Searching for Patterns

Patterns are everywhere and kids are always so motivated to find them. Today I was reading a story with my small group and the first thing a student said was, "Look, there's a pattern!" I am excited when students notice the patterns in a predictable text. It is what I had hoped for. Finding patterns in my research, however, is somewhat more elusive.

After spending some quality time reading and rereading my fieldnotes, I did notice some patterns begin to emerge. Although I have several (and I do mean several) codes, there are some that recur more often than others. I have also started to organize my observations into four separate categories:

1) Instructional Responses that are related to my research question (MR - music related)
2) Instructional Responses that are not related to my research (NRM - not music related)
3) Behavioral Reponses that are related to my research
4) Behavioral Responses that are not related to my research

Within each category I have color coded (because I am a teacher and that's what we do) what I feel are positive and negative responses. Positive responses are highlighted in pink and negative responses are highlighted in green. Although you can't tell from the picture what all the codes mean, you may be able to see that there are some specific trends. It appears that I am observing more behavioral responses than instructional responses and, as of now, the negative responses seem to have the lead. As I reflect on the reasons why, I wonder if it is the natural tendancy to record what stands out. Maybe I am simply not noting as many of the positive responses because they are not catching my attention. I will try this week to be more intentional about looking for the positive. I'll let you know what happens!