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.