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Action Research Reflection 5

I wrapped up my action research study last friday; however, I am continuing to carry out inclusion services. I am in the process of organizing my action research paper and reviewing data than I have collected since January. Spring break allowed me to review, analyze, and begin to reflect upon the whole process. 

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AR Reflection 4

Since the previous week, I have been collecting data and reflecting on a daily basis. I feel like I am headed in the right direction with my action research paper. My goal is to begin writing next week over spring break. Also, I have been giving fluency checks to students to see if my strategies are benefitting students, so far the strategies seem to be working. I will be using previous data that I have collected as well including team meeting notes, notes regarding strategies being used, conversations with teachers, scheduling to fit the students’ needs. It has taken a lot of collaborating and planning to make inclusion successful and I am excited to share my experience!

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Action Research Reflection 3

I sent 2nd, 4th, and 5th grade a short, open-ended survey asking their thoughts, ideas, and concerns regarding inclusion. Also, they will send weekly reflections on what they saw in the inclusive classroom. I have received 4th and 5th grades responses and I am still waiting to hear from 2nd grade; however, I have a meeting with 2nd grade tomorrow so hopefully the survey will be addressed. 

Luckily, I have kept notes of interventions that I have done with students in the inclusive classroom, discussions on which activities to implement, and changes that were made to benefit student success. The first half of the year, we really struggled with inclusion; however, by January, we have a great foundation for establishing an inclusive classroom. 

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Action Research

My action research project will focus on teacher perspectives on inclusion and the pros and cons regarding inclusion. While looking for resources, I located one article that mentioned three strategies that were mostly used in an inclusive classroom. Those strategies are: co-teaching, differentiated instruction, and peer mediated instruction and interventions. I plan on implementing one strategy per week in two second grade classrooms and asking for feedback from the teachers. Their feedback will include what they saw, what they would like to see differently, and what the liked or what worked. Since I "push in" into two classroom, I have spoke with the resource teacher for grades three through five and she will implement the same strategies. My goal is to see which strategies teachers like the most and if their perspectives plays a role in their preference. 

I am planning to begin implement the first strategy Monday, March 9th and ask teachers to complete the survey on their perspectives. I was hoping to have started this earlier; however, the school experienced two weeks of school closings and delays. This week, teachers spent a lot of time getting students back on track. 

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Action Research

Action Research allows "practitioners to investigate and improve their practices (Hendricks, 2013, p3)." It allows a teacher and/or school leader to become engaged in his/her research and learn ways to increase student learning and enhance the curriculum. Educational researchers often identify a problem, collect data, analyze the data, and reflect upon the process. Action Research is an "ongoing process that individuals use to constantly improve their practices (Hendricks, 2013, p11)." By becoming involved in research, it becomes more meaningful, allows the opportunity to explore areas of concern or interest in education, and allows the opportunity for reflection.

At Central Elementary, there was an emphasis placed on "pushing-in" into general education classrooms. My Action Research project will explore teachers perspectives on inclusion services for EC students. What makes inclusion successful? I am eager to learn teachers opinions since they was not asked at the beginning of the year, we were told to make this change. I quickly learned that most of the teachers did not have a clear understanding on inclusion. Some teachers were confused, reluctant, and others embraced the opportunity to have extra help. 

I am looking forward to sharing and discussing my ideas with my professor and brainstorm ways to collect data. I have began to read several articles and have spoke to other teachers regarding how inclusion is implemented at their school. 

Hendricks, C. (2013). Improving schools through action research: A reflective practice approach. (3rd Ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

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Learning with 'e's

Steve Wheeler advocates the use of blogging to produce students as writers. He also uses blogging as a communication tool with parents and teachers. His blog consists of several monthly posts regarding conversations he has with his students, student projects, and using videos as an assessment tool. One of his posts was about a project his students were assigned to do. The students had to create a short video, using no words, to tell the history of Plymouth. This allows students to use technology and use their critical and creative thinking skills. 

http://steve-wheeler.blogspot.com/

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iPad Apps for Learners with Dyslexia/Reading and Writing Difficulties

This link, http://www.ianbean.co.uk/files/Dyslexia%20Wheel.pdf provides some amazing apps for struggling learners. The document also organizes the apps into categories such as: word processing, mind mapping, mathematics, reading ebooks, talking books, early reading, reminders, information gathering, letter formation, etc. I thought this was too good to not share!

iPad Apps for Learners with Dyslexia/Reading and Writing Difficulties (2013). Call Scotland. The University of Edinburgh. http://www.ianbean.co.uk/files/Dyslexia%20Wheel.pdf

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ePal

Teachers can use ePals Global Classroom to create "culturally-enriching learning experiences for students." Students from different cultures can also work on projects together. Teachers can also access lesson plans created by other educators and publishers from around the world. 

ePals also has a "clubhouse" where children can connect with on another; share and read with one another; write and publish their own stories; play educative games; and create their own art. Educators can manage and monitor what students see, who they communicate with, and how they interact with one another.

