Relief is on the way!

After class tonight, I have an easier feeling of where I need to go with my research. I realize now that I am heading in the right direction, I just need to tweak a few things. For example, I had the idea that I needed to stick to the plan that I had devised in my previous classes which to tell the truth, was a pretty lofty goal. I wanted to observe students from a third, fourth and fifth grade classroom because of the way the classes were structured and the way the students were grouped. I now realize that this is just impossible under the current circumstances. I have decided to reduce my sample size to only fifth grade students and specifically two class periods. From these two class periods I am going to choose a focus group. This focus group I will observe and interview to gather further data.

My focus question has kind of shifted as well. I will still focus on ability grouping and the achievement of students but I also want to look at student perception. I plan to gather this data on the smaller sample size of students whose responses I found interesting based on survey results and on my prior knowledge of the students performance in reading.

After looking at MAP data, I am starting to look for trends of student improvement. Are they really benefiting from the types of instruction that they are receiving being ability grouped? I know that MAP data can't completely answer this question for me but I think this data can help me decide why students aren't achieving the desired level of performance.

I feel a lot more confident about where I need to go and my passion for this project has finally been restored!

Collection has Begun

My data collection was started last week with a survey that I gave the students. As a part of my question, I want to know how the kids feel about the classes that they have been placed in. I think they have a pretty good idea as to why they are in the class that they are in and I wanted to gather their take on this type of grouping and hopefully gain some type of insight as to how they feel about themselves as a reader and the class that they are in. The survey looked like this:

Name: ______________________________________                   Date: 9/20/2012

Please rate your experiences with reading by recording your answer to the questions in the space provided.

1. What do you like most about reading at school?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. What do you like least about reading at school?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. Does your teacher divide your class into small groups at all during the class period?

________________________________________________________________________

4. If so, what is your favorite part about being in small groups?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

5. If you answered yes to question 3, what is your least favorite part about being in small groups?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

6. Use the scale to rate yourself on your ability as a reader.

5 – Always  4 –Sometimes        3 – Not sure            2 – Rarely    1 – Never

I read most all words correctly         5          4          3          2          1

I understand what I read                     5          4          3          2          1

I am reading the same kinds of          5          4          3          2          1

books as my peers

I am a good reader                                   5          4          3          2          1

I don’t like reading because I am       5          4          3          2          1

not good at it

I love reading. I am good at it             5          4          3          2          1

7. If I could create my perfect reading class, who would be in it and what would we do? (Please be realistic).

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________                 

All students have completed this survey and I have organized the data based on the various responses from the students. There were several interesting comments and trends that I found in reading thier responses. For example, the reading class with the struggling readers reported to question 7 that they wanted to have class with their friends. Of course they all want to have class with their friends, they're fifth graders, but their friends are the kids from the class of advanced readers. When the advanced readers answered the same question, the kids they chose to have in their dream reading class were the kids they already had class with. I somehow can't help but wonder if this feeling comes from their opinions of themselves as a student as well as the stigma that may be placed on them for being in the reading class they are in.

A little light at the end of the LONG DARK tunnel

After talking with our curriculum resource teacher and asking for her guidance with this project, I have decided that I am going to work with the students that I taught last year for two reasons. One, I am familiar with how they performed last year and have data on those performances in an ability grouped class. Two, the class that I am in now is not ability grouped. After further reflection though, I still feel led to use my classroom as well. I have not been able to begin the data collection or analysis because A. I'm drowning in a new grade level and can barely get my lessons planned, and B. there are still so many questions I have about the project. I have sent home the consent forms and I am awaiting the completion of these forms. I have to leave my classroom in order to observe the students which poses a problem because finding someone to cover my class while I observe is a challenge. We are getting it worked out with my administrators and I am hoping to begin the data collection next week. I am finishing up a survey that I want to give the students but I also feel led to somehow implement the affects of ability grouping on behavior and reading. I always noted that as one of my major complaints of having the same ability children in one classroom allowed for increased undesirable behaviors. I would really like to look into this or hope the observations will provide an avenue for me to explore this more.

Data, Data, Data...

So call me a nerd, but I really love data. It guides my instruction daily and sometimes even by the minute! I love assessing my students and seeing where they are and where they have come. Data collection for this project, on the other hand seems to be a dark cloud looming over my home and classroom. I do not feel at all adequate to conduct this type of research but hopefully when the data starts rolling in, I will feel a little more at home. I have begun constructing a student survey where the students explain to me how they feel when they are reading in small group, how they feel when they are reading with a whole group and how they feel when they are reading independently. I want to get an idea of my students thoughts about reading and themselves as a reader. I haven't yet begun to even meet with my students just yet in small groups because we are still working out all the kinks of our daily schedule and time together. Hopefully I will see a light at the end of the tunnel soon. Right now, it's pretty dark :((.