Luis Angel Perez
Educational Research
Spring 2009
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between the
colors in which written material (texts) are presented to students in a
classroom setting and student behavior in the form of interest exhibited toward
the presented texts. This experiment explores a long standing yet
scientifically baseless practice in dual language schools; The practice of
presenting English texts in the color blue and Spanish texts in the color red.
I investigated this practice to gain a better understand of how it actually
relates to a learner’s interests and needs. The investigated hypothesis was that
students will demonstrate a greater preference to work with texts in
multi-colors over texts presented to them all in one color, either all in red
or all in blue. Additionally, learners will demonstrate a preference for
multi-color texts despite the language in which the texts are presented, either
in Spanish or in English. This study shows that students are indeed more
interested in working with texts that are presented to them in multicolor over
texts presented all in red or all in blue.
Table of Contents
Introduction ………………………………………………………………......…3
Methodology …...……………………………………………………………..…8
Findings & Analysis
……..………………………………………………..….12
Conclusion & Implications……………………………………………………...15
Reference………………………………………………………………………..17
Appendix…………………………………………………………………….......18
Introduction
When I sit
back to reflect on the many texts I have read pertaining to the many problems
encountered in the field of education, particularly those which concern multilingual
learners, I cannot help but to notice an intense and carefully orchestrated
blame game. The academic field is saturated with the practice of pointing the
finger at someone else when something goes wrong or does not work
satisfactorily. This reminds me of a common phrase my grandmother always used; every time you point a finger at someone you
have three other fingers pointing right back at you, (meaning the middle,
ring, and small fingers). It is a rarity to find a text where the author
passing judgment is making such judgment about their own performance or what
they themselves may have done to contribute to the problems in the field. Off
the top of my head I can only think of one such text written by Cynthia
Ballenger titled Teaching Other People’s
Children. This book describes how, instead of blaming others for the
difficulty she encountered in teaching a classroom of Haitian students, a North
American teacher looked closely at her own personal philosophy and
interpretations especially when she was assessing her students. This book gives
credence to the significance of looking closely at the self and to the
importance of the practice of scrutinizing what we do with our learners in
order to have a better idea of the effectiveness of our own practice, (as
opposed to looking for someone else to blame and always thinking inside the box).
Inspired by Cynthia Ballenger I yearn to
become more critical of my own craft as an educator and instead of looking in
the outside for loose bolts I will focus more on tightening the bolts of the
inside. In order for me to zero in on my own biases and in order for me to
actually practice scrutinizing some of what I actually do with my learners I
did two things in this research. Firstly, I indulged myself in reading research
pertaining to the impact which the concept of bilingualism has on the
individual mind, particularly that of the learner as well as the “professional”
policy makers in the field of education. I also researched several studies which
shed light on the motivational and intellectual performance of a learner in
respect to the use of the color red. I researched these areas to help me
understand more about how the concept of bilingualism affects an individual’s
cognition and in turn their decision making process as well as to further my
understanding on the psychological and behavioral affects that colors have on
people. Secondly, I challenged a long standing practice in dual language
schools; the practice of presenting to dual language students English texts in
the color blue and Spanish texts in the color red. I investigated the
significance of this practice by studying a group of 30 eighth grade students (18
females & 12 males), from a dual language middle school in upper Manhattan. I examined the
hypothesis that learners will demonstrate a preference to work with multi-step
mathematical problems presented to them in multi-colors over ones presented to
them all in one color, either all in red or all in blue. In addition, I
examined the hypothesis that learners will demonstrate a preference to work
with multi-step mathematical problems presented to them in multi-colors despite
the language in which the problems are presented, either in Spanish or in
English.
