Reflection
IMPACT ON TEACHING AND LEARNING
Based on the results of my study, it was clear that my action research had a positive impact on student learning. The data supported this conclusion and there were many informal observations that also supported my findings. Prior to implementation of my study, students regularly expressed dislike for writing. They wrote as little as they could and struggled to write for more than 10 minutes at a time. Students turned in pieces of writing that showed low effort and struggled to implement strategies we discussed in writing lessons. During the implementation of my study, students began to feel more confident about their writing. They were able to write more and for longer periods of time while evaluating themselves on the rubrics provided to them. They became more comfortable talking about their writing with me and with their peers. The study positively impacted their writing stamina, confidence, and writing achievement. While I was conferencing with students, they were hesitant about sharing with me at first. Even in the span of a single conference, students felt more comfortable discussing the content of their writing. The change in length and content of conferences was very beneficial along with using rubrics as writing tools. While it was uncomfortable for some students to discuss the content as opposed to grammar and conventions, they were able to get much more out of the conferences due to the length and discussions that took place. These observations provide evidence to support the conclusion that the implemented strategies improved student achievement in writing.
The results of my action research encouraged me to continue implementing the researched strategies. Based on the conversations I had with students, it was clear that the rubrics and conferences made them more comfortable with writing. In fact, many of them enjoyed writing more. While my conferences were not always as long as I would have liked them to be, the idea of focusing on content seemed to be very beneficial for students. They naturally wanted to talk about errors they needed to fix, yet focusing on content encouraged them to share their ideas and where they were stuck. I continued to focus on content during conferences and encouraged students to work through errors with their student groups. Further, students continued to self-assess on rubrics throughout the writing process. Overall, students asked fewer questions, because they knew exactly what I expected from them. They understood that if their pieces met the criteria on the rubric, they would be successful. I also used the rubric during conferences, especially when students were struggling to discuss their writing pieces. The rubrics could serve as conversation guides. Additionally, I decided to write down what students were saying during conferences. Then, they took pictures of my notes on their iPads before they headed back to start writing again. This process gave them a visual of our conversation if they got stuck. My action research made me a more confident writing teacher. While I will continue to implement the researched strategies, it will be important to be more flexible with my conference schedule. Some students needed to meet with me more frequently. It was also difficult for students who could not meet with me until one or two days before the due date to benefit from the conferences. I will continue to schedule 7 to 10 minute conferences with students, but they will sign up for time slots a few days into the writing process.
Three students in reference to using rubrics as writing tools...
PROFESSIONAL GROWTH, LEARNING, AND QUESTIONS
My action research impacted professional growth by strengthening my confidence in the area of teaching writing. After implementing the researched strategies, I felt much more comfortable when my principal came in to observe my class during our writing block. In fact, I was happy to have anyone come in to observe us taking advantage of the researched strategies. I also felt that I could contribute much more in my professional learning community when teachers were struggling in the area of writing. During a day of professional development, I felt confident discussing my writing block with other new teachers in the district. Additionally, I was able to offer support to teachers on my team who felt constricted to short conferences focusing on grammar errors. As an educator, I felt more comfortable taking risks in every subject. I was nervous about using so much time for writing conferences and trusting students to self-assess, but the risks proved to be successful. I was more comfortable looking at the curriculum and thinking of new ways to teach the material provided by my district. The action research also helped me to feel more comfortable looking for literature to support the needs in my classroom.
My research provided me the opportunity to learn more about the needs of my students. During longer, more in-depth writing conferences, I was able to identify needs I had not identified during whole group instruction. I learned that students responded more positively when writing conferences were more personal and focused on content. Additionally, I learned that rubrics were manageable for students as long as I clearly taught the expectations prior to expecting students to self-assess. The most prominent learning came from the data on student confidence and enjoyment of writing. As a whole, students were happier during our writing block. They expressed enjoyment and felt more confident about their writing pieces because expectations were clear. Therefore, they asked fewer questions, felt less stress, and enjoyed the writing process more overall. Still, there are questions that remain. First, it is difficult to determine which benefits were attributed to the action research and which benefits were attributed to external factors such as time management, student conference groups, and preferred writing genres. I also wonder which strategy benefited students more: rubrics as writing tools or lengthened, individual conferences. Further, I hope to spend more time gathering data the next time I conduct a study. The short timeframe created a tough situation: shorter conferences for some students due to snow days. I planned to spend about 10 minutes per conference, but the snow days impacted my ability to spend that much time with each student. Three students who had less time during conferences did not see the growth that other students did, and they may have experienced more growth if their conferences had not been shortened.
MOVING FORWARD
Looking forward, it will be important to implement the researched strategies at the beginning of the year. If students are more comfortable with the self-assessment process, they should benefit more from using rubrics as writing tools all year. Also, I will start student conference groups right away instead of implementing it farther along in the writing process. The student conference groups allowed students the opportunity to work through spelling errors and grammar errors in order to allow my individual conferences to focus on the content of the writing. I will also look for literature to support student conference groups and discuss this process with my colleagues and administrators. Additionally, students became more comfortable overall in discussing their writing pieces. Students struggled with informational writing, so I am interested to see the impact of the researched strategies on achievement in informational writing. My future teaching will be impacted by my ability to effectively research, implement new strategies, collect data, and evaluate the effectiveness of researched strategies. In the future, I will use the skills I gained from conducting the study to improve my teaching. Further, I want my students to be confident in their writing abilities all year, not just the third and fourth quarters. Therefore, I will be more observant of their needs and take observation data as soon as I see issues. Keeping data throughout the year will assist in addressing issues as they arise and will provide a solid foundation for improvement of instruction. This practice will also assist in explaining problems to colleagues, parents, and administrators. I hope the researched strategies will continue to assist in building the confidence of my students as writers for the rest of the year and in the future.