Castleman Creek Elementary
Brain Breaks Effects on Work-Avoidant Students
Primary Researchers
Jenna Benedict, Intern, Baylor University
Melora Roach, BA in English, Mentor Teacher, Castleman Creek PDS, Midway ISD
Amy Platt, MS Ed, Mentor Teacher, Castleman Creek PDS, Midway ISD
Blaire Thornton, M.S. ED, Intern Supervisor, Baylor University
Rationale/Introduction
My 5th grade classroom at Castleman Creek Elementary School has 20 students. I have followed Ms. Roach’s daily homeroom class to collect data for my research project. In 5th grade, all the students have different teachers for each subject. The class schedule I will be following is as follows. Over the past semester, I have noticed a select group of students are task-avoidant. These students often need to be more on task and easily distracted by their surroundings. They will get up, walk around the classroom, and leave to get water or the bathroom. After realizing these actions are caused by the student's inability to focus on their work. I started researching what I could implement in the classroom to help these students. I have consistently found in multiple research studies that brain breaks help with students' behavior in school. I want to try something new to get this extra energy out of these students and help them focus on their work afterward. I have decided to implement brain breaks in the classroom to see if the research is accurate and if it positively affects student productivity levels. Adding in these will not affect any of the curriculum. This project should help students learn the curriculum because it will allow them to focus more on the material. The best part of this project is that brain breaks can be implemented in any curriculum and at any time of the day. Adding brain breaks during assessment days will improve testing scores. I will assess if brain breaks are helping my small group of students by recording the number of times they stand up, how many times I must remind them to stay on task, and if they are completing their assignment work in a timely manner. Murphy Mahar writes in the article Effects of a Classroom-Based Program on Physical Activity and On-Task Behavior about physical activity and whether it correlates with on-task behavior. He studied kindergarten to fourth grade. One thing I like about this research is that they have a control group. They had students wear a step tracker during school. Before implementing the new program, they gathered data for four weeks as a baseline. At the end of the whole research, they found that adding energizers to the classroom helped the students stay on task during class. This research was easy to read, but the data needed to be easier to understand.
Question/Wondering
How do brain breaks affect two of my work-avoidant students, and how can brain breaks help these students stay on task and complete their work?
Methodology/Results
To find if work-avoidant students would be more productive in the classroom if brain breaks were implemented, I picked the two most off-task students. These students were white male students in 5th grade diagnosed with ADHD from low-income backgrounds. I wanted to pick these students due to their hyperactivity and need for classroom movement. Since these students realize that not all students need walks in the hallways for a reset at their age, they now do not want to do those breaks. That is why I had the whole class participate in the breaks so the students did not feel singled out. Before implementing the brain breaks, I observed the two students and tracked how often they were on task and how many task reminders they needed. Student A's original overall score was 79% for classroom productivity. Student B original scored 23% on classroom productivity. I calculated this by taking the number of times their actions during the day were not on task, meaning doing what they were supposed to, head down, and task reminders. Each tally took a percentage off their score to find their production score. I average the scores from the week to give a productive total score.
I started adding a brain break activity twice a day. Traditional I had energizers team building brain beaks in the morning and a meditation video in the afternoons. It would be an active break in the morning to help wake up my students. Then, in the afternoon, it was a meditation video. I had the whole class do these activities because I did not want the students I chose for the research to feel weird for being pulled to do these activities. I will never forget the shock after the students did their first-ever meditation. After that, no one said a word, and they were at their most productive. I relied very fast on my research that adding brain breaks would help one of the students in my study, but the other student was going through outside emotional problems, so his results were extreme. Student A's productivity score was 89%, while Student B's final score was 13%. I was disheartened by the results of only working on student A, but I was relieved that these brain breaks did not only help these two students but helped the whole classroom. It helped build the classroom community and increase my other students' productivity. Student productivity went up by about 5%. Students seemed more motivated in the classroom and could have more fun from the day to that activity. Due to these brain breaks, students started interacting with other students they do not typically speak to. After my research, I found that the brain breaks helped student A extremely and helped the whole class. I am very proud of all my students' hard work.
Implications/Recommendations
In my future classroom, I will implement every hour that all students will take a 5-minute break. I found that taking this time allows all my students to become more productive during the rest of their time. The study's strength was that it brought up my classroom community because they were playing team-building games. The downfall was that student B had outside behavior issues with the whole class, so he could not get the full study benefits. In the future, I will explain to students the purpose of brain breaks and implement some brain breaks that are not competitive to stop possible problems with students not winning. I wonder if we had done brain breaks every hour how this would alter the data.
Reference(s)
Mahar, Murphy, S. K., Rowe, D. A., Golden, J., Tamlyn Shield, A., & Raedeke, T. D. (2006).
Effects of a classroom-based program on physical activity and on-task behavior.
Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 38(12), 2086–2094. https://doi.org/10.1249/01.mss.0000235359.16685.a3
Papadopoulos, Mantilla, A., Bussey, K., Emonson, C., Olive, L., McGillivray, J., Pesce, C.,
Lewis, S., & Rinehart, N. (2022). Understanding the Benefits of Brief Classroom‐Based
Physical Activity Interventions on Primary School‐Aged Children’s Enjoyment and
Subjective Wellbeing: A Systematic Review. The Journal of School Health, 92(9),
916–932. https://doi.org/10.1111/josh.13196
Zentall, & Beike, S. M. (2012). Achievement of Social Goals of Younger and Older Elementary
Students: Response to Academic and Social Failure. Learning Disability Quarterly, 35(1),
39–53. https://doi.org/10.1177/0731948711429009.
