I teach at a Fine Arts Magnet school where we have an after school program. I have been brainstorming some ways in which I can accelerate reading levels and instruction on my campus based on my current action research plan.
The ART of Reading:
after school class for the first 12 weeks of school (4-5:00 M-F)
kids who are reading below grade level in 3-6 grade
It will pull some discipline problems out of regular after school programs
It will provide reading practice for those not getting it at home
It will provide small group instruction in phonics, comprehension, vocabulary, decoding, and spelling
Accelerated reader will aide the process by providing immediate feedback, diagnostic reports for teachers, students, and parents, and intrinsic motivation for reading achievement.
Monday- Thursday - targeted reading instruction
Friday- creating works of art based on what they are reading or what they have read
The literacy team will place students by disaggregating data from: assessment wall, F&P data, STAR assessments, teacher recommendation, and last years TAKS scores.
This plan would be in addition to regular classroom reading instruction and pull-out reading programs such as System 44 and Read180.
Inquiry Questions:
What is the relationship between students' participation in Accelerated Reader (AR) reading monitoring (assessment) program and their success in passing standardized tests (STARR)?
What actions can our faculty take to improve the reading achievement of our lowest quartile students'?
Friday, July 29, 2011
Action Plan
GOAL: Monitor reading progress and accelerate reading levels of students' who are not reading on grade level and provide intrinsic incentives and support for students' who are reading on and above grade level. |
Action Research Plan in PROGRESS
GOAL: Monitor reading progress and accelerate reading levels of students' who are not reading on grade level and provide intrinsic incentives and support for students' who are reading on and above grade level.
What is the relationship between students' participation in Accelerated Reader (AR) reading monitoring (assessment) program and their success in passing standardized tests (STARR)?
What actions can our faculty take to improve the reading achievement of our lowest quartile students'?
My action research will focus on student and school performance.
The purpose of the action research is to investigate student reading levels in grades 3-6 and measure the growth of reading levels from the beginning of the year to the end of the year for all students'.
We will support growth by providing specific support and intrinsic incentives for those students' who are reading below grade level and support and provide intrinsic incentives for those students who are reading on and above their grade level.
My action research study will take place at Bowie Fine Arts Academy elementary campus inMidland , Texas
I will be targeting the students in third, fourth, fifth, and sixth grades. This includes a mixture of Caucasian, Hispanic, African American, economically disadvantaged, and a percentage of students who are on free and reduced lunch. The action research plan will focus on about 300 students. The sample size I have chosen focuses on the grade levels that are affected by standardized testing (STARR).
I will conduct the action research by forming a literacy team, surveying stakeholders, disaggregating data of the target population, setting up and carrying out support plans for the students' based on reading levels, and evaluating findings on a month to month basis through the 2011-2012 school year.
What is the relationship between students' participation in Accelerated Reader (AR) reading monitoring (assessment) program and their success in passing standardized tests (STARR)?
What actions can our faculty take to improve the reading achievement of our lowest quartile students'?
My action research will focus on student and school performance.
The purpose of the action research is to investigate student reading levels in grades 3-6 and measure the growth of reading levels from the beginning of the year to the end of the year for all students'.
We will support growth by providing specific support and intrinsic incentives for those students' who are reading below grade level and support and provide intrinsic incentives for those students who are reading on and above their grade level.
My action research study will take place at Bowie Fine Arts Academy elementary campus in
I will be targeting the students in third, fourth, fifth, and sixth grades. This includes a mixture of Caucasian, Hispanic, African American, economically disadvantaged, and a percentage of students who are on free and reduced lunch. The action research plan will focus on about 300 students. The sample size I have chosen focuses on the grade levels that are affected by standardized testing (STARR).
I will conduct the action research by forming a literacy team, surveying stakeholders, disaggregating data of the target population, setting up and carrying out support plans for the students' based on reading levels, and evaluating findings on a month to month basis through the 2011-2012 school year.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Clarity on Action Research Topic
The focus WILL be on low performing students, but provide the needed intrinsic motivation for the middle and high children.
With the low performing group we will look at data once a month in a literacy team and lay out the intervention we are giving the kids and what we need to do to accelerate reading instruction. For example: phonics, comprehension, and vocabulary in small group instructional setting.
Another aspect of this on my campus, is that many people are not using, in our case Acclerated Reader, to its full potential, so by providing the needed support, edcuating the teachers on what the program is and how to use it to their benefit, is a part of the action research. We have other reading intervention programs in place, this piece will be in addition to what we are already doing.
The quality of instruction component comes in here because I have observed teachers who have used Accelerated Reader in thier classrooms. These teachers have increased their childrens' reading levels because:
-the child is reading on their insrtuctional level
-the child is finding success and motivation for reading
-the child recieves intrinsic motivation from reports, praise, and recognition
-the parents recieve monthly diagnostic reports to specifically support reading
-the teacher has access to simple, but REAL data at his/her fingertips
-the teacher understands that the Accelerated Reading program fosters READING, and the love of reading - and is NOT an empty motivator, a comprehension, phonics, or vocabulary teacher
With the low performing group we will look at data once a month in a literacy team and lay out the intervention we are giving the kids and what we need to do to accelerate reading instruction. For example: phonics, comprehension, and vocabulary in small group instructional setting.
Another aspect of this on my campus, is that many people are not using, in our case Acclerated Reader, to its full potential, so by providing the needed support, edcuating the teachers on what the program is and how to use it to their benefit, is a part of the action research. We have other reading intervention programs in place, this piece will be in addition to what we are already doing.
