Bell's Hill Elementary
Interplay of Positive and Negative Reinforcement in the Classroom
Primary Researchers
Sophie Bailey, Intern, Baylor University
Barry Horst, MS Ed, Mentor Teacher, Bell’s Hill Elementary, Waco ISD
Bianca Ochoa, PhD, Intern Supervisor, Baylor University
Rationale/Introduction
By carefully studying, observing, and interacting with a student in a second-grade classroom, it is evident that the utilization of solely one form of reinforcement is an ineffective effort in supporting the behavior and success of this student. Through data tracking, an implementation of both positive and negative reinforcement on this student results in far greater growth. Thus, shedding light on the idea that within the classroom, there is need for interplay between both forms of response to student behavior and effort.
Question/Wondering
How will an adjustment of both positive and negative reinforcement tactics support the behavior and success of an individual student in the second-grade classroom?
Methodology/Results
In order to observe and record the interplay of positive and negative reinforcement in the classroom, I created a specific list of implementations under each category. In this way, I was able to see how the student responded to a variety of approaches. In addition, I created a log that allowed me to record how an implementation of either positive or negative reinforcement was received by the student. This led me to the conclusion that both forms of behavioral management approaches are necessary in order to see the most beneficial change from students. The student did not respond well with the utilization of only one form of reinforcement. Rather, when encouraged through positive reinforcement while understanding the consequences in place from negative reinforcement, the student showed the most growth in in behavioral and academic performance.
Implications/Recommendations
It was evident by the data I found that the use of solely one form of reinforcement will not be an effective strategy in behavior management. Through an interplay of both positive and negative reinforcement, a student feels inspired to learn and engage while also understanding the consequences of not following the instructions. In future classrooms, I will first use positive reinforcement to encourage positive behavior. However, if poor behavior is persistent, negative reinforcement will be added to behavioral management plans in order to best support the student.
Handwriting Intervention
Primary Researchers
Anna Dickinson, Intern, Baylor University
Jennifer Tacon MS Ed, Mentor Teacher, Bell’s Hill Elementary School, Waco ISD
Bianca Ochoa, PhD, Intern Supervisor, Baylor University
Rationale/Introduction
In a third-grade classroom, there is a group of students who struggle to write upper- and lower-case letters with proper letter formation. The improper formation of letters makes it difficult to effectively understand and grade what the students record on their assignments. Handwriting plays a huge factor in learning how to read and write which is why it is so important that they are explicitly taught correct pencil grip and proper letter formation of both upper and lower-case letters.
Pre-assessment data has been collected of how students hold their pencil and how they form each letter on lined manuscript paper. The plan is to teach the students correct pencil grip and proper letter formation weekly. We begin with the correct way to hold their pencil by having them use a large triangle pencil. In the following 3 weeks, the students will be reminded about the correct pencil grip alongside strategically planned letter formations. To teach letter formation, the students will be taught verbiage to repeat as they practice writing the letters. In the end, I will have the students rewrite the letters as a post-assessment.
Question/Wondering
How will the use of verbiage and pencil grip instruction improve letter formation?
Methodology/Results
For the course of two weeks, I conducted data of letter formation on three students using pencil grips attachments, verbiage and tracing worksheets during small group reading time. I started out by taking a pre-assessment of how they write the upper- and lower-case letters of the alphabet. Once that was collected, I began conducting my action research. I taught students about the importance of proper pencil grip and how it can help students to control their fingers to form letters correctly. After I taught the students about the importance of pencil grip, I presented them with an attachment that would place their fingers where they should be in order to have proper pencil grip. For the remainder of the two weeks, I taught students four lower and four upper case letters in alphabetical order every single day. For each letter, I would have the verbiage written in their handwriting packet and as the students said the verbiage associated with each letter, I demonstrated the letter formation on a lined white board. After I write the letter twice while students repeated the verbiage, I had the students practice by writing the letter in the air while they repeated the verbiage. Lastly, I would have the student trace the letter as they said the verbiage. We repeated this process for four upper and lowercase letters each day until we had finished all of the upper- and lower-case letters. Once we had finished, I pulled my group of 3 students over for the last time and had them write the letters that they had learned as a post-assessment of their writing. As they write out each letter, I made sure they were saying the verbiage as they write each letter.