Enhancing Handwriting Legibility in two First Grade Male Students with handwriting impairments: Implementing Effective Strategies for Academic Success
Primary Researchers
Daisey Dabols, Intern, Baylor University
Ruthanne Morris, BS Ed, Mentor Teacher, Castleman Creek Elementary
Blaire Thornton, MS Ed, Intern supervisor, Baylor University
Rationale/Introduction
Handwriting is an essential skill in which children will spend up to 60% of their time at school writing. (Asselborn et al, 2020) Young Learners may struggle with forming letters, spacing words, and maintaining consistent writing speed and legibility. As a result, they often experience frustration, reduced self-esteem, and a sense of academic inadequacy. Beyond the immediate challenges in the classroom, handwriting impairments can also have long-term effects on a child's overall development. It may hinder their ability to effectively communicate ideas in writing, which can negatively affect academic progress and limit future opportunities for success. Poor handwriting skills can also lead to increased anxiety and avoidance of writing tasks, potentially limiting a child’s willingness to engage in activities requiring written expression. (Koul et al, 2023) As I was teaching in a first-grade classroom, I had observed how crucial handwriting legibility is intertwined with the curriculum. Students in the education system use writing as a crucial part of their learning and understanding of the real world, which attributes to their identity as a whole. (Himmah et al, 2022)
Implementing small-group handwriting intervention is crucial in providing effective support for first-grade students with handwriting impairments. The small group focuses on strengthening fine motor movements, supporting handwriting structure using pencil grips, and routinely practicing the shapes of letter features. All these strategies address specific aspects of handwriting difficulty, such as letter formation, spacing, and overall legibility. Students can develop more efficient and legible writing skills through targeted exercises, specialized tools, and adaptive techniques in a small group. Additionally, handwriting interventions can build a child's confidence and self-esteem, helping to ease the emotional toll that handwriting deficits can take. As these students progress through their academic journey, improved handwriting skills can positively affect their overall academic performance and allow them to express themselves in writing better and succeed in various subjects. Therefore, these interventions lay the foundation for stronger communication skills that are essential for success not only in school but also in the future as they transition into adulthood and their success.
Question/Wondering
How does small group intervention enhance handwriting legibility in two first-grade male students in the classroom?
Methodology/Results
Children in schools are expected to meet expectations of neat and legible handwriting in their beginning years of schooling. Students who cannot meet the handwriting performance standards are negatively impacted in their academic success and self-esteem. (Feder & Majnemer, 2007) For my research purposes, I needed to find a model that supports an assessment of legible handwriting for students to measure and track their growth. I incorporated The Handwriting legibility scale (HLS) which was developed in order to measure a reliable and valid assessment of handwriting effectively. This scale was created through experts who had professional experience in their knowledge of handwriting and through practicum experience of working with students. (Barnett et al, 2018) In result, five measurements of examination were curated; global legibility, effort required to read the script, layout on the page, letter formation, and alterations.
In my research study, I implemented small group handwriting intervention with two males both the age of 7 that had displayed handwriting struggles in the classroom. I began with a pre-assessment and developed baseline data on each student. I gave them a sheet of letters to write from a-z and numbers from 0-9. I used the Handwriting Legibility scale to quantitatively assess the students data. Male (1) scored an overall sum score of 17. Male (2) scored an overall sum score of 19 which is calculated into the “high” category, which means these students displayed a high need of handwriting intervention. The overall score is calculated into a summative score and categorized between low, medium, and high. The student who scores low displays minimal handwriting errors, according to HLS, and a student who scores high displays a significant amount of handwriting errors. Each day, these students were pulled for 15 minutes to work with me for handwriting intervention. Each week, I applied a different intervention strategy in efforts to strengthen their handwriting legibility. The first week, I used modeling clay as a tool to have them strengthen their fine motor skills. The modeling clay was built into different letters of the alphabet, this helped the students visualize the letter in a kinesthetic aspect as well as strengthening their fine motor muscles. The second week, the students focused on shapes that are used to make up letters. Using white board and dry erase markers the students drew diagonal, horizontal, vertical lines, circles, and other shapes that are characteristics of a letter. The third week, I implemented the use of pencil grips. The students used pencil grips as they wrote and traced letters of the alphabet. The fourth week was the post-assessment where male (1) scored an overall sum score of 10 and male (2) scored an overall sum score of 12. This categorized male (1) and male (2) to a low-medium, which displays that they have shown growth in their handwriting.
The Handwriting Legibility Scale has been used in young learners and is not a form of norm-referenced standardized assessment. The HLS is a successful and effective assessment tool because it is easy to use, has a holistic perspective of assessing handwriting legibility, and has the potential to be used across different languages, and discriminates between poor and good handwriting. (Barnett, 2018) This assessment allows more flexibility for all students and includes those amongst the neurodiverse population. Students among the neurodiverse population may be diagnosed with Developmental coordination disorder (DCD), Dyslexia, Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and students with Speech Language impairment (SLD). The broad range of HLS assessment in all students allows differentiation, inclusivity, and adaptability.
Implications/Recommendations
In order for students with handwriting impairments to be successful, it is valuable that they have the targeted intervention and support in the classroom as well as at home. There was significant growth in both students' post-assessment scores which supports my research that small group handwriting intervention is successful. However, exponential growth may be seen if targeted intervention is more than 15 minutes, utilizes various tools and strategies, and intervention is applied in school and at home.
Limitations of the handwriting assessment used in HLS scoring is that it is perspective-based and without multiple coders and inter-rater reliability the scores may look different based on the evaluator.
However, this allows educators to use the HLS as a form of assessment and use the results to develop an individualized differentiated instruction. The educator may curate their teaching to meet all the needs of the specific learner with handwriting impairments in their classroom. Another limitation to mention, is that male (2) was assessed for processing deficits and scored below average which may have an impact in his handwriting legibility that needs other support.
Success for students with handwriting impairments takes time, differentiation, and intervention.
Small group learning model is extremely crucial to give students the tools they need to be successful academically as it builds from their formative years to be successful into their adulthood.
Reference(s)
Gargot T, Asselborn T, Pellerin H, Zammouri I, M Anzalone S, Casteran L, Johal W, Dillenbourg P, Cohen D, Jolly C. Acquisition of handwriting in children with and without dysgraphia: A computational approach. PLoS One. 2020 Sep 11;15(9):e0237575. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0237575. PMID: 32915793; PMCID: PMC7485885.
Koul P, Qureshi MI, Kovela RK. Handwriting Evaluation in School-Aged Children With Developmental Coordination Disorder: A Literature Review. Cureus. 2023 Mar 6;15(3):e35817. doi: 10.7759/cureus.35817. PMID: 37033536; PMCID: PMC10075016.
