Theory to Practice (ETEC 500)
Connection to the Pioneer’s Dream
Early pioneers had to use what they new to make or locate what they needed. Sometimes they knew they had to do things that needed to be done because if they didn’t take on the task everything would remain the same – and most times “the same” is not what is needed”. By doing what is needed sometimes means that a person must step outside their comfort zone.
ETEC 500 (Theory to Practice)
In ETEC 500 I wrote a project proposal that we actually put in place. We decided that something needed to be done immediately because in the 2010/2011 District Achievement Contract, one of the objectives is that every child will meet expectations in Grade 4 reading, writing, and numeracy. This is a lofty goal as currently our grade four results on the Foundation Skills Assessment are as follows:
Meeting or Exceeding Expectations (BC Ministry of Education Performance Standards)
Reading 60%; Writing 47%; Numeracy 43%
Regardless of the current political situation vis a vis the FSA assessments across the Province, it is safe to assume that far too many of our children leave grade four prior to having acquired the reading skills necessary to succeed in subsequent grades given our secondary school assessment results including course pass rates and graduation rates.
Proposed Solution
Learning to read and reading to learning are the keys to academic success. Reading proficiency is still the best predictor of student success. Early identification and support of struggling readers will result in more students reading at grade level as they enter grade four. By identifying the grade ones not yet reading at grade level, reading supports can occur at the earliest possible level. Although we will capture a “District” picture of the reading levels of all grade ones, we will focus our initiative at schools with the greatest incident of at-risk grade one readers. The aim of identifying and targeting at risk grade ones means that we will be able to assist more of our students in acquiring the skill of reading, one of the most common predictors of school success; and we will build district capacity to support vulnerable learners.
Project Objectives
Objective 1: Work with schools to identify grade ones not yet meeting performance standards in reading.
Objective 2: Identify the top schools which need the most support.
Objective 3: Identify schools which are eager to support this project and narrow the list down to a manageable number using the following criteria: a) schools with a large population of vulnerable students, b) schools from various parts of the district, c) schools which demonstrate a commitment to this project.
Objective 4: Work with the designated schools to develop a system of supports that enable these learners and their teachers in their grade two year.
Objective 5: Track the cohort as it moves through the primary grades so that by the end of grade four we have a way of assessing the reading interventions.
Objective 6: Utilize a Lexia Reading Pilot as an added targeted intervention (Tier 2) for students identified as being at greatest risk of not responding. This phase of the project will commence in year two (Sept. 2012 – June 2013).
Approach
Working with the staff of the identified elementary schools will provide us with the experience of learning, planning and implementing strategies that work in the context of our District. We will encourage an inquiry-based approach that allows for innovation and experimentation; celebration and recognition of successes; involving students and parents/families and community members.
Benefits
Utilizing a pilot project to highlight and strengthen the District’s need for developing and supporting research-based supports will allow for greater levels of success in the primary grades.
- More grade 4’s meeting grade level expectations.
- Greater knowledge of what works to support readers at an early level providing better hope for more students to succeed in the intermediate and secondary grades.
- Results of pilot may well define the need to find additional ways and means to provide greater resources for curriculum and instruction development throughout the District.
Considerations for curriculum and teaching strategies
Need to provide extensive, targeted professional development to assist teachers to explore appropriate teaching strategies that develop from a sharing and exchange of results, practices and resources – i.e. what is working well and what can we spread to other classes and schools?
Need for accessible and relevant data to inform the design of the project and to begin ongoing monitoring and communication of the progress that each student makes – remembering the “graduate” and that students are in our system from K through grade twelve.
Professional development for educators involved in the project.
Ensuring that classroom teachers be given individual support, appropriate classroom resources, teaching guides and diagnostic tools to help them develop effective reading strategies with a focus on “our” students as opposed to “my” and “your” students.
Assist all teachers in the project to use common assessment strategies, shifting from teacher –determined assessment to a combination of common school-wide, grade level, and subject areas assessments, along with teacher informal assessments, to determine which students need additional time and support so that more students are reading at grade level by the end of grade four.
On-going assessment of students in order to guide teachers and identify required interventions – changing from remediation after the learning to just in-time interventions at the start of when a student begins to demonstrate challenges in learning.
Development of a school improvement team that meets regularly to review school data and plan next steps, effectively moving from an individual teacher response to a school-wide response that guarantees that each student will receive timely support to become proficient.
Plan for parental involvement and community engagement so that parents and community members are involved in supporting the project.
Implementation Plan – Methodology
Identify vulnerable grade two students not yet meeting expectations on the grade one reading performance standards.
Establish a learning team at each of the schools in the project that is comprised of a district educator as well as school staff to determine and evaluate chosen interventions.
Identify where instructional strategies/interventions for grade twos not meeting expectations are working, clearly state how we know they are working and communicate our findings to a larger audience.
Connect with other districts to hear about their successes with successful reading interventions at the primary grades.
Project Schedule
- April and May 2011: Schools identify grade ones not yet reading at grade level.
- Schools offered opportunity to participate in project.
- June – September 2011: Transition of Grade One students to grade 2 with “just in time” stories that provide grade 2 teachers with enough information to intervene for those readers not yet at grade level.
- Fall 2011 Presentation of Data and Project to Board of Trustees.
- Sept. 2011 – June 2012 Work with identified schools and develop staff support for projects with an emphasis on grade two teachers.
Long range objectives will include:
- Continue the project Sept. 2012 – June 2013 using Lexia Reading as a targeted intervention.
- Tracking this cohort of vulnerable as they progress through the grades
- Extending the knowledge of what works for these learners as they move to grade three and beyond with careful attention to communication between grade level teachers regarding specific strategies that support these learners
- Regular sharing and communication about what works for vulnerable learners throughout the district
Conclusion / Evaluation of Pilot Project / Reflection:
There will be regular reviews of the project based on the Reading Performance Standards. Success of the project will be based on the number of students who show improvement in reading. Findings will be shared widely, particularly in terms of success building strategies that can be utilized throughout the District. Reflections will guide the next years of the project.
Year one Project Results are located here: Research to Practice
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