Problem

of Practice 1 Running head: Problem of Practice

Phase IV: Problem of Practice and Internship Project

Sean Murphy North Carolina State University Leadership Drs. Fusarelli & Militello 12 October 2011

 Problem of Practice 2 Context: South Johnston is a rural high school in the sprawling Johnston County

School District. Feeding from two small towns and an even smaller community, the school has strong ties and a storied history. After overcrowding caused a new school to open, many of the more affluent students moved to West Johnston High School. As a result, South Johnston became the high school with the second highest percentage of economically disadvantaged, African-American and Hispanic students in the district. Notably, the other school pulls from the areas most urban regions (see Phases I & II for data on Johnston Countys context). For reasons addressed earlier in the project and will be noted again later, a

middle school principal from the district was asked to take control of South mid year in 2009, as it was out of control at the time (Phase II, 2011). Mr. Eddie Price had successfully turned around another Johnston County school and had a reputation for being a firm, transformative leader. Mr. Price declined to leave his school mid-year, but agreed to take the position in the 2010-2011 school year. The data used to compile this project shows a school in progress. From August of 2010 to July of 2011, Mr. Price put in place a number of new

initiatives, outlined previously, to address gaps in technology and teacher collaboration. This school year he created the Freshman Academy (F.A.) to introduce initiatives to a small enclave of 11 core and 8 non-core teachers. The main focus of the F.A. is to identify and address areas of needed improvement on instruction.

 Problem of Practice 3 The action research and analysis collected over the previous phases in the

project has led to the clear identification of pedagogical gaps. In particular, many teachers spend the majority of their instructional time in lecture, rarely checking for understanding. Moreover, in many classes there is little or no differentiation, even in the inclusion classes. These issues were identified through informal and formal observations by the administrative team and myself. It was also a central focus of the countys Core Instructional analysis, who conducted a full-day walk through of the school, followed by multiple meetings with administration. The project at hand will focus on utilizing research-based, effective teaching

practices. More specifically, the strategies will target student collaboration and formative assessment analysis. It is important to note that the chief issue is not a lack of data or professional development. Rather, the current project will focus on using available data to inform instruction, leveraging professional development already offered and supporting teachers as they refine their practice to better reach all students. Limiting the focus to at-risk students in English 1, support will be more targeted and analysis more feasible.

 Problem of Practice 4 a. How this Will Have a Positive Impact on Student Achievement: The positive outcomes of implementing effective, research-based teaching

strategies will have short-term outcomes with a specified cohort of students and long-term outcomes with changing teaching habits (Bulgren, 2004). First, by replacing traditional, though ineffective, teaching practices with more constructive, potentially powerful teaching strategies that have proven to work in certain cases, the culture of teaching will shift. This is good for adults, as they will be trained and coached to implement strategies. Qualitatively, the changes will be tracked through informal observations,

walk-through checklists and quality. Specifically, qualitative indicators will be tracked through teacher-response and student response surveys. Finally, the changes are likely to manifest themselves in teacher working condition surveys (conducted in April). For the more important question of student outcomes, it is a natural corollary that improving teacher practices will improve learning outcomes of students at South. Put bluntly, these strategies will get kids talking, which they currently arent

in many classrooms. Research has shown that collaboration among students is a highly effective and, in high school especially, developmentally important way for students to make meaning of rigorous material (Johnson, Maruyama, Johnson, Nelson & Skon, 1981; Guskey, 1990). For chronically low achievers and students at-risk of failing a subject, research suggests that cooperative learning can be a crucial step in developing interpersonal and social competencies. By the end of the first semester,

