4th Grade Inquiry Project & 1st Grade Assessment Data

The following is an inquiry project I conducted in a fourth grade classroom at Discovery Elementary during my fall 2012 internship.  

Context:

            As a Boise State University elementary education intern at Discovery Elementary School in the Meridian School District, I conducted an inquiry project spanning seven weeks of the fall 2012 semester.  In a fourth grade classroom of thirty-two students, I observed Bobby (name has been changed) having an average of 6.7 negative behavior occurrences in a thirty minute time period.  After conducting research on improving student behavior in the classroom, I implemented a non-verbal cueing system consisting of three stop signs.  My inquiry was cut short as a result of Bobby being placed in the PBI program one week after the stop sign intervention had been implemented, so I cannot conclusively state whether his behavior would have improved. 

Idaho Core Teaching Standards Exemplified:

                This inquiry project exemplifies five of the Idaho Core Teaching Standards.  Principle 2 Knowledge of Human Development & Learning was met as I used research-based principles of how students can assume responsibility for their own behavior and respond to clear rules and procedures.  Principle 3 Adapting Instruction for Individual Needs was addressed as I developed a behavioral intervention to instruct a specific student on how to correct his own behavior.  The intervention attempted to minimize disruptions and increase positive interaction in the classroom, which meets Principle 5 Classroom Motivation & Management.  I demonstrated Principle 6 Communication Skills by collaborating with my mentor teacher and the Safe School Assistant to determine what interventions had been previously used with the student and to receive feedback on my inquiry.  When the inquiry was cut short I discussed the results I was able to collect with my mentor teacher.  Also I conducted two individual conferences with the student to discuss his behavior and possible solutions.  Finally this project satisfies Principle 9 Professional Commitment & Responsibility because I conducted research, collaborated with other educators/staff, and persisted in attempting to find an intervention that would help the student be more successful in the classroom.

Reflection:

                After discussing possible interventions, my mentor teacher supported my idea to implement the stop signs with Bobby in an attempt to minimize his classroom disruptions.  I conducted research on strategies for improving behavior in the classroom; narrowing my focus to increasing productive time on task, minimizing disruptions in the class, and allowing the student to assume responsibility for his behavior.

            After roughly four weeks of observations I met with Bobby in a one-on-one conference to introduce the stop signs.  We discussed that the signs would be a way for the lead teacher or myself to communicate to him that his behavior was causing a problem in the classroom and that he needed to correct it.  Bobby was able to describe possible solutions he may use to correct his behavior if he received the yellow sign.  He communicated his understanding that if he was unable to correct the problem on his own he would receive the orange sign which stated he would spend time at recess with myself or the lead teacher discussing a solution to the problem; and lastly the red sign would direct him to a pre-arranged location where he would need to work independently until either I or the lead teacher could come talk to him. 

            My anticipation was that Bobby’s behavior would temporarily become more severe before it began to improve.  This subsequently proved correct as Bobby would be given the yellow sign and then quickly move on to the orange sign and to the red. I tracked Bobby’s progress hourly using a simple table that I created.  These observation tables were completed by me three days a week, all day long.  When Bobby was given one of the signs I recorded it under the appropriate time and made a note of what behavior occurred.  My observations were ended shortly after being implemented as the student was placed in the PBI program.

            It is my belief that the signs were unsuccessful due to the severity of the student’s behaviors that required more intensive interventions than could be reasonably provided in the general classroom.  In comparison, the stop signs were used successfully with another student in the classroom who began exhibiting behaviors that were disruptive.  If used as a tool for students without chronic behavior problems, it is my belief that the stop signs can help students self-correct their own behavior without placing the teacher in a position of solving the problem for them.  The concept of holding students accountable for their own behavior was one of the primary goals of my inquiry and was developed through my research of Teaching with Love & Logic by Jim Fay and David Funk. 

Sources:

Manning, M. L. (n.d.). Professional reference for teachers: Strategies for improving classroom behavior.               Retrieved from http://go.hrw.com/resources/go_sc/gen/HSTPR054.PDF

Fay, J., & Funk, D. (1995). Teaching with love and logic. (1st ed.).  Love and Logic Press.





First Grade Reading Data- Read Naturally
Below you will find a link to data that I collected on a group of struggling readers in my first grade class.  Each student was given a 1.0 level passage and cold-timed for one minute.  Over the next week they practiced the passage a few times, then did a final timing.  Specifically I looked for student's cold timings to improve.  All of the students have decoding/encoding skills, they just need to improve their automaticity.  Later in the trimester, the students began reading more challenging passages and I did see improvement in their timings.  Spring 2013 IRI data showed that all of the students in this group progressed to a 3 except for one student who moved up to a 2. 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/7uhk6h2v8ubxt89/Data%20Tracking.PDF?m