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Maryland Professional Development School Network Conference

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SCHOOLS:

TEACH THEM ALL

INTERN INQUIRY SYMPOSIUM

Saturday, May 5, 2018

University of Maryland Baltimore County

1000 Hilltop Circle

Baltimore, MD 21250

Sponsored by:

Maryland Professional Development School Network

Maryland State Department of Education

University of Maryland Baltimore County

1

TITLE Using Sentence Combination to Improve Students Creative Writing

PRESENTER Abiola Adenekan

UNIVERSITY Morgan State University

ABSTRACT

Sentence combining is an intervention strategy that teaches students to rewrite or manipulate basic

simple sentences or “kernel sentences” and transform them into more sophisticated sentences. This

strategy also ties into sentence de-combination, where students deconstruct sentences to pull out

important information, and gain batter knowledge of the text they are reading. These strategies can

help students annotate, draw inferences, and add details to creative writings. This is a complex skill

that students will continue to learn and improve upon throughout their K-12 experience. My inquiry

topic question is, “How can using sentence combination help improve students creative writing?” For

several weeks I worked with three third grade students, giving them a prompt to write about. Based

on their responses I determined to work with them on writing combined sentences while including

detail. I continued to monitor their progress, and adjust my intervention strategy based on the

students understanding of the assignment. The final assessment would be for students to review and

revise the original prompt they wrote, and add details. The revision of the prompt will determine

effectiveness of the interventions.

2

TITLE Credibility is Key

PRESENTER Orah Afrah

UNIVERSITY University of Maryland, Baltimore County

ABSTRACT

Many students who complete research projects have difficulty providing credible sources for

evidence in their writing. The objective of this study is to improve students’ abilities to identify and

utilize credible sources for implementation using the various components of the PARCO technique.

The students in this study are high school students in a suburban school. Using components of the

PARCO technique, students will analyze and search for multiple types of sources that range from

print sources to digital and media-based sources. When studying these sources, students will utilize

the various PARCO techniques needed to find credibility in each. This study will measure students’

abilities before, during and after implementation of components of the PARCO technique. Student

assessment results will be measured to evaluate the success of this study.

3

TITLE The Effect of Unstructured Physical Activity on Academic Achievement

PRESENTER Darius Ashby


ABSTRACT

Physical activity has always been an important part of student learning. In fact it has been proven to

be absolutely necessary for cognitive development. However, what effect could physical activity

with no rules or structure to it have on a student's academic achievement in geometry? This study

was done with fourth graders at a public elementary school. This was a comparative research study

with six fourth graders. These fourth graders all had one thing in common; they all struggled in the

geometry domain of mathematics. In order to see if physical activity was having an effect I had three

students to stay behind in the classroom and I took the other three to the gym for 20 minutes and

allowed them to participate in any physical activity they wanted. Shortly after, I would bring all six

of them to the classroom and teach basic geometrical terms for another 20 minutes. In order to see

what kind of effect the physical activity was having I gave them a pretest and a similar post test. This

study was done in four consecutive 40 minute sessions.

4

TITLE Supporting Beliefs Using Multiple Sources in Fourth Grade

PRESENTER Darcey Bodziony


ABSTRACT

An important skill that students are expected to leave fourth grade mastering is using evidence from

multiple texts to support their beliefs. Over a four-week span, twenty-five fourth grade students with

varied reading levels were involved in a research process to absorb, comprehend, interpret, and apply

the information to their own lives to meet this goal. Multiple sources and approaches were used to

differentiate instruction for their colorful learning abilities, which included a read aloud, web

sources, scholastic articles, and books from the school and community library. This mix of suburban

and low-income students scored <62% on the pretest which left much room for growth with these

skills. During whole and small group collaborations, as well as through independent study, the

students were involved in the research process to collect key facts and ideas to use as support in the

writing of their final opinion piece. A series of assessments were administered and analyzed to

evaluate the impact of instruction on student learning.

