Action Research Posting

Action Research Summary by Janet Caluris

1) What is the title of the project?
"Using Readers Theater to Show Off Good Reading"

2) What is the Question?
How can I use Readers Theater to improve my students' comprehension and fluency levels?

3) What strategy is being used to address?
Readers Theater is the strategy being used to improve comprehension and fluency.

4) What evidence is presented that the strategy will work?
The National Reading Panel identified fluency as a key ingredient to successful reading instruction because of its effect on students' reading efficiency and comprehension. Evaluating the impact of Readers Theater and noting the patterns in performance will help effectively implement an instructional program to meet students' individual needs.

5) How will data be collected to determine if the strategy will work?
Data will be collected through surveys, observations, and student fluency assessments.

6) How was data analyzed?
The data was broken down and analyzed by four group: academically talented, general education, bilingual, and special needs.

7) What were the results?
Readers Theater improved student levels of fluency, reading comprehension, and attitudes toward reading.

8) How do the results inform teacher practice?
Teachers can use the results to guide future reading activities or incorporate Readers Theater in other subjects. Readers Theater provides students with the opportunity to actively engage in reading while improving their comprehension and reading skills.


Action Research Proposal by a former Fairmont State Student

1) What is the problem?
Kindergarten students have difficulties with rhyming words and word families

2) What is the rational for the project?
Research shows that implementing a range of rhyming games can help students improve their recognition of rhyme and word families in text ( Allen, 1998)

3) What strategy will be used to the address the problem?
Rhyming games will be used throughout the project to help students improve and recognize rhyme and word families in text.

4) What is the question?
How can I use a variety of rhyming games to help my students recognize rhyme and word families in text?
Will the rhyming strategies change student attitudes about reading instruction?

5) What evidence is presented that the strategy will work?
"Wylie and Durrell (1970) reported that their studies of early literacy development revealed that children learn words more easily by the the use of "rhyming phonographs"  as opposed to learning complicated decoding rules that have many exceptions."

6) How will the data be collected?
*Pre-test (highlighting rhyming words in a a passage)
*Performance checklists
*Observations/teacher journal
* Work Samples

Double Entry Journal # 15

1. Give an example of an authentic form of assessment the students engaged in a PBL performed well on?

 

In one British study over the course of three years, students were taught using traditional math programs at one school and PBL at another. Three times as many PBL students achieved the highest possible grade on the national exam than students at a traditional school.

2. How does project based learning promote intrinsic motivation?

 

Project based learning promotes intrinsic motivation by allowing students to develop their own interests and get energized about it, regardless of where it brings an immediate reward.

 

 3. What do students who experience PBL do better than student who receive traditional direct instruction? 

 

Students who experience PBL instruction are better at problem solving, researching, planning, and  have higher order thinking skills than students who recieve direct instruction. Students who experience PBL instruction aslo perform better on standardized tests and are able to apply real-world application skills.

   

4. How does PBL align with John Dewey's philosophy of education?

 

Dewey proposed that learning by doing was one the best ways to learn. Project based learning is a student-centered approach that involves active learning, critical thinking, and problem solving.  Students are learning by doing in PBL's.

 

 5. Why do our assessment practices need to change if we are going to prepare students for the 21st century?

 

 

Double Entry Journal # 14

What are some challenges to inquiry approaches to learning?

Some of the challenges associated with an inquiry approach to learning is that many times the work falls on the teacher. Often times teachers struggle with this type of learning because they don't fully understand the complexities. In addition, many teachers don't have the skills or knowledge for successfully implementing inquiry approaches to learning. Another challenge is that students are often unfamiliar with this approach to learning and lack prior knowledge or experience.

What are the benefits of group work? Give two concrete examples from the reading.

Students learn more deeply when they can apply classroom-gathered knowledge to real-world problems, and when they to take part in projects that require sustained engagement and collaboration.

Cooperative group work benefits students in social and behavioral areas as well, including improvement in student self-concept, social interaction, time on task, and positive feelings toward peers (Cohen et al., 1982; Cook et al., 1985; Hartley, 1977; Ginsburg-Block, Rohrbeck, & Fantuzzo, 2006; Johnson & Johnson, 1989).

Name one strategy to support group work and find an example of that strategy on the Internet and link me to it.

The think, pair, share strategy is a cooperative learning strategy that supports group work, in which students think through questions using three distinct steps, encouraging individual participation. This is an excellent method for promoting critical thinking and articulate communication in the classroom.For more information about the think, pair, share strategy click here

I found one example of the think, pair, share strategy on youtube. It wasn't the best example, but it gives you an idea.

Struggling Student

In my clinical observations, I have noticed that there are several students who seem to be struggling. But, the one I focused on in particular was a little boy. For starters, this little boy is extremely sweet and very well mannered. However, he has been labeled as one of the lower-level learners. After spending time with this little guy, I came to realize that he has many problems that may be attributing to his lack of understanding and academic success. He has a speech impairment and at times he is inaudible to understand. I think that he also has a hard time hearing. I noticed that he doesn't seem to hear you when you are talking to him. In addition, he wears glasses, and after much observation, I believe the prescription needs to be changed; because he places his face within an inch of the paper when he is reading or writing.

After completing the "Reading Interest Survey" I talked to him about some of his answers. I came to realize that he seemed to like books and going to library, he just didn't have any reinforcement at home. The only time he is exposed to books is at school. Also, my beliefs about his glasses were correct. He told me that reading was hard, because sometimes he couldn't see the words or letters. I really feel that this child could be successful if given the right opportunities and reinforcement. I also think that it would help if someone took the time to have his hearing and vision checked. It's obvious that he is not getting the support he needs from home.

