EDLD 5352 Week 5 Reflection

This class has been amazing. I have learned so much. I have learned so much that I have incorportated Flipped learning into my lesson plans for the first week of school. I have learned that Flipped learning is a way to engage students prior to class, and activity can occur right away. My action research project has to do with Flipped learning so I have been excited to see powerful examples and real students sharing their learning. This class have also helped me to see how different ways of engagement can really change the dynamic of a classroom.

I also enjoyed the web conferences which is where we collaborate and share ideas. Most of the questions I had were answered during these conferences!

EDLD 5397 Week 3- Draft Action Research Project Progress Report

 

a.     Title –

Increasing student achievement in African American students by Improving math fact fluency with technology

By: Debbie Wolff

 

b.     Needs Assessment

 

When looking at data for Townsell Elementary for the 2011-2012 school year. On the 2011 Campus accountability data table, the African American sub group had the lowest passing rate in math at 72% passing.  20% of our population at Townsell are African American, which is the second highest sub group. Townsell’s majority population is 66% Hispanic. The Hispanic subgroup had an 84% pass rate on the same test.  In the 2011-2012 school year, we missed AYP by 1 African American student. These are noticeable gaps in test scores. The African American sub group should be scoring as high as other sub groups.  

2011 PCT met standard	All Students	African American	Hispanic	White	Economically Disadvantaged
TAKS- ELA	89%	85%	89%	82%	87%
TAKS- Mathematics	82%	72%	84%	73%	80%

 

 

 

c.      Objectives and Vision of the action research project. (ELCC 1.1)

The objective and vision is to increase student achievement in math by using online games to increase fact fluency. I plan to remove all math interventions and have 20 African American students use Reflex math for 30 minutes per day. The students will take a survey in ways that they currently study their facts, they will take a timed pretest on facts, use reflex math for 4 week, and then take a post test. The goal is that their fact fluency will increase. The expected result is that students will increase their fact fluency by 25%.

d.     Review of the Literature and Action Research Strategy –

 

After reviewing the RTI process at our school, students are being pulled out of math instruction to get small group interventions. The question has been raised, on what is going on during those interventions. In 3^rd and 4^th grade, students continue to have large gaps in learning which hinders their progression.  What we noticed is that students are having trouble with math fluency. Math fact fluency refers to the ability to recall the basic facts in all four operations accurately, quickly and effortlessly.  When students achieve automaticity with these facts, they have attained a level of mastery that enables them to retrieve information from long term memory without conscious effort or attention (Rivera, Reiss, Eckert & Menon, 2005). Looking back at TAKS math, African American students are not as successful as other sub populations at our school. When I noticed this information, I realized that this Math fact fluency was a huge opportunity for increase student achievement. I also looked at my 3^rd grade classroom, and asked my students about what motivates them. My students always want to be on the computer, they love playing games and they will chose games over flashcards. “The secret to online success in education, it seems, lies in the playing of games” (Prigg, 2009, pg. 4).

With all the books and articles I have read, the trend is going to online games, and online applications for students.  We are currently training learners of the 21^st century, and we must be innovative to keep them engaged in learning.

 

e.     Articulate the Vision (ELCC 1.2) –

 

I met with my principal and completely switched action research projects to meet the needs of our school. My principal helped me come up with my action research project and she is very supportive. She is purchasing Reflex Math for our school after we looked at different online programs.

 

f.       Manage the organization (ELCC 3.1) –

For this project, we are going to purchase Reflex Math for the school, which is about $300. I do not have the exact cost at this time, but I will by the time I update this. I met with my principal and we decided on the students who will participate in my action research project. We will choose 15 students who are what we call our “bubble” students. These will be African American students in 3^rd and 4^th grade who are currently scoring 50-60% on weekly common assessments in math. I will give each student a survey on their current methods for studying math facts, they will take a pretest, and then for 4 weeks, will be removed from math interventions and spend 30 minutes daily on Reflex math. After 4 weeks, students will take a post-test to monitor their results. Our goal is to increase their score by at least 25%.

 

g.     Manage Operations (ELCC 3.2) –

 

Right now, since I have not started the program, I don’t have any conflict. The only conflict was having to change my action research project according to our campus needs.

h.     Respond to Community Interest and Needs (ELCC 4.2) –

The action research project will serve the needs of students with special and exceptional needs by using Reflex Math. Reflex Math is based on student’s current levels. Once the student begins the program, they take a pre-test on the program and their learning begins at their instructional level. We are going to focus on African American students due to the need. We missed AYP by one African American student. If this program in successful, we will disseminate it to the rest of the students in the fall.

 

 

My Flipped Classroom Progress... Week 5 EDLD 5326

In regards to my action research project, I am underway with my plan. My project was going to be to implement a flipped math classroom two times per week. Since my teaching assignment changed, I am now implementing one lesson per week in my reading and language arts classroom. I sorted through different assessments and decided to use Istation to assess the students. Istation will give a summary by skill and by student. It is broken down into fluency, phonemic awareness, spelling, and comprehension. I have given the initial assessments, and now I am collecting the data on my students. Currently, I am in the process of sorting through the data, and analyzing what the student’s strengths and weakness are. I feel I am on track and in a good place on the research project. I have created three reading lessons so far, where I am teaching metacognition strategies. I have spent a lot of time working with other teachers on my grade level team to seek input, and have asked them assess my lessons, and give suggestions for improvement.  My goal is for the students to watch the first lesson by the end of October. I will then compare assessment data of students who received the lesson in the classroom, rather than at home. I plan to do this throughout the year, so I can measure the success of a flipped classroom.  So far, I have completed about 35-40 hours on implementing this project. This includes, preparing the assessments, giving the assessments, collecting and analyzing data, and creating the lessons.

