Action Plan
Getting There
After many observations, journaling and collecting field notes it came to my attention as noted in the introduction, that there are many small behavior modifications that could be made in our class to improve our classroom community. Each student has something small they could modify or improve that would help scaffold them to their highest potential while also benefiting the class.
As previously mentioned, setting personal goals that will affect the classroom community was a bit foreign to my students. They were only able to think of things that they can say to other people or changes other people could make. Based on this I created a chart of goal ideas that emphasis how they are helping the classroom. (picture) the phrase was I will____ so that____. I will use this chart to guide students into picking appropriate goals. IE one of the lines on the chart says I will raise my hand to share so others get a chance to share and so my ideas are heard. When working with students, if they do not have an idea of what goal to set in mind, I will choose goals on the chart, at least one that I think they should work on and ask them “do you think you______?” guiding them to find the right goal for them. Referring to the precious example, “do you think you call out a lot? Do you forget to raise your hand a lot?” etc. After finding a goal that works we will discuss why it works and how it will benefit not only the student but also the classroom community.
I will have a heavy hand in student’s goals for multiple reasons. Firstly I want to make sure the goals take place in the classroom so I can observe their progress. Secondly I want to ensure that the goals fit the student so there is something to measure/ observe. If I have a student who never calls out and always participates by raising their hand, it would be difficult to observe them working on raising their hand. There would be no change in their behavior. Finally I will pick their goals so that their goal addresses a behavior that is impeding on their success. By having students work on goals I strongly guide them to choose, I will be able to monitor students, and help them to see their potential, and help them see how their choices affect the class overall.
The next part of my implementation is a goal planning/ daily assessment sheet. Students will each get the sheet below (PICTURE). On Monday, students will work with me to fill out the top part of this worksheet on Monday. At the end of each day, they will determine that they accomplished their goal, worked on their goal, or did not work on their goal that day and circle the corresponding number. At the end of the week they will fill out the bottom portion that allows them to reflect on why they were or were not able to accomplish their goal. This will allow me to better understand their experience, efforts and actions within setting their own goals
As previously mentioned, setting personal goals that will affect the classroom community was a bit foreign to my students. They were only able to think of things that they can say to other people or changes other people could make. Based on this I created a chart of goal ideas that emphasis how they are helping the classroom. (picture) the phrase was I will____ so that____. I will use this chart to guide students into picking appropriate goals. IE one of the lines on the chart says I will raise my hand to share so others get a chance to share and so my ideas are heard. When working with students, if they do not have an idea of what goal to set in mind, I will choose goals on the chart, at least one that I think they should work on and ask them “do you think you______?” guiding them to find the right goal for them. Referring to the precious example, “do you think you call out a lot? Do you forget to raise your hand a lot?” etc. After finding a goal that works we will discuss why it works and how it will benefit not only the student but also the classroom community.
I will have a heavy hand in student’s goals for multiple reasons. Firstly I want to make sure the goals take place in the classroom so I can observe their progress. Secondly I want to ensure that the goals fit the student so there is something to measure/ observe. If I have a student who never calls out and always participates by raising their hand, it would be difficult to observe them working on raising their hand. There would be no change in their behavior. Finally I will pick their goals so that their goal addresses a behavior that is impeding on their success. By having students work on goals I strongly guide them to choose, I will be able to monitor students, and help them to see their potential, and help them see how their choices affect the class overall.
The next part of my implementation is a goal planning/ daily assessment sheet. Students will each get the sheet below (PICTURE). On Monday, students will work with me to fill out the top part of this worksheet on Monday. At the end of each day, they will determine that they accomplished their goal, worked on their goal, or did not work on their goal that day and circle the corresponding number. At the end of the week they will fill out the bottom portion that allows them to reflect on why they were or were not able to accomplish their goal. This will allow me to better understand their experience, efforts and actions within setting their own goals
Informing My Action Plan
When thinking about how I want to implement my Action Research, I realized that my initial needs assessment did not give me enough information to develop a well-informed implementation plan. So the first part of my action plan was to give another needs assessment. I asked students what they knew about goals and they came up with the information to the right.