5

TITLE Student Engagement and Motivation in the High School English Classroom

PRESENTER Bianca Body

UNIVERSITY Loyola University Maryland

ABSTRACT

Engagement and motivation are issues that teachers are faced with every day. Specifically in the

English classroom, engagement and motivation are dependent on the teacher’s actions, the classroom

environment, the students’ literacy skills, and the texts and curriculum. This inquiry project centers

on the effects of a series of teacher interventions on student engagement and motivation in the

English classroom. The study was done in a large public suburban high school with a student

population that is fifty percent black/African-American, and the remaining population is Asian,

Hispanic, white, and biracial/multiracial. Students are also eligible for free and reduced meals. The

student groups are from two honors level English 11 classes. Group one is composed of fourteen

students (8 female and 6 male), and group two is composed of sixteen students (10 male and 6

female). Over a six week time frame, teacher interventions included station activities, small group

instruction, teacher modeling, conferencing, and multiple opportunities to revise. Students were

given surveys to explain their feelings about school and English class. Student work was also

analyzed, and observations were recorded. This study provides information on a more diverse student

population that is missing from the present studies.

6

TITLE Fourth Grade Reading Inventory

PRESENTER Hannah Brown


ABSTRACT

How can a reading inventory with a small group help improve lower level students overall reading

skill and fluency? I will be investigating students targeted due to fluency and comprehension

concerns. Students reading levels are based on letters, 4th grade students should at an S, these

students are at o, p, q, and an r. I am working with these students a once a week for seven weeks. The

students have been assigned by their teacher. I meet with these students for 30 minutes each time. I

do activities with them such as guided reading and comprehension questions on leveled texts we

read. Students were all pre-assessed, to have a better understanding of their level.

During each session, students read for about 15 minutes (rotating) and then answer some

comprehension question. Students have been reading in a small group, practicing on their fluency

overall. I have been taking notes on their fluency while reading and noting their progress. Overall, I

have noticed improvements, Regardless, if the improvements are small or big, they are significant

and show signs of growth for each student.

7

TITLE Studio Habits of Mind

PRESENTER Erin Dance

UNIVERSITY Notre Dame of Maryland University

ABSTRACT

This action research is designed to study how metacognition, productivity and performance is

affected by implementation of the Studio Habits of Mind (SHoM) in the classroom. These skill sets

are a need in the classroom because there are many distractions that cause students to be off task,

resulting in lost time and a lack of utilization of time. Through the implementation of SHoM, which

includes regular warm ups, reflections and education of eight skill sets, productivity and performance

are measured. Pretest data is taken through a metacognition questionnaire, observational behavioral

data and quality of work. Data will be recorded throughout the study through observed behaviors and

graded qualitative and quantitative work. Data observed will be analyzed for changes in time

management, goal setting and metacognition. Post data will be taken utilizing the metacognition

questionnaire and final graded work.

8

TITLE Extracting Evidence in Explanations

PRESENTER Leah Davidson Wolf


ABSTRACT

In biology, an essential skill for every student is the ability to apply reasoning and evidence to

support scientific ideas Biological concepts are entirely based on evidence used to support claims and

can later be adapted or changed based on new evidence. This research focuses on the ability of 46

high school students in a general biology class to synthesize evidence from multiple sources into a

cohesive response to support a scientific claim. This ability demonstrates a deeper understanding of

the content and purpose of scientific inquiry. Students were instructed in scientific writing, including

the importance of providing evidence as support and explaining how the evidence is relevant to a

scientific concept or idea. Throughout the year, these students wrote numerous responses requiring

evidence and reasoning graded on a 4-point scale for their ability to provide relevant evidence,

explain their claim, and connect the evidence to their claim. Student scores improved over the course

of the year from an average of 1.4 to an average of 3.5. Twice, students engaged in response review

activities that required them to evaluate anonymous responses in a “grading” exercise, which resulted

in a 0.6 average score increase.

