Action Plan
DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION
In my classroom, I implemented multiple strategies to improve writing attitudes and achievement. The combination of utilizing rubrics as writing tools and incorporating scheduled individual conferences supported the students in my classroom in the area of writing. First, I made a schedule to ensure I would be meeting with students consistently throughout the writing units. In order to meet with 27 students over a two-week period, I met with three to four students per day, during our writing block for about 10 minutes per student. The meetings consisted of guiding conversations which focused on content and ideas rather than grammar and mechanics. Further, l guided students through the process of using rubrics as writing tools. The rubrics served as checklists during our guiding conversations and a self-assessment tool for students while they wrote. I began by teaching and modeling the use of rubrics as writing tools, because students were unfamiliar with this process. I modeled the use of rubrics throughout the writing process in the reserved 10 minutes of whole group instruction each day. I also used the whole group time to address frequent concerns, structuring (introduction, body, conclusion), and the exemplary things I saw during conferences. Students wrote two pieces during the duration of my action research. In total, there were three pieces of writing that I graded. The first piece was completed prior to implementing conferences and rubrics as writing tools. I used it as my baseline. This piece was due on January 31. I hoped to see improvement in the three writing pieces (based on the rubrics I used to assess them), most notably between the first and final pieces. These two pieces of writing served as my T-Test. Throughout the writing process, I tallied common questions I hoped to alleviate such as, “Am I done?”, “Do I have enough?”, and “What do I do now?” Every time students asked these questions, I took down a tally. This process took place every day. The acts of observations and tallying served as another data point. Further, I used an attitude survey to assess whether or not student attitudes changed toward writing due to my action research (conferencing and rubrics as writing tools).
Based on my research, I felt strongly that scheduled writing conferences would benefit student attitudes and achievement toward writing. I focused on the message, ideas, and content within their writing pieces. When students felt more confident about the message within their pieces, it resulted in more writing overall. The rubrics were used as tools during the writing process, for self assessment, and served as guides for our conference conversations. The students in my classroom struggled to formulate ideas and write independently since we started writing in August. Without guidance, they lacked direction and motivation. They wrote the bare minimum in order to move on to the next writing piece. We wasted a lot of time working on grammar, because students rushed through their work and gave minimal effort. Conferences allowed more valuable one-on-one discussions to take place. These one-on-one conversations enabled me to work with one student at a time and focus all of my attention on one student and his or her ideas. Additionally, these conversations were encouraging for students and resulted in increased motivation and clear direction. While I was working in conferences, other students were able to use rubrics to move forward. The writing tools allowed students to assess themselves without my help. The combination of the two strategies improved writing attitude and achievement.
The writing rubric...
THE TIMELINE
- January 23: Begin observations and tallying questions
- January 23: Survey (Attitudes toward writing)
- January 31-February 1: First piece due (Informational)
- February 4-5: Grading first pieces
- February 5: Introduce rubrics as writing tools… teach/model process
- February 5: Begin next writing pieces
- February 6-7: Continue writing/guide students through rubric use
- February 8: Start conferencing with students (#1-4) First 10 minutes: Introductions
- February 11: Conferencing (#5-8) First 10 minutes: Rubric use… introductions
- February 12: Conferencing (#9-12) First 10 minutes: Rubric use… body
- February 13: Conferencing (#13-16) First 10 minutes: Modeling ??? Needs of students
- February 14-15: No school - conferences (Assign writing homework)
- February 18: Conferencing (#17-20) First 10 minutes: Modeling ??? Needs of students
- February 19: Conferencing (#21-24) First 10 minutes: Modeling… Conclusions
- February 20: Conferencing (#25-27) First 10 minutes: ??? Needs of students
- February 22: Writing piece DUE
- February 25: Begin next writing pieces/grading
- February 26: Cont. writing pieces/grading… less whole group instruction? Conferencing (#1-4)
- February 27: Writing… rubric use instruction. Conferencing (#5-8) Whole group 10 min.
- February 28: Writing & using rubrics. Conferencing (#9-12) Whole group instruction 10 min.
- March 1: Cont. writing & conferencing (#13-16) Whole group instruction 10 min.
- March 4: Cont. writing & conferencing (#17-20) Whole group instruction 10 min.
- March 5: Cont. writing & conferencing (#21-24) Whole group instruction 10 min.
- March 6: Cont. writing & conferencing (#25-27) Whole group instruction 10 min.
- March 7: Cont. writing & conferencing… need based? Whole group instruction 15 min.
- March 8: Cont. writing & conferencing… DUE Monday
- March 11: Writing pieces DUE
- March 12: Grading/assessing writing transition
- March 13: Post-survey (Attitudes toward writing)
- March 14: Complete observation/tallying data… compare first pieces to final pieces
- March 15: Analyze
CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE PRACTICES
The goal was to ensure all of my students would benefit from the strategies I implemented, not just one or a few. I planned to conference with all of my students to address their individual needs. For example, a few students were already advanced writers. The conferences I had with these students looked different than the conferences with students who lacked motivation and stamina. Further, the process of self-assessment was beneficial for all students. No two students wrote at the same pace, so having a tool to help them throughout the writing process benefited all of them. This fostered equity for all students to learn at their level and their pace. While some students may have understood how to use rubrics and some did not, I taught and modeled the process before they used the rubrics independently. The rubrics fostered accessibility, because my expectations were always available in the form of a writing tool. Additionally, I met with all students at different writing levels. Students who typically didn’t ask questions had a better opportunity to do so, because I gave each student my full attention during each conference. Every student had access to the rubric as a tool and the teacher as a guide for their own individualized learning. While some students were uncomfortable with the process at first, I believe they learned to take advantage of the conferences that were dedicated specifically to them. They became more comfortable and confident, resulting in stronger writing.