Feder KP, Majnemer A. Handwriting development, competency, and intervention. Dev Med Child Neurol. 2007 Apr;49(4):312-7. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-8749.2007.00312.x. PMID: 17376144
Can Responsibility of Fifth-Grade Students be Improved Through Intervention?
Primary Researchers
Haley Gaddis, Intern, Baylor University
Amy Platt, M.S. Ed., Mentor Teacher, Castleman Creek PDS, Midway ISD
Melora Roach, B.A. in English, Mentor Teacher, Castleman Creek PDS, Midway ISD
Blaire Thornton, M.S. Ed Intern Supervisor, Baylor University
Rationale/Introduction
During the fall semester, I noticed that a lack of responsibility was a significant problem for many of my fifth-grade students. It is a distraction to other students as well as an interruption to instructional time. Since the students change classes several times per day, the irresponsible behavior often occurs during transition times. The students routinely forget their iPads, supplies, and personal belongings in the prior class. In addition, we are constantly reminding the students of their morning tasks (backpacks away, iPads off chargers, and lunch choice). Every day, our instructional time is delayed until all students are prepared to begin the lessons. I wanted to see if intervention strategies such as goal setting, peer support, and using a reward system would motivate the students to be more responsible.
Question/Wondering
Does setting goals and providing accountability affect student responsibility and maximize instructional time?
Methodology/Results
This research project involved the 20 fifth-grade students in my homeroom class at Castleman Creek PDS, a Title I school. They are aged 10-11, with a mix of achievement levels (40% GT, 15% SPED). They are comprised of eleven boys and nine girls. The ethnic breakdown includes fourteen Caucasians, four Hispanics, and two Asians.
I spent the first week of the project gathering data to use as my baseline. The data gathering and observation encompassed using a checklist of pre-determined responsibilities that I tallied each day. I used the results to set goals, assign peer pairings, and establish strategy methods. The project was then introduced to students and they were asked to complete a short, daily assessment sheet to make them self-aware of their daily responsibilities.
For the next three weeks, I used a checklist of the responsibilities and tracked them by making tally marks indicating the number of times the irresponsible behavior was exhibited that day (“infractions”). For example, I would tally how many times a student forgets to perform a morning task even after the reminders. To assist with responsibility, the students were paired with another student for the duration of the research period to hold each other accountable. They were asked to provide reminders and motivation for their partner so that classroom goals could
be met (to see if there is a peer effect on their behavior). The strategies I employed to encourage responsibility included: goal setting, self-assessments/awareness, verbal reminders, peer support, positive reinforcements, and a reward system.
To determine if the strategies actually worked once the project was over, I continued my observation a fourth week without the students knowing. I wanted to determine if the goal setting and accountability still resulted in an improvement after the project had ended.
My initial baseline data indicated that there were significant infractions for the responsibilities I was tracking on my checklist (39 for the week). This is indicative of the usual number that have been occurring this year. Goals were set based on this data: Week 1 goal was to reduce infractions 25%, Week 2 goal was a reduction of 15% from prior week results, and week 3 goal was 18% less than week 2 results. This would have resulted in an overall improvement of 64% from the baseline (14 for week 3 vs 39 from baseline).
In weeks one and two, the class exceeded their goals and rewards were given. Week three results were not as good and they did not meet their goal; however, there were extenuating circumstances that week (holiday party) leading to their excitement and forgetfulness.
Overall, the research project was a success in improving student responsibility. These strategies resulted in an average of 48% decline of (average of 19 vs 39 baseline) , which led to fewer disruptions/delays to instructional time.
Week 4 was the post-assessment and results showed continued improvement from the baseline. There were no verbal reminders, peer encouragement, or rewards. I was pleased that the responsibility continued to improve after the project had ended.
Implications/Recommendations
This study was successful based on the data results and visible improvement of student responsibility. However, I wonder if the students can maintain this responsibility long term without the use of a reward system and other strategies deployed in the project. This study had both strengths and weaknesses. The strengths included use of specific tools and strategies for setting goals and holding students accountable such as checklists, evaluation sheets, and reward system. Weaknesses included short duration of project and limited classroom time to expand project scope. I would recommend that classroom management rules be put in place immediately in the school year to develop good habits early. This project will encourage me to consider goal setting and self-evaluation to improve responsibility in my future classroom.
Reference(s)
Bagos, K. and Bendery, S. (2020, May). Decreasing the Amount of Classroom Disruptions in Order to Increase the Amount of Time on Task in Elementary Students (ED443554). ERIC. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED443554.pdf
Duke, D.L., and Jones, V.F. (1985). What Can Schools Do to Foster Responsibility? Theory Into Practice, 24(4), 277-285. https://doi.org/10.1080/00405848509543187
Lewis, R. (2001). Classroom Discipline and Student Responsibility: The Students View. Teaching and Teacher Education, 17(3), 307-319. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0742-051x(00)00059-7
Sounding Success: Exploring the Impact of Classical Piano Music in Classroom Math Stations
Primary Researchers
Lauren Gibson, Intern, Baylor University
Hannah Wideman, BS Ed., Mentor Teacher, Castleman Creek Elementary, Midway ISD
Blaire Thornton, Intern Supervisor, Baylor University
Rationale/Introduction
As an intern, I work in a second grade classroom with a variety of behavior levels. I wanted to explore the impact of behavioral challenges in the education setting as it relates to distracted behavior, which has often hindered student engagement and academic success. Through personal observations and experiences, I have focused on a small group of three second grade students whose off-task behavior is an academic obstacle during math stations. This behavior includes digressing from subject-specific conversations, distracting others, and not working on the task at-hand, resulting in amassing unfinished work. I want to investigate the potential of classical music as an effective tool to strengthen these students' engagement. As DiDomenico (2017) described, it was found that relaxing music, like Bach or Handel, can stimulate “deeper concentration” and keep students “on task for longer periods of time”. Additionally, Saavedra (2015) deduces a relation between calming music and reduced “aggressive behavior”, feelings of worry, and “feelings of stress”. So, I plan to conduct self-assessment questionnaires, engagement forms, and academic performance data in order to gain a comprehensive understanding of how background music affects this notion. Therefore, by delving into the relationship between music and improved behavior, I will contribute to the development of strategies that can potentially transform the learning experience of students facing the challenge of repetitive unproductive behavior.