A goal is:
- When you want to do something
- When you want to do something and try
- To do something and do it again like when you do with a bike (setting a goal to ride a bike)
- When you think hard to spell stuff and understand
- What you pick to do work
- A real thing you want to do
- When you want to do something try harder, and hard
I also asked them who thought the classroom was too loud or if were bothered by people being to active and it made it too hard to learn. I had them close their eyes and raise their hands. 14/19 students present raised their hands. This was a perfect seque to get more information on their view on setting goals. I asked, “if all that is going on could we could each think of a small goal to work on to help make that better?” The class all agreed so I furthered the discussion into what types of goals. Students came up with a multitude of ideas, some of which were too broad. So we talked about the idea that setting a goal to learn is great but what can we each do to fix the class being too loud or too crazy to learn sometimes. At this point students started to get it. We continued to come up with goals and examples. Below you will find some of the goal ideas students came up with:
- Ignore people who talk to you
- No playing in the bathroom
- Do what the teacher tells you and listen
- We can listen and be second graders and do work
- Not talk when others are talking
- Not to interrupt people
- To let other people talk
At this point I am now able to develop and action plan because I know what my students know about goals, I know their behaviors, what they would like to work on and how they feel about setting goals and working together.
Which Students and Why
I will be working with 8 students who fall in a wide range when it comes to academic and behaviors. The common factor between all of these students is that the behavior I would like them to work towards or modify, will allow the class and the student to better function and succeed.
Student 2, Angel is very talkative and has trouble controlling his body, however when on task, he provides a very unique level of thinking. Often time his movements bother other students during lessons. When we are getting ready to transition and all of the other tables are quiet his table is still loud and not ready because he is talking and his table mates are asking him to stop talking. When Angel is on task, he has very clever thinking that provides a different perspective on many of the topics we discuss. If he could control his body and choose the appropriate times to talk he would enhance his own learning, be less disruptive to the class, and finally provide a different perspective on the topics we are learning about.
-Control my body and choose the right times to talk
Student 7, Maya Is an intelligent student who seems quite serious at times. Despite her hard work and dedication, she rarely shares her ideas when we work as a class. I want Maya to work on sharing her ideas with the class. If she shared her ideas, the class would gain a new perspective on the topics we are studying. Additionally, I hope that Maya’s confidence will increase when sees how receptive the class is to her ideas.
- Share ideas with the class 2 times a day
Student 8, Lailah does not freeze and listen to directions when asked, causing her to take an extra 5 minutes to start activities while she figures out what we are doing. Additionally we have to wait longer to get the whole class quiet. So Lailah needs to work on freezing and listening to directions. This goal is something small that could have a big impact on her work and the classes’ ability to get things done more fluidly.
- Freeze and listen to directions when asked
Student 15, Demetrius is a student that is behind his classmates with academic and maturity. Although he may not be at the same maturity and academic level of his classmates, he is determined and positive. Despite being determined he does not exert his independents. He frequently asks for help and says he cannot do things before even trying them. Some days he will ask for help before he even knows what the task is. He relies on others and is not a self-starter. Demetrius asked me to help him put his jacket on because, “I can’t do it.” After telling him he is fully capable of such a task, he quickly put his jacket on and got on with his business. This is just one example that can and could start many of the tasks he asks for help on, without assistance. This is why I would like him to try to do tasks before he asks for help. I want Demetrius to realize how much he can do on his own so he develops independence and confidence.
-Attempt to do work before asking for help
Number 16, Tiffany just got glasses but always forgets to wear them. I try often to remind her to wear them but students need to learn independents. Also, sometimes I do not notice she isn’t wearing them until 5 minutes into a lesson. At this point she has to get up, walk across everyone sitting on the rug, put them on then come back through everybody. The class is only slightly bothered by this, however, this also means that Tiffany could not see for the first 5 minutes of the lesson. Tiffany needs to work on remembering to wear her glasses.