Implications/Recommendations
The results of this research project suggest that the use of verbiage and pencil grip instruction does improve letter formation. “It has been illustrated that, despite similar written content, lower marks were consistently assigned to students with poor handwriting in comparison to those with neater handwriting” (Connelly, Campbell, MacLean & Barnes, 2006) The reason I wanted to conduct this research project was because I felt like I was being forced to give students lower grades solely based on the fact that I was unable to read what was written. I would receive assignments from students where they wrote several-sentence responses but due to the fact that I was unable to read what was written, could not give a good grade for the assignment. Another student in the class could have written the exact same answer word for word and because I could read their response, they would receive a higher grade than the person who handwriting I could not read. Moving forward with this study, I want to receive samples from before our intervention and receive samples now to see how their handwriting has improved using an authentic piece of their work. This would support my project even stronger because this would show the students handwriting not only changed for the better in small group but also when its authentic. I would also like to encourage the students to use the pencil grip attachment during regular handwritten assignments. This would get students in the habit of hold their pencil correctly so that once it is taken off, the students chooses to hold his/her pencil how he was taught.
Reference(s)
McEachern, Tamara, and Frijters, Jan C. Literacy “Strategies to Develop Handwriting and Improve Literacy Skills.” LD@School, 18 Sept. 2017, https://www.ldatschool.ca/literacy-skills-handwriting/
Using ASL as an Instructional Tool in Teaching Numbers One through Ten to a Student with Down’s Syndrome
Primary Researchers
Emily Hale, Intern, Baylor University
Dusti Chase, BS Ed, Mentor Teacher, Bells Hill Elementary, Waco ISD
Joseph Alford, MS Ed, Intern Supervisor, Baylor University
Rationale/Introduction
While American Sign Language (ASL) is often used in a speech therapy setting, many students respond positively to its implementation as an instructional support in the classroom. Inspired by past research of ASL as a successful tool for individuals with developmental disabilities (Griffin et al., 2013), this research investigates the effectiveness of incorporating ASL instruction in teaching a student with Down’s Syndrome how to accurately identify numbers one through ten. After initial testing, I will teach ten lessons on identifying numbers one through ten. Lessons will utilize ASL, verbal, visual, and physical prompts of identifying each number. Finally, I will reassess the student’s ability to identify the numbers.
Question/Wondering
Is supplemental ASL instruction effective in teaching students with Down’s Syndrome how to accurately identify numbers 1-10?
Methodology/Results
As an intern in a special education self-contained classroom, I have witnessed the benefits of incorporating American Sign Language, ASL, words into the daily classroom routine. One of my students, a second grade female student with a low socioeconomic background and diagnosis of Down’s Syndrome, will especially engage and utilize signs throughout the school day. Her distinguished engagement in ASL inspired my investigation into its effectiveness as a supplemental instructional tool in teaching this student how to accurately identify numbers one through ten.
My initial step was to collect baseline data on the student’s ability to accurately identify numbers one through ten. This student is mostly nonverbal, so I developed a method to assess her number identification accuracy without requiring a verbal response from the student. To do this, I presented the student with two number card choices. I asked her to choose the correct card for whichever number I was asking her to identify. She would either tap the card or pick it up as a form of response to my question. I repeated this process for a total of ten times, allowing the student the opportunity to identify each number once. The baseline data was taken over a course of two school weeks, with a total of ten sessions. After collecting sufficient baseline data, I began the intervention portion of my research. This procedure remained consistent over the span of two weeks for a total of ten sessions. In each session, I began with reviewing each number and the ASL sign. I modeled the sign and assisted the student in forming the sign with hand-over-hand prompting. The prompting was gradually reduced over each session as the student developed the capability to form the sign independently. My next step in the intervention portion was to show the student three videos from her iPad of other children signing and singing about ASL numbers one through ten. Finally, I would repeat the assessment I used when collecting baseline data. However, whenever I asked the student to identify a certain number, I modeled the ASL sign for it in addition to the verbal prompt. I recorded data on her accuracy of identifying each number, as well as signing it when verbally and visually prompted.
