The effects of content complexity and transitions on programs of action in a high school classroom.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the program of action of activities under the conditions of transition and content complexity. The path of the program of action was explored through a number of classroom activities in the areas of writing, literature, vocabulary, and grammar. In particular the configuration and the management of the program of action were examined to determine what was done by classroom inhabitants to guide and protect the program of action of activities. The setting of the study was a freshman honors English class in a southwest urban high school. The teacher was identified as an able manager, a factor that was expected to limit the competing vectors that might be triggered by discipline problems. Observations of the class were done over ten weeks or a quarter of the school year. The third period class was observed daily, and a total of forty activities were gathered and analyzed. Data analysis was done over a period of seven months. A quantitative summary of the activities showing activity types and time devoted to each activity type was compiled. The activity summaries were scanned to note emerging patterns. Programs of action of each activity type were mapped to illustrate the configuration and maintenance of the program of action and the emergence and handling of competing vectors. The final phase of the analysis was the comparison of programs of action across two levels of content complexity. Findings showed that the life of the program of action in classrooms varied according to activity type. The teacher emerged as the controller of action as illustrated by his choice of content presentation modes and activities. The comparison of programs of action of activities across content complexity showed that students participated more in the maintenance and sustenance of the program of action in activities in which the content was less complex than they did in activities with more complex content. Furthermore, when the content was more complex, the teacher's control of the maintenance of the program of action was more apparent. The length of transition was found to impact negatively the subsequent program of action. On the other hand, lengthy opening activities emerged as contributors to the maintenance of programs of action.