Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Week 3 - Action Research Plan


Action Planning Template
Goal: To find effective strategies for 1st grade that will increase fluency and comprehension and determine if implementing these strategies improve student performance on EOY TPRI
Action Steps(s):
Person(s) Responsible:
Timeline: Start/End
Needed Resources
Evaluation
Look at EOY comprehension scores for Kinder TPRI to determine % of students that were still developing on listening comprehension. 
(will not be able to look at fluency because they do not orally read a story in Kinder, it is only listening comprehension)
Kelly Wehmeyer
August 19, 2013 to August 23, 2013
2013 Kinder EOY TPRI Summary Sheets
% of students still developing on comprehension and a list of these students as well as the classroom they will be in this coming year.
Review literature on instructional strategies related to fluency and comprehension
 
Kelly Wehmeyer
 
August 5, 2013 to September 30, 2013
Lamar Online Library, International Reading Association, Journals and articles,
Compile a list of instructional strategies
Search online and in Intervention resource books for research based strategies for fluency and comprehension
Kelly Wehmeyer
 
August 5, 2013 to September 30, 2013
Online research based strategies, resource books
Compile a list of instructional strategies
 
Make the 1st grade teachers a resource page with the strategies
Explain the research inquiry to the 1st grade teachers
Kelly Wehmeyer;
1st grade teachers
August 26, 2013 to August 30, 2013
Research information and Block time for meeting
Making sure the 1st grade teachers understand the process
Administer the BOY 1st grade TPRI
 
 
 
 
Kelly Wehmeyer
1st Grade Teachers
(teachers will administer the test)
September 3, 2013 to September 30, 2013
(unsure of when the exact 2 week window will be)
1st Grade TPRI Kits
TPRI Assessment
Gather and  analyze each 1st grade class TPRI scores
 
Pick 3 students from each class that I will base my findings on
(21 students total)
 
(teacher will use strategies on all students reading below grade level)
Kelly Wehmeyer
September 30, 2013  to October 11, 2013
BOY TPRI summary sheet from each teacher
Spreadsheet with % still developing and % developed on BOY oral reading and comprehension
 
Progress chart/graph of students that I will base my findings on.
 
 
 
Meet with 1st grade teachers during block to model how to implement the instructional strategies
 
Give teachers the names of students that I will base my findings on
Kelly Wehmeyer
October 14, 2013 to October 18, 2013
Resource page of Instructional Strategies
 
List of students
Ensure an understanding of the strategies they will implement
Implement Strategies to increase fluency and comprehension
1st Grade Teachers
October 21, 2013 to December 18, 2013
Instructional Strategies
Cold Read/Hot Read Charts;
Running Records to show  the effectiveness of  the strategies;
6 week oral reading and comprehension assessment
 
These students will also be monitored on AIMSweb
 
This information will be from my 21 students
Meet monthly with 1st Grade teachers to discuss progress and change strategies if no progress is shown
Kelly Wehmeyer
1st Grade Teachers
 
November 2013 to May 2, 2014
 
Meet one block period per month
Copies of running records; six week assessments; AIMSweb graphs
 
Journal of strategies
Progress Charts
Administer the MOY 1st Grade TPRI
Kelly Wehmeyer
1st Grade Teachers
(teachers will administer the test)
January 2014
 
 
1st Grade TPRI Kits
TPRI Assessment
Gather and  analyze each 1st grade class TPRI scores
 
Compare to BOY scores
 
Kelly Wehmeyer
January 2014
MOY TPRI summary sheet from each teacher
Spreadsheet with % still developing and % developed on BOY Oral reading and comprehension
 
Spreadsheet with % of students that improved from BOY to MOY
 
Graphs with growth for the 21 students
Continue implementing strategies if showing progress
 
Change strategies if no progress is shown
1st Grade Teachers
January 6, 2014 to May 2, 2013
Instructional Strategies
Cold Read/Hot Read Charts;
Running Records to show  the effectiveness of  the strategies;
6 week oral reading and comprehension assessment
 
These students will also be monitored on AIMSweb
 
This information will be from my 21 students
Administer the EOY 1st Grade TPRI
Kelly Wehmeyer
1st Grade Teachers
(teachers will administer the test)
End of April 2014
 