However, on some levels I feel that the school is trying to meet his needs. He goes to RTI for about 25 minutes in the morning for additional help. But, I don't feel that RTI is enough to meet his needs in the classroom. Many of the activities are face-paced and the teacher moves from lesson to lesson and must keep to the daily schedule. The teacher does have a variety of centers, in which students move at intervals. However, without someone there to help him, I think it is defeating the purpose. I have to say that my host teacher does make an effort to try to work with the students who are struggling the most, at her center. But, usually students move through centers about every 10 minutes, which doesn't allot much time for the students who are struggling.

Also, I noticed that there are several times in the day, when students are watching TV. I feel that this is time wasted, especially for my struggling student. I think that it would be beneficial to use this time to help him and reinforce his letter and word recognition, or simply just allow him to look at books. I hope that while I am in the classroom this semester, I can help him. I have already talked to the RTI specialist about having his hearing and vision tested and she agreed that he could benefit from the testing. I am hoping that something happens soon, because the longer they wait, the more likely he is going to be behind.

Verbatim Questions

 For this week we were asked to write some verbatim questions that our host teacher asks and some verbatim questions that students ask. I have kindergarten for my 75 hour clinical. In general, I noticed that my host teacher asks questions that require basic recall of information, such as who, what, why when, and where. In addition, I noticed that there is more questions asked and discussion going on during guiding reading. Most of the students questions revolve around lunch and their shoes! However, I did observe that few students will ask for help when they don't understand something. 

Teacher Questions:
What's the weather today?
If today is Monday, and yesterday was Sunday, what will tomorrow be?
How many tens are 31? How many ones are in 31?
 What does the author of a book do? (Guided Reading)
What does the illustrator of the book do? (Guided Reading)
How is Maya and Julius alike? different? (Guided Reading)
What character would you be and why? (Guided Reading)
How is Julius different from other pigs on a farm? (Guided Reading)
How many ways can we show the number 10? (Math)
Who can go to the board and show me the word little, am, I....? (Sight words)

Student Questions:
When is lunch?
Can you tie my shoe?
Are we going outside for recess?
Can I go to the bathroom?
Can you help me?

Interest Survey

I created a reading interest survey for my kindergarteners. The results of the survey are posted in the graph below.

Double Entry Journal # 13

 What "dominant paradigm" is showing signs of wear?

The “dominant paradigm” that is showing signs of wear is the traditional approach to teaching, which is textbook driven and knowledge is conveyed generally through the teacher. The educational system needs to be moving toward project based learning which allows students to explore, collaborate, research and analyze information. 

According to the research, how does Project-Based Learning support student learning better than traditional approaches? Describe three benefits and cite the studies.

The students engaged in project-based learning demonstrated a significant increase in scores on a critical-thinking test, as well as increased confidence in their learning (Shepherd, 1998).

Other short-term, comparative studies of traditional vs. project-based approaches have demonstrated several benefits from projects, such as an increase in the ability to define problems (Gallagher, Stepien, & Rosenthal, 1992), growth in their ability to support their reasoning with clear arguments (Stepien, Gallagher, & Workman, 1993) 

Shepherd (1998) studied the results of a unit in which a group of fourth and fifth graders completed a nine-week project to define and find solutions related to housing shortages in several countries. In comparison to the control group, the students engaged in project-based learning demonstrated a significant increase in scores on a critical-thinking test, as well as increased confidence in their learning.

According to the research, how does Problem-Based Learning support student learning better than traditional approaches? Describe three benefits and cite the studies.

Meta-analyses of studies have found that medical students who are enrolled in problem-based curricula score higher on clinical problem-solving measures and on actual ratings of clinical performance (Vernon & Blake, 1993; Albanese & Mitchell, 1993) than peers who are not enrolled in such programs.

This approach has been found to be better, though, in supporting flexible problem solving, application of knowledge, and hypothesis generation (for a meta-analysis, see Dochy, Segers, Van den Bossche, & Gijbels, 2003)
 

Additional studies have demonstrated that students who participated in problem-based experiences are better able to generate accurate hypotheses and coherent explanations (Hmelo, 1998b; Schmidt et al., 1996) and to support their claims with well-reasoned arguments (Stepien et al., 1993).

 According to the research, how does Learning by Design support student learning better than traditional approaches? Describe three benefits and cite the studies.

In one such study, however, Hmelo, Holton, and Kolodner (2000) asked sixth-grade students to design a set of artificial lungs and build a partially working model of the respiratory system. They found that the design project led to better learning outcomes than the traditional approach to instruction. They also noted that the design students learned to view the respiratory system more systemically and understood more about the structures and functions of the system than the comparison group. 

 

What are the differences between the three approaches?

• Project Based Learning is an instructional approach built upon authentic learning activities that engage student interest and motivation. The activities are designed to answer a question or solve a problem and generally reflect the types of learning and work people do in the everyday world outside the classroom.
• Problem-based learning (PBL) is an approach that challenges students to learn through engagement in a real problem. In a (PBL) students work cooperatively to investigate and resolve an ill-structured problem based on real-world issues or situations.
•  Learning by design is "backward design" which is the practice of looking at outcomes, in order to design curriculum units, assessments and instruction.

 In your opinion, what is the most important benefit to learning that is common across the three types of inquiry-based learning approaches?