Name: Huiling Zhang

School & Local Authority: KingussieHigh School Hub, Highland

Focusing and Planning Your Enquiry

Research question : What do I want to explore?
How to help pupils recognize and remember Chinese charactersWhich methods do I find most useful for helping pupils to recognize and remember Chinese characters?
Rationale for Enquiry Focus
Pupilsoften seem tofind it confusing and challenging to recognize and remember Chinese characters. Make reference to reading/research
Success Criteria for me ….if the enquiry is as productive as I hope it might be: what will I know/ understand / have seen/heard/be able to evidence differently?
If the enquiry is as productive as I hope, I will develop more effective methods of teaching character recognition and retention, as well as ways to support pronunciation. I will know this is effective if the pupils will be able to recognize, say and read characters more easilythan before (this could be your baseline) and I will have collated evidence to reflect the pupils’ improved level of character recognition, retention and pronunciation.
Success Criteria for children/staff ….if the enquiry is as productive as I hope it might be:
If the enquiry is as productive as I hope, my pupils can remember, understand and pronounce the characters more easily and actively and find it interesting to learn.
Planning Data Gathering + Analysis What I plan to collect FITNESS for PURPOSE
Baseline / To gather my data I intend to: / Any limitations to my methods? / Why I think this particular data collection method is the most effective:
My pupils do not know any characters. How can I change this?
Each time I see the students I will analyze how well they can answer questions, fill in their Chinese Wall of characters, take part in role plays and games and in this way see how they are doing (Regular planned activities). I can have a sheet with their names on it and if the pupil is struggling with his learning, put a small orange mark next to their name. This will help me develop other strategies to support the learning of all the pupils e.g. use of panda money to motivate learners.
Make sure you have a baseline for comparison at the beginning and then at the end. / Photograph the work they do
Collate pieces of work in a folder. Ensure the piece of work is dated so it is clear what progress has been made.
Ask for feedback from class after certain activities: was it helpful? Did they enjoy it? What would make it better for them?
Use Questionnaires from time to time.
Interview a cross section of pupils. Record on sound files on phone.
Build a Chinese Wall of characters of their own to reflect their progress.

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