It's the People, Not the Program

This is something that's been nagging at me since the inception of my action research study. My action research is based on the effectiveness of an intervention "program", but now Todd Whitaker is telling me that the program has nothing to do with it. In many ways I do agree, but my hope is that I have great teachers implementing the program. Now I begin to wonder how I can use this to help shape my action research plan even further...

A Day of Learning

YesterdayI had the opportunity to attend the TWU Reading Recovery & K-6 Literacy Conference in Dallas and it was so worth it! Since my action research plan is based on student achievement in reading, this was right up my alley. I had the opportunity to attend sessions that were geared towards administrators/leaders on campus and have conversations with educators from all across Texas. I think one of the greatest insights was knowing that there are schools just like mine all across Texas that are struggling with the same thing, but there are also schools just like mine that are making things work!

One of the most inspiring sessions I attended was one presented by the principal and instructional coaches of a school that is just 45 minutes north of mine. Apparently Denton County has taken a whole new approach to what intervention is all about. Rather than hiring more "interventionists" that work with various groups of students, they have various "Instructional Coaches" on one campus. These coaches work with just a few teachers, who have asked for the help, to help with planning and co-teaching. My action research study is based on whether a certain type of intervention is effective in increasing student achievement in reading, but now I'm wondering if the approach that this particular school is taking is more effective. Considering that they are an Exemplary campus with the same demographics as we have I am thinking it's probably pretty effective!

Although I plan on continuing the plan that is approved right now by my site supervisor, I've already begun to think about possibilities for more action research. Especially if the results from what we're doing this year are not favorable.

Another insight I gained from this session is that change takes time. They have worked for the past five years to get to where they are at. The most important factor is having a unified vision of where we want to go and constantly reassessing how we're going to get there.

A Little Change Doesn't Hurt

First of all, a million thanks for commenting on my action research plan! Although I'm not totally changing courses as the picture might suggest, the comments were great and got me to think a little bit more about some small changes I might want to make. 

There were a couple of comments asking about how the intervention was going to be done. They wondered whether it was done by the teacher, a pull-out, or a push-in. In this case, there will be a little of everything. There are two teachers who are providing the intervention for their students during small group time in class. However, one of them tends to lean more towards “whole group” instruction and is having a hard time getting started. As an intervention teacher, I am “pushing in” to one of the classrooms and providing the intervention with a small group in class. However, there are two students who are getting pulled out from their class in order to join my "push in" group. All of this led to a new wondering. Does the method of the intervention play a part in the effectiveness of it? At first I was going to combine all of the students’ data into one group. However, now I have decided to separate the students based on the type of intervention method that they are receiving. By doing this I will be able to compare the different groups to see which ones had greater success.

Another comment that made me rethink part of my action research plan was Farley's question about how often I was going to look at the Istation data. I had planned on just looking at the results of the universal screener done at the beginning, middle, and end of the year. He made the suggestion of administering the monthly Istation test to these students in order to keep better track of whether the intervention was making a difference or not instead of waiting a whole year. I'm planning on adding these monthly assessments to my action research study!

Testing, Testing



I feel like that's all we ever do! But unfortunately right now it's a necessary evil for me in order to begin my action research. This past week I was able to test all of the students who are in my sample to check on their English reading proficiency. The students are third graders, but the results showed that the majority are reading at a 1st grade level in English. Next week I will be testing their reading proficiency in Spanish. I already know that based on Istation reports some of these same students are also reading at a 1st grade level in Spanish. I know that my action research project is focusing on the efficiency of this intervention program, but seeing results like this leads to more wonderings...

• What are the causes for students struggling in both languages?
• Is it a confusion of language?
• Is the one-way dual program the best for our students?
• How can Tier 1 instruction be improved, especially in grades K-2, so that teachers are more efficiently differentiating instruction which will lead to fewer students in need of interventions?

I could probably go on and on with the questions that pop into my mind. I have a feeling that at least one of these will evolve into an action research in the future. I have to put all my wonderings to the side for now though. Must finish Week 3 assignment!!

 

 