-Remember to wear glasses without being told
Student 19, Lucy is a fantastic class leader as she is typically on task, often helps guide fellow students and usually volunteers to answer. She also has taken it upon herself to monitor other students’ behavior. She often “tattles” and tells people what they should be doing. It is not her job to monitor class behavior. When tattle she usually, interrupts lessons or small group to tell on someone for something that is not disrupting her work, others work or harming anyone. I want Lucy to focus less on others behavior and more on her own behavior using “THINK.” THINK asks is it: True, helpful, inspiring, necessary, and or kind?
-THINK before I tell on others or tell others what to do.
Number 21, Antonio is quite a character. He sings a lot in class, makes noises, moves around on the rug and is very funny. All of these are great personality traits, but when put forth at the wrong time they interfere with his learning as well as those around him. Antonio does stellar in math but rarely participate because he is too distracted by being social. I want him to work on control his body and choosing the right times to talk so he can continue to excel in math and help the class learn through his great thinking.
-Control my body and choose the right times to talk
Student 22, Qatranada is a talkative, lively, and typically well behaved girl who always tries her best. She loves to chat at her table, not so much on the rug. This delays her work and distracts other students from focusing as well. Her talking becomes especially disruptive to the class when the class is listening to directions and she interrupt to add information. If student she raised her hand or chose the right times to talk, her information could be very beneficial to the whole class. Qatranda needs to work on choosing the right time to talk so she and her classmates can get work done and so she does not interrupt while I give instruction.
-choose the right time to talk
Student 2, Angel is very talkative and has trouble controlling his body, however when on task, he provides a very unique level of thinking. Often time his movements bother other students during lessons. When we are getting ready to transition and all of the other tables are quiet his table is still loud and not ready because he is talking and his table mates are asking him to stop talking. When Angel is on task, he has very clever thinking that provides a different perspective on many of the topics we discuss. If he could control his body and choose the appropriate times to talk he would enhance his own learning, be less disruptive to the class, and finally provide a different perspective on the topics we are learning about.
-Control my body and choose the right times to talk
Student 7, Maya Is an intelligent student who seems quite serious at times. Despite her hard work and dedication, she rarely shares her ideas when we work as a class. I want Maya to work on sharing her ideas with the class. If she shared her ideas, the class would gain a new perspective on the topics we are studying. Additionally, I hope that Maya’s confidence will increase when sees how receptive the class is to her ideas.
- Share ideas with the class 2 times a day
Student 8, Lailah does not freeze and listen to directions when asked, causing her to take an extra 5 minutes to start activities while she figures out what we are doing. Additionally we have to wait longer to get the whole class quiet. So Lailah needs to work on freezing and listening to directions. This goal is something small that could have a big impact on her work and the classes’ ability to get things done more fluidly.
- Freeze and listen to directions when asked
Student 15, Demetrius is a student that is behind his classmates with academic and maturity. Although he may not be at the same maturity and academic level of his classmates, he is determined and positive. Despite being determined he does not exert his independents. He frequently asks for help and says he cannot do things before even trying them. Some days he will ask for help before he even knows what the task is. He relies on others and is not a self-starter. Demetrius asked me to help him put his jacket on because, “I can’t do it.” After telling him he is fully capable of such a task, he quickly put his jacket on and got on with his business. This is just one example that can and could start many of the tasks he asks for help on, without assistance. This is why I would like him to try to do tasks before he asks for help. I want Demetrius to realize how much he can do on his own so he develops independence and confidence.
-Attempt to do work before asking for help
Number 16, Tiffany just got glasses but always forgets to wear them. I try often to remind her to wear them but students need to learn independents. Also, sometimes I do not notice she isn’t wearing them until 5 minutes into a lesson. At this point she has to get up, walk across everyone sitting on the rug, put them on then come back through everybody. The class is only slightly bothered by this, however, this also means that Tiffany could not see for the first 5 minutes of the lesson. Tiffany needs to work on remembering to wear her glasses.
-Remember to wear glasses without being told
Student 19, Lucy is a fantastic class leader as she is typically on task, often helps guide fellow students and usually volunteers to answer. She also has taken it upon herself to monitor other students’ behavior. She often “tattles” and tells people what they should be doing. It is not her job to monitor class behavior. When tattle she usually, interrupts lessons or small group to tell on someone for something that is not disrupting her work, others work or harming anyone. I want Lucy to focus less on others behavior and more on her own behavior using “THINK.” THINK asks is it: True, helpful, inspiring, necessary, and or kind?
