This week, I've been working to plan my research process. Reading chapter 3 of Leading with Passion and Knowledge (Dana, 2009) was really instrumental in getting me thinking about new ways to gather data. I added group interviews, student surveys and gathering writing samples to my plan as a result of that reading.
In Frisco, we have developed what our ELA/R coordinator calls a “boutique” approach to language arts instruction in middle school. That is to say, each school leader decides how he or she will schedule English and reading courses. All 6th, 7th and 8th grade students are required to take both courses in the district (though reading is not required by the state over grade 6), but some students are given the opportunity to have the same teacher for a 90-minute block in an “Integrated Language Arts” course. This is similar to the high school structure. The majority of campuses have chose a separate reading and English course approach. This approach makes scheduling and organizing teacher certifications easier, but can create for students, the idea that reading and writing are not really connected. It is difficult for these teachers to collaborate across subject lines because teachers are only provided collaborative planning time with teachers who handle the same subject as they do. Sometimes students are even being asked to read two different novels at the same time – one in “reading” and one in “English.” Having two separate structures also complicates curriculum writing efforts, professional development, textbook adoptions and many things that occur at the district level. Study is needed to inform a decision about which format is most beneficial to students and teachers.
So here's the plan:
1. Conduct brief review of available literature.
2. Conduct review of TAKS data for feeder cohorts between years 2006-2011, 2005-2010, 2004-2009, and 2003-2008 from CHS and WHS feeder middle schools
3. Design and administer freshmen student surveys. Interview high school English I teachers. (Can I ask HS teachers to give overall picture of grades earned by these students?)
4. Interview MS teachers to ascertain collaborative structures and habits between Reading and English teachers on separate schedules.
5. Implement collaborative planning structures (possibly online) where none exist
6. Collect writing samples from beginning and mid-year students, graded on the 6-traits rubric by English I teachers.
2. Conduct review of TAKS data for feeder cohorts between years 2006-2011, 2005-2010, 2004-2009, and 2003-2008 from CHS and WHS feeder middle schools
3. Design and administer freshmen student surveys. Interview high school English I teachers. (Can I ask HS teachers to give overall picture of grades earned by these students?)
4. Interview MS teachers to ascertain collaborative structures and habits between Reading and English teachers on separate schedules.
5. Implement collaborative planning structures (possibly online) where none exist
6. Collect writing samples from beginning and mid-year students, graded on the 6-traits rubric by English I teachers.
My final step, of course, is analyzing all of this learning as a whole and considering possible next steps. It will be critical that I involve the decision-makers all along the way.
If I had a student in Frisco, would he at one school get to take the ELA course and then if he transfer may end up in a reading and an english class? If I read that right I would be interested to know what test results look like between the feeder schools and then into high school as they progress. Does this mean that teachers may not be experts in ELA but just either reading or english. Interesting topic, I'd like to see where this goes. Good Luck.
ReplyDeleteAmanda, these are some good ideas for research, however, your plan needs to be more detailed. I suggest you visit some other blogs to examine the template that others used, that includes areas such as 'resources', 'evaluation', and 'timeline'. I look forward to reading your revised action plan.
ReplyDeleteDr. Abshire