Summary of AAL Model Study

Summary of Findings for evaluation of Animal Assisted Learning Model

The results of the study show that the enhanced program design was effective in motivating first grade children to read. It is important to remember that assessing children at this age can be difficult (Paris, Paris & Carpenter, 2001). Each student is coming into first grade at different stages of readiness depending on what exposure they have had prior to this experience. Testing at the first grade level should be treated more as a baseline or a spring board from which their literacy journey will begin.
There were several outlying themes that emerged through the data but in general there were increases among each of the three areas studied including increases in reading at home and crossover of the subject into other areas. However the positive results must be held with prejudice accounting for the potential bias in the reporting. Therefore the ability to generalize the results is limited to situations with the same variable and conditions. This fact should be kept in mind while interpreting the results. Steps were taken to reduce bias by conducting a pilot on the measures, collecting data from multiple sources and coding both the quantitative and qualitative data.

Discussion

Research Question One
The primary goal of the model is motivation. In the pre and post-tests there was only a slight increase in positive response to the motivational indicators. This was to be expected considering there was a significantly high number of students responded positively on the pre-test, which is important to take into account when reviewing the results. It indicates that 97.7% of the students already enjoyed reading. In related studies, students; coming into the first grade generally have a positive attitude toward reading (Kline, 2002). If some of the children were told that we were coming to talk about reading, they might say they enjoy reading. However, what is important to note is that of the children who responded negatively to P-1, “Do you like to read?”, a large percentage of students responded positively on the post-test indicating a change in motivation over the course of the program. There were two students who switched from positive to negative. It is difficult to determine whether or not the motivation is external or internal. Active or engaged reading is grounded in intrinsic motivation. From earlier chapters, the engagement perspective says that motivations are reasons for reading (Guthrie, & Anderson, 1998). What is not known, are the exact reasons for that intrinsic motivation? According to Guthrie and Anderson (1998) these reasons can range from independent reasons such as involvement, curiosity and efficacy to more social reasons such as competition or recognition. From this study, it cannot be determined that the reason for the increase in motivation comes directly from horse contact. But like the literacy process, motivations are not static. They develop and evolve as students become more self-aware and the agent of their own engagement (Guthrie, & Anderson, 1998). This could mean that given different circumstances such as different species or shift in design could yield different results. The results do not clearly indicate that the horse alone is the motivating factor.
Question five on the pre-test shows the impact of popular culture on the favorite topics these students like to read about. Their favorite topic indicated was most influenced by what was popular on TV at the time, i.e.: Poke Man, Power Puff Girls, etc. However, the important factor to consider is the number of students who responded with either the popular name of an animal character or a type of animal. A large portion of the students stated they like to read books that are centered around animals or nature in general. This relates back to the Biophilia hypothesis (Wilson, 1984) and supports the reasoning behind why animals make such effective motivators and why children relate to them so well. Several of the students stated horses specifically. There was a Black Stallion poster sent to each classroom before the first touch experience, which would influence the answer to that question.
The strongest evidence in support of the motivating factors of this model comes from the responses of the teachers and parents. Their statements about the reactions of the students are powerful and capture the true essence of this program. However, the potential for bias is very high. The likelihood that a parent or teacher will report a negative about their child’s reading habits at home is poor (Patton, 1990). It could be viewed as a negative reflection on them. Taking into consideration the change in behavior reported by the teacher and parent as well as looking for specific accounts help to sift through the bias. There were several themes that emerged from the teacher’s responses on both the evaluation survey and the narrative. The first major theme was that the children not only read the book in its entirety the day they received it, they also chose to reread it time after time. Teachers reported their students choosing to read their books when given the options for free time. One teacher stated “They must have read it 10 times the same day they got it”. Another teacher stated “My children sat down and read both books as soon as they received them”. Both of these statements reflect similar ideas given by the teachers. My observations of the class the day of the first touch confirm their ideas as well. I observed the children sitting down with their books flipping through the pages examining each picture and discussing what was happening in each scene. A large portion of each class read the book aloud, reading over each other. They were extremely enthusiastic as demonstrated through their immediate connection to the book. They were instantly engaged and reading. I also observed the students interacting socially with each other, which was discussed in Chapter One as a sign of a successful reading program. The parents also reiterated the same impressions as the teachers. Parents reported their children choosing to read more at night before they went to bed as demonstrated by the parent’s account of their children asking them to read. Parents also reported their children reading to younger siblings. One parent stated: “She loves to read to her little brother”. This statement can be powerful, however, it is difficult to determine that it is a change in behavior and not a habit she had before the program.
Another major theme was that of the motivating factor of the horse. This was supported through review of the qualitative data. The horse visit and interaction is key to the success of the experience. It ties back to Dewey (1928) that the physical contact with the subject being studies helps to reinforce the learning. The books being used for the program have horses a mina characters so to create a deeper connection to the text and idea of learning, use live contact with a horse. A large percentage of the students had not touched a horse before the first touch day at their school as reported by the teachers during the interview at then end of the program. The school that was site for the weekly observation has a large Hispanic population. Most of the students from this school brought a unique perspective to the experience. One teacher commented on how the horse motivated them to talk about where they came from and horses that they had been around before. Others were just overwhelmed by the entire experience. When the horses entered the room, the children would be amazed that a horse could fit in their classroom. Their enthusiasm would grow when they were told they could hug the miniature. One child even asked in Spanish, “Who’s in there?” not knowing that the miniature was real. One of the key connections made between the students and reading is through the horse. The story is brought to life by the hands-on interaction with the horse. They are then able to relate more to the book that is given to them after the first touch experience. Each teacher commented on the first touch experience in his or her narrative as being the major motivating factor of the program. According to Beyer (1991) students learn best when the content is linked to relevant prior knowledge. So you are creating that bridge between what experiences the students already have with what they are experiencing now. This can however work for and against the process. A person’s schema or prior knowledge affects the way they view and perceive the knowledge that is being presented to them while at the same time the experience is affecting their schema (Anderson in Ruddell & Ruddell, eds, 1994). All of those pre-existing attitudes, beliefs, experiences and knowledge effects how we learn and effects our motivation and desire to learn (Kujawa & Huske, 1995). So if the students had a negative experience with horses, it could effect whether or not they are motivated by them.
The subject of the book was Little Black. This is the character that the kids identified with and learned about. The integration and crossover of Little Black and horses into other academic areas is another indicator of increased motivation. The teachers were asked to integrate the curriculum, as they were able to. Some of the teachers that participated did this more than others. What is important to note, is that the students initiated some of this crossover creating their own thematic unit. While observing the classroom, the students were asked to make Lincoln log houses in honor of Lincoln’s birthday. The class decided to turn it into a stall for their horse. One of the crafts included in the activity guide for the teachers included a cut and paste horse. The students took their completed horses and pasted them to the outside of the cabin and colored it to resemble a barn. Some of the students began to engage in imaginative play with their horse and new stable. They sat at their desks pretending to walk their horse into the stall and talk about the horse. This is one example of the students carrying over the focus of horses in other areas The findings demonstrated in Anderson’s (1998) work showed that this integration or students who read texts in association with hands-on activities had higher comprehension and increases in conceptual knowledge than did students who read the same texts without the intrinsically motivating context. Anderson also reasoned that hands-on science activities would motivate students to read and, in turn, increase their conceptual learning from text. Some of the teachers would use the focus of horses to teach math. One teacher reported that because the children were so into horses, it was easy to keep them motivated to do other subjects if you talked about it in the context of horses.
The Hispanic or ESL students who participated in this study showed an increase in their English fluency skills both in reading and speaking. This variable was not directly measured. However, in the interview portion of the project, the lead teacher for the school with the largest Hispanic population commented that she saw an increase in language acquisition for her students, which she attributed to the motivating factors of this program. She commented that having confidence in speaking the language directly effects how they read. Her thought was that this program made them less intimidated to read the Little Black books aloud because of the interaction with the horse.


