Which methods are more effective with
motivating students to read?
Needs Assessment: There are many wonderings that crossed my
mind when I began my action research inquiry.
One of the many things I learned is that the action research I begin
should be a topic that is of interest to me.
Last year, before I began this action research, our reading coach and I
noticed a trend between our fourth grade at-risk students and their inability
to achieve AR points through our Accelerated Reader program. We looked at the data for our 4th
grade below level students in reading and decided to compare their AR data to
their current reading level. We quickly
noticed that our at-risk students were not gaining any AR points which in turn
told us they probably weren't reading either.
How could we expect these at-risk students to begin gaining any progress
in reading if they weren't practicing their reading everyday? I began looking
at our Accelerated Reader program and all of the components that we were not
utilizing. This began my questioning and
wondering into what motivates our students to read. I also began wondering it if truly made a
difference whether the teacher was involved with motivating the student to
read. Did certain teacher methods work
better than other methods? If so, which
methods appeared to gain the best results?
Objectives and Vision of the
Action Research Project: The
objective of my research inquiry is to evaluate different forms of motivation
each 9 weeks and determine which methods appear to be the most effective.
- 1st 9 weeks: Develop a baseline for reading PM level and AR point level with no monitoring or guidance in place.
- 2nd 9 weeks: Students monitor AR performance by charting tests taken. Once 3 tests have been taken with a score of 70 or above, students may receive a prize from the prize box.
- 3rd 9 weeks: Students will set 9 week goals for AR points achieved. Students will graph the number of AR tests taken each week and discuss the results to determine if they have increased, decreased, or stayed the same.
- 4th 9 weeks: Participate in a grade level competition to see which class can earn the most AR points for an incentive.
The activities listed above
were put in place and monitored by myself throughout each 9 weeks. I also used student, teacher, and parent
surveys, classroom observations, and field notes to determine which methods
were preferred and which methods teachers were working with and implementing in
their classes. All of the activities
above are able to be monitored through data which shows the number of points
students accumulate each week during the inquiry. The data will then be compared to show which
method appears to be the most effective in motivating students. This data along with student surveys will
also help determine which methods work best for our students.
Review of Literature and Action
Research Strategy:
“Reading is such a vital part
of a child’s education, and it takes everyone to reinforce and encourage
children to read,” says library media specialist Monica McCollum. “As a
teacher-librarian, I think it is vital we teach reading using a balanced
approach that involves two components.
We must teach children how to read, and at the same time give them a
purpose for reading. “Getting Kids Ready,” 2012.” Knowing how our children react and perform is
crucial in trying to determine what motivates them to learn. Many of our children come from economically
disadvantaged homes that don’t encourage reading or have the resources
available to work with their child.
Having incentive programs such as the ones that were created through
this inquiry, give our students the opportunity to be awarded for hard work
when they might have never been awarded any other way.
The decision to implement
certain tasks for each nine weeks came through initial observations in third
and fourth grade classrooms. As I worked
with students in the class the first nine weeks of school, I used that time to
talk with students and survey their interests and background information with
regards to reading at home. Once I began
working with the students, their surveys then lead me to change my action
research plan to only include working with the third grade students. I found that my group of students was too
large to manage with the amount of data I was tracking. By limiting my sampling to only include third
grade students I worked with, I was more able to accurately track the students’
progress and stay in close communication with the students and teachers.
Before the 4th 9
weeks began, I questioned what method I wanted to use in comparison with the
others I had used in the previous 9 weeks.
After witnessing the affect an ice cream competition had on our 4th
grade students during the 3rd 9 weeks, I began wondering if competition
among the classes would result in the same conclusion during the last 9 weeks
of school. This inquiry lead to
surveying our third and fourth grade teachers and students over the classroom
competition and which methods of rewards the students would prefer the
most. By involving the teachers and
students in the process, I was more likely to gain their support and
involvement throughout the 9 weeks. Once
I met with my administrator, we worked together to brainstorm a variety of free
resources that we could use to reward our students. Through our 21st Century program
we have the free use of iPAD’s and Wii’s.
The students will also have access to the use of the bouncy houses that
will be provided by our PE department.
Articulate the Vision: The vision of this project was
articulated and communicated through weekly team meetings. Since I work closely with at-risk students in
their classes, I was also able to meet individually with teachers as I worked
in their classroom each day. At the
beginning of the year I took time to meet with student in small groups and
individually. I asked them a variety of
questions regarding their reading at school and at home. This gave us the opportunity to discuss with
the students why I was asking certain questions and what I was trying to figure
out. The students have enjoyed being
part of the process this year and taking ownership of their own learning. Some teachers in grades K-2 know about the
research I am performing, but not everyone on our campus does. Each 9 weeks, I have taken time to
communicate with the 3rd and 4th grade teachers about
what I was trying to determine that particular 9 weeks. Having the support of the teacher and making
sure they understood my vision for each 9 weeks, helped to keep the lines of
communication open and to determine what future steps might need to be taken
when motivating our students. I have had
the opportunity to discuss the project with some parents, but not with all. I will be sending a survey home to parents
soon that will describe the project and enlist the help of parents in answering
questions about what motivates their child to read.
Manage the Organization: Many of the responsibilities required of the
action research project were completed by me.
