The three different topics that I wanted to
share with my site supervisor was 1) The use of PLC’s to increase student
achievement in writing abilities (specifically 4th grade), 2)
Implementing a system of learning mathematics facts in 4th grade to
improve student success and 3) The integration of technology to reluctant
teachers.
During my first meeting with my site
supervisor to go over my internship plan, my principal told me that she got
another job at a different district. She
liked my plan and said that it look well thought out. I have met with my new principal/site supervisor
to talk about my internship plan and the action research plan. She thinks the activities I have selected are
well thought-out and she has already given me tasks to work on before school
starts.
This week we met twice to talk about the action
research project. To be very honest, we
never got past my first idea. My
principal has a background in reading and writing in 4th grade and
she was very excited about my ideas to help increase the writing abilities of
students in 4th grade. I told
her that I have other ideas, but she said they were not necessary. She loved the idea and improving the 4th
grade writing score is really important to her.
We decided this would be the topic when we met the first time.
When we met for the second time, we decided
who would be in the PLC for the action research plan. It is going to include teachers from 2nd,
3rd, 4th, and 5th grade and the
principal. My principal is very excited
about the use of the PLC for the project.
We are looking at different types of technology we can implement to help
with scores and different types of ways to get quantitative data. For example using a program like Study Island
to work on writing skills, having 2nd-5th grade complete
writing benchmarks that are grade level appropriate and the use of blogs in the
classroom to help students take ownership in their writings.
I like your topic. I've been doing some research of my own into PLC's. As I've moved into leading an elementary campus from teaching high school English, I was wanting to create a PLC on my campus. For me, I've been focusing on how to get teachers interested in participating in a PLC. I also believe that writing improvement is needed across the state (my own campus included).
ReplyDeleteMy campus requires plcs every week. Our current plc meetings are with our grade/subject level. I must say I really like the use of plc's. In the last six weeks of school last year my plc and I came up with our entire year of plans this year. This is not to say we will not make changes this year because IT WILL HAPPEN.. but it is nice to have a base plan for each six weeks.
ReplyDeleteYou mentioned using Study Island which is something that I am not at all familiar with but I taught a training last year for Brainpop.. I am not quite sure what they have to offer at the elementary level but I do know they have a brainpop jr.. that is targeted for elementary school. It involves a lot of different subject areas including writing skills. I highly recommend checking it out.
As an English teacher, I have participated in a writing institute for my district. One of the really neat projects we learned about was keeping a notebook for prewriting activities. Some of these activities are:
1. Draw a blueprint of a childhood house that you are fond of. Once they have drawn the blueprint have them pick a room and write three things that happened in that room that were special or scary or just memorable to them. Then have them choose one of those moments and start writing about it.
2. Bring in several different types of music.. theme songs, instrumentals, dance might work. Play 30 sec of each song and have the students write an action packed paragraph on what they imagined when they listened to the music.
These are just a couple of the ideas.. if they keep the book of ideas then at the end of the week have them pick one of the beginnings and write their stories. If you need any more ideas feel free to ask I have tons..:)
First, I would like to say I am glad your new principal is supportive. Our new principal is very nice and supportive too, and believe me when I say I know how it is when the opposite is true.
ReplyDeleteI also like your idea for your action research project. I teach fourth grade as well. Although I only teach math/science, it would be great if my students could perform better in writing. We have been using PLCs for three years, and I have learned so much from the others I work with. All of fourth grade math came in from outside the district last year and brought some awesome ideas with them. The only problem I run into is that some of them don't always stay on task during our meetings unless our principal or another "official" is there. The positive far outweighs the negative though.
I would also love to know what ideas you have for learning the math facts. Mine sure do seem to forget a lot during the summer after third grade!
I am really interested in PLC's, too. I taught 4th grade writing for one year and it was so hard because some of the other grade levels had not prepared the students well. I guess they thought they would get it at the 4th grade level where they are tested. So, it is great you are including the other grade levels in your plan. Also, your principal's support is invaluable. Keep us posted on this project.
ReplyDeleteI am happy that you;re going to have a smooth transition between principals. It seems as thought your new one will be very supportive, good deal! Do you have any specific interventions or strategies that you will be using on your fourth graders? I can't wait to see what you come up with. I am sure it will be excellent!
ReplyDeleteI'm particularly interested in your ARP because I, too, am looking at writing scores. I work with the 9th grade team, so I'll be focusing on English I. I will be following you closely to see how your findings might cross over to a secondary campus. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteGlad your new principal is supportive and willing to foster your success. It makes life easier when we have someone who understands and appreciates the journey we are on. I like your ideas for action research, they are well thought out, and would definitely benefit your campus. We are doing PLC's on our campus and I am going to utilize them to my benefit for my project, it will also tell me the effectiveness of PLC's on our campus for the upcoming year.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment on my blog. I like your topic of inquiry. I have used study island for the last five years, and I can say that if used correctly and efficiently, it will be a great program to supplement instruction. If you have clickers, you can add technology to it as well where students can respond as a class.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of involving the lower grades with the writing process. I would consider adding 1st grade as well. At our campus this year we are getting everyone involved starting with kinder. At our campus we realized that students were not being pushed to their potential just because they were in kinder or first. PLC can be beneficial. My only comment would be to make sure things don't get off track with other discussions. Great information. Good Luck
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of an action research project pertaining to the integration of technology to reluctant teachers but I also see the impact and excitement of a PLC topic.
ReplyDeleteFor what it's worth, I think it is great to post a part of your assignment to your blog. PLCs are such a vast landscape to explore. Your insights will be valuable to those who keep up with your blog/research.
ReplyDelete