SETTING THE STARTING LINEEnsuring a common background knowledge utilizing in-class action research interventions using individualized differentiation of a core body of knowledge via student autonomy, online guided practice and formative assessment.

Catherine Horton Flippen

For Mill Creek High School Action Research projects

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ABOUT ME:CATHERINE H FLIPPEN Professional Secondary Educator

Seven years in education Peachtree Ridge High, Mill Creek High One year in Virginia: Charlottesville High

Educational Technology Evangelist Follow me on Twitter: @CatFlippen Digital Footprint: About.Me/CatFlippen

Doctoral Student at the University of Florida Curriculum and Instruction/Educational

Technology

THE PROBLEM

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TARGET GROUP Three second-semester Spanish 1 classes

1st Period: 30 Students 3rd Period: 31 Students 6th Period: 28 Students

All students new to me as their teacher

Students by grade level: 9th : 39 10th : 28 11th : 21 12th : 1

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A “COMMON” PROBLEM Previously, four different Spanish 1 teachers

After the pre-test, apparent that all students… Had stronger with different topics depending on

previous teacher’s emphasis Might have forgotten some of the more difficult aspects

of Spanish.

After trying to start new chapter, students varied so widely that new material could not be properly introduced and practiced yet.

Intervention needed to be applied in order to assure success for ALL students.

GOALS

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GOALS Use high quality research-based strategies

to “re-teach” specific topics

Provide individualized interventions via a variety of reinforcement

Frequent use of formative assessments with immediate feedback to show both teacher and student where student struggles so teacher can continue to apply effective interventions

Conduct the majority of all above methods using technological means

EXPECTATIONS

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EXPECTATIONS Goal #1: All students show proficiency with

average formative assessment grade 88 or higher on the following topics from 1st semester: -AR verb conjugations -ER/-IR conjugations Gender agreement ‘Ser’ versus ‘Estar’ usage Uses of me/te/le gusta(n) ‘Tema 1’ vocabulary usage

Goal #2: Same pre-test re-administered with average class grade of 88 or higher to illustrate group mastery

IMPLEMENTATION

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IMPLEMENTATION OVERVIEW

Two weeks (14 days) of intensive study, reinforcement, and frequent formative assessments

3 – 4 formative assessments each week No more than 10-15 minutes each All administered online for immediate feedback Student able to retake formative assessment within

a 24-hour period

Post-test administered online on the first day (Day 15) after the time period.

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HIGH QUALITY STANDARDS

Standards and research-based strategies used in the intervention methodology include:

Modeling & PracticeDifferentiation

TechnologyAssessment with Feedback

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INTERVENTION #1: INDIVIDUALIZED GUIDED PRACTICE

Following lessons featuring presentation and modeling of the topic, students were given a variety of reinforcement activities provided via technology (internet), including: Wordchamp Quizlet Quia Memrise Textbook Companion Website

Students had a choice as to which practices to complete according to personal preference, providing differentiation and learner autonomy.

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INTERVENTION #2: ASSESSMENT WITH FEEDBACK

Almost daily formative assessment provided via technology (internet)

Summative assessment with instant feedback as well via technology (internet)

With all assessments, students were able to view itemized immediate feedback after submission to see in which areas they were correct or incorrect and, thusly, students discovered in what areas they needed to practice more.

DATA COLLECTION

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MEASUREMENTS OF SUCCESS Reinforcement / Guided Practice Online:

Differentiation: A variety of practices and reinforcement was provided with specific instruction for each

Student autonomy: Students had the ability to select their preferred method of practice each day, making the practice more important to the student

Practice will be graded upon varying factors including achievement, time, and submission guidelines

Formative Assessments: Featuring immediate feedback detailing question subject, student

answer and correct answer (if applicable) Occurring 8 of the 10 days, available toward the end of each class

and taken at the student’s discretion

Summative Pre-test and Post-test: 60-question assessment modeled after selections from the first

semester final exam given within the first week of second semester and analyzing by question for each student and topic