The quality of instruction component comes in here because I have observed teachers who have used Accelerated Reader in thier classrooms. These teachers have increased their childrens' reading levels because:
-the child is reading on their insrtuctional level
-the child is finding success and motivation for reading
-the child recieves intrinsic motivation from reports, praise, and recognition
-the parents recieve monthly diagnostic reports to specifically support reading
-the teacher has access to simple, but REAL data at his/her fingertips
-the teacher understands that the Accelerated Reading program fosters READING, and the love of reading - and is NOT an empty motivator, a comprehension, phonics, or vocabulary teacher
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Quality of Instruction: Where are we, why are we here, and how do we improve?
The purpose of my action research project is to investigate student reading levels in grades 3-6 and measure the growth of reading levels from the beginning of the year until the end of the year. By providing support, intrinsic motivation tips, and specific skill instruction we will be supporting quality of instruction in the classroom.
The action research project is significant becasue it will effect all stakeholders involved. My goal is to create a group of 3rd-6th grade students who are reading on or above level and love reading. With the STARR just around the corner I feel that focusing on reading instruction will be another step in the right direction for our kids. I have chosen a reading focus because as our levels improve, we will improve in all areas.
The action research project is significant becasue it will effect all stakeholders involved. My goal is to create a group of 3rd-6th grade students who are reading on or above level and love reading. With the STARR just around the corner I feel that focusing on reading instruction will be another step in the right direction for our kids. I have chosen a reading focus because as our levels improve, we will improve in all areas.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Action Research: Knowledge and Application
Dana presents the questions: Where are they? Where do they need to be? How do we get them there? (Personal communication, 2007). In my opinion this is the essence of action research or administrative inquiry. Questioning, thinking, studying the question, making a plan to address the question, and then looking at your results are all components.
It is a never ending process of advancement and learning and is invaluable to an educational career. Action research is a tool to help you take charge of professional development, by questioning in a systematic way (Harris, Edmonson, and Combs, 2010) leading to better decisions and successful solutions. By using action research you are seeking about change by reflecting on practice (Dana, 2010).
I will be using action research to aide my "wonderings" about quality of instruction at my school. I am focusing on reading instruction and how reading levels and abilities vary among grade levels. For example one teacher can have a whole class of students reading on grade level, when the teacher across the hall has only made mediocre gains. The gains being made are inconsistent among teachers in each grade level. By engaging in action research we will be setting up specific reading components that are necessary for accelerating reading instruction. As we work through these components we will chart gains and deficits, and reflect on what will be most beneficial for accelerating reading instruction and how the quality of instruction relates.
Action research is not limited to my current project. It could be used to address a plethora of educational issues, concerns, and areas in need of improvement. Including, but not limited to: how technology affects the classroom, cultural awareness, struggling subgroups, attendance issues, being departmentalized vs. self contained, and the list goes on.
It is a never ending process of advancement and learning and is invaluable to an educational career. Action research is a tool to help you take charge of professional development, by questioning in a systematic way (Harris, Edmonson, and Combs, 2010) leading to better decisions and successful solutions. By using action research you are seeking about change by reflecting on practice (Dana, 2010).
I will be using action research to aide my "wonderings" about quality of instruction at my school. I am focusing on reading instruction and how reading levels and abilities vary among grade levels. For example one teacher can have a whole class of students reading on grade level, when the teacher across the hall has only made mediocre gains. The gains being made are inconsistent among teachers in each grade level. By engaging in action research we will be setting up specific reading components that are necessary for accelerating reading instruction. As we work through these components we will chart gains and deficits, and reflect on what will be most beneficial for accelerating reading instruction and how the quality of instruction relates.
Action research is not limited to my current project. It could be used to address a plethora of educational issues, concerns, and areas in need of improvement. Including, but not limited to: how technology affects the classroom, cultural awareness, struggling subgroups, attendance issues, being departmentalized vs. self contained, and the list goes on.
Using a BLOG as an Educational Leader
As a writing teacher I can personally attest to the fact that writing, modeling writing for students, and practicing writing only makes you a better writer, your students’ better writers, and is overall beneficial. From my personal experience I can directly relate this to using a Blog as an educational leader.
What a novel idea...using a BLOG is doing just that. Metacognition comes to mind, "thinking about thinking" (learned that from a great principal and I keep seeing it pop up!), as an educational leader it seems like a no brainer to use a Blog as a tool for continued inquiry.
Blogging is you thinking and writing your thoughts using the computer, the talk of an interview is hard to capture (Dana, 2010), yet you are capturing it in a Blog. Research proves journaling to be beneficial in so many settings, blogging is just that. As you write you are learning, reflecting, and receiving information from others. Blogs capture thinking as inquiry unfolds (Dana, 2010).
As an educational leader you can use a Blog to aide in reaching out to other professionals, continue your personal professional development, provide great insights to bettering your school, even to show your staff that you are, in fact, an instructional leader.
What a novel idea...using a BLOG is doing just that. Metacognition comes to mind, "thinking about thinking" (learned that from a great principal and I keep seeing it pop up!), as an educational leader it seems like a no brainer to use a Blog as a tool for continued inquiry.
Blogging is you thinking and writing your thoughts using the computer, the talk of an interview is hard to capture (Dana, 2010), yet you are capturing it in a Blog. Research proves journaling to be beneficial in so many settings, blogging is just that. As you write you are learning, reflecting, and receiving information from others. Blogs capture thinking as inquiry unfolds (Dana, 2010).
As an educational leader you can use a Blog to aide in reaching out to other professionals, continue your personal professional development, provide great insights to bettering your school, even to show your staff that you are, in fact, an instructional leader.
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