Baseline data revealed that the student could correctly identify numbers one through ten at an average of 51%. However, due to the nature of the method of assessment I chose, the student has a 50% chance of selecting the correct number card. Therefore, I did not conclude that the student’s identification accuracy was 51%, but I rather saw this percentage as a starting point to measure growth from. Over each intervention and reassessment session, the student showed steady growth in accurately identifying each number. Her final average accuracy of identifying numbers one through ten was at 80%. The results between my baseline and intervention data undoubtedly show remarkable growth over the span of less than four weeks. These results also supported previous research findings (Griffin et al., 2013) and my wondering of the effectiveness of ASL as a supplementary instructional tool in providing individuals with Down’s Syndrome with mathematics instruction.
Implications/Recommendations
This study proved supplemental ASL instruction to be effective in teaching students with Down’s Syndrome how to accurately identify numbers one through ten. Although the student did not reach a mastery level, she still showed tremendous growth, especially over the two weeks of the intervention period. As a special education teacher, I highly value the incorporation of ASL into the daily school routine, and this study has only encouraged me to utilize it even more so. This student specifically, and I speculate this may apply to many individuals with Down’s Syndrome, significantly benefit from ASL as a supplemental instructional tool. Although this study proved my theory to be correct, I would modify the method of assessment in future research. If a student was nonverbal, I would want to provide more than two card answer choices or perhaps a number line. This would decrease the likelihood that the student answers the question correctly by chance. However, if the student is verbal, I may ask them to verbally identify which number card I display. These methods of assessment may vary depending on the students’ present communication and academic levels of performance. Additional inquiries building upon accurate number identification can include accurate rote counting, ability to arrange numbers in numerical order, or how ASL can be utilized as an instructional tool across a variety of other subjects.
Reference(s)
Griffin, C., Mclaughlin, T.F., Neyman, J., & Higgins, S. (2013). The Effects Employing Sign Language and Rewards to Teach Rote Counting to 50 with a Student with Down Syndrome and Intellectual Disabilities.
Effects of Rewards
Primary Researchers
Lindsay Lee, Intern, Baylor University
Sarah Tatum, Mentor Teacher, Bell’s Hill Elementary, Waco ISD
Bianca Ochoa, PhD, Intern Supervisor, Baylor University
Rationale/Introduction
Over the course of this semester, I have been getting to know my second graders as individuals and as a class whole. I have one student in my class that takes medication each day which my mentor teacher and I noticed affects her participation and engagement in class participation and individual work time. She loves to fidget and play with little toys throughout the day. This is something I have noticed since the beginning of the year. I am excited to introduce this new reward incentive for my student that I will track over the course of 4 weeks.
Question/Wondering
In what ways does implementing a reward incentive improve the engagement of a second grade student during the school day?
Methodology/Results
When studying the effects of rewards, I started out my research by noting my second grade students' behaviors and participation in class on the incentive reward chart for two weeks before presenting this study to her. I noted and noticed that her participation and focus was quite random throughout the day. She often had toys in her possession distracting her from participating. I frequently asked her to put these toys away, and stay focused on the work she needed to accomplish. Most days during those first two weeks, she only received 4 stars. There was no obvious pattern in when these stars occurred. Additionally, as I began two weeks of implementing this reward chart incentive, I started by pulling my student aside individually and explaining the expectations to receive a sticker on her chart. This included three different expectations: stay focused on your work, not fidgeting with toys when the teacher is teaching, and try your best! I set the expectation that if she receives 35 stickers by the end of the week, which is equal to 70 percent, she will get a prize. My student seemed very eager to start this reward incentive. From the first day I started observing her with the incentives, I noticed an immense difference in my students' participation and focus throughout the day. She showed to be motivated to earn her stickers every 30 minutes. The first week of the research, my student received all her stickers every day. Since she earned 100 percent during this first week, I brought her a prize box the following Monday and she chose a reward. The next week, there were 10 time slots where she did not receive a sticker. Since her performance was still at a level of 70 percent or higher, she still received her prize for the week. The results that I found were extremely positive, and she showed a great amount of progress with this type of incentive program.