 
1st Grade TPRI Kits
TPRI Assessment
Analyze and interpret data from EOY TPRI scores
Kelly Wehmeyer
May 5, 2014 to June 6, 2014
EOY TPRI summary sheets
Create charts and graphs of data findings and compile a list of strategies that proved to be successful
Share results with administration
Kelly Wehmeyer
June 9, 2013 to June 14, 2013
Action Research findings
Summary of findings

16 comments:

  1. I work in an elementary setting so I will enjoy reading up on your topic. I also have son who will be in Kinder, so I will be looking at your research for when he is in 1st. I like how you have your timeline set and it looks well thought out. I don't have any major suggestions at this point. Good luck!

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  2. It seems like your are very organized in your plan. My wife also teaches first grade, so I will be interested in the results. Possible intervention could be using small groups and guided reading.

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  3. This looks great! Your evaluations match up with your action steps nicely. Your timeline looks doable. Well thought out.

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  4. You have a very detailed plan. My only suggestion is to define the abbreviated terms you have for those who may not know what you mean (i.e.: TPRI, BOY). It could just be a case of I'm not from Texas and the lingo is foreign to me. Again, just my perspective.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Ryan, I will go back and change those. Just to let you know; TPRI is Texas Primary Reading Inventory; BOY is Beginning of year. Also love your last name. Meyer is my maiden name!

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  5. Your plan looks very detailed. I have no experience with this age group, but how will you ensure that the strategies and the plan are being implemented with fidelity by the teachers? How will you account for student participation? Will you share your findings with the community or other elementary campuses?

    I wish you the best with your project!

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    Replies
    1. Terra,
      Thanks for you input. I will go back and look at your suggestions and see how to better define this.

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  6. This plan is super detailed! I know absolutely nothing about elementary school, but it sounds interesting! I really like how you've included steps for researching literature prevalent to your ARP. You'll have great resources to accomplish your plan! :-)

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  7. Excellent detail in your plan. I like how you are modeling how to implement the instructional strategies. This is a great way to ensure the fidelity of your study. It allows you to concentrate on the student data without worrying about the teacher implementation variations. I also like the progress monitoring built into your plan with continued reflection and changes if needed. Great job!

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  8. Thanks everyone for your comments. I was very unsure if I did this correctly but feel much better after reading what you guys commented. I am going to look again at my plan and take all suggestions into consideration.

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  9. If I would have had the results of this research the first year I taught second grade my life would have been a piece of cake. Great details and I really like all of the collaboration that you are doing with the first grade team of teachers.

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  10. It all seems like it is order, and you have a good plan laid out in front of you. I do not have any suggestions. Sorry!

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  11. I've not worked with this age group, but I'm learning reading everyone's projects.
    We definitely need a good foundation of reading fluency and comprehension.I would be interested in finding out what strategies you and your team will implement.

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  12. I am the reading coach at my school and enjoy working with PreK-6. I am more familiar with K-3 because I have worked with them longer. Your action research plan is very impressive. I think you did a great job of thinking through your plan and your steps are very detailed. You included crucial activities such as collaboration and modeling with first grade teachers. You've received great comments from others on your plan already so I really don't have much to add at the moment. I would like to share that I find most teachers welcome modeling in their classrooms. This can be very helpful to teachers and you. You gain personal experience as to how successful an instructional strategy can be and what changes may need to be made. You also gain teacher support by showing you are willing to do whatever you are asking of them. Best wishes with your research.

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  13. I love your topic. Literacy is an area that needs a lot of improvement and if we can tackle that other subject areas will also do better. Literacy is the key. You might check the resource: Reading with Meaning, by Debbie Miller.

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  14. I agree with Dana that the modeling portion of this action research is critical. As educators, we are often presented with research based practices to increase instructional effectiveness, but implementation is where the problem lies. As an instructional coach, developing teachers understanding is part of the coaching process, but also encouraging them to try (and sometimes fail) and continue improving is where value lies. Allow them the opportunity to critique you as you model with their students. Be open to the idea of co-teaching. Perhaps you could both watch another teacher (peer observation) and reflect back on the positive aspects of the instruction. Also, I like how your plan allows for adjustment if the interventions are not working. Not every student responds in the same way, so I'm glad you put that into your plan.

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