There are
two factors which motivated me to explore closely this common practice in dual
language programs. For one, as a dual-language mathematics educator, I have
noticed the difference in the level of attentiveness projected by my students when
I use a different color to depict each of the steps in a multi-step mathematics
problem compared to presenting the entire problem all in one color. According
to informal observations, students are noted to demonstrate a better posture,
seem more attentive to the material, and overall seem more interested in the
lesson when the texts are presented using multiple colors as opposed to just
one color. Additionally more evidence of their preference for multicolor text
over same color text was noted when students were asked to create independent
work that requires them to show all the steps and explain their process. A
great number of students created their work using multiple colors as opposed to
only one color. Another motivating factor for me to pursue this experiment was
the idea that although administrators try vigilantly to enforce the separation
of language into colors, no one has actually been able to produce or guide me
in the right direction to find research that credits the effectiveness of this
practice or the benefit that it allegedly provides for the learner. Since there
is no data to back up this practice I decided to create an experiment that will
produce quantitative information that may help shed light on what type of text students
actually find more appealing and engaging to work with between the following
choices; all in red text, all in blue text, or all in different colors text.
School administrators
argue that a teacher must maintain “transparency” in their classroom
environment. Meaning that it should be clear to an observer walking into the
classroom, without having to ask any questions, exactly the topic which is
being discussed, what unit of the curriculum the class is currently covering,
what tasks are the students responsible to complete, what topics they have
worked on recently and prior to that, and in dual language classes what text is
written in Spanish and which is written in English. Theoretically, this is done
for the benefit of the students because they will have available to them
organized information for later reference and connection building. Although the
idea of maintaining a transparent environment has its benefits, during some informal
interviews I learned of some of the dissonance precipitated by such push.
Some teachers
believe that classrooms are not large enough to maintain all this work
organized on the walls particularly in classes where multiple subjects are
taught in multiple languages. Other teachers argue that having too much work up
on the walls creates a cluttered, disorganized, uncomfortable, and distracting
environment for children in a place where they are expected to remain focused.
Yet other teachers argue that administrators are merely conforming to the needs
of outside observers and not necessarily considering the best interest of the
students. This poses an interesting question; Is the decision to separate
English into blue and Spanish into red a decision made in the best interest of the
students, the policy makers, or a little of both?
One
particular aspect of the concept of classroom transparency that interests me is
the practice of separating the language texts posted on the classroom walls of
dual language classrooms by color. Administrators of dual language programs
across the city enforce the practice of maintaining the Spanish texts in the
color red and the English texts in the color blue. The premise behind the color
coding of these two languages stems from the idea that such practice assists
dual language students discriminate, with much ease, the language of the work
that is posted especially when the student is searching for the work in order
to make connections and or scaffold their learning. Unfortunately, this practice
has not been formally examined.
Since I
noticed students to be more attentive and engaged to the lessons when I present
them with multicolor materials in mathematics over just one color type, I felt
compelled to test the student’s reaction toward multi-color texts compared to
text depicted all in blue or all in red. As a dual language mathematics teacher
I have observed that middle school students prefer when I present to them a
multi-step mathematical problem using a different color to present each step as
opposed to presenting all the steps using only one color. I believe that
students will demonstrate the same preference despite what language the
material is in, Spanish or in English. My goal here is to construct a test to
collect quantitative data that will show that in my mathematics class a
significant number of students prefer to work with and respond better to posted
materials which are depicted in multi-colors as opposed to materials depicted all
in the color red or all in the color blue, despite what language is used to
present the materials, (in this particular study Spanish or English). Students
were provided with a permissions slip for their parents to consent their
involvement in this study, (see appendix B).
The following
annotated bibliography was constructed out of the need to enhance my knowledge
about the different affects which the concept of bilingualism actually has on a
person’s cognition; particularly the cognition of the learner and the policy
makers that have a direct impact on the environment of the learner. Following
the annotated bibliography I describe the methodology that I used in order to try
to quantify the preferences and perspectives of 30 dual language middle school
students in respect to this practice.
Methodology
Calculating Red for Spanish & Blue for English
The purpose of this study is to
determine whether eighth grade students prefer to analyze for errors multi-step
mathematical problems when each step of the mathematical problems is presented
in different color as opposed to each step presented all in the same color,
either all steps in blue or all steps in red. Determining what stimulates student
interest may help identify important factors that keep students attentive to
the lessons provided. 30 eighth grade students (18
females & 12 males), were examined in this study. These students
attend a dual language school in the northern part of Manhattan. For the purposes of anonymity the
name of the school will remain confidential.