Action Research Plan

Action Plan
Goal: Increase struggling 3rd grade bilingual students’ reading levels and scores in Spanish, while at the same time increasing their command of English.
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Analyze data from Istation Español and look at current grades in order to identify struggling students struggling with Spanish reading.	Third Grade Bilingual Teachers; Intervention Specialist	Start: 10/15/12 End: 10/19/12	-Istation Español reports -ARI criteria	Students who meet ARI criteria in Spanish.
Analyze reading data from TELPAS in order to identify students struggling with development of English.	Third Grade Bilingual Teachers; Intervention Specialist	Start: 10/15/12 End: 10/19/12	-Second grade TELPAS scores	Students who scored “Beginner” or “Intermediate” in 2nd grade TELPAS Reading Test
Administer BOY tests to identified students in English and Spanish	Third Grade Bilingual Teachers; Intervention Specialist	Start: 10/22/12 End: 11/02/12	-Access to VPORT -Pasaportes & Language! assessment materials	Results will be reported on VPORT
Administer intervention from Pasaportes and Language! 30 minutes daily	Third Grade Bilingual Teachers; Intervention Specialist	Start 11/12 End 5/12	-Pasaportes and Language! teacher and student materials	-Intervention documented in weekly lesson plans
Monitor progress in reading assessments -Create a monitor group on AWARE	Third Grade Bilingual Teachers; Intervention Specialist; Academic Specialist	Start 11/12 End 6/12	-Access to VPORT, AWARE, and Istation	-Movement into higher tier level at the middle and end of the year resulting in students reading in Tier 1 in Spanish -Gradual increase in reading CSCOPE assessments throughout the year -80% passing rate on STAAR Spanish Reading Test -EOY data in Language! reflects at least 1 ½ years gain in English -Students increase by at least one level on 3rd Grade Reading TELPAS
Interview district coordinator in charge of bilingual intervention to gather feedback about implementation and share data gathered	Principal; District Coordinator; Intervention Specialist	5/12		Gain insight into implementation process and evaluate decisions for the next year

Action Research At My Fingertips

When I was first trying to decide what my action research project was going to be, I knew that my biggest concern was the decline of reading achievement at my school. Unfortunately this is our second year not meeting AYP and we are now in stage one of campus improvement. Because of the situation that we're in, our campus is having to take a second look at our Campus Improvement Plan (CIP) and make adjustments. Lucky for me I was asked to participate in the revising of our plan! I wonder if by making the adjustments to the CIP and making teachers aware of this, we will be able to make some gains towards increasing student achievement in reading.

Today we had our first meeting where we looked at the current goals, strategies to get there, and evidence of success for each strategy. One of the first things we noticed is how vague the strategies listed were. We worked on making them more precise and aligned with the current needs of our campus. One of the biggest complaints we hear from teachers is that the students "just don't know how to think". This is the reason we added the strategy of "Engaging daily in the modeling, instruction, and practice of metacognition strategies".  I believe that if this is done on a daily basis, we can push our students to become greater thinkers. However, we have to make sure that teachers are equipped with the knowledge and tools to be able to do this effectively in the classroom. There also has to be a way to document that this strategy will result in greater student success. This is definitely a work in progress! I am looking forward to delving into this more and working collaboratively on this with the rest of the Instructional Support Team.

Educational Leaders and Blogs

One constant theme in the books that I have recently read on improving as an educator and educational leader is "reflective thinking". Reflection allows people to learn from their experiences (Martin et al., 2005, p. 105). Blogs provide a perfect venue for practicing reflective thinking. Educational leaders can use blogs to share their thinking and new learning, but what is great is that others can learn and gain new insights from them as well. In the end, blogs end up providing an online collaborative learning community for educational leaders.

Reference:
Martin,G. E., Wright, W. F., Danzig, A. B., Flanary, R. A., & Brown, F. (2005). School Leader Internship (2nd ed.). Larchmont, NY: Eye on Education, Inc..

Week 1 - What have I learned about action research?

I must admit that when I first read that I would be creating an action research plan I went into a momentary state of paralysis. The first thought that entered my head was, "Oh no, I'm going to have to do extensive research on some topic that I don't really have an interest in and then regurgitate the information I learned...". This was of course due to my experience with traditional research in the past. Once I began to read about what action research actually is, I miraculously zapped out of my paralysis and began to think of all of the possibilities this had in store.

To put it simply, action research is a way for educators to address the needs of their district, school, or students in an inquiry based way. There are four cyclical steps to action research:

Step 1: Identify the problem
In order to identify the problem the educator must have a genuine interest and sense of inquiry on the topic. When generating questions it's important to generate questions that are not too broad or vague.

Step 2: Review the Literature
This is where the "research" part comes into play. Once an area of concern has been identified, the educator must sift through the professional literature that is available on the topic.

Step 3: Take Action!
Naturally, this is where the "action" part takes place. After reading, analyzing, and reflecting on the research the educator is ready to take action. In this phase, a plan of action is developed and put into play.

Step 4: Use and Share Results
All of the other steps are critical in conducting effective action research, but this last step might be one of the most crucial. As educators we have to be able to analyze the data and to reflect on the results in order to know if the action taken was successful or not. One of the hardest things for us to do as human beings is share the results because we are afraid of not being as successful as others. However, as educators, we have to put these fears aside and be open to learn from those who surround us.

How Can I Use It?
Now that I have a better understanding of what action research is, I can clearly see the benefits and how I can put it to use. One of the greatest concerns at my school is the decline in reading achievement over the past three years. I am interested in finding out why this has happened and how it can be improved. Is it a decline in quality instruction? Lack of leadership? A change in school climate? Not enough intervention programs? Too many programs and demands put on teachers? A change in the community?

Obviously I am still in the process of narrowing down my action research project. However, one way I think I can use it is to find out if a new reading intervention program that our district has has started for 3rd grade bilingual students is effective at our school. If the English component is effective, I wonder how it can be used with all struggling students. I also wonder how the results will differ throughout the district. If the results do vary greatly, I wonder what factors create those differences.