9

TITLE The Effectiveness of Repeated Readings and Daily Reading Practice to Increase Reading Fluency

PRESENTER Monyea Davis


ABSTRACT

Reading fluency is a combination of being able to comprehend what is being read by word

recognition. Fluent reading is the goal because fluent readers can focus their time on what the text

means and not deconstructing individual words. Students enhance their reading fluency as they can

read with speed and accuracy. This research project focused on a group of 1st graders that were

classified as reading on grade level. Methodology included 2 parts. The first part included repeated

reading. The second part included daily reading passages that focused on words read per minute and

comprehension. The group of participants included 6 African American students, 4 girls and 2 boys,

from various economic backgrounds and family structures. The school that the students attend is an

urban public elementary school. Data was collected both daily and weekly over a 4-week period.

Daily, students read grade level but challenging reading passages. Their words read per minute was

logged and 2 comprehension questions were answered. Weekly, data was collected from the students

repeated readings. A pre-test was administered to see where each student was starting at. A post-test

was administered to determine the effectiveness of each strategy.

10

TITLE You Can't Stop the Beat! A Study on Improving Students' Rhythmic Sight-Reading

PRESENTER Morgan Dice


ABSTRACT

Learning to keep a steady pulse and fluently read rhythmic passages is an essential building block to

a well-rounded music education. Often times, young students can identify half notes, quarter notes,

and eighth notes, but when combined and put in the context of a piece of music, they struggle to

translate those symbols into correct rhythms while maintaining a steady beat. This research focused

on developing middle schoolers’ music literacy by improving their rhythmic sight-reading skills. The

population studied was a group of 6th and 7th grade orchestra students at a suburban middle school.

Students were asked to clap an 8-measure rhythmic passage and were graded on a scale of 1 to 4 (1

being needs improvement and 4 being exemplary). Over the course of twelve weeks of instruction,

students continued to study rhythm in the context of their orchestra pieces and method book

exercises, and at the conclusion of the study, the goal was for each student to have improved their

sight-reading score by at least one point on the 4-point scale.

11

TITLE Addressing Systemic Racism

PRESENTER Patrick Dignan


ABSTRACT

A core component for social studies students to learn and develop is awareness of civil injustice.

Social equity is a complex issue that impacts students’ lives in many different ways. Yet, it continues

to be an underlying and often avoided issue, both within schools and society. Therefore, it is crucial

to address historic events that have created systemic structures which continue to perpetuate racial

inequality today. The school setting in which the study is being conducted is suburban, with a

moderately diverse mix of students, both racially and socioeconomically. The political science class

is made up of 45 students across two separate sections. The sections are made up of seniors with 4

juniors. The objective is to increase student understanding and awareness of systemic racism, and the

effect that these structures have on equity within society. To achieve this objective, students will

interact with and analyze balanced multimedia texts and engage in dialogue and reflection over the

course of several weeks. A mixed method approach will be taken to analyze their progress before,

during and after the course of study-- a quantitative test will measure student understanding, while a

qualitative free response section will be used to measure awareness.

12

TITLE Understanding Decimals Through Real World Applications in Fourth Grade

PRESENTER Malari Finamore


ABSTRACT

It is essential for students to learn about decimals and their uses in real world situations. It is

important for students to understand that decimal numbers represent parts of a whole and how this

understanding may be used in their own lives. In this ten day inquiry project, fourth grade students

were challenged to use decimals when interacting with such things as money, weight, length, etc.

Students explored these concepts throughout the unit. The fourth-grade math class is made up of nine

male and seven female students who come from different cultural and racial backgrounds. The

average pre-assessment score for the unit was 37%. Over the ten-day period, students were provided

instruction focused on using decimals in real world situations. Students participated in a combination

of whole group, small group and partner activities during this unit. Progress was tracked throughout

the unit using both formative and summative assessments with the expectation that students would

reach their target growth before the end of the instructional experience.

