Monitoring - Check in

After our last PLG we were asked to describe and explain the changes of tweaks that we have made in our practice along the way. This blog post will outline some of the tweaks and changes that I have made along with another observation that I have had from my coach from RPI and what changes I made from that observation.

Ground rules for talk
I have continued to work on tweaking and changing this to fit in with my students. We have spent a lot of time during guided reading sessions talking about how we can make this work effectively. I have listened to what my students have shared and changed up how we use this so that all of the students are feeling successful. One key thing I have added in is a reflection for the students to fill in as a group and rate how well they have done with this for the week. From there we have had group discussions around how we can make this work more effectively in the classroom. I have also continued on with either a picture prompt or would you rather question at the beginning of guided reading sessions so that we can go over ground rules for talk and getting the whole group involved. 

Response to Text & Vocabulary Tasks
I have continued to shape and develop these tasks each week for after guided reading. I have now incorporated the vocabulary tasks into the response to text task. With the spotlight task I used to have the students do this collaboratively but was finding that some of the students were reluctant to share in a larger group so I have made this an independent activity for each of the students to complete before coming to guided reading sessions. This then allows the students to think about it before we come together as a group and ask questions if they need clarification. After reading the students then work together to find the meaning of each of these words from the text. 

Observations
As part of RPI we have been asked to have our coach come and observe lessons and provide feedback on what we can focus on in our practice to make guided reading sessions better. From one of my observations I found that there were a few students who would sit back and allow the other students in the group to answer all the questions. They were focused during these sessions they just didn't have the confidence to share with the rest of the group. One of the key things Toni and I talked about was gifting these students some of the questions as they are reading so that they have had time to frame their answer and are not just put on the spot. One change that I have made it writing down some of the key questions for these students to have in front of them while they are reading to see if that can help with confidence in sharing with the rest of the group. This as been working with some of the students but I will continue to do this so that all of the students feel confident to share in the group.

Next steps
I will continue to implement these changes to my practice and monitor some of the things that are working and some parts of this that might need continued change throughout the rest of this term and into term 4. 

Monitoring of implementation

It is that time of year where we need to start evaluating what we have been doing throughout the year to make sure that we can see the shift and change of our implementations. One of the first things I have decided to explore is the evidence about the monitoring of my implementation. Here is some of the data that I have collected so far. 

This is a break down of my June running record data. This year I have wanted to focus in on the comprehension part of the test and see if there are any trends in the data. I will then look at the end of year data and compare this with mid year and beginning of the year data. 

I have then looked at my beginning of the year data to see if there has been any changes or shifts in the comprehension part of the running records. Below I have added the beginning of the year data. 

The graph below shows the reading change in reading levels from November 2022 (end of year testing) and June 2023 testing for reports. 

The graph below shows shows the changes in reading ages from November 2022 to June 2023 testing. 

What methods have you used to collect information?​

• PAT testing data
• Running records data
• Anecdotal notes
• Key interference data

​How have you been systematic in that collection?​
I have tired to make sure that especially with my anecdotal data that I have been looking at this weekly and recording this. However I could have placed it in a more collective place where I was able to look at the data better. I have also been collecting the key into inference data but this has been something that sometimes doesn't fit into our rotation for the week or what we are learning so its about keeping myself acceptable and making sure that I make time for it was well. 

What does the data tell you?​
My mid year running records data suggested that what I have put into place has worked. I made sure to test these students before I started the intervention to see if there was any shift from the intervention. This was important to have as a baseline because students could have still made progress from the end of the year. With PAT it is harder to see that data as there is only two points of the year that we do test this so it will be interesting to see that this data shows.  

What are you going to do with the data in terms of ‘tweaking’ your intervention?
From looking at the data of the mid year running records and my anecdotal notes of the students I have been able to tweak the intervention and how it works in the classroom. I tried to make sure that the tweaks where not to large so that I could still use the data as a place to show success. I have used the research and readings that I collected earlier in the year to shape my intervention and what do use in order to make tweaks.