The use of the Accelerated Reader program on our campus is not an
independent program, so teachers must do their part to actively monitor student
use of the program. I made sure to
review our school AR policies and the importance of teachers monitoring student
use of the AR program. When attempting
to organize the project, it helped to break the tasks down into 9 week time
frames. Teachers report academic
performance through report cards each 9 weeks and they are also responsible for
reporting student growth through reading running records, benchmark
performance, and AR accumulation of points each 9 weeks. Breaking the information down into 9 week
time frames gave me the time needed to monitor growth over an extended time and
to be able to implement different activities each 9 weeks. By implementing a different activity each 9
weeks, I will be able to determine which method was more effective than
others. In the beginning, I planned on
tracking growth with both 3rd and 4th grade
students. I quickly determined that this
was too much for one person to handle, so I scaled my research back to only
include third grade students. However,
there were some activities during the 3rd and 4th 9 weeks
that our 4th grade classes participated in so I will be able to use
that data as well.
Manage the Operations: When I first
begin looking at how I would manage this inquiry and its operations, I was very
overwhelmed. I had originally planned
for too much and my inquiry was too large.
I shrunk my inquiry to only include third grade classes that I worked
with. Having the ability to change the
plan allowed me the time to focus directly with those students I was working
with and to look closer at the data that I was receiving. By having weekly data to use with the
students and teachers, it allowed for a constant communication between me and
them. When I shared my results with the
teachers it helped in building consensus for the continual inquiry. It also opened the door for other inquiry
into teacher’s classrooms when they began their own list of inquiries. I found it was important to stay in close
communication with the teachers about the progress of my inquiry so that I had
their continued support as well. There
were many teachers that used the information and graphs from my inquiry when
meeting with parents to show them how their child had not been taking AR tests,
which showed them they were not reading.
This opened the door for communication between the teachers and the
parents about how to help the child increase their reading achievement and the
importance of reading at home as well.
Through my inquiry, the
opportunity to deal with conflict also arose.
During the 4th 9 weeks, a competition was put into place
between the third and fourth grade classes.
Each grade level would have one winner that was based on the class the
won the most AR points at the end of the competition. The prize was chosen
after taking a survey of students over which prizes they would work the hardest
for. The majority chose free play time,
so a 45 minute block of play time with Wii’s, iPAD’s, and bouncy houses was
chosen as the award incentive. The
classes have been excited and thrilled to be working together for a common
goal. The totals are posted at the end
of each week and I also present the information on a graph to show the
results. During the third week of the
competition, I noticed a huge increase with one of the fourth grade classes in
the number of AR points they had earned.
When I looked further into the AR program, one of the reports showed me
that four students in the same class all took the same test on a Harry Potter
book. Since I knew this book was above
the level of two of the students and that our library didn’t have this many
copies of this one book, the librarian took it upon herself to talk about it
with the teacher. Through further
inquiry with the teacher and the class, the students confessed that one of the
students had logged into the other students accounts to take tests on the Harry
Potter books. These types of books
receive 20-30 points depending on the number of questions so many students take
the tests because they have seen them movies.
This conflict brought up the validity of our competition and whether
students were really reading for pleasure or just to gain points. In the end, our goal is for them to
read. This is where teacher monitoring
has to come into play. I have found that
teacher who continuously monitor their students reading closely, have a better
understanding of student performance in their classes.
Another conflict arose when
some of the third grade teachers began making comments about one other third
grade teacher having more computers in his classrooms. This gave his students more access to taking
AR tests during the day which is why his class had been in the lead during the
AR competition the last 9 weeks. I know
that these computers are not filled with 5 students at a time, but in order to
please the teachers I made them aware of other resources they could also use in
the building. I reminded the teachers
that the computer lab was open in the morning and also throughout the day. If they sent a student to the computer lab,
they just needed to make sure that another teacher was in the lab to monitor
them while they took their tests. Teachers
could also send students to my classroom where I have five computers that could
be used for testing. The library and
office also holds access to computers for student use. Giving these teachers another option for
students allowed them to see that they had just as many options as the other
teacher who had a few more computers in his classroom.
Respond to Community Interest and
Needs:
When the use of data allowed me
to look at how we were utilizing services on our campus, it was determined that
we were not effectively using them as we should be. During the 3rd 9 weeks, we began
opening our computer lab in the mornings when students were arriving in
class. The thought was that if students
were practicing their reading at home like they were encouraged to, then they
should be ready to come to school in the morning and be ready to take and AR
test. Since we were encouraging this
with the students, we needed to make sure the resources were provided in order
for the students to take these tests. The
lab began being opened and monitored by two IA’s from 7:30-8:00. Students from
grades K-4 were able to attend the lab to take a test. By opening the lab, we also began seeing an
increase in the lower grade levels, such as Kindergarten, taking AR tests. By having monitors in the lab to help assist
with the tests, it made it more helpful to the Kindergarten teachers since the
tests usually need to be read to the students.
Opening the lab also required the use of more help, so our Student
Council members were asked to use the lab as part of their rotation for
community service to the schools. Our
third and fourth grade students assist the younger students with taking their
tests and they help with running the computer equipment and making sure they
are logged on and off each day.
Since our school is a Title 1
school, it is important to instill the love of reading and to continually
monitor our student performance. More
than 60% of our school population is also bilingual which requires our staff to
be trained in working with ESL and bilingual students. Knowing the culture of these students and
families and how to communicate with them is crucial when looking at student
performance. By instilling the push for
reading on our campus, it is our hope that the love for reading will also be
pushed into homes where it might not once have been. By partnering with our local library that
provides services to families and individuals, especially our bilingual
families, those barriers that were once there, might no longer be.
Resources:
Getting Kids Ready To
Read: Keeping Their Eye on the
Prize(2012). Retrieved April 28, 2012
from http://www.educationworld.com/a_admin/admin/admin447.shtml