13

TITLE The Effectiveness of Restorative Circles in a Title I School

PRESENTER Sarah Fossaceca

UNIVERSITY Towson University

ABSTRACT

What is the effectiveness of restorative circles among fifth grade students in a title I school? The

effectiveness of restorative circles on fifth grade students in a title I school may be essential to the

success of students, and impact their attitudes and decision making. Restorative circles may yield

positive or negative changes in the attitudes and behaviors of the fifth grade students. A lunch bunch

will be held once a week during over weeks. During these lunch bunches, three students that have a

history of fighting with other students, acting out in class, and receiving referrals will be chosen to

participate. There will be two boys and one boy. All students are African American. These students

attend an urban public school. Each session will be held in a small resource room. Each session will

focus on a different topic. These topics include but are not limited to communicating feelings,

problem-solving, developing positive feelings towards peers, and being accountable. During these

sessions, data will be collected based on student responses. After the sessions are over, data will be

collected based on student behavior and attitudes post circles.

14

TITLE Strategies to Improve Division

PRESENTER Sage Fuller


ABSTRACT

Previous data states that half of my 4th students are approaching grade level in Math. This shows

during math instruction, there are a select group of students who cannot keep up with the 4th grade

curriculum at all. They often have to be pulled aside to focus on previous or low instruction. They

have IEP’s that show they need individual instruction; they do not learn well in a whole group

classroom setting. I was responsible for knowing learners’ differing strengths and needs and was

committed to using this information to further each learner’s development. All of the students

received a below-grade level score on the pre-assessment. The group of students were diverse in

learning and I needed to include modify instruction to meet learners’ needs in each area of

development (cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional, and physical) and scaffolds the next level of

development. My question was: To what extent will creating multiplication fact families increase my

student’s achievement in long division without remainders? The students who need individualized

instruction will need to focus on multiplication more to fully understand the concepts and

connections to division. Different strategies need to be included so students can figure out the most

comfortable way for them to learn the strategy. The strategies included factor trees, area models with

multiplication and division, and grouping objects into set groups to create multiple amounts then

breaking them apart. Based on my data, I concluded that by practicing multiplication and focusing on

fact-families students became more comfortable with division and understood the content better. All

of my students’ scores increased from the pre-assessment to the post-assessment. When teaching

math, I will put an extremely large focus on multiplication because if students cannot multiply, they

cannot divide. So many opportunities to learn math involve a strong foundation with multiplication.

If students are not comfortable with multiplication, they will fall further and further behind in math.

Based off my implementation, I would advise other teachers teaching division to encourage students

to continue to practice multiplication even after the multiplication unit is complete.

15

TITLE Reading Skills as a Basis for English Language Arts Success

PRESENTER Ben Goldberg


ABSTRACT

A glaring issue present for many students in high school English classes is reading-level deficiencies,

with many students several years behind where they should be. It is thus prudent to ask how student

reading levels can be raised to on-grade level expectations. This SLO seeks to address this concern

across two distinct groups of 9th grade non-honors English students in an urban public school. The

first group of twelve students have been designated as being on-grade level reading or near it through

testing on a Scholastic Reading Inventory and their performance on their first formative writing task

(a mini-essay following the standard district rubric used for all such writing tasks throughout high

school). A second group of fifty students have been designated as being below-grade level in

reading. Students will participate in regular Socratic circle discussions, collaborative annotations,

graphic organizer construction, and peer review/data tracking of their progress to ideally improve

their scores on previous testing methods by 20% for group 1 and 10% for group 2 by quarter 3.

16

TITLE Collecting and Analyzing Scientific Data

PRESENTER Jennifer Green


ABSTRACT

Data collection and analysis is a central part of scientific literacy. To fully understand the scientific

process, it is essential that students develop this skill. To this end, twenty-four students in a

suburban middle school were evaluated using a district approved rubric. Each student recorded

observations during a scientific investigation and made a graph that communicated their findings.

During the baseline assessment, all students scored a “1” on a 4-point scale for both skills, which

indicated that these were undeveloped in the students. To address this deficiency, students were

scaffolded by providing them with graphic organizers and sentence starters. Authentic data was used

so that students were able to see relevance and understand the usefulness of these skills. They were

given repeated exposure to data and given both teacher and peer feedback to refine this ability.

Student growth was assessed frequently, at least one time in each two-week period. The expectation

was that students would improve to rubric level “3” following these interventions, indicating that

these skills had become adequately developed.