Question/Wondering
How does the application of classical piano music impact two female and one male second grade students’ engagement at their desks during math stations?
Methodology/Results
This research will involve a group of 2 female and 1 male students, ages 7-8. The group consists of varying ethnicities, namely Caucasian and African American, with most coming from a middle-class background. One of these students is academically on-level, though two are tiered in math instruction. Those two students - two females - receive targeted tier two instruction, in which they are given specific selective support in their areas of need for an hour every other day. To carry out research, I will first gather student feedback through a three-question self-assessment questionnaire after math station work where no background music was played: rate your level of focus during station work on a scale of 1 to 5 (1 being very low, and 5 being very high), how motivated do you feel to complete your tasks during station work (1 being not motivated, and 5 being extremely motivated), and on a scale of 1 to 5, how engaged do you feel during station work (1 being very disengaged and 5 being highly engaged). After collecting and analyzing their initial thoughts, I will spend the week conducting daily engagement forms on each student during a random 10-minute period still with no background music. Every 30 seconds, I will observe each of the selected students for 5 seconds and note if they were on-task (+) or off-task (-), then calculate the percentage of the time they were on-task and off-task - this will aid in tracking trends in engagement levels. Simultaneously, I will gather academic performance data, noting how many of the stations (out of four) are being completed without background music, then analyzing the data, noting the average number of stations being completed weekly. These data points will all be documented on a line-graph with plotted points representing the outcomes, based on the specific method. The second week, I will introduce classical piano background music into math station work time. The background music loop will remain consistent throughout the duration of inquiry. I will repeat the steps of taking engagement forms and academic performance data, analyzing the trends and documenting them in the same manner as before. This data collection will last from weeks two through four. During week five, give students the post-background music self-assessment questionnaire, using the same questions given during the baseline data collection period. Finally, compile and analyze all data, noting trends and placing statistics into an understandable format.
The results showed through averaging weekly engagement and station data, as well as giving a questionnaire regarding the inclusion of background music, there was no causative increase, but maybe some correlative increase. Through engagement data, Student T seemed to show the most growth, becoming on average 12 percent more on-task each week as classical background music was played. The other two students seemed to either stay at a fairly consistent level, or fluctuate with no observable pattern. The station data revealed there was no steady increase in the number of stations completed for any student, with Student D only seeing a spike in performance on the third week. Through the questionnaire, each student verbalized that when they were able to hear the background music, it made them not want to talk to their peers as frequently. I noticed this behavior when the classroom was quiet enough for the background music to be heard, which was a transformation from previous unfruitful behaviors seen. Therefore, a limiting factor was students not being able to hear the music at all times due to a noisy environment. Nevertheless, even though this method might not be considerably beneficial for every student, it appears as though it will not hinder their performance. There was no significant recognizable decline in performance from any of the assessments used to collect data. So, as DiDomenico (2017) described, relaxing classical music can keep students “on task for longer periods of time”. It appears as though some students will greatly benefit from classical background music played during math stations.
Implications/Recommendations
Through my research, I noticed the possible correlative increase between playing classical background music and student performance. Therefore, these findings will impact my instructional practices by highlighting the potential positive benefit of classical background music implementation during station time could provide. Due to the fact that students are seemingly not hindered, it is a method that could work for some students who are responsive to the background music being played, while simultaneously managing undesirable behaviors. However, there are a few limiting factors to this experience: students might not be able to hear the music at all times, they could be more energetic or tired on certain days, and there could be external factors that cannot be accounted for. For further study, I would have taken several more weeks of both baseline data and data playing background classical music, which would have established more data points in my trend line. This would have given greater insight into the relationship between engagement performance and background music. So, I would not jump to conclusions since isolating any factor to explain an increase in academic performance is difficult. However, this study showed there may be a positive relationship. As a final note, I wonder if classical background music being played during independent work impacts middle school students, to see if there is a stronger connection present.
References
DiDomenico, J. (2017). Effective Integration of Music in the Elementary School Classroom. Elementary School Classroom. I.e.: Inquiry in Education, 9(2). https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1165&context=ie
Saavedra, E., & Alexander, H. (2015). How can integrating music into your classroom benefit student learning and development? National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments. https://safesupportivelearning.ed.gov/voices-field/how-does-music-benefit-your-classroom-or-school-community-most
Emotional Regulation for Struggling Students
Primary Researchers
Libby Paul, Intern, Baylor University
Meredith Snowden, MSEd, Mentor Teacher, Castleman Creek Elementary, Midway ISD
Blaire Thornton, MSEd, Intern Supervisor, Baylor University
Rationale/Introduction
Throughout this first semester in the Kindergarten class, I have noticed that two of our students are bringing a lot of baggage and unresolved emotions into class. In other words, these students are having a difficult time regulating their emotions, which is stunting their ability to learn. I understand that children at this age are learning how to control their emotions. However, these specific students are not regulating their emotions in a manner that is developmentally age appropriate. These emotional outbursts include aggression, hitting others, jumping off of things, meltdowns, screaming, defiance, and throwing items. Overall, these students’ behavior is hindering their ability to learn. Therefore, I am going to be using different behavioral techniques to meet these children where they are at, emotionally. The purpose of these techniques is to teach them how to regulate their emotions.
Question/Wondering
How does the implementation of a morning check-in and two behavior check ins throughout the day impact the two students who are prone to acting out in class?