I used a Smart Board Computer Software,
which works similar to the Power Point Computer Software commonly known to
Microsoft users. I created 24 slides. Each slide created has the same math
problem on both left and right sides of the slide but they differ in color
pattern. Students were not told that both problems on each slide were the same
and only differed in the color in which they were presented. One side of a
slide will present the problem worked out, step by step, each step in different
colors and the other side will present the same problem worked out step by
step, each step in either all blue or all red.
All the slides were presented in random
order. In order to rule out or control for color combination preferences I used
four different multicolor combinations. There were four different multicolor
combinations used in this study. See sample of a slide in appendix A.
(1) Eight slides
contained the following combination of colors: Steps 1, 2, 3, & 4,
were presented in orange, blue, green,
& brown, respectively.
(2) Eight slides contained the following combination of colors: Steps 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,
(2) Eight slides contained the following combination of colors: Steps 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,
& 7, were presented in green, orange,
blue, turquoise, gray, yellow, & black, respectively.
(3) Four slides
contained the following combination of colors: Steps 1, 2, & 3,
were presented in green, blue, &
red, respectively.
(4) Four slides
contained the following combination of colors: Steps 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,
were presented in blue, green, yellow,
red, turquoise, & black, respectively.
Procedure to Choose Your Problem:
Eighth grade students were told that
they were going to be presented with a number of different mathematical
problems which they are familiar with and that seventh grade students attempted
to solve. Subjects were explained that they will be presented with two
mathematical problems at a time. They were told that out of the two problems on
each slide they had to choose the one problem which they would want to analyze
for errors at a later time. They were also told that this process will be
repeated for 24 slides. Each student was given a clip board with a protocol
check-off sheet where they will select the problem which they preferred to
analyze at a later time for errors. The protocol sheet contained forty eight cells.
Each pair of cells numerated one through twenty four; 24 for the problems on
the left side of the slides and 24 for the problems on the right side of the
slides. Each student was told that the slides were going to change rapidly from
one to another so they must make their selection quickly. This warning was also
provided so that the student does not try to scrutinize each slide for errors
at that particular moment of the presentation. Students were reminded that they
are only selecting the problems that they are going to examine at a later time.
Each slide lasted approximately 2 seconds before moving on to the next slide. Students
were also told that the examiner will say out loud the number of the slide so
that they are always clear what number slide they are up to and what cells to
check off on the protocol.
Type of Mathematical Problems and Format
of Presentation:
All together 24 slides were used in
this study. The step by step format for 20 of the mathematical problems were
presented laterally (first step beginning at the top, directly beneath the
actual problem, and last step ending at the bottom of the page). The step by
step format for 4 of the mathematical problems were presented horizontally
(step one beginning on the left side, directly beneath the actual mathematical
problem and the last step ending on the right side beneath the actual problem).
6 different types of 8th grade mathematical problems were used in
this study.
2 problems showed each step taken to
find the slope of two given points using
the slope formula. Each of these problems were presented in the English
language all in blue versus multicolor (2 slides) and all in red versus
multicolor (2 slides) as well as in the Spanish language all in blue versus
multicolor (2 slides) and all in red versus multicolor (2 slides). This made a total
of 8 slides.
2 problems showed each step taken to find the equation of a line when given the
slope and only one point on that line. Each of these problems were
presented in the English language all in blue versus multicolor (2 slides) and
all in red versus multicolor (2 slides) as well as in the Spanish language all
in blue versus multicolor (2 slides) and all in red versus multicolor (2
slides). This made a total of 8 slides.
1 problem showed each step taken to determine whether three given points are
collinear to each other (determine if the three points lie on the same line).
This problem was presented in the English language all in blue versus
multicolor (1 slide) and all in red versus multicolor (1 slide) as well as in
the Spanish language all in blue versus multicolor (1 slide) and all in red
versus multicolor (1 slide). This made a total of 4 slides.