Research Question Two
The second research question studied was whether or not the enhanced program design increased literacy awareness. There was an increase in the number of students reporting that they had books at home as a result of the books provided gratis by the program. The intention is simply if they have access to books at home they might read them which is key to success in life long literacy. Having a strong support of literacy at home was one of the key factors (Burns, Griffin, & Snow, eds, 1999). For question seven, there was no significant increase in the knowledge of where to find books. This was also expected in that the most common answer (83%) recorded that the library was where books come from. This indicates a strong connection between literacy and school and would suggest that these children received more exposure to books at school than at home.
The qualitative analysis for research question number two indicated a strong correlation between the program and an increase in literacy awareness. In the review of literature, there are certain factors that attribute to success in the classroom: frequent opportunities to read, discuss and interpret text, frequent opportunities that foster motivation to read for a variety of purposes, an environment that ensures adequate resources and promoting independent reading outside the school in the home and with other community program that share in this goal (Burns, Griffin, & Snow, eds, 1999). In the results teachers indicated changes in behavior that relate to theses factors which are emphasized in the program. Each teacher that responded reported their children participating in some kind of behavior that demonstrates in increase in literacy skills and habits. Teachers reported their students actively seeking out books in the classroom, having a strong understanding of where books are located and reading more at home in a social context. They also reported their students reading the books multiple times. The teachers in general did integrate part of the Little Black books into their regular lesson plan. Some teachers took it much further using it more as a thematic unit for the time they were participating in the program. They created all of their lessons around it. These classes did receive more reading instruction in this context. They practiced language and reading skills using the stories and also created storyboards and story webs.
Teacher’s responses indicated strong outcomes in the area research question number two (See Table 30). The teachers repeated many of their feelings that they had stated in the open-ended portion of the survey. Teachers reported readers who traditionally struggle, keeping up with the other students. One could argue that this is due to the increase in motivation to read which directly increases their skill and comfort or confidence in reading. The largest impact on the student’s literacy skills could be attributed more to how in depth the teacher took the project. The level to which the teacher incorporated the project into their daily lessons might affect the degree of increase in literacy awareness. According to one of the teachers interviewed, the second semester of the first grade is the time the students are learning to write in complete sentences and they are encouraged to apply the new language skills they are learning at a much higher rate. The increase in skill happens with or without the program. The difference with using animal interaction is that the children are more likely to be engaged in the lessons, therefore retaining more of what they have learned.