17

TITLE Developing Math Fluency Skills in 2nd Grade

PRESENTER Emma Gristina


ABSTRACT

One major skill that students in second grade are developing is basic math facts. These skills are

essential to understanding more complex and multistep math equations that students will experience

in intermediate grades. This study analyzes the question, “to what extent will explicit math

instruction of basic math facts increase students' achievement in math?” Improving students' problem

solving and basic fact skills will increase student growth on MAP scores, which could be related to

school’s learning outcomes. Over the course of six weeks, direct instruction in basic addition facts,

such as adding single numbers between one and zero as well as adding doubles or doubles plus one,

was applied with six students who were selected based on teacher recommendations and scores on

their MAP assessment. The group met twice a week for twenty-five to thirty minutes each session.

Students would learn a new strategy and then have three to four sessions to apply the new strategy to

practice problems, depending on student difficulty. Practice problems were either completed through

online math games or equation worksheets. Speed drill assessments were implemented as pre-

assessment and post assessment. Anecdotal notes were recorded each week as well to monitor

student progress and growth.

18

TITLE The Impact of Meditation on the Engagement of Middle School Students

PRESENTER Brionna Hall


ABSTRACT

One of the most crucial aspects of being a middle school educator is maintaining the engagement of

your students. How can I raise the level of engagement in my classroom and minimize the disruptive

behavior is a question many middle school educators ask themselves. This inquiry study focuses on

using guided meditation to decrease distractive behaviors and increase the level of student

engagement in the classroom. This study takes place in a title one school where the demographic of

students is very diverse. These guided meditations are implemented daily in a 7th grade science

class, consisting of 28 students, prior to instruction. As the meditations are implemented the students

will be checked in intervals for three specific behaviors that have been marked as the largest

concerns in the classroom. The students also rate their level of engagement daily after participating in

meditation and instruction. These data will be compared against the baseline data collected prior to

the implementation of the intervention to determine the impact guided meditation has had on

distractive behaviors and the level of engagement of the students.

19

TITLE Musical Theory of Multiple Intelligence and Its Effect on Reading Comprehension

PRESENTER Maribeth Harrington

UNIVERSITY Washington College

ABSTRACT

I want to study the effectiveness of the implementation of educational music videos using

Flocabulary to enhance my students learning. More specifically speaking I want to assess the

effectiveness of my students' application of reading skills, such as cause and effect and point of view,

by using these videos in conjunction with my ELA lessons. This study will seek to answer the

following question: Does the implementation of Flocabulary increase the engagement and

application of reading skills within the learning of my 3rd grade students? I have use qualitative

research methods to attempt to answer the above question. As such, this study makes use of

classroom observations, a multiple intelligence survey, and quantifiable assessments. I conducted

three weeks of observations and surveyed each one of my students to find their gravitation to the

musical intelligence. Within my classroom there were 18 students that were surveyed, observed, and

assessed based on the presence and absence of the instructional videos. Data implementation

collection spanned over 3 weeks. Anecdotal notes, scored assessments and survey results from

students were examined closely in order to make a conclusion of the effectiveness.

20

TITLE Fostering Student Growth in Interpretation of Graphs and Models Through Instruction and

Annotation

PRESENTER Micah Harrison


ABSTRACT

Development and use of graphs and models is an essential skill that determines student success on

standardized science assessments such as HSA and MISA. In addition, these skills contribute to the

scientific literacy skills that students develop over their academic careers. Baseline evidence

provides evidence that while students are somewhat familiar with graphical representations of data,

they lack the skills necessary to draw meaningful conclusions from graphs and models. The current

study explores the use of the BSCS I2 Strategy to promote student growth in detecting changes and

trends in graphical representations of scientific concepts. Students will be graded using a rubric that

has been designed to track growth of their ability to use graphs and models. Instructors have made

this skill a focus in classroom practices and have introduced students to the BSCS I2 Strategy to aid

students in improving their analytical skills. The population of focus for the current study consists of

20 freshman and sophomore on-level biology students attending high school in an urban setting. The

current target is for 75% of students within the population of focus to increase in their ability by two

degrees on the associated graphing rubric at the end of the study.