Class Reflection

I cannot believe it has already been 5 weeks! I have learned so much in this class, and I have developed a newfound passion of action research! I have enjoyed all the lectures, but I really enjoyed learning about the action research purpose and its effectiveness. The text chosen from the course, Leading with Passion and Knowledge , by Nancy Fichtman Dana, was enlightening. I really enjoyed learning about The Passions that drive your journey. Chapter two described finding a wondering, which unlocks inquiries that you are interested in and passionate about. I realized how much I enjoy implementing technology in the classroom, which led to me researching technology topics. After collaborating on the discussion board and other classmates’ blogs, I narrowed my topic to researching the flipped classroom method. Through my research I found so many wonderful resources. I also enjoyed creating our blogs. This cohort has worked so well together, I love the creation of a Facebook page. We would talk throughout the week and would help each other with questions or challenges. I thought that we assisted in each other and fed off of each other. I loved going through the blogs and hearing about what others plan to do their research on. To me, the blogs made the class smaller, I felt they I wasn’t alone on this journey.

I thought the web conferences were great, It was a time to ask questions, and to get direct feedback. I felt connected, and when  I couldn’t attend the web conferences, I would go back and watch them during any free time. Technology helped us stay together in this course. With that said, I think the discussion board was the most valuable resource. I enjoyed reading comments from my classmates, and I took their feedback into consideration.

Overall, I enjoyed this class, I enjoyed the collaboration with others. I look forward to moving on to my next course. With each completed course, I am adding to my learning, and I am looking forward to being a school leader even more. This course gave me the knowledge to make a change within my school and feel confident in doing so.

 

Action Research Plan and Week 3 Reflection

Action Planning Template
Goal: How can implementing a flipped classroom increase student achievement and engagement in the elementary classroom?
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Research and evaluate information on flipped classrooms at the elementary level	Debbie Wolff	Present 07/12- 08/20/12 Currently am researching various information on flipped classrooms, created pinterest board and joined “flipped classroom Network”	Created a pinterest board for flipped classrooms: Brianbennett.org Edudemic.org Edweek.com Knewton.com Flippedclassroom.org Flippedclassroom.com Youtube.com	Learn about the flipped classroom model; apply information to an elementary classroom. Watch various flipped recordings on different topics to gain an understanding about utilizing a flipped classroom.
Decide which days and lessons will be flipped lessons. I am planning to flip the lesson, not the entire class due to the elementary age and level of engagement.  Record actual lesson via flip camera or webcam	Debbie Wolff	8/30/12-6/5/2013	Brianbennett.org Edudemic.org Edweek.com Knewton.com Flippedclassroom.org Flippedclassroom.com Youtube.com Flip camera Web cam	Talk to other 3rd grade teachers, I want to introduce a topic using the flipped model. Have students and parents share their feedback on my website.
Choose 4 students at random from my math flipped classroom and 4 students from another 3rd grade general ed classroom. Assess their knowledge and understanding in a particular math topic. I want to compare and contrast their strengths and weaknesses.	Debbie Wolff	10/15/2012-1/15/2013	Irving ISD teks check and other formal district assessments, which will be documented at a later time.	Analyze overall scores for specific content, which was flipped and also compare similar content, which was taught as teacher led whole group.
Survey students in my flipped math classroom, on the following: Has watching a video before class helped them understand a math topic? Do they typically watch the video at home or at school? Would they prefer to work as a class to learn the lesson or on the computer?	Debbie Wolff	11/14/2012-3/15/2013	Survey monkey	Analyze data and compare to student testing data to rate effectiveness

Week 2 Reflection- I have a plan!

This week was fantastic! I really enjoyed the readings and watching the videos.  I gained wonderful insight to what is important as an educational leader. As a principal, you are not simply managing a school. A great leader motivates the teachers, and students. A great leader recognizes that people are what makes a place great. School culture and a positive school climate is important to hiring and retaining your staff. I learned that you have to be a great listener, and also a knowledgeable decision-maker. 

Best of all this week, I finally decided what I am going to be doing my action researchh on... drum roll please...

How can implementing a flipped classroom increase student achievement in my elementary classroom?


I choose this topic to research because this encompasses everything I am passionate about. I love technology, I have a interest in using social media tools in the classroom, and I want to use project-based learning in the classroom. Implementing a flipped classroom will allow me to do this, and do this effectively and efficiently!

How leaders can use blogs

Blogging is the new age of emailing, but better!  Blogs create a virtual place for people to come together and communicate! We learn from one another, and we can now collaborate from anywhere in the world, or from the comfort of our home. In the classroom, we use blogs to communicate with parents and students. Leaders can use blogs to interact with parents and the community. It is a way to have open communication by posting "What's happening in school". Principals can use blogs to post newsletters, and to reach a large audience. We know that not one person has the all the answers. Blogs provide a interactive communication tool where others can give or seek advice or answers. It is a place where information is given with a simple click of a mouse! Ready, set, blog!