Achievement and attitude were not only problems in my classroom. It was clear that these were issues in different places and across grade levels.
My research provided evidence for classrooms in 2nd grade, 6th grade, and in English as a Second Language (ESL) classrooms. However, writing conferences looked different in each classroom and at each age level. For example, writing stamina is typically an issue in intermediate levels. On the other hand, ideas, direction, and achievement are issues at every level. The conversations within conferences would look different depending on the challenges in each classroom. Writing conferences were proven to be effective in each article I read surrounding the topic, though they did not look the same in every classroom. Some educators choose to have more direction in writing conferences and others choose to allow more freedom. Mirzaee & Yaqubi (2016) suggest the act of silence within writing conferences, but recognize that it may not be effective for every student. These various perspectives gave insight into how I incorporated writing conferences that would work for my students.
There was an abundance of support for using rubrics as writing tools. However, there is no rubric that fits every need for every student. Rubrics must meet the needs of each class, and all classes are different. A kindergarten rubric does not look like a 5th grade rubric. The research was conclusive: the purpose of using rubrics as writing tools is self-assessment (Andrade, 2010; Bradford et al., 2016). Students need less guidance from the teacher when they have a guide to assess their work. When they need less assistance from the teacher, students work toward independent writing. While I used rubrics for self-assessment and as conference guides, there was more support for the self-assessment aspect. The use of rubrics has evolved from a grading tool to a writing tool. The benefit to this change is that the rubric serves both the student and the teacher: expectations are clear and students should know how they will be graded prior to submitting their work. The multiple perspectives among my research helped me to decide how I would incorporate these beneficial tools into our writing block.
The goal was to ensure all of my students would benefit from the strategies I implemented, not just one or a few. I planned to conference with all of my students to address their individual needs. For example, a few students were already advanced writers. The conferences I had with these students looked different than the conferences with students who lacked motivation and stamina. Further, the process of self-assessment was beneficial for all students. No two students wrote at the same pace, so having a tool to help them throughout the writing process benefited all of them. This fostered equity for all students to learn at their level and their pace. While some students may have understood how to use rubrics and some did not, I taught and modeled the process before they used the rubrics independently. The rubrics fostered accessibility, because my expectations were always available in the form of a writing tool. Additionally, I met with all students at different writing levels. Students who typically didn’t ask questions had a better opportunity to do so, because I gave each student my full attention during each conference. Every student had access to the rubric as a tool and the teacher as a guide for their own individualized learning. While some students were uncomfortable with the process at first, I believe they learned to take advantage of the conferences that were dedicated specifically to them. They became more comfortable and confident, resulting in stronger writing.
Achievement and attitude were not only problems in my classroom. It was clear that these were issues in different places and across grade levels.
My research provided evidence for classrooms in 2nd grade, 6th grade, and in English as a Second Language (ESL) classrooms. However, writing conferences looked different in each classroom and at each age level. For example, writing stamina is typically an issue in intermediate levels. On the other hand, ideas, direction, and achievement are issues at every level. The conversations within conferences would look different depending on the challenges in each classroom. Writing conferences were proven to be effective in each article I read surrounding the topic, though they did not look the same in every classroom. Some educators choose to have more direction in writing conferences and others choose to allow more freedom. Mirzaee & Yaqubi (2016) suggest the act of silence within writing conferences, but recognize that it may not be effective for every student. These various perspectives gave insight into how I incorporated writing conferences that would work for my students.
There was an abundance of support for using rubrics as writing tools. However, there is no rubric that fits every need for every student. Rubrics must meet the needs of each class, and all classes are different. A kindergarten rubric does not look like a 5th grade rubric. The research was conclusive: the purpose of using rubrics as writing tools is self-assessment (Andrade, 2010; Bradford et al., 2016). Students need less guidance from the teacher when they have a guide to assess their work. When they need less assistance from the teacher, students work toward independent writing. While I used rubrics for self-assessment and as conference guides, there was more support for the self-assessment aspect. The use of rubrics has evolved from a grading tool to a writing tool. The benefit to this change is that the rubric serves both the student and the teacher: expectations are clear and students should know how they will be graded prior to submitting their work. The multiple perspectives among my research helped me to decide how I would incorporate these beneficial tools into our writing block.
STAKEHOLDERS
Internal stakeholders: I worked with teammates to determine how they used time during writing. We worked with the same curriculum and writing schedule, so their feedback was valuable. Additionally, I spoke with my building mentor to ask for more ideas. She worked one-on-one with students frequently and found that this process builds confidence and ownership of the writing process. My principal supported improving the writing block and encouraged the use of rubrics as writing tools.
External stakeholders: My CADRE associate assisted in ensuring that I was using my time wisely and meeting with each student according to schedule. Additionally, he assisted in planning my whole group instruction to take advantage of the short time I have. He also assisted in the process of taking data (tallying, observation) while I met with students. One of my professors at UNO was a master of writing instruction and was one of the reasons I hoped to improve writing achievement and attitudes in my classroom. The teacher I interviewed for my literature review was another external stakeholder. Based on my research, I was be able to share the information learned with my external stakeholders. They had the opportunity to learn more about the benefits of rubrics as writing tools and individual writing conferences.