21

TITLE Skill Drill Strategies to improve Multiplication speed and Memorization

PRESENTER Aliaya Hendricks


ABSTRACT

Some students in a fifth grade class were having trouble with multiplication. The students have done

multiplication drills in class before. Students were given a multiplication drill with random

combinations from 1-12. Every student in the class had exactly 2 minutes to complete the test. From

the test, I chose students that did not get many answers correct. From my observation of the class and

from grading papers I chose students that I knew can do better, especially in small groups. Students

were in groups for 5 interventions. During these interventions, we used two methods to teach

memory and speed of multiplication facts, those skills were speaking and writing. We studied the

problems in order, separating them into 5 lessons (1s-3s lesson, 4s-6s lesson, 7s-9s lesson, and 10s-

12s lesson). For 10-15 minutes, every intervention we memorized the multiplication facts in order

through speaking and writing. The students have all increased performance since the first test. All

students performed faster due to the increase of problems answered correctly in the same amount of

time given and the same test they took in the beginning.

22

TITLE Improving Reading Fluency of ESOL Students

PRESENTER Matthew Hiller


ABSTRACT

This ethnographic, action research study will examine the impact of repeated readings of poetry on

the reading fluency of ESOL students. The participants are a small group of seven fourth grade

students who receive ESOL support from the school at regular intervals throughout each week. Each

student is reading below grade level, but most of them are only slightly below grade level. The

students will read poetry independently with an instructor as well as in front of the rest of the small

group during the school’s enrichment period. During this intervention, students will be given one-on-

one support with prosody and expression. This will take place twice each week for a period of about

five weeks. After the intervention period is complete I will assess students using leveled running

records to see if their overall reading fluency has improved. In order to provide a complete picture of

results, I will also be performing a few brief reading comprehension assessments, as well as

collecting more informal data on confidence in the classroom and rates of voluntary participation in

the general education classroom.

23

TITLE The Problem-Solving Approach to Numbers and Operations

PRESENTER Nicole Jamieson


ABSTRACT

To what extent will use of the problem-solving approach with specific focus on operations and

algebraic thinking, increase my students’ achievement in mathematics? This reflective inquiry

project incorporated four fourth grade students between the ages of 9-11. These students were chosen

based on MAP tests scores, observational data, and students’ medical conditions. The intervention

took place three days each week for five weeks, with sessions lasting between 20-30 minutes.

Throughout this intervention, I used a variety of strategies to increase my students’ achievement in

mathematics, including a structured problem-solving approach, grids, charts, visual drawings,

modeling, and kinesthetic tactiles. Throughout the sessions, I used a variety of materials, including

individual student portfolio folders, students’ MAP scores and goals, goal sheets, PARCC released

practice assessments, guided problem-solving problems, the local school district’s problem-solving

resource, a “Words and Phrases to Math Symbols” reference, and a problem-solving checklist to help

students in unpacking problems. Throughout the reflective inquiry, students completed assessments,

where in which assessments were used as learning, for learning, and of learning. Students completed

a pre-assessment, formative assessments during each session, and a summative assessment. Scores

were analyzed to determine the impact of each strategy and to further abilities and understandings.

24

TITLE The Effects of Culturally Relevant Text in the Modern Classroom

PRESENTER Aliyah Johnson


ABSTRACT

Traditionally, in classrooms teachers use the same lessons, textbooks, and other resources year after

year. However, times, resources, technology and students have changed. Students need culturally

relevant teachers and materials. Will culturally relevant materials increase academic interest and

performance in students in urban schools? This inquiry project focuses on the effect culturally

relevant materials (text, media, etc.) have on students’ academic success and interest in classroom

materials. The class is made up of majority male students. Over a 2-week period, the teacher

provides both direct and student centered instruction. One week students will be taught/exposed to

only the textbook provided by the school. The second week students will be exposed to more

culturally relevant resources (newspaper articles, various forms of media, etc.). Pre-and post-

assessments will be completed to determine students’ comprehension (success) and interest along

with interviews, record and reviews, and observations.