Question Number Three
The increase in horse knowledge is the most significant increase over the three areas studied. The first question of whether they have touched a horse is significant not in the change from pre to post-test, but in the number of children who had not touched a horse before the first touch, 44.5%. It was expected that by the end of the program each child would have been able to touch a horse but the fact that almost half had not ever touched a horse before shows that there is a significant need to expose this population of children to more agricultural experiences. From listening to the children while administering the pre-test, some of the children where counting experiences of having seen a horse on a drive as touching one. The numbers could be even higher. This touch is what is so important within the program. It is giving them the opportunity to do something that they have never done before. It is making that personal connection that is so significant. However, it is difficult to ascertain whether or not it is the horse specifically and not an animal itself that is important to motivation. As reviewed earlier, Dewey was convinced that successful education is connected to personal experiences of the learner (1938). He defines growth as “the ability to learn from experience” (p.44). Ross (1988) conducted an extensive meta-analysis of literature and found that hands-on science activities aroused attention, questions and supported active learning. This is why the touch is so powerful to learning. It is not merely the exposure to animals but the physical contact; that urge to touch the oil painting in the museum or to make physical human contact between one another. Touch has the first, most direct and powerful effect on the brain's programming and re-programming activity (Stevens, 2003). According to Dewey (1938), a person’s current experience is a function of the interaction between their past experiences and the present situation.
The two other questions on the pre and post-test were a clear measure of the gain in horse knowledge. The increase in where a horse lives was more significant that the increase in what horses eat. Only half of the children knew where a horse lived, which correlates with how many had touched a horse before. The increase in knowledge of where a horse lived increased from 57.4% to 81%, which indicates that these students gained horse knowledge from participating in this program. The increase in knowledge for what a horse eats was not as dramatic. This was to be expected because 92.2% of the students answered this question correctly. There were a large number of correct answers for this question. One could deduce that the exposure to television would make this question easier to answer. What is important to note is that on the post-test the number of answers that correlate to what they learned at the second touch experience. During the hands on activities, the students made a “Horsey Salad” to demonstrate what goes into a horses diet and how it is similar to human diets. The salad included the common grass and hay but also included apples, carrots and peppermints. The answers the students recorded on the post-test reflect this. Some children answered the question with multiple items including all of the items in the salad. Some even wrote just “salad”.
The qualitative data collected supports the increase as well. Both parents and teachers reported the students using the horse vocabulary they learned in class. Several of the parents commented on how impressed they were with the knowledge their children would come home and talk about. One parent commented on how their child knew all of the breeds of horses and recalled specific detail about the horse they had seen at the farm for the second touch experience. Other parents and teachers commented on their children drawing horses and making up stories using the facts that they learned in class or at the farm. This is a common theme throughout all of the responses. The interaction with the horse not only motivated them to read but also motivated them to learn about a subject that was exciting to them. Teachers reported that students would seek out books about horses. The familiarity of the subject and the fact that they become immersed in it has this impact. What is important is that they not only learned new knowledge but that they took the initiative to learn more on their own.