Post-test is the same assessment to be analyzed in a similar fashion

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REINFORCEMENT / GUIDED PRACTICE ACTIVITY COMPLETION

Monitored daily for completion of requirements

Counted as a daily classwork grade

Assignment (depending on method chosen by student) posted via Edmodo (socially-oriented Learning Management System) Ex: Quia: Complete 2/3 Ser versus Estar Java activities

plus a Hangman challenge and the Columns conjugations Ex: Wordchamp: Completely 3 sets of practice activities,

including ser versus estar conjugations and usages

Upon completion, submission of completion statement required for teacher to grade completion

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REINFORCEMENT / GUIDED PRACTICE ACTIVITY COMPLETION

8th Activity

Word ChampQuizletQuiaMemriseText Site

1st Practice

Word ChampQuizletQuiaMemriseText Site

FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT WITH FEEDBACK Via Quia, data

collected and examined for each individual student and question as well as the whole target group and the whole assessment

Student receives scores instantly and know where he/she struggles right away.

Example data: Quiz on Ser versus Estar

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FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT WITH FEEDBACK

Quiz 1: 66% Quiz 2: 78% Quiz 3: 76% Quiz 4: 81% Quiz 5: 86% Quiz 6: 83% Quiz 7: 87% Quiz 8: 89%

Overall: 80.75%1s

t Per

iod

3rd

Perio

d

6th

Perio

d70

75

80

85

90

95

Quiz 6Quiz 7Quiz 8

Target Group Average

Data collected after eight formative assessments given in the two-week time span:

Quizes 6-8 per Class Period

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PRE-TEST & POST-TEST 60 questions that covered previously learned

material from 1st semester of Spanish 1. Conducted via Quia (on-line assessment/practice

website) Data collection for average of entire class and of

each student as well as per-question for student and per-question for class

Data showed: Material from Introductory chapter ‘Para Empezar’

sufficiently understood by the majority Content from ‘Tema 1” not sufficiently mastered

and in need of review Content from Chapters 2 and 3 strong in

vocabulary but very weak mastery in grammatical concepts

Post-test was the same test as Pre-test.

PRE-TEST TO POST-TEST RESULTS

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Pre-Test

Post-Test

65 70 75 80 85 90

Pre-Test to Post-Test Comparison

Class Average

RESULTS

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FORMATIVE ASSESSMENTS

Goal: All students show proficiency with average formative assessment grade 88 or higher

Actual: 80.75%

Conclusion: While the goal was not met, the class average per formative assessment was shown to increase positively with each new formative assessment.

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POST-TEST

Goal: Pre-test re-administered with average class grade of 88% or higher to illustrate group mastery

Actual: 87.71%

Conclusion: Wow! Pre-Test to Post-Test scores increased by 13.26% and, with a big of rounding up, my goal of 88% Post-test average by all 89 students in the target group was just met.

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EVALUATION – DIRECT CONCLUSIONS

We can conclude based on the research that the individualized differentiation via online guided practice selected by student preference and followed by formative assessments with immediate feedback is a method that is very successful in reviewing a body of content that has been previously studied.

We can indirectly conclude that with repetition over time, student scores on formative assessments will increase positively. Reasoning behind this finding should be researched more.

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EVALUATION – INDIRECT CONCLUSIONS

We might indirectly conclude that with repetition over time, student scores on formative assessments will increase positively. Reasoning behind this finding should be researched more.

We might also indirectly conclude that average formative assessment scores increase positively due to individualized interventions via student choice of guided practice activity or perhaps due to the technological aspect of the reinforcement activities. More research should be preformed to verify conclusions.

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FUTURE RESEARCH I am very curious at the fact of “student

ownership” when it comes to selecting his or her own method of practice, seeing as formative assessment grades increased the more students practiced.

Alternatively, perhaps the more students became comfortable with the technological means of practice/reinforcement and formative assessment that combines immediate feedback.

Additionally, I will be implementing this method of pre- and post-test as well as two weeks of intensive review with guided practice, reinforcement and formative assessments at the start of every second semester.