-THINK before I tell on others or tell others what to do.
Number 21, Antonio is quite a character. He sings a lot in class, makes noises, moves around on the rug and is very funny. All of these are great personality traits, but when put forth at the wrong time they interfere with his learning as well as those around him. Antonio does stellar in math but rarely participate because he is too distracted by being social. I want him to work on control his body and choosing the right times to talk so he can continue to excel in math and help the class learn through his great thinking.
-Control my body and choose the right times to talk
Student 22, Qatranada is a talkative, lively, and typically well behaved girl who always tries her best. She loves to chat at her table, not so much on the rug. This delays her work and distracts other students from focusing as well. Her talking becomes especially disruptive to the class when the class is listening to directions and she interrupt to add information. If student she raised her hand or chose the right times to talk, her information could be very beneficial to the whole class. Qatranda needs to work on choosing the right time to talk so she and her classmates can get work done and so she does not interrupt while I give instruction.
-choose the right time to talk
The Plan by Date
Nov. 1:
Have a discussion with students about the kinds of goals we could set to improve classroom community. Explain that I will be working with some of them to set goals. Ask students for examples of the types of goals we could set. Find out which students are interested in setting goals.
Have a discussion with students about the kinds of goals we could set to improve classroom community. Explain that I will be working with some of them to set goals. Ask students for examples of the types of goals we could set. Find out which students are interested in setting goals.
Goal Setting implementation
Nov. 4- Nov. 22
Students will work through 3 weeks of goal setting from Nov. 4 - Nov. 22. Each week will follow a similar plan of action with changes made as necessary based on student daily self assessment on goal progress, my observations and field notes, and conferences with students.
Students will work through 3 weeks of goal setting from Nov. 4 - Nov. 22. Each week will follow a similar plan of action with changes made as necessary based on student daily self assessment on goal progress, my observations and field notes, and conferences with students.
General weekly outline:
Monday- Spend around 5 minutes with each student, who is participating, to set a goal and discuss why they want to set that goal. They will use the chart of ideas for setting goals we developed as class. Students struggled to understand how to set a personal goal so I had students use the prompt: I don't like when_____ so my friends could____. The ideas of what their friends could do went onto our goal setting chart in the form of I will ____ so ____. Students will use this chart to think of goals they could set for themselves that would benefit the overall classroom community.
Monday- Friday- Students will rate themselves daily from 1-3 on if they believed they accomplished their goal that day (note self assessment sheet)
Friday- Meet with students individually or in small group to discuss their daily self-assessment (note self assessment sheet) and to talk about whether or not they think they accomplished their goal and their reasons for why they believe this.
Monday- Spend around 5 minutes with each student, who is participating, to set a goal and discuss why they want to set that goal. They will use the chart of ideas for setting goals we developed as class. Students struggled to understand how to set a personal goal so I had students use the prompt: I don't like when_____ so my friends could____. The ideas of what their friends could do went onto our goal setting chart in the form of I will ____ so ____. Students will use this chart to think of goals they could set for themselves that would benefit the overall classroom community.
Monday- Friday- Students will rate themselves daily from 1-3 on if they believed they accomplished their goal that day (note self assessment sheet)
Friday- Meet with students individually or in small group to discuss their daily self-assessment (note self assessment sheet) and to talk about whether or not they think they accomplished their goal and their reasons for why they believe this.
Nov 21 or Nov 22- End of the three weeks of goal setting/ Reflection Confer with students about the overall process of goal setting (note conferring sheet)
Nov 22- Nov 30- Review three data sources, reflect on overall experience and develop phase 2
Dec 2- Dec 20- Implement phase 2
Dec 18- Dec 20- Wrap up phase two
Dec 20- Jan 15- Reflect and review phase 2
Nov 22- Nov 30- Review three data sources, reflect on overall experience and develop phase 2
Dec 2- Dec 20- Implement phase 2
Dec 18- Dec 20- Wrap up phase two
Dec 20- Jan 15- Reflect and review phase 2