Mini Project 2 Proposal
Linda Norman
Educational Psychology 499

 
 
 
   Background Analysis:

    The data that I have analyzed or will analyze when it is completed are the ISAT scores from last year, student surveys that I created, and reading data that is being collected from teacher created tests.  I, personally, did a KWL which is included in this Web Page.  After gathering data for seven weeks, I decided to try reading strategies utilizing technology to see if this will improve reading comprehension mastery. 

     Looking at the ISAT scores, I saw that twenty four percent of our students were below state standards in 2000, and in 2001 twenty eight percent were below standards. This was a rise by four percent.  In the meets category we did improve by two percent. However, in the exceeds category we dropped from fifteen percent to nine percent.  Once a week for seven weeks students have been reading a passage and answering three questions from the passage to collect reading data for our school. I will analyze that data when the data collection is completed. This will be included in my November assignment. Student surveys indicated that ninty two percent of our students didn't read outside of class. Sixty five percent said that they didn't like reading. Sixty one percent said that they had trouble reading in the science book. Only two percent said that they read books that were about science topics.

SAI, which is our local assessment, was administered in September. I will analyzed the scores also when they are back from the district office.  They will be administered again in January and May for me to compare results. In addition 2002 ISAT results will be analyzed at the completion of this improvement theory.

 
Edison ISAT Reading Scores
ISAT YEAR
1998
1999
2000
2001
Below Standards
23
24
24
28
Meets Standards
55
58
60
62
Exceeds Standards
22
18
15
9

 
Description of Project:

As I reflect on my role as a Learning Center teacher, I continually assess how I can best serve my students.  My position is to assist teachers in their curriculum. I am teaming with another teacher to implement my improvement theory since I don't have a consistent group of students on a day to day basis as a classroom teacher does. I chose an eighth grade science class to try my improvement theory of utilizing technology strategies for increasing mastery in reading and assessing to see if attitudes toward reading improve. There are twenty nine in the class. We collected all of the data prior to beginning the technology instruction.

The science teacher and I are coplanning reading strategies utilizing technology. I didn't want to use any drill and kill software, because I feel that classroom teachers utilize this software.  The data doesn't indicate that it has impacted the improvement of reading.  We plan to use software that will help them chunk or graphically organize information. In addition we will use software that focuses on specific comprehension strategies from Tom Snyder Productions.  Another strategy that we will incorporate is problem based lessons that were created this summer in PowerPoint.  Using the KWL students will incorporate prior knowledge in the reading. Thus, traditional assessment doesn't accurately delineate if this will truly impact attitude and reading comprehension mastery.

Prior to the implementation of this assessment, typically the science teacher used the end of the chapter tests in the text to assess knowledge gained from the topic with true/false questions, matching items, and fill in the blank questions.The teacher primarily utilized this type of assessment for grading and reporting the results as was stated in Measurement and Assessment in Teaching by Robert L. Linn and Norman E. Gronlund.  I wanted to take the assessment to a different level that informed our instruction and students of their progress in comprehension of the reading. 

Thus, we decided to assess with a teacher designed assessment, student-created KWL, and student created PMI to inform our instruction and inform our students of their progress in what is expected by the Illinois Learning Standards. The project will continue the duration of the 2001-2002 school year. During the week of November 30-December 7th we will assess the theory and the assessment tools that we have chosen. Students and parents will be informed of our analysis, too.
 
KWL
What I Know
  • ISAT Scores from 2001
  • Student Surveys
  • Tests that I created
  • Test Data from the seven weeks
  • SAI scores (Our Local Assessment)
  • Inspiration software creates graphic organizers
  • Tom Snyder software utilizes comprehension strategies in authentic learning and states that it addresses state standards and comprehension strategies
  • Problem Based learning utilizes reading strategies
What I Want to Know
  • Is it feasible to incorporate reading strategies with technology into a content curriculum?
  • Is software and Internet that we have available, which is not drill oriented, able to improve reading comprehension?
  • Will our assessment give immediate feedback for the teacher and student on the aligned reading state standards and improvement of reading comprehension and attitude of student about reading?
What I Learned
  • Student attitudes toward reading have improved over the course of the project. Seventeen percent more students are saying that they enjoy reading science to understand from the technology strategies.
  • Multiple Choice, True/False assessment wasn't suited to gather appropriate feedback from it.
  • Tom Snyder software, "Science Seekers Hidden in Rocks" does cover the ILS Goal 1,C.3d, which is summarize and make generalizations from content and relate them to purpose of material.
  • We are seeing improvements in every area that we are assessing.
 

 
  Curriculum Map--Created by Mrs. Norman to inform instruction, provide data for constructing the project, and identify gaps in the curriculum and its instructional alignment to standards.

 
 
Assessment--A description of the assessments used

Analysis of Assessment--Findings and future goals realized from assessment analysis.