Methodology/Results
Through the duration of the first semester, my mentor teacher and I noticed that a couple of the students were having a difficult time regulating their emotions. One of the articles that was a part of my background research mentioned that, “Especially when children are young, they may not be able to tell you what they're feeling. And in fact they may not even know what’s bothering them” (Miller, 2021). I believe that this is the case for those few students who are acting out and causing disruptive behavior. Therefore, this article goes on to share numerous things that may be the root of their behavior problems. For instance, these underlying issues may include anxiety, ADHD, learning disorders, depression, and trauma (Miller, 2021). Knowing that these are potential reasons that they are exhibiting behavioral issues has helped me to understand more about where these students are coming from and what their background may be. (Miller, 2021). In regard to the students in my study, one of the students (Student R), was one from a low income family. His homelife is that of a difficult dynamic, since he is a child of divorce, and all that entails. The other student (Student A) has a nuclear family. However, this student has shared that he feels ignored at home. These factors gave us an awareness of what could potentially be impacting their aggressive behavior patterns.
Within this project, I began each day with a morning check-in with both of the students, separately. This morning check-in uses a zones chart to help them primarily identify their feelings and why they may feel that way. Then it provides ideas of what they could do to self-regulate and get into the green zone, which is the ideal state they should be in. These morning check-ins were recorded throughout the process. For the majority of the time, Student A would come in identifying his emotion as tired. For Student R, he mostly came in with emotions that were in the green zone. Therefore, for Student R, it seemed as though he was coming in excited to be at school. However, when he was asked to do anything he did not want to do, he would fight against it and continue doing his own thing.
As the school day progressed, there would be two check-ins that used a positive behavior punch card for each of the students. This card will be punched if they adhered to the positive behaviors that they were expected to display. The main three expectations that we rotated between were following directions the first time, sitting on the carpet during whole group instruction, and/or doing their work at their tables. As time went on, we refined this list to one of the expectations a week, so that the students could focus on fulfilling that one behavior. There were two opportunities that the students were given to earn a punch in their punch card. Once this punch card is completely hole punched (all 12 punches), the students are then able to get a reward from Ms. Spink (one of the behavior specialists). Therefore, this punch card system was meant to encourage the students to want to do the right thing so that they could earn a reward. Throughout the school day, the students were given two time block opportunities that they can earn these punches for their punch cards. There was a time in the morning right before lunch that we reevaluated if they earned one, and there was also a time before dismissal that we discussed if they earned one during that time. This technique was helpful for these specific students to know what we were expecting them to do throughout the day. For instance, I was able to use the punch card as a reminder that they needed to be following directions so that they could earn what we have discussed. This in turn gave the students incentive to want to fix their behavior and get back on track so that they can earn the reward. The way that we measured their progress was that they were successful if the number of negative referrals diminished, and if they earned hole punches in their positive punch card.
The week prior to beginning the study, I collected a baseline of data that revealed if they would have earned a hole punch in their punch card. In regard to Student R, he would have earned about half of the punches of that week. His behavior included some good behaviors, such as completing station work. However, he struggled to follow directions the first time and stay seated on the carpet. Student A’s baseline data revealed that he would not have earned any punches in his punch card that week, except for one time. Some of the notes indicate that he came into the school with a bad attitude, refused to do work, wouldn’t follow any directions, and would yell at one of us, teachers.
During the actual research study, there was honestly minimal progress shown in Student R. Overall, he only completed one punch card throughout the four weeks. However, his negative referrals did diminish overtime. Student A did show some progress in choosing to make the right decisions so that he could work toward earning the punch card reward.
Part of my background research was based on the article, “Classroom problem behavior and teacher-child relationships in kindergarten: The moderating role of classroom climate”. This article is an evidence-based research report that explored the dynamics between teachers and students in reaction to student problem behaviors. My project displayed many elements that were discussed in that article. The article’s research found that the students with behavioral issues are “at risk for developing less positive relationships with their teachers” (Buyse, et al., 2007). Additionally, these students may develop more conflictual dynamics with their teachers. The studies further conclude that it is possible for teachers to alter those dynamics and form more positive relationships with those students. Throughout our data collection, I was able to see that these students were more at risk for more difficult relationships with their teachers. Yet, with the help of emotionally supportive teachers, those students “are no longer at risk for developing less close or more conflictual relationships with their teachers respectively” (Buyse, et al., 2007). The main purpose of the morning meeting and positive reinforcement was to allow the students to understand how much the teachers are here to support them and that we are for them.
Implications/Recommendations
Throughout my research, I was able to analyze the correlation between potential underlying emotional issues with negative behavior outbursts in the classroom. We have noticed that without the implementation of the morning and meeting and positive behavior punch card, the students are less motivated to adhere to our expectations. Therefore we will be continuing to utilize those techniques in the classroom. One weakness of the study was that the punch card needed 12 punches in order for them to receive a reward. We probably would have gotten a more effective result if the reward was closer in reach. Therefore, in the future, I may use a punch card that has only 8 sections that they need to get hole punched. I think this will make them have a little more incentive to follow directions. One of the strengths of this research project was the ability to remind the students of what they were working towards throughout the day. We were able to help them call to mind the expectations that they need to be following to earn that reward. After conducting this project, I am still wondering what other underlying reasons may be contributing to the student’s outburst (specifically Student R). Furthermore, I am wondering if we might have missed something that may be the root cause of his inability to appropriately regulate his emotions.
Reference(s)
- Miller, C. (2021, April 5). Common causes of behavior problems in kids. Child Mind Institute. https://childmind.org/article/common-causes-of-behavior-problems-in-kids/
Buyse, E., Verschueren, K., Doumen, S., Van Damme, J., & Maes, F. (2007). Classroom problem behavior and teacher-child relationships in kindergarten: The moderating role of classroom climate. Journal of School Psychology, 46(4), 367–391. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2007.06.009
Incorporating Play to Enhance Letter Recognition in Small Group Settings
Primary Researchers
Avery Roddy Intern, Baylor University
Amy Blackwell BS Ed, Mentor Teacher, Castleman Creek Elementary, Midway ISD
Blaire Thornton MS Ed, Intern Supervisor, Baylor University
Rationale/Introduction
During my internship in the Fall of 2023 at Castleman Creek Elementary, I observed a disparity between my low-performing and on-level students in their ability to identify letters and their corresponding sounds. Despite using different tools such as whiteboards, name tiles, alphabet arches, and letter matching, there was little growth. As stated by the Texas Education Agency (2024), “Informal but planned instruction in which children have many opportunities to see, play with, and compare letters leads to efficient letter learning.”. Recognizing the significance of this skill, my objective was to incorporate interactive and engaging activities into our small group sessions, specifically targeting letters and sounds. My objective is to enhance their letter and sound recognition by the end of the research period. My research consists of 3 students' ability to master identifying and writing 52 letters and 26 sounds.