Implications/Recommendations
I recommend incorporating this reward incentive chart in any classroom. I noticed through this ‘wondering’ that my students' motivation, participation, and engagement throughout the day increased significantly. Although this was a great positive reinforcement for my student because she loves toys, I do believe that it is important to understand what will motivate each individual student and customize the incentive for the student.
Extensions Extending Knowledge
Primary Researchers
Hannah Grace Lemanski, Intern, Baylor University
Amanda Martinez, Mentor Teacher, Bells Hill, Waco ISD
Bianca Ochoa, PhD, Intern Supervisor, Baylor University
Rationale/Introduction
I have noticed there is a group of high achieving students in my second grade class. My goal is for this group of students to be able to apply and think about math concepts in a challenging way that includes more higher order thinking and creativity. I want to incorporate extension activities where they receive it on Monday and have the week to work on it during their math stations time and I want to observe how this affects their understanding, ability to explain math concepts, and engagement levels.
Question/Wondering
How will implementing extension activities during math for a small group of second grade students affect their conceptual understanding and engagement.
Methodology/Results
When implementing extension activities, I would pull small groups of students to my table during their independent work time. I would explain the activity that they would be working on and students would complete it independently. I noticed that my two highest groups were able to complete the activity with ease and confidence while my middle group struggled more and needed more assistance. I observed that it increased their engagement, and allowed them to apply their own knowledge in a way they would connect to and remember the information. These extension activities got a lot more verbal reactions of excitement and desire to participate. One time I got a compliment from a parent saying how much they loved an activity in math where they had to pay for a doughnut with fake money and show me different ways to provide that amount. I have gotten many gasps of eagerness and smiles of excitement when I sent students off to attempt their extensions activity. As much as it seemed to increase engagement and interest, I have no evidence regarding if it increased academic performance. I believe that because they were making connections, defining terms and concepts in their own way, and taking their knowledge deeper, this led to more of a conceptual understanding. However, I have no way of proving that. I also consistently saw that my middle group struggled a lot more than my two higher groups. My two highest groups were, for the most part, capable of completing the activity by themselves.
Implications/Recommendations
I highly recommend incorporating extension activities into independent work time. I have seen it to increase interest and engagement with higher achieving and GT students. It gives the students an opportunity to practice applying their new content through higher-order thinking and creating, which is the highest level of understanding according to Blooms Taxonomy. I do not recommend giving extension activities to lower groups or middle groups without teacher support and guidance, in my experience, it only leads to confusion without the scaffolding and guidance of the teacher.
Reference(s)
Creating Extension Activities - Oxford University Press 2017
The University of Arizona College of Education “Extension Activities”
Positive Behaviour Reinforcement
Primary Researchers
Rosendo Montoya, Intern, Baylor University
Dara Sliva, Mentor Teacher, Bell’s Hill Elementary, Waco ISD
Marianne Hardesty, Mentor Teacher, Bell’s Hill Elementary, Waco ISD
Bianca Ochoa, PhD, Intern Supervisor, Baylor University
Rationale/Introduction
In my fourth-grade classroom, it was observed that 2 of my students have had issues with outbursts and motivation within the classroom. This has resulted in the submission of unfinished work and the submission of work that has resulted in lower grades than the students have the potential to receive. I will implement a class dojo reward system where students can be rewarded for their positive behavior and efforts in the classroom. Data will be collected throughout the observation using a chart to annotate their behavior to point ratios to see if there is a decrease or increase in motivation and outbursts within the classroom,
Question/Wondering
How does positive behavior reinforcement impact students who have issues with outburst and motivation in the classroom?
