Well my action research is officially under way. I am focusing on organizational skills with students with disabilities. I chose a mixture of males and females, with exceptionalities ranging from Learning Disabilities to Talented and Gifted. I began by collecting my baseline data, which was previous spelling quiz grades, as well as interviews and surveys. I then moved in to simple writing names/dates on assignments. It was surprising to see the students struggle with something that seems so simple. I also began checking their planners, as well as writing notes to remind them to do/bring things to school with them. I have seen some great accomplishments so far. There is one student that has had her reading book and planner at home for weeks. However, one day this week she returned with both of them. I think that the everyday going over what is needed has really slammed it into her brain. That was my goal! I can't wait to eventually see how the self-monitoring of organizational skills helps them.
As kids get older, we tend to think that they "have it" and quit teaching them step by step organizational skills. While 4th graders should certainly be more independent, that does not mean they're ready to do it all on their own. Lots of scaffolding and modeling!
Well I have a few action research updates to put here. Everything has been going fairly well. My research is designed to have students "check-in" with me in the morning. However, the morning is the busiest time of the day and I am finding it challenging to squeeze everything in. The students are becoming more organized, thanks to me, but my worries are that without me there to "coach" them in the morning they would fall apart again. Also, I am not noticing a HUGE improvement in quiz scores. However, I have noticed that their assignment completion and returning of things has improved by at least 50%. My host teacher, as well as myself, are extremely excited about this. Even students that I am not checking in with have picked up on the fact that I am keeping note of these things and have responded to it as well. I know that I am driving some of the students crazy with this, but in the end I hope that they appreciate it. I know that a few of the parents have thanked me for working with their students, because they have tried to organize their children for years! I am learning that there is only so much you can do at home, as well as at school, so it is definitely a team effort!
I hope you're noting that keeping the parents informed of your strageies is important--keeping the kids informed that you're keeping the parents informed is key as well!
Well here is the end of week 4 of action research. This week I have been working with my students on prioritizing and recording assignments in their planners. This isn't as simple as it sounds. First of all, I have 2 students that it is a miracle if they bring their planners 2 days in a row. It is an even bigger miracle if they recorded, and completed their assignments. I saw this as a huge issue in the past, and figured I could try and resolve it. I find it the most interesting they way in which students prioritize. Each of them has things they feel is more important than others, and even though I might disagree and suggest something different, they ultimately have to feel good about themselves. So for this week, we have been listing assignments/etc. in their planners in the order of most important to least important. So far, my students have all almost every day received an 11/11 on their checklists. Since I was so proud of them, I wanted to do something more than just tell them. I decided to add a "star card" each day that they receive an 11/11. They were thrilled about this! I am planning to slowly turn this extrinsic motivator into something more intrinsic. I look forward to next week where we will be discussing and practicing coming to class prepared, as well as note-taking strategies. I also decided to further extend this "strategy" idea into the LINCS strategy for vocabulary. We will see how their scores improve!
Looks like this is moving along well. Something that might help them to become more independent is to "fade" the star cards or make them more random rather than giving them every single day. Organization and the planners seem to be a continued problem with a lot of kids even in the 5th grade.
At the end of week 5, I am continuing to see progress. I plan to "fade" out the reward (thanks Chrystal!) and see how that affects them. I also plan to help students self-monitor this week! Fortunately, next week we are working on cleaning and organizing notebooks, desks, and backpacks. The students have noted several times that this is their biggest area of weakness, so I look forward to the results from week 6!
Well week 6 was interesting, as usual! Since last week was Thanksgiving break I was anticipating some problems. The students were out of the school routine, and it is hard for them to readjust. So I decided to continue monitoring them for Monday and Tuesday, and then turn it over on Wednesday. I of course got a million questions and students saying "I don't know what to do!" I would just patiently tell them it is what we have done everyday for the past 5 weeks, just on your own now. It went pretty well, some of the students needed a little more reassurance. Other than that, they did well, and it seems like their grades are improving!
I am not sure how I missed this action research link but I had until today. I really love the checklist you keep with the kids and would love to do that with them when they leave. You mentioned how you may be concerned that they will return to bad habits when this placement is over and they are not checked in on every morning. I also have this concern and was trying to figure out how to fit your project into my daily routine. Like you said, the morning is very busy and now the Judy has bus duty, I am not sure how I oculd get everything done in the morning before school starts! This is also my time to talk to the kids and get a feel as to how the day is going to go. If you have any ideas as to how I could adapt your project to make it more managable with everything else that goes on I am very open to the idea!
Well...my action research is almost over. Next week will be to collect my last set of data and readminister the surveys and interviews. I hope that it had some kind of impact on them...I think that the most useful part was the checking in and out everyday. Like Sara said, it is very hard to accomplish. The morning and afternoon are the busiest times of the day, for everyone. I have been working with them on "self-monitoring" where they will complete the checklist and keep track of themselves. This would be wonderful, if they were honest. So, my suggestion would be to have them continue to self monitor, and perhaps at the end of the week you could check their progress. I will have more to report next week after I completely analyze my data!