Question/Wondering
How does play-based learning impact Kindergarten students’ ability to identify letters and sounds?
Methodology/Results
I evaluated the three-student’s performance based on their ability to identify all 52 letters and their corresponding 26 sounds. To begin, I administered a pre-assessment to a small group consisting of one African American female and two males, one Hispanic and one white, who come from a low socioeconomic background. These students have previously been evaluated and have been identified as the three lowest-performing students in the class with letter sound knowledge of less than 5 letters and sounds. Before introducing the instructional method, I assessed the students to establish a baseline and monitor their progress throughout the assessment period.
During WIN time, I incorporated play activities that target letter recognition and phonics. Each week, I assessed the students again to measure their growth after incorporating play into the lessons and determine the benefits it provides. The play activities involved hands-on manipulatives, games, role-playing, and songs to engage the students. During my thirty minutes, daily when I worked with the group of students, I started by having the students write their first and last name as these are the letters they use and recognize the most daily. I would then implement my chosen activity for the week. The different activities I used included, Play-Doh, YouTube videos, and Online games. Students participated in these various activities for thirty minutes daily in a small group of three. The students would use these manipulatives guided by me and then would get time to explore independently. With the Play-Doh, students were given a sound and then would make the corresponding uppercase and lowercase letters. Once they mastered that, the students were tasked with using the Play-Doh to create an object that began with that same letter. I repeated these steps with multiple letters until the thirty minutes were complete. I did this process through the four-day week I pulled these students. The YouTube video, (Hartmann, 2018) that I incorporated ran for about four minutes. The students were engaged and following along as a group. We watched the video two times and then continued with our regular small group. During the third week, the students took turns playing a sound-letter online game (Sound-letter matching game) that allowed students to hear the sound, and then select an answer from multiple choices. We would play this game for fifteen minutes, then continue with regular small group time. For the last week, I gathered my post-assessment data using the same method I used to collect my baseline data.
Results from my inquiry resulted in growth from all three of my students, one being more drastic than the others. By the end of the four weeks, one student had mastered all their letters and sounds.
Implications/Recommendations
During my investigation, I thoroughly examined the impact of play on letter and sound comprehension. My findings revealed that play-based learning fosters student interaction, independent learning, and active engagement in their educational journey. Notably, two male students demonstrated significant progress in their letter and sound knowledge. Based on my research, it is evident that play-based learning is an effective approach for developing these skills. When designing lesson plans for my small groups, incorporating play-based instructions across all levels enhances student improvement and daily participation. When incorporating play-based learning into other level students, it is important to keep in mind that the effects may differ and the growth may not be as noticeable right away. Regardless of the notable growth, incorporating play-based activities is an intentional way for students to study and master skills in phonics as it changes the way of learning and allows the opportunity for independent discovery.
Reference(s)
Texas Education Agency. (n.d.). The alphabetic principle. Reading Rockets. https://www.readingrockets.org/topics/phonics-and-decoding/articles/alphabetic-principle
Hartmann, J. (2018, January 13). Learning letter sounds | version 3 | alphabet song for kids | phonics for kids | jack hartmann. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIkwUFGvcCU
Sound-letter matching game. Phonics & Stuff. (n.d.-b). https://phonicsandstuff.com/sound-letter-matching
Behavior Contract for Struggling Student, Well-reasoned or Weak?
Primary Researchers
Emily Schick Intern, Baylor University
Sarah Little, B.A., Mentor Teacher, Castleman Creek Elementary, Midway ISD
Blaire Thornton MS Ed, Intern Supervisor, Baylor University
Rationale/Introduction
As a second-grade intern, I have had the privilege of working closely with a diverse group of students, many of whom have been diagnosed with behavior disorders, requiring special attention and support. During my time in this educational environment, I observed that there was one particular student who stood out. This student, seemingly without any identified behavior disorder, was struggling to maintain appropriate behavior in the classroom. His conduct is characterized by a consistent pattern of off-task behavior, frequent disruptions to his peers, a tendency to be out of his seat, and an inclination to yell out, run around the room, and use his hands on others. These behaviors impact both the individual student and the classroom as a whole, so I recognized that a focused and targeted intervention was necessary to address this issue.
The purpose of this action research study is to investigate the impact of implementing a behavior contract on the engagement and disruptive behaviors of a specific student within a classroom setting. The primary objective is to design and implement a personalized behavior contract, with a focus on encouraging and maintaining the student’s engagement in classroom activities and completion of assignments. I aim to facilitate a positive and supportive learning experience for this student, enabling him to channel his energy and focus into productive educational pursuits, ultimately enhancing his overall academic success. Existing research typically supports the use of behavior contracts to improve student responsibility and compliance.
Improving the learning environment requires a collaborative effort between students and teachers. Teachers can establish a supportive and achievement-oriented classroom culture to facilitate a more productive and responsible learning environment. To foster positive student engagement in the classroom, teachers can cultivate a culture of achievement and offer support and encouragement (Akey, 2007). These strategies will enhance student motivation. Additionally, to nurture intrinsic motivation, it is essential to provide choices during instruction (Deci, 2001). Providing choice helps students to take ownership of their learning. Additionally, there are ways to help students have visual reminders of the choices they are making.
One way to hold students accountable is through the use of extrinsic and intrinsic rewards. Student behavior contracts are a helpful tool: behavior contracts focus on targeted behaviors through a positive reward system, and individual conferences have a positive impact on students’ personal responsibility (Dodge, 2007). Students who used the contract were able to independently complete daily routines, turn in homework, and stay on task by being aware of the rewards and consequences. The students also gained self-confidence, self-motivation, and self-respect when they received feedback throughout this process. Another vital aspect of reward systems is considering student interest and personalizing it to the student (Okolo, 1995). To increase motivation in the classroom it is helpful to give students a moderate amount of choices and enhance students ability to control an instructional activity. The research that has been conducted before me will guide my forms of assessment as I aim to improve the behavior of the struggling student in my class.