25

TITLE The Causation and Correlation of Historical Events and the Interconnectedness of These Occurrences

Throughout American History

PRESENTER Meghan Johnson


ABSTRACT

It is pertinent and immensely unquantifiable for students to acquire the knowledge and skills that will

enable them to understand how societal issues that we face in the 21st century ultimately stem from

historical events that occurred throughout American History. Students should, therefore, be able to

situate certain events and documents not only within a regional context, but within a global context

in which they occurred in order to draw conclusions. Moreover, students should be able to identify

patterns of continuity and change in order to understand the event itself and how it relates to the

issues that we face in today's society. My goal is to help students find solutions in order to solve

issues of the 21st century such as racism, discrimination, and to understand how certain policies have

and continue to place a hindrance on certain subgroups within society. The strategy that I used to

help students attain this goal is by providing students with prioritization lists that allows students to

examine historical events that we have covered, the impact of these events, and how these events will

influence the outcomes of other events within a given context. For this study, the student group that I

have selected will be my 1st period on-grade level class. This particular class contains 20 students;

where 12 are females and 8 are males. In addition, there are two ELL students with an ESOL teacher

and one student who has a IEP plan and a special education teacher in the classroom.

26

TITLE Education Action Research Intervention

PRESENTER Roselyn Jones


ABSTRACT

In my classroom there is a lack of focus and attention at the beginning of class as well as during

instructional time. While this is normal for all students to lose focus during a lecture, a major

influence on their attention is the students’ cell phones. This is a pattern they have been used to

carrying out without consequences. My research question is: Will using a warm up at the beginning

of class with Fundamentals of Art 9th – 12th graders 5 times a week for 3 weeks improve student

focus during class and timely student submissions? During 3 weeks of warm ups students will be

more focused during class which will result in more students completing more work on time. Also

during classes students will be on their phones less and less as the weeks progress.

27

TITLE Cultivating Mindsets: Teachers, Parents and Students View of Experimental Spelling

PRESENTER Jessica Jones


ABSTRACT

This study will seek to answer the following question: In what ways are 1st and 4th grade students'

mindsets toward experimental spelling impacted by how teachers and parents foster mindsets in

reading and writing? This research project uses qualitative research methods to attempt to answer the

above question. As such, this study makes use of observations, interviews and surveys. Specifically, I

conducted three observations in both a 1st and 4th grade classroom for at least two hours each during

reading and writing at a local rural school. About 35 students in total were observed. Both classroom

teachers were interviewed in addition to three parent interviews. Also, all participants were given a

mindset survey. Data collection spanned over a month. Antecdotal notes, teacher and parent

interview transcriptions and scored mindset surveys from teachers, parents and students were

examined closely in order to understand mindset messages. Each method allows for an in-depth

study of mindset messages.

28

TITLE The Use of a Task Analysis Visual Aid to Buy School Lunch

PRESENTER Elizabeth Kang

UNIVERSITY University of Maryland, College Park

ABSTRACT

What are the effects of a task analysis visual aid and a least to most prompt hierarchy on buying a

school lunch on a 5th grade student with autism spectrum disorder? I will be working with a student

who is currently placed in an alternate curriculum classroom for students in 2nd- 5th grade at an

elementary school. When it comes to expressive communication, this student is able to make requests

such as for the bathroom, but often becomes frustrated when he is unable to express more of his

wants and needs independently. He displays strong receptive skills and often only requires verbal

prompting. For this project, the independent variable is the intervention of a task analysis visual aid

and least to most prompt hierarchy. Since S1 has limited communication, the use of visual aids will

support communication. The dependent variable is the number of steps the student completes

independently on his visual aid. Since a changing criterion design single case design will be used, the

student will be instructed on 2 steps at a time. When he completes the two steps for two consecutive

sessions independently, I will provide instruction for the next phase.