Well my action research is officially under way. I am focusing on organizational skills with students with disabilities. I chose a mixture of males and females, with exceptionalities ranging from Learning Disabilities to Talented and Gifted. I began by collecting my baseline data, which was previous spelling quiz grades, as well as interviews and surveys. I then moved in to simple writing names/dates on assignments. It was surprising to see the students struggle with something that seems so simple. I also began checking their planners, as well as writing notes to remind them to do/bring things to school with them. I have seen some great accomplishments so far. There is one student that has had her reading book and planner at home for weeks. However, one day this week she returned with both of them. I think that the everyday going over what is needed has really slammed it into her brain. That was my goal! I can't wait to eventually see how the self-monitoring of organizational skills helps them.
ReplyDeleteAs kids get older, we tend to think that they "have it" and quit teaching them step by step organizational skills. While 4th graders should certainly be more independent, that does not mean they're ready to do it all on their own. Lots of scaffolding and modeling!
ReplyDeleteWell I have a few action research updates to put here. Everything has been going fairly well. My research is designed to have students "check-in" with me in the morning. However, the morning is the busiest time of the day and I am finding it challenging to squeeze everything in. The students are becoming more organized, thanks to me, but my worries are that without me there to "coach" them in the morning they would fall apart again. Also, I am not noticing a HUGE improvement in quiz scores. However, I have noticed that their assignment completion and returning of things has improved by at least 50%. My host teacher, as well as myself, are extremely excited about this. Even students that I am not checking in with have picked up on the fact that I am keeping note of these things and have responded to it as well. I know that I am driving some of the students crazy with this, but in the end I hope that they appreciate it. I know that a few of the parents have thanked me for working with their students, because they have tried to organize their children for years! I am learning that there is only so much you can do at home, as well as at school, so it is definitely a team effort!
ReplyDeleteI hope you're noting that keeping the parents informed of your strageies is important--keeping the kids informed that you're keeping the parents informed is key as well!
ReplyDeleteWell here is the end of week 4 of action research. This week I have been working with my students on prioritizing and recording assignments in their planners. This isn't as simple as it sounds. First of all, I have 2 students that it is a miracle if they bring their planners 2 days in a row. It is an even bigger miracle if they recorded, and completed their assignments. I saw this as a huge issue in the past, and figured I could try and resolve it. I find it the most interesting they way in which students prioritize. Each of them has things they feel is more important than others, and even though I might disagree and suggest something different, they ultimately have to feel good about themselves. So for this week, we have been listing assignments/etc. in their planners in the order of most important to least important. So far, my students have all almost every day received an 11/11 on their checklists. Since I was so proud of them, I wanted to do something more than just tell them. I decided to add a "star card" each day that they receive an 11/11. They were thrilled about this! I am planning to slowly turn this extrinsic motivator into something more intrinsic. I look forward to next week where we will be discussing and practicing coming to class prepared, as well as note-taking strategies. I also decided to further extend this "strategy" idea into the LINCS strategy for vocabulary. We will see how their scores improve!
ReplyDeleteLooks like this is moving along well. Something that might help them to become more independent is to "fade" the star cards or make them more random rather than giving them every single day. Organization and the planners seem to be a continued problem with a lot of kids even in the 5th grade.
ReplyDeleteAt the end of week 5, I am continuing to see progress. I plan to "fade" out the reward (thanks Chrystal!) and see how that affects them. I also plan to help students self-monitor this week! Fortunately, next week we are working on cleaning and organizing notebooks, desks, and backpacks. The students have noted several times that this is their biggest area of weakness, so I look forward to the results from week 6!
ReplyDeleteWell week 6 was interesting, as usual! Since last week was Thanksgiving break I was anticipating some problems. The students were out of the school routine, and it is hard for them to readjust. So I decided to continue monitoring them for Monday and Tuesday, and then turn it over on Wednesday. I of course got a million questions and students saying "I don't know what to do!" I would just patiently tell them it is what we have done everyday for the past 5 weeks, just on your own now. It went pretty well, some of the students needed a little more reassurance. Other than that, they did well, and it seems like their grades are improving!
ReplyDeleteI am not sure how I missed this action research link but I had until today. I really love the checklist you keep with the kids and would love to do that with them when they leave. You mentioned how you may be concerned that they will return to bad habits when this placement is over and they are not checked in on every morning. I also have this concern and was trying to figure out how to fit your project into my daily routine. Like you said, the morning is very busy and now the Judy has bus duty, I am not sure how I oculd get everything done in the morning before school starts! This is also my time to talk to the kids and get a feel as to how the day is going to go. If you have any ideas as to how I could adapt your project to make it more managable with everything else that goes on I am very open to the idea!
ReplyDeleteWell...my action research is almost over. Next week will be to collect my last set of data and readminister the surveys and interviews. I hope that it had some kind of impact on them...I think that the most useful part was the checking in and out everyday. Like Sara said, it is very hard to accomplish. The morning and afternoon are the busiest times of the day, for everyone. I have been working with them on "self-monitoring" where they will complete the checklist and keep track of themselves. This would be wonderful, if they were honest. So, my suggestion would be to have them continue to self monitor, and perhaps at the end of the week you could check their progress. I will have more to report next week after I completely analyze my data!
ReplyDelete