Question/Wondering
How does implementing a behavior contract affect the engagement of one second-grade male student who struggles to remain on-task?
Methodology/Results
The participant involved in the research was one second-grade male. The student is African American and comes from a lower socioeconomic family background. Academically, he is performing on grade level. To conduct research, I created a behavior chart with this student. On this behavior chart, the day was chunked into 30-minute increments. He would earn a point if he were following expectations, and did not if he needed reminders to follow expectations for the allotted time. Together, we decided those expectations included hands in control/not distracting others, staying in my spot, completing stations or work, and keeping my mouth closed when the speaker was talking. We utilized the behavior checklist throughout the day. To record the data, I monitored his checklists and tracked if they were improving. My second assessment was using engagement forms to monitor his engagement throughout instruction. I used a form to track his expectations during all times of learning. I tracked how often he blurted out, distracted others, got out of his spot, and completed assignments without reminders.
To begin my research, I conducted baseline data: I collected this without the behavior chart in place. The data results included records that the student was daily blurting out about fourteen times, out of his seat nine times, distracting others with his hands ten times, and completing 8% of his work without assistance. The engagement forms reflected that he was 50% engaged during ELAR and Math mini-lessons. At the end of the week, I had this student fill out a reinforcement survey. This survey allowed me to see what rewards he wanted to receive when he achieved fifteem points on his contract. Then, I implemented the behavior chart, using the forms again to track his daily progress. Once he earned 15 points on his chart, he participated in a reward from the reinforcement survey.
The data results included: daily blurting out fourteen times, getting out of his seat nine times, disrupting others nine times, and completing 8% of work. His engagement forms reflected that he was 57.5% engaged and 42.5% off-task. Since the student knew he had to get 15 marks on his charts to achieve a reward, I reevaluated and changed the goal to 10 marks. I decided that for the student to be more motivated for his reward, his goal needed to be adjusted to be more easily achievable. The following two weeks, after I had collected data, I found incredible progress in my students' motivation and behaviors.
The student that I researched showed growth in all aspects that I was monitoring. Before the behavior chart, my student was blurting out about fourteen times, and with the contract, he was averaging ten blurt-outs each day. My student was out of his seat an average of nine per day before the contract; with the contract, he was out of his spot about seven times each day. Each day, my student distracted others with his hands about ten times, and once the behavior chart was implemented, he distracted others an average of six times each day. Once we used the behavior chart, he completed 44% of assignments each day as opposed to 8% of assignments before the chart. His engagement went from 50% on-task to 75% on-task during mini-lessons. The significant growth that this student showed supports my research findings because the disruptive behaviors decreased and the engagement increased.
Implications/Recommendations
My mentor teacher and I still use this behavior chart daily for this student. He responds well to it and is quick to correct his behavior to earn his point. It promotes his intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. I plan to continue using this chart rewards system with him for the rest of the year but slowly make it more challenging for him to achieve the reward. Increasing the rigor by requiring him to gain more points each day will hold him to a higher expectation; however, he will need to comply with this before entering third grade. In the future, I will be able to use this chart system with future students who struggle with meeting expectations. A strength of this research is evident in the progress that my student showed; however, implementing this method is time-consuming.
If I conduct this in the future, I will adjust my methodology. I want to add self-evaluating surveys daily or weekly: I think it would be fascinating to receive concrete data from the student to see if they feel their behavior is improving. This is something that I talked to my student about: we recognized that he was working hard on certain days to follow the expectations. I want to add these surveys to get a glimpse of how my students would rate themselves. This was another weakness in my research that I would like to improve. I also wonder how the student’s mindset would shift if they could see the forms and data I collected. Maybe if the students could track their blurt-outs or the number of times they were out of their seats, they could set goals to achieve. In this research, my student would set goals for points he was trying to achieve; however, I would like to see the data when my student was setting specific goals about the expectations.
Reference(s)
Akey, T. M. (2007, April). Using positive student engagement to increase student achievement.
Center for Comprehensive School Reform and Improvement, 4, 1-4.
Deci, E., Ryan, R., & Koestner, R. (2001, January 1). The pervasive negative effects of rewards on intrinsic motivation: Response to cameron (2001). Review of Educational Research, 71(1), 43.
Dodge, D., Nizzi, D., Pitt, W., & Rudolph, K. (2007). Improving Student Responsibility
Through The Use Of Individual Behavior Contracts.
Okolo, C. M., & Bahr, C. M. (1995). Increasing achievement motivation of elementary school students with mild disabilities. Intervention in School & Clinic, 30(5), 279.
Guided Writing: The Solution to Building Confident Writers
Primary Researchers
Foster Thomas, Intern, Baylor University
Stacy Spink, MS Ed, Mentor Teacher, Castleman Creek, Midway ISD
Blaire Thornton, MS Ed, Professor, Baylor University
Rationale/Introduction
When beginning my first semester as an intern in a second grade class, I noticed immediate tension with the student’s ability to write. When asked to write, there were audible sighs and frustration. While writing, most students were only able to produce two to three sentences. These sentences did not contain meaningful writing, and the students struggled to put their thoughts to paper. When asking them what they will write about, they were able to tell me with a beginning, middle, and end. They struggle to put their thoughts onto paper, and do so with proper punctuation, grammar and conventions of writing. This is why I knew that implementing a guided writing curriculum in the room would help the second grade students become better writers.