1 problem showed each step taken in
order to re-write an equation in slope
intercept form. This problem was presented in the English language all in
blue versus multicolor (1 slide) and all in red versus multicolor (1 slide) as
well as in the Spanish language all in blue versus multicolor (1 slide) and all
in red versus multicolor (1 slide). This made a total of 4 slides. Each slide
was arranged in a random order and presented in both Spanish and English.
Observations:
Students were observed during their selection process. The examiner
assured that each student scanned both left and right side of the slide at
least one time prior to making a selection on their protocol check-off sheet. If
this behavior was not noted by the examiner the examiner made a note of the
number of the slide in which this occurred and what ever selection was made of
that slide will not be included. Fortunately, in this study every student
scanned both sides of each of the slides at least one time prior to looking at
their clip board and gesturing the making of a selection. Behavioral
observations and comments made by subjects were later used to help interpret
the data attained in this study.
Findings and Analysis
Comparing Spanish
Multicolor Problems with All In Red Problems:
Five of the thirty students in this
study demonstrated an even split by selecting 50% multicolor problems and 50%
all in red problems when the problems were presented in the Spanish language.
Out of the remaining twenty five students, 52% selected multicolor problems and
only 48% selected all in red problems, between 67% and 100% of the time. These
results indicate that the majority of the students in this study favor working
with Spanish multicolor problems over Spanish all in red problems.
Comparing Spanish
Multicolor Problems with All In Blue Problems:
Four of the thirty students in this
study demonstrated an even split by selecting 50% multicolor problems and 50%
all in blue problems when the problems were presented in the Spanish language. Out
of the remaining twenty six students, 54% selected multicolor problems and only
46% selected all in blue problems, between 67% and 100% of the time. These results indicate that the majority of
the students in this study favor working with Spanish multicolor problems over
Spanish all in blue problems.
Comparing
English Multicolor Problems with All In Red Problems:
Six of the thirty students in this
study demonstrated an even split by selecting 50% multicolor problems and 50%
all in red problems when the problems were presented in the English language.
Out of the remaining twenty four students, 58% selected multicolor problems and
only 42% selected all in red problems, between 67% and 100% of the time. These
results indicate that the majority of the students in this study favor working
with English multicolor problems over English all in red problems.
Comparing English
Multicolor Problems with All In Blue Problems:
Three of the thirty students in this
study demonstrated an even split by selecting 50% multicolor problems and 50%
all in blue problems when the problems were presented in the English language.
Out of the remaining twenty seven students, 41% selected multicolor problems
and 59% selected all in blue problems, between 67% and 100% of the time. In
contrast to the results of the other sections tested in this study (mentioned above),
these results indicate that the majority of the students in this study favor
working with English all in blue problems over English multicolor
problems.
Percentage
of Students that chose Multicolor
per
Section
|
Percentage
of Students that chose a Single Color
per
Section
|
|
Spanish
Multicolor
vs.
All
In Red Section
|
52% Multicolor
|
48% All In Red
|
Spanish
Multicolor
vs.
All
In Blue Section
|
54% Multicolor
|
46% All In Blue
|
English
Multicolor
vs.
All
In Red Section
|
58% Multicolor
|
42% All In Red
|
English
Multicolor
vs.
All
In Blue Section
|
41% Multicolor
|
59% All In Blue
|
Overall, 75% of the sections tested in
this study showed that students have a preference to work with multicolor texts
over single color text of either all in red or all in blue.
In conclusion, the results of this
experiment support both my hypotheses. Learners demonstrated a preference to
work with multi-step mathematical problems presented to them in multicolor over
ones presented to them all in one particular color, either all in red or all in
blue. Additionally, learners demonstrated a
preference to work with multi-step mathematical problems presented to them in
multicolor over ones presented to them all in one color despite the language in
which the problems were actually presented in, either in Spanish or in English.