ePals (2014). http://www.epals.com/#!/main

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Technology Around the World

The following link provides multiple pictures of students from different countries using XO Laptops. There are students from Sierra Leone using XO Laptops that is powered by a solar panel. 

http://gretawire.foxnewsinsider.com/slideshow/more-pictures-of-one-laptop-per-child-around-the-world-these-are-the-computers-reverend-franklin-graham-and-samaritans-purse-are-buying-for-children-in-haiti/#4

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Edmodo

During a recent IEP meeting, Edmodo was mentioned. The student whom we were meeting about was having difficulties in writing and the general education teacher suggested the student type her assignments using Edmodo. I had never heard of Edmodo, so I decided to research it further. 

Teachers can use Edmodo to assess student learning, review/edit classmates work, complete writing projects, organize book clubs, professional development workshops, sub-hub, mobile learning, planning committees, differentiate instruction, provide profession development opportunities. Edmodo provides the opportunity for teachers to connect with other educators around the world and share resources, communicate with students while the teacher is not in the classroom and provide information to students who are absent, 

20 Ways to Use Edmodo. Retrieved from https://support.edmodo.com/home#entries/21720784-20-ways-to-use-edmodo-teacher

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Facebook for Teachers and Administrators

Each year, I always strive to increase parental involvement. I aim to have open communication with parents that extend outside of the classroom. However, I am skeptical of giving all 28 parents my cell phone number. So, how can I have an open communication with parents that does not involve exchanging phone numbers? After further reading, I believe that Facebook can help achieve my goal.

            With one billion users in 2012, Facebook can be used to increase parental involvement, inform the community, “show off” school culture, ask questions, make special announcements, etc. The article, Best Practices for Schools Using Facebook, provides administrators and teachers helpful tips when it comes to sharing school news of Facebook. Postings should be noteworthy, whether it is awards, recognitions, special visitors/guests, upcoming events, and school reminders (parental reminders such as half-days or emergency snow closings, etc.). By consistently posting current and useful information, your Facebook page will become a reliable source.

            It is also important to share photos celebrating students’ work, field trips, and school wide celebrations. The article also suggests using the school logo or mascot as the profile or cover photo since it is used to greet visitors. To give visitors a sense of your school culture, videos of assemblies/pep rallies, science fair experiements, art displays, sporting events, concerts, student performances can also be posted on the Facebook page.

            The article also provides 16 ideas that will help teachers and administrators fill their Facebook page. Those ideas include: mission moments (photo of your mission in action, feel good stories about the school), Fundraising (photos from fundraisers, special event save the date, in-kind donations), Volunteering, Connecting (thanking new volunteers, online e-newsletter, quote from board chair/teacher/student/principal), and conversation starters (Bullpen, 2013). 

Bullpen (2013). Retrieved from https://www.hopeforfuture.org/documents/BestPractices_for_Schools_using_Facebook.pdf

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Google Plus

Google Plus is a tool that I had not used before until a couple of days ago. Lisa, a fellow EC resource teacher, and I recently created a blog for our resource classrooms. Tool basically acts a blog, Lisa and I will post interactive websites, activities, instructional strategies, behavior strategies, or photos of our students completing activities. Teachers at our school can have access to the information posted at all times throughout the school year. Since our students are performing significantly below grade level, we use a lot of the same strategies, therefore, we share the same blog. I haven't posted anything to the blog yet, it was just created 2 days ago. I think this will be a great reference for general education teachers. Central's goals on the SIP are for 80% of students to show growth in reading and math. I believe that this blog will help teachers succeed at increasing student scores. Math and reading interventions will be posted and teachers will have access throughout the year.

https://plus.google.com/u/0/

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Hybrid Learning

The article, Promoting Hybrid Learning Through Sharable E-Learning Approach, explores ways to increase the power of educational technology to improve teaching efficiency and cut costs. The article claims this was accomplished through e-learning content design and development. E-learning modules were designed and developed as textbook chapters that could be independently distributed. E-learning can also provide immediate feedback and support differentiated instruction. 

Learning with a personalized tutor has proved to be an effective way of learning. Benefits of one-on-one tutoring are improvement of student grades, problem solving skills, and motivation. Modules that were created during the study allowed students to gain knowledge in subject areas, practice and drill, received immediate feedback, and could track their own assessment results. Having a “computer as a tutor” could track student scores and alert or provide teachers of problem areas. Not only can students receive immediate feedback but teachers can also receive immediate feedback. 

The results from the study shown that almost 50 percent of students felt they controlled the pace of their learning, over 60 percent disagreed or strongly disagreed that the time spent online would better have been spent in class, 50 percent thought the discussions boards was useful towards their learning. The results of the study were very positive and the two instructors received positive feedback from students. 

Bia, X (2010). Promoting Hybrid Learning Through A Sharable E-Learning Approach. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks. 14 (3)