A multitude of online resources suggest that guided writing curriculum can improve student’s ability to write, their motivation and their attitudes towards writing. One study attributed three factors to a student's ability to engage in meaningful writing (Lang, 2011). The author gathered this evidence from a 12 week study in which 66 sixth-grade students were measured. The three factors are motivation, enjoyment and anxiety. If students are not enticed and engaged in their writing, they will not feel motivated to put thought and effort into writing well. Next, if a student is not able to enjoy what they are working on, their work and attitude will reflect the same. Finally, the author suggests that many writers have writing anxiety. They might fear being evaluated negatively, or might have preconceived notions that they are not a good writer, thus the task of writing gives them anxiety. I have seen these three factors in my own class and are reasons why guided writing instruction will help them. Sharon Gibson (2008) writes that guided writing helps bridge the gap between the teacher modeling a new skill to the student performing it. She states that guided writing helps students experience successful and independent writing within the context of strong teacher support. Katie Palmer (2023) describes how this can be done whole or small group, and lists ways this can be done to differentiate all student’s writing needs and facilitate growth.
Question/Wondering
How does implementing one hour a week of guided writing curriculum to six second grade students impact their ability to write informational texts and confidence as writers?
Methodology/Results
This research involved 6 second grade students; two girls and four boys of high and low academic levels, and mixed races. These six students were a part of one guided writing group. Before students began their small groups, they took a survey in which they rated themselves on how they feel about their own writing in relation to their ability to write a sentence with proper grammar and punctuation. As well as their own attitudes towards writing. Then, students got three minutes to respond to the prompt, “tell me about a time you got hurt.” Students were graded on if their writing made sense, proper punctuation, capitals in the right place, finger spaces, the use of recent writing techniques, and if they answered the question properly. On average, the six students scored a 33% on the prompted writing.
When I began pulling the small group of students, each one was given a special folder for writing. On the inside is a bulleted reminder to capitalize letters in the right place, use proper punctuation and keep finger spaces in between words. During our first small group meeting, I gave a lesson on the growth mindset. I noticed that the students in this group had mental barriers about their writing abilities, which showed in their writing ratings. It was important for me to get across to them that in order for them to grow, they have to do hard things. I was able to use this throughout instruction to remind them that sometimes writing can be hard, but we will not be able to grow if we are not willing to try hard things.
Next, I guided them through the guided writing process. For this writing unit, we were writing reports. The process started with a brief shared experience. This was similar to a hook at the start of a lesson; a way to engage them and provide a springboard for an initial writing experience. For example, I showed them a video about Taylor Swift, the person I was doing my report on. I was able to then model the writing strategy using the video I showed as a jumping point. Students then received around 10 minutes of independent writing time in which the teacher can step in and provide support when needed. The guided writing time finished by students getting to share their pieces aloud to each other. Sometimes, students shared their writing and progress with just one other person.
As they were writing their reports, they first brainstormed topics they were passionate about and wanted to share with others. Next, they used books from Epic Books to take notes on their topic. Then, I guided them through the process of identifying four big ideas in their writing to move into a graphic organizer they would use to write a paragraph. After putting their ideas into a graphic organizer, they turned it into the parts of a paragraph on another graphic organizer. I was able to scaffold them through this process which made it easier for them to write the paragraph. Students then edited their writing, and produced a final draft of their writing. The final method of assessment I used for this research was grading their final writing. I evaluated their writing based on a rubric which evaluated their content, organization, sentence structure, basion conventions, and publishing. Data from the rubric showed me what students did well on and what their strengths in writing are, and what they still need improvements on. Their grades on the rubrics ranged from 50% to 100%. These grades reflected their scores in other academic areas, but it was still evident that students were improving.
At the end, students scored on average a 58% on the prompted writing, showing an average of 25% growth in all students. When students rated their writing, five students showed improvements in their ratings. Most ratings increased from a frown face to a medium face, or a medium face to a smiley face. The largest change was seeing one student who typically gets emotional and upset when asked to write improve their rating from “I don’t like writing,” to “I sometimes like writing.” Each day, students became less emotional about writing and more excited to get into the group and work hard to complete their paragraph. They seem to have enjoyed going to a separate space and since it made the experience special, it felt new to them, and more exciting for them to engage with.
The results of my study support my research question. Overall, implementing at least an hour a week of guided writing with students helped them become more confident writers. They became more ambitious to write a lot, to share their writing. Additionally, this small group environment allowed them to get scaffolded support that improved their informational writing skills. Since I was able to conference and aid all of the students 1-on-1, they were guided through the process better. Whereas these students typically rushed through the process in a whole group setting, they were able to slow down and work their hardest.
Implications/Recommendations
This study allowed me to see the benefit of pulling students for a guided writing time. The individualized time to get support helped them feel more confident in their writing abilities. I plan to implement this in my own class to promote student growth. This study taught me the importance of helping students gain confidence in all of the work they do. The growth mindset is so important and instilling those values in them will help them become engaged and invested in their learning their whole lives.
A weakness of this study was that this growth was mainly due to being able to pull one small group for the entire time. Due to the nature of being an Intern, I was able to pull a small group while my mentor continued to teach the rest of the students. Because I was able to help them more in a smaller setting, I believe I saw more growth from them. In a whole class guided writing environment, not all students will receive as much differentiated help as was seen in this study. Another weakness of this study is that it was very short term and I was only able to focus on writing reports. Students would also benefit from working on narrative fiction writing support. In the future, I would like to continue the guided writing process across all writing units. A further wondering created by this study is how the implementation of guided writing would impact the writing abilities across all writing units.
On the other hand, a strength of this study was that due to the nature of being an intern, I was able to provide these students some of the closest support they might get during writing time. This helped students as they were guided through the process and had to work at a slower place; a pace in which grew their writing abilities.
References
Gibson, Sharon. “Guided Writing.” Guided Writing | Read Write Think, 2008, www.readwritethink.org/professional-development/strategy-guides/guided-writing#RelatedResourceTabs.
Lang, Yu-Fen, and Chun-Ling Hung. EFFECTS OF GUIDED WRITING STRATEGIES ON STUDENTS’ WRITING ATTITUDES BASED ON MEDIA RICHNESS THEORY , vol. 10, no. 4, Oct. 2011, pp. 148–164, https://doi.org/https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ946620.pdf.
Palmer, Katie. “Scaffolding Strategies for Guided Writing Lessons.” Lucky Little Learners, 17 July 2023, luckylittlelearners.com/scaffolding-strategies-for-guided-writing-lessons/