Methodology/Results
When implementing Positive Behavior Reinforcement, I started out my research by implementing a positive behavior reinforcement (Class Dojo) with my entire class. I explained to my students that the positive behavior reinforcement would be implemented in the classroom and how it would work. I explained that for every positive interaction or positive behavior (focused, participating, helping other) that I would see throughout my lesson or throughout the day from a specific student, I would reward them with a point. For every negative behavior (not focused, not participating, disruptive) I would deduct a point. Additionally, I showed the class that they would be able to track their points in the classroom via the Class Dojo app. While this was implemented for the entire class, I started my research on 2 of my students who had issues with outburst and motivation within the classroom. The first week, I monitored their behavior without issuing any points (positive or negative) in order to get accurate data on their behavior through this new positive behavior reinforcement. The second week, I was able to start rewarding these specific students based off of both positive and negative behavior. The results that I found were extremely positive. Both of my students were able to self-monitor and track their points and recognize that there was a reward in it for them whenever they displayed positive behavior in the classroom and throughout the school. Both of my students were able to increase their engagement and motivation by 30%. I was able to see that they were able to participate in class more, outbursts were minimized, and their motivation had increased in every subject. Despite there being some setbacks along the way, I found that the positive behavior reinforcement
Implications/Recommendations
I recommend incorporating the Positive Behavior Reinforcement point system into any classroom. I have seen an increase in motivation, participation, and attitude inside of the classroom. While the positive behavior reinforcement is a great classroom management tool to use, I found that it is easy to use on large scale for the entire class. With rewarding each student in the manner that I did for the two specific students; I do not believe the rewarding in the same manner for the entire class is not realistic due to it taking time away from instruction.
The Translation of Cursive Writing
Primary Researchers
Clara O’Neil, Intern, Baylor University
Mrs. Michelle Beam, Mentor Teacher, Bell’s Hill, Waco ISD
Bianca Ochoa, PhD, Intern Supervisor, Baylor University
Rationale/Introduction
Throughout my time as an Intern for a second grade class at Bell’s Hill I have become very interested in the workings of dyslexic students. This began with helping them with their writing and reading skills during small group. I started to wonder how I could assist these students, specifically in their writing skills. I started to research what can help students who have dyslexia with their handwriting, targeting letter formation, uniformity, and directionality in letters. What I researched was that, in some cases, teaching students to write in cursive helps their normal print be more legible.
Question/Wondering
Will integrating cursive handwriting into a small group with two dyslexic second graders improve their letter formation in print writing?
Methodology/Results
With introducing cursive handwriting into my lessons, I have improved my students work and their want to succeed. In the beginning of my ‘project’ I started simple with cursive letters that are mostly, if not all, downward strokes. The one student I will use as my evidence struggled with this assignment at first. We all worked together in the act. I would model how to write the letter ‘a’ and then continue to have my students follow along. The sheet that they learned on had traceable letters with dotted line, arrows to lead the strokes, and lined sections to practice the size of the letters. Once my students were confident enough in their tracing, they could move onto forming the letters without assistance. The first couple days of this activity did prove to be a struggle for my students. They did not understand how to start the letters in the correct spot, the continuation from letter to letter, and the idea of a continuous stroke to completely form the letter. Through modeling and assisting my student those worries lessened. They gradually became more confident in their penmanship and directionality in their trouble letters for print. After the first week or two I had my students start to write complete words in cursive. Initially with simple three or four letter words such as cat, boy, good, and home. Turning the lessons from single letters to whole words was a challenge. They had practiced stringing together the same letter together over and over but never changing from one letter to another. The word cat was a safe word to start with. It has mostly downward strokes and simple letters. After a couple of hard trials, they finally began to get it. At this point in my research, the cursive alphabet was starting to seriously make an impression on the children’s memory. They showed memory of how to form each letter, without the arrows nor I to help. This progress made me extremely excited and proud of their hard work. While my lessons were still being taught, the class had a couple week assignment to make their own story. This process truly showed how far my students I was helping had come. Their handwriting, not in cursive, had improved exponentially. Their letters were facing the correct way, the size was uniform, and they did not struggle with knowing when to use upper- and lower-case letters. I have put this experiment and research into my teaching back pocket. I found it really helped everyone involved and even help my relationships with both students.
