RATIONALE
RATIONALE
RATIONALE
RATIONALE
RATIONALE
THE JUSTIFICATION FOR MY STUDY
School Description
My capstone project was centered around four particular students, but the instructional strategies being learned and implemented, and the life skills being taught were implemented during whole group instruction. I was an elementary school educator in a suburban school district. As of the 2018-2019 school year, there were 451 students enrolled in my building, encompassing grades kindergarten through sixth. Of those 451 students, 47% were a part of a free or reduced lunch program and 27% of our students were minorities. This data was important for me to remember that while families might look similar from an exterior perspective, every child in my classroom was different. Each of my students came from their own unique backgrounds and had their own personal academic needs that ended up guiding my instruction.
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Class Description
I was one of three second grade teachers at my school. Of the 16 students in my classroom, two students qualified for speech-language services, two students had individual ideal plans (IIP) for behavior, four students were on an IIP for academics, and two students had a 504 plan. My students had very diverse needs. It was important for me to differentiate my instruction so that each student could get the support they needed. Similar to the demographics of my school, 11 of my students were Caucasian, four were bi-racial, and one was African American. These demographics provided an additional insight of my second graders. Understanding this diversity meant that it was vital for me to ensure all of my students felt as though their culture was represented and appreciated in our studies and inside the four walls of our classroom.
In regard to writing, in particular, students would like to feel more comfortable writing about their own experiences and be able to utilize a mentor text if they could find a way to connect to what was being read. Even though the majority of my students were Caucasian, it was important that other races were represented in our classroom. Other cultures could be represented in our classroom through the books I selected for as my mentor texts. Thus, all of my students were provided with opportunities to feel a connection with our texts.
The Need For My Study
The first few months of school showed a high need for developing self confidence in students and a high need for building writing achievement. On the initial baseline formative assessment in writing, 10 of 16 students received a beginning score (0-7 points out of 16), while five received progressing (8-10 points out of 16), and one proficient (11-13 points out of 16). During this initial assessment, five of the 16 students cried out of fear of writing or anxiety. Students were observed to say the words “I can’t” a total of 57 times the following week during the five 50 minute writing periods. By the end of the first quarter, the class has been able to write consecutively for eight minutes before avoidance behavior occurs. Avoidance behaviors and anxiety were not just occuring during the allotted content writing time. Students were showing similar tendencies when any writing task was asked of them. On their first science formative assessment, six out of 16 students left the final essay question blank, and five of the 16 students wrote not even a sentence. When I pulled students individually to ask the same question orally, 10 out of the 16 students were able to give the correct answer.
Importance
The information gained from conducting this study was imperative because it allowed me to determine where my writers were at on an individual level and how their mindsets were influencing their abilities. As well, it provided me with information to guide my instruction and meet the wide spectrum of needs in the classroom. The study allowed me to help meet each child exactly where they were and challenge them to reach their full potential through developing a growth mindset. Furthermore, it allowed for opportunities for students to carry over that positivity and challenge acceptance into all areas of life. Having a growth mindset was not only important for students but applied to me as their teacher too. It was my hope that as their teacher, as my abilities to effectively teach writing grew, they would gain a positive attitude when taking chances by writing. I had the opportunity to collaborate with highly qualified professionals such as my team, school counselor, principal, and CADRE associate to help ensure that I made the growth that was needed to become an effective educator in writing and social emotional learning. This study supported me in my career because it provided me with knowledge and skills that would improve my instruction that I used as a foundation and built upon throughout my career as an educator.