 Problem of Practice 5 reading instructors will be trained in and implementing student learning teams, effective differentiated instruction and paired practice. During instruction, canonical research findings show that checking student

understanding using explicit processes improves student learning (Crooks, 1988; Bangert, Kulik, & Kulik, 1991; Black & Wiliam, 1998; Vosniadou, Ioannides, Dimitrakopoulou, & Papademetriou, 2001). For most teachers at South Johnston, this does not happen in a predictable, consistent or equitable manner. Informal and formal observations conducted, in addition to student and teacher interviews, reveal that teachers continue to use whole-group questioning with volunteer response. Questioning and formative assessment strategies will be introduced as a means of identifying and responding to common misconceptions, prior learning and current levels of understanding. It must be noted that teachers will not simply receive a three-day training on

these strategies, then be expected to implement them effectively in the classroom. As Marzano himself has pointed out, strategies left unchecked can have a negative effect on student achievement (2009). During the internship project, English teachers will receive on-going training and support, from both myself and other coaches. Ultimately, strategies will be folded into the general curriculum classes so that Freshman Academy classes will have consistent language .

 Problem of Practice 6 b. Project Measurements: - - - - - - - - - - - Pre-Post Assessment for Word Mapping Strategy Pre-Post Assessment for Word Identification Strategy Pre-Post Assessment Self-Questioning Strategy Observation Walkthrough Checklists English I E.O.C. for Students in the Xtreme Reading group Pre-Post G.R.A.D.E. Reading Assessment. Teacher surveys gauging qualitative indicators Teacher surveys on Xtreme Reading program. Student surveys Tardiness and absenteeism POWER Attendance Data

 Problem of Practice 7 c. Project Outcomes: Increase the frequency of student-to-teacher talk for all students (i.e. checking for understanding, using inquiry, calling on non-volunteers). Increase the frequency of student collaboration. Teachers are aware of research-based teaching strategies Teachers use research-based strategies effectively Students use literacy strategies Teachers use data to drive instruction

 Problem of Practice 8 d. The SMART goals: 1. By the end of Fall Semester, all Xtreme teachers will use paired practice and differentiated practice no less than 3 times per week. 2. Xtreme reading classes will have semester grade averages of no less than 75 by the end of Fall Semester, 2011. 3. 80% of Xtreme reading students will be proficient in Word Mapping, Word Identification and Self Questioning strategies by the end of Fall Semester, 2011 4. 60% of students will report greater frequency of peer collaboration from Fall to Spring semesters. 5. 85% of Xtreme students will report greater frequency of teacher-student talk from Fall to Spring semesters. 6. 90% of Xtreme students will show at least 1 grade level reading growth, as assessed by the GRADE, by the end of Spring Semester, 2011. 7. Xtreme teachers will effectively implement 5 research-based instructional strategies by the end of Spring Semester, 2011 8. 80% of students will perform better on English I EOCs than predicted by EVAAS. 9. All Xtreme teachers will show a positive value add for low, middle and high subgroups on EVAAS analysis by the end of Spring Semester, 2011.

 Problem of Practice 9 e. Theory of Action Ultimate Ifthen:

If select English I teachers effectively implement research-based teaching strategies, then student achievement will improve for at-risk students. Precipitating If then If teachers are trained on how to use research-based teaching strategies in their classroom, then they will know how to implement them in the classroom. If teachers are given constant support and coaching, then they will implement them effectively. If English 1 teachers use research-based strategies effectively, then at-risk students will know how to use them. If at-risk students are given constant support and coaching by their teachers, then they will use them effectively. If at-risk students use them effectively, then they will be more successful in the class. If at-risk students are more successful in class, then they will increase their English proficiency. If at-risk students increase their English proficiency, they As the Inquiry-Action Cycle states, this will only be effective if constant monitoring is taking place, thus formative assessments, benchmark tests and teacher surveys will be conducted and the results analyzed periodically.

 Problem of Practice 10 Theory of Action:

Post Test & Data Check

If teachers know and are coached, then they will use effectively

If they do effectively, then the kids will know

If they use effectively, they will do better If they know and are coached, then they will use effectively

If the kids know, then they will use them

Year Long Outlook

Continue Integrating Strategies into Xtreme and Core Classes, Using Data to Check Processes