Implications/Recommendations
I strongly recommend supplementing students with dyslexia in cursive handwriting lessons. This method has proven to be effective and useful, not only to the students but also the teachers. We are able to read and assist the pupils better, and the students become more confident in their writing. In fact, the students did not dread writing time anymore, but rather enjoyed it.
Reference(s)
https://newsroom.domtar.com/cursive-writing-dyslexia/
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/education/connecting-dots-role-cursive-dyslexia-therapy
Analyzing Student Motivation During Independent Work Using a Self-Data Graphing Sheet
Primary Researchers
Sophia Schimmenti, Intern, Baylor University
Katelyn Hamilton, Mentor Teacher, Bell’s Hill Elementary School, Waco ISD
Bianca Ochoa, PhD, Intern Supervisor, Baylor University
Rationale/Introduction
Motivation is a drive that keeps children going even when they face a difficult task. The “feel-good” reward a child receives makes the hard work the child went through seem worth it. Not to mention how a good grade should boost and rev a child’s self-motivation even more. In the world we live in today, it is instilled that teachers find ways and use different strategies to keep our students motivated. Student participation and confidence self-motivation is pursued by all educators in the field. An ideal classroom overflows with students claiming ownership of their own learning and seeking a deeper understanding. I have made it a priority to build motivation in my students learning and educational journey, however the problem arises when it comes to keeping my students motivated to take ownership in their successes.
I have found that many of my third-grade students lack self-motivation when completing independent work following a lesson. It has become a habit to simply rush through the problems as these students do not see a sense of purpose in the work they are doing. Through the implementation of my new strategy, I want to teach my students to find value in their work and consequently increase their confidence and successes. There is no significant research on this strategy, but based on my experiences in the field, I believe that gathering self-data will result in improvements of the overall ownership of their learning and performance.
Question/Wondering
In what ways does a weekly self-data graphing sheet impact self-motivation and performance for third-grade students as they complete independent assignments during math and reading instructional time?
Methodology/Results
The students in this research participated in a three-week long study examining if taking ownership by self-grading performance and motivation and performance. Students are in the third grade at Bells Hill Elementary School. My whole third-grade class was chosen to participate in this study resulting in a sample of 17 total students. For the purpose of the research, two students in my class were selected not to be a part of the research study for specific reasons that would make it difficult to get logical and measurable results.
Over the course of three weeks, I collected data on the motivation and performance levels for the 17 students in my third-grade classroom. I provided a weekly self-data grading sheet to each student for them to complete, analyze and reflect on their progress during independent assignments. Within my three weeks, I was able to gain insightful and useful data with my students by implementing my self-data grading sheet in math for two weeks and in reading for one week. Along with student performance, students’ actions and thoughts also needed to be collected in order to measure my student’s overall motivation and ownership. To capture student actions, an anecdotal note data sheet was created to concisely take note of each individual student’s actions as they were completing independent assignments. A survey, including in the self- data grading sheet, was given to my third-grade class to observe students’ thoughts in regard to grading and analyzing their independent work throughout a weeklong timespan. Students were asked to rate how they feel about their progress for the week as well as rate themselves for how hard they believe they worked from smiley face (very good) to sad face (very bad). The final question on the self-data grading sheet, was for students to write one goal they have for themselves as they complete their independent work the following week. Lastly, to analyze students’ performance, all daily independent assignments for either math or reading were tracked, which was organized on a grading data sheet.
To begin my research, the first data I gathered was a discussion with my mentor which covered the two focus subjects we both believe would be suit this research study. From here, we decided that both math and reading would be the best two subjects to conduct my research study on because these are the two subjects our third-grade students will be tested on at the end of the school year through the state standardized test, STARR. In addition to this, both subjects have daily independent assignments on the students iPads which provide them with a grade immediately after completion. After deciding the foundation of my research study, I was able to begin implementation of the self-data grading sheet.
