their compaero, I put up a tally chart on our calendar wall that the students and I used to measure how often they gave and received help from their compaero or other students in the class. I came up with the idea of using the chart when I noticed early on that it was difficult to capture interactions in my classroom. After working in our morning literacy rotations, we would reconvene on the rug and students would share who had helped them. I used the chart in Appendix C to collect the results. Baseline Interviews & Exit Cards: In order to have a representative sample, I chose three compaero pairs made up of three native English-speaking students and three native Spanish-speaking students. I asked probing questions that revealed how students feel about working with others in school. Through open-ended questions I found out how to best accommodate my students needs as I began my Action Research. I used the set of questions in Appendix B to ask students. I asked my focus students questions at the end of the day during unstructured playtime to get their feedback on how they felt about working with their classmates. I aimed for asking Exit Card questions weekly. I pulled them aside with their compaeros, in case they needed to translate for one another. I

varied the questions as wonderings arose for me during my research, but here are some samples of questions I asked: Que hizo hoy un amigo que te hizo sentir feliz? What did a friend do today that made you feel happy? Contame que paso hoy que te hizo sentir orgulloso te ti mismo. Tell me something you did today that made you feel proud of yourself. Student Observations, Anecdotal Records and Field Notes: I kept a journal and anecdotal records to document the following: student interactions, language being used, level of engagement, attitudes expressed and level of participation. I used video and audio recordings during unstructured playtime to capture exchanges. I documented how often students spoke and how I perceived their level of interaction and engagement. I focused on the quality of their dialogue. For example, if they used complete sentences, did they give commands, or ask questions. I was looking to see if students were actively trying out the things we talked about whole group. For example, one of the things they came up often in our morning meetings was that students wanted to be invited to play. As I observed, I looked for signs of this happening. Data Analysis: Surveys: Beginning of the Year & End of Trimester: The baseline survey proved to be a challenge to administer. Since Im certain this was their first experience filling out a survey, some problems arose. I had a parent translate the questions into English and I projected the survey as students filled out their individual surveys. Still many students circled all choices. This was a learning experience. I realized

my students were not ready for multiple-choice surveys! I opted to use interviews to get at what I really wanted to know about students working with a partner. The results of the first survey were invalid, since most of the students marked every answer. However, after asking the questions one on one, I was able to see that students preferred to learn something new with a friend, since I had a lot of partner work planned for the year. In order to compare my students attitude about working with a partner, I administered the beginning of the year survey again at the end of the trimester. After my first experience with surveying my class, I decided to do things differently from the start! I called students over individually during free choice time to ask them the questions with their compaero. Things went much smoother the second time around. Student Tally Chart: I decided to implement a tally chart so students could help with the data collection. I put the tally chart up in an area of the classroom where all students had access. I went over the columns explicitly and modeled how to fill it out. Each pair of compaeros had a row on the chart where they I put a tally mark when they noticed that their partner or another classmate helped them in the following areas: 1. My partner helped me say something. 2. My partner helped me with my work. 3. My partner played nicely with me. I used the data from the tally chart to see which areas they favored and which areas we needed to work on further. As I collected data, I ended up changing items in the columns of the tally chart to reflect what I found students felt was important as they worked with their compaeros. For example, one thing that became clear immediately was that

it was important to students to have someone invite them to play or work on an activity. So, after working on this whole group and modeling explicitly, we added this to the chart as something to look for, Alguien me invito a jugar o trabajar, Someone invited me to play or work with them. Interviews & Exit Cards: I digitally recorded my Exit Card questions and interviews with students. Having them interviewed with their compaero proved to be very beneficial, since there was a need for translating. I transcribed my interviews and pulled out phrases and words to go through to see if I found common themes related to working together. Since one of my goals was for more Spanish to be spoken I noted which language students used as they answered and if there was a shift throughout my data collection. Their answers helped inform my instruction as I planned topics for our community meetings and friendship activities. Through interviews I had a clearer view of my focus students thoughts on working with their compaero. Student Observations, Anecdotal Records and Field Notes: I recorded notes of my observations of my focus students. I observed what roles students assumed and their level of engagement both during unstructured play and during small group instruction. I recorded and took notes throughout. I reviewed these notes on a weekly basis to see what trends were emerging. One thing that stood out was my focus students comfort level with their compaero. One pair of students clearly didnt feel comfortable working together. Fernanda loudly complained when I paired her up with Ricardo. I ended up keeping them together, because Fernanda had a tendency to complain about most pairings, so I was interested to see what would happen. After they worked together for only a few weeks while I

was asking students what activity they would like to choose for free choice, she loudly stated, I want to do what Ricardo is doing, because I love him! I compared what I saw in my observations with what students said in their interviews to see if my students were doing what they were saying. I used this information to decide next steps in terms of activities or social skills to focus on. *Appendices below

Appendix A Baseline Survey: Part 1 Aprendas de sus compaeros de la clase? Do you learn from your classmates?

No

De ves en cuando Sometimes

Si Yes

Te parece que escuchas con atencin? Do you think you are a good listener? No Haces preguntas cuando no estas seguro de algo? Do you ask questions when you are wondering something? Te gusta hablar con un compaero de la clase? Do you like talking with a friend in class? No Te gusta compartir libros con tus compaeros? Do you like sharing books with friends in class? De ves en cuando Sometimes Si Yes De ves en cuando Sometimes Si Yes

No

De ves en cuando Sometimes

Si Yes

No

De ves en cuando Sometimes

Si Yes

Baseline Survey: Part 2 4. Nombre: ______________________________________ 5. Cuando estas aprendiendo algo nuevo, como te gusta trabajar? When you are learning something new, how do you like to work?

Solo (Alone)

Con un Amigo Con toda la clase (with a friend) (with the whole class)

6. En la escuela, como prefieras leer? At school, how do you prefer to read?

Solo (Alone)

Con un Amigo (with a friend)

Con toda la clase (with the whole class)

7. Lees libros en casa? Do you read books at home? J L Si Yes No 8. Con quien lees en casa? Who do you read with at home? 9. Te gusta leer? Do you like to read? J L Si Yes No 10. Te parece que un compaero de la clase te puede ayudar a leer mejor? Do you think a friend in class can help you learn to read better? J Si Yes L No

Appendix B Name__________________ Preliminary Interview Questions 1. A quien pides ayuda cuando necesitas ayuda en la clase? Who do you ask for help when you are unsure of something?

2. Contarme cuando te sientes orgulloso en la escuela? When do you feel proud of yourself at school?

3. Como te sientes trabajando con un compaero en la lectura? How do you feel about working with a partner at school?

4. Dame un ejemplo de una vez que fue dificil de trabajar con un compaero What are some things that make it difficult to work with a partner?

5. Describe como seria si estuvieras trabajando bien con un compaero. Describe what it would look like and how you would feel if you were working with a partner successfully.

Appendix C Compaeros Me ayudo decir Me ayudo con mi Jugo bien (I will have photos algo. trabajo. migo. and names of pairs of students in the rows below) con

Tally marks will go in these columns.