Similar to Bhatia and Ritchie’s
argument that emotions may be coded differently into two different languages
due to our association of that emotion to the language used to express the
emotion, Bhatia and Ritchie, 2004), emotions and experiences may also be coded
in colors which may explain why my results showed that students preferred to
work with many different colors as opposed to one specific color. In fact,
Markus Maier argued about this type of coding in colors in his study. He argued
that the color red has been associated with so many negative concepts such as
emergency lights, blood, errors in assignments, stop signs, and the like, that
the mere use of this color in learning may precipitate similar negative
emotions, (Maier, 2008). In my opinion such negative emotions may be
inadvertently associated with the Spanish language. If we closely consider
Andrew Elliots study where he demonstrated that the color red contributes to
avoidance behavior in learners, (Elliot, 2009), we are actually compounding the
above mentioned negative association with the added problem of facilitating a
divorce between a person and the Spanish language by promoting avoidance
behavior toward the Spanish language. It is also important to mention here that
the results of my study also revealed that although the use of multicolor texts
was preferred by students across the board when comparing all red with all blue
learning texts students in my study also showed an avoidance toward the color
red and demonstrated favor for the color blue.
Perhaps the impetus to such divorce is
purely unintentional or perhaps these are sublime attempts to sabotage by a
people that may consider the Spanish language to be inferior to the English
language. According to De Groot and Kroll’s study some people believe that
speaking more than one language is not natural and that this view is prevalent
in the educational system (Groot & Kroll, 1999). Goshgarian argued in his
research report that many people are so critical of the Spanish language
because the “status quo” actually lives in fear of a societal take over by
Hispanics by way of infiltrating the English language with the Spanish
language.
Since there seems to be no studies done
in the area of segregating languages into colors I hope that my experimental
research will inspire further investigation with larger samples, examining
different grades, and different languages. The results of this study encourage
me to always consider the needs of the students when planning lessons. It also
empowers me to trust my observations and intuition about the dynamics which I
observe in the classroom. The results of this study helps me put together the
courage to closely examine, by way of experimentation, what we as educators are
delegated by others outside of the classroom to implement. Policy makers should
take the results of this study into consideration and revisit and
scientifically scrutinize the validity of their policy to segregate languages
by color as well as other language relevant policies.
References
Ballenger, C. (1999). Teaching Other People’s Children.
New
York: Teachers College Press.
Bhatia, T. & Ritchie, W.
(eds.) (2004). The Handbook of Bilingualism,
Bilingualism:
Language, Emotion, and Mental Health, 250 – 280.
New
York: Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Bratt, P., & Tucker, R. (eds.) (2003).
Sociolinguistics: The Essential Readings,
Linguistic
Diversity, Schooling, and Social Class: Rethinking Our Conception
of Language Proficiency in Language Minority
Education, 329 – 340.
New York:
Blackwell Publishing.
De Groot, A. & Kroll, J. (eds.)
(1999). Tutorials in Bilingualism:
Psycholinguistic Perspective. The
Consequences of Bilingualism for
Cognitive Processing, 279
– 299. New York: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Elliot, A. (2009). The
Effect of Red on Avoidance Behavior in Achievement
Contexts. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 35(3), 365-375.
Goshgarian, G. (eds.) (2007). Viva Spanglish! Exploring Language, 134 - 135.
New York:
Pearson Longman.
Maier, M. (2008). Mediation
on the Negative Effects of Red on Intellectual
Performance. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 34(11), 1530-1540.
Martin, J. & Nakayama, T. (1998). I, We, And The: Readings in Cultural
Contexts,
345 – 356. New York:
Mayfield Publishing Company.
Appendix
(Appendix A)
Find the equation of the line that has a slope of 3
and passes through the point (3, 5)
point = (3, 5)
m = 3
y =
mx + b
5 =
3(3) + b
5
= 9 + b
5 - 9 =
9 - 9 + b
-
4 = b
y = 3x - 4
|
Find the equation of the line that has a slope of 3
and passes through the point (3, 5)
point
= (3, 5)
m = 3
y = mx +
b
5 =
3(3) + b
5 = 9
+ b
5 - 9 = 9 - 9 + b
- 4 = b
y = 3x - 4
|