The formatting of the self-data grading sheet includes a 4x5 “self-grading” table located in the center as well as reflection questions at the bottom. The table is the main focus of this self-data grading sheet because it is where students get the take ownership in their learning and track their progress with their grades. I took the time to explain the self-data grading sheet and how to correctly fill in the table the first week I implemented this into student’s independent work. Students were expected to first complete their independent assignment on their iPad and show me their final grade. Next, students were guided by me to fill/ color in a “grade zone” box (green zone, yellow zone, red zone) on their self-data grading sheet, based off of the grade they received on their independent assignment. Once, students filled/colored in their “grade zone” box for the day, they placed their self-data grading sheet back into their “Catch-up” Folder to prevent the sheet from getting lost. Students repeated this process daily until they completed their “self-grading” table at the end of the week. Once the table had been filled out, students were able to visually see their progress throughout the week with their independent assignments in either math of reading. Students were given the chance to analyze their table and see the increase, relapse, or decline they received from day to day. After observing and analyzing their “self-grading” table, students were conducted to answer the two reflection questions, write one goal they would like to have for the following week and turn in their sheet to me.
Week by week, I took the self-data grading sheets for each student and created an Excel sheet to visually see students’ scores and results. During week one and three, I had students complete the self-data grading sheet for math. Specifically looking at week one, I had 77% of students consistently stay in the green zone throughout the whole week. I was very happy to see, 6% of students improve from the yellow zone to green zone by the end of the week. In contrast, 12% of students fluctuated from the green zone to the yellow zone back to the green zone. This left 5% of students regressing with their progress throughout the week by starting in the green zone and moving down to the yellow zone by the end of the week. During week two, I had students complete the self-data grading sheet for reading. I was able to gather that only 24% of students showed true progress by improving from the yellow zone to the green zone quickly at the beginning of the week and staying consistently in the green zone as the week ended. 12% of students were very consistent and stayed the green zone throughout the entire week. On the other hand, 40% of students hindered their progress during the week by moving back and forth from the green zone to the yellow zone. This left 24% of students showing a decline in their progress during the reading independent assignments this week. These students started in the yellow or red zone and stayed there. These results showed dependability, growth, and stable consistency with motivation and performance levels from 83% of students during math week one, 36% of students during reading week two and 76% of students during math week three.
Implications/Recommendations
The outcome revealed that the self-data grading sheet increased student performance and determination during weeks one and three of implementation, yet it did not have much effect on student performance and motivation during week two. The outcomes of this research suggest that third-grade students in my class are more motivated and confident when they complete their independent assignments because they are given the opportunity to take ownership of their learning and performance. In order to allow students to continually grow, they need constant feedback and reflection. Through my specific research and other practices, I have learned that data analysis through self-reflection will “empower students to understand their ongoing progress and constantly reflect and set new goals to improve throughout their educational journey” (The Learning Accelerator, 2021). Moving forward with this study I would like to see how the different ways I could implement a self-data grading sheet. For example, through a digital platform like Google Forms. This technology-based application would provide me with the benefit of automatically graphing data into an Excel sheet as each student submits their daily score report. I recommend implementing a version of the self-data grading sheet into your student’s independent work time to increase motivation, recognize success and teach powerful ownership skills to young learners.
Reference(s)
The Learning Accelerator. (2021, May 7). How do I develop student ownership and accountability in a station rotation model? Resources & Guidance from The Learning Accelerator. Retrieved March 13, 2022, from https://practices.learningaccelerator.org/problem-of-practice/how-do-i-develop-student-ownership-and-accountability-in-a-station-rotation-model
Kelly, K. (2020, October 22). Why Kids Who Learn and Think Differently Need to Stay Motivated. Https://Www.Understood.Org/Articles/En/the-Importance-of-Staying-Motivated-for-Kids-with-Learning-and-Thinking-Differences. Retrieved March 13, 2022, from https://www.understood.org/articles/en/the-importance-of-staying-motivated-for-kids-with-learning-and-thinking-differences