Why was this study necessary for my students?
History of Class
My capstone project was centered around my class of 17 third grade students. In September 2017, there were 476 students enrolled in our building. In the 2017-2018 school year, 29.4% of our school’s students were minorities and 41.81% of our students participated in the free and reduced lunch program. 4.49% of the students in our school were English Language Learners (ELL). This means that the primary language spoken at home was not English. Within my class, I had nine girls and eight boys. I had one student on a Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP) and three students on Individualized Intervention Plans. Two of my students received services from the ELL team, as they were working on passing the English Language Proficiency Assessment (ELPA). 39.8% of my students came from a family that had recently experienced a divorce or a separation of parents. I had three students that spent time at before and after school care. These students woke up and were at school by 7 a.m. and did not go home until 6 p.m. There was little to no parental involvement within the classroom, aside from a brief email response when I reached out initially. Knowing all of this about my students, I needed to focus in on their needs and give them a well-researched and successful support system to meet them where they were. By listening to their needs and applying strategies and skills that met them where they were, we worked together to make the leaps and bounds each of them deserved. |
Students don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care.
-John C. Maxwell, American author and leadership expert
Why was there a need?
The data I collected from my students showed a need for an improvement in the area of writing. Our writing block followed an hour of lunch and recess. When my students came back into the classroom, it was obvious they needed a structure that they could rely on. Through anecdotal records, I concluded that most days it took us on average, ten minutes to get into the writing mindset. Behaviors that were observed were late arrivals, students ignoring directions, students talking, and defiance in terms of disrespect. If we lost ten minutes of the allotted 50-minute writing block each day, that was equivalent to missing one whole writing class a week. I administered a writing baseline at the beginning of the year and none of my students scored proficiently. Out of 17 students, 10 scored progressing leaving the remaining seven at beginning. By the end of the year the goal was to have all 17 students writing proficiently. When meeting one on one very irregularly, I could observe that my students were not comfortable about sharing their writing because they were not confident in their work. They also were not sure of what they wanted to improve. When I asked students what their favorite subject was only two of my students said writing. One of my students had disruptive behaviors causing him to be removed from the classroom multiple times due his frustrations with the writing process. On the most recent scored writing assessment, five students scored beginning, seven students scored progressing, five students scored proficient, and the remaining one student earned an advanced grade. Only 33% of my class received passing scores; I knew I needed to do something more in the area of writing. I attempted to conduct conferences, but my students were not able to work independently for longer than a few minutes without needing numerous reminders of the task and to keep working. This told me that they needed more instruction and structure for their expectations that could be met through a functioning writer’s workshop block.
The data I collected from my students showed a need for an improvement in the area of writing. Our writing block followed an hour of lunch and recess. When my students came back into the classroom, it was obvious they needed a structure that they could rely on. Through anecdotal records, I concluded that most days it took us on average, ten minutes to get into the writing mindset. Behaviors that were observed were late arrivals, students ignoring directions, students talking, and defiance in terms of disrespect. If we lost ten minutes of the allotted 50-minute writing block each day, that was equivalent to missing one whole writing class a week. I administered a writing baseline at the beginning of the year and none of my students scored proficiently. Out of 17 students, 10 scored progressing leaving the remaining seven at beginning. By the end of the year the goal was to have all 17 students writing proficiently. When meeting one on one very irregularly, I could observe that my students were not comfortable about sharing their writing because they were not confident in their work. They also were not sure of what they wanted to improve. When I asked students what their favorite subject was only two of my students said writing. One of my students had disruptive behaviors causing him to be removed from the classroom multiple times due his frustrations with the writing process. On the most recent scored writing assessment, five students scored beginning, seven students scored progressing, five students scored proficient, and the remaining one student earned an advanced grade. Only 33% of my class received passing scores; I knew I needed to do something more in the area of writing. I attempted to conduct conferences, but my students were not able to work independently for longer than a few minutes without needing numerous reminders of the task and to keep working. This told me that they needed more instruction and structure for their expectations that could be met through a functioning writer’s workshop block.
Importance of this Study
The information gained from this study was important because my students would not be able to be proficient in third grade standards of writing if they were not confident in their writing and needed constant reminders of their goal for writing. If my students could rely on a consistent structure stemming from writer’s workshop, they would become more comfortable in the writing process. By building in conferences, I differentiated the instruction based on their wide range of needs. As an educator, I also knew I was doing my students a disservice by planning ineffectively for writing time. Through a writer’s workshop model, I not only kept myself accountable throughout the different elements set in place, but also better served my students on their journey to become better writers. Writing is a skill they will need the rest of their lives. I showed them a real-life purpose for their daily work in their writing, as a result their motivation and confidence was built, which increased engagement. I felt that it was important to praise students for their efforts and work, through writing conferences I was able to build the encouragement in through a structure of praise and constructive feedback. This study provided me with data and research-based strategies to better my practice as an educator and more specifically a teacher of writing. Moreover, it helped me consistently and effectively promote an environment that valued and celebrated my student’s writing.
The information gained from this study was important because my students would not be able to be proficient in third grade standards of writing if they were not confident in their writing and needed constant reminders of their goal for writing. If my students could rely on a consistent structure stemming from writer’s workshop, they would become more comfortable in the writing process. By building in conferences, I differentiated the instruction based on their wide range of needs. As an educator, I also knew I was doing my students a disservice by planning ineffectively for writing time. Through a writer’s workshop model, I not only kept myself accountable throughout the different elements set in place, but also better served my students on their journey to become better writers. Writing is a skill they will need the rest of their lives. I showed them a real-life purpose for their daily work in their writing, as a result their motivation and confidence was built, which increased engagement. I felt that it was important to praise students for their efforts and work, through writing conferences I was able to build the encouragement in through a structure of praise and constructive feedback. This study provided me with data and research-based strategies to better my practice as an educator and more specifically a teacher of writing. Moreover, it helped me consistently and effectively promote an environment that valued and celebrated my student’s writing.