29

TITLE Small Group Instruction Production

PRESENTER Cassidy Keller


ABSTRACT

The topic I chose is the effect of small group instruction on low performing gifted and talented pre-

calculus students. Small group instruction is important especially in GT classes because the

curriculum is faster paced than honors or standard classes, so students have to stay on top of the

material. This is especially important with mathematics because all of the topics build on each other

and students need skills they are learning now in future mathematics courses. The students involved

in my research are six 10th grade high school students; 3 are female, 3 are male, 3 are Caucasian, and

3 are African American. I am taking those 6 students to the side and doing small group instruction 1-

2 times a week for about 20 minutes each day. This usually happens when there is independent

classwork time so I can clarify what happened in the lesson that those students may be struggling

with. I would sit a station that I believed the students were struggling with and would help them and

clarify any of the information they did not understand. Students are able to ask questions they might

not have wanted to during class instruction and are also able to help each other out and talk out the

classwork problems they are given. I use a checklist to see what I have done to help the students

how the students respond to my small group instruction. A midterm was used as the pretest and

scores were compared to two posttests, which are 2 unit tests on unit 4. I will be using the averages

of the two unit 4 tests.

30

TITLE Corroboration Through Elaboration

PRESENTER Nikolas Kight


ABSTRACT

With the emphasis on document-based questions in today’s school testing culture, corroborating

claims using evidence from varying sources has become an essential skill. Many students struggle

with comparing various claims, perspectives, and evidence. Moreover, they have difficulty analyzing

multiple, potentially conflicting, sources. To facilitate better understanding of historical events, it is

imperative to teach students how to corroborate. Accordingly, this research focuses on improving

this critical proficiency in one honors world history class, consisting of thirty-three students of

varying racial backgrounds in a suburban high school. The research data, which showed an average

baseline score of five, is based on students’ constructed responses to a historical investigation that

examines their answers to a focus question using the evidence given from several primary and

secondary sources. Additionally, strategies on corroboration were modeled in class and the

investigations included guided questions for each source to assist students in determining whether the

sources were corroborative or contradictory. Research data was compiled using a self-constructed

rubric and was administered once per unit to ensure both development of the fundamental skills and

mastery of the content.

31

TITLE Multi-sensory Approaches to Improve Multiplication Fluency

PRESENTER Brigid Klein


ABSTRACT

Students in 3rd grade at a public school are having difficulties with fluency of their multiplication

facts. There were a total of twelve students who participated in this study. The question for this study

was: to what extent will multi-sensory approaches increase my students’ achievement in fluency of

multiplication facts? In order to improve multiplication and division fluency, I used visual, tactile,

active, and auditory approaches. I tested the students by using a timed multiplication mad minute

where students complete 30 multiplication facts in 2 minutes. Students will demonstrate an increase

in individualized targeted growth on the math MAP assessment. This is a progress outcome. Without

having multiplication fact fluency, students may struggle with division, which is the next unit for

math. These difficulties relate to the SLO identified by my mentor teacher because the MAP

assessment contains multiplication and division. The multiplication and division problems are

concepts in math that are important for students to understand before moving onto 4th grade.

32

TITLE Increasing Benchmark Instructional Levels in Reading Comprehension in Four 5th Grade Students

PRESENTER Mary Shelley Darling Knach


ABSTRACT

The topic of the study is reading comprehension since 100% of the 5th grade students in one

homeroom who completed the Fountas and Pinnell assessment received a benchmark instructional

level score below the 5th grade. The following question was addressed in the study: As a result of

the intervention, will the Fountas & Pinnell instructional benchmark levels of four 5th grade students

who are currently reading between the 1st and 4th grade increase due to 8 - 10 minutes of daily

reading comprehension intervention before school utilizing short nonfiction passages in a small

group instructional setting for a period of four weeks? The study was completed in an elementary

school. The students in the study included one girl who was an ESOL student and three boys, two of

whom had Individual Education Plans. Students were given copies of the reading passage and the

questions. Nonfiction passages were chosen to build background knowledge. Daily responses were

graded. Preliminary results from a Fountas & Pinnell assessment completed at the end of the study

showed that one of the students increased six benchmark levels and three of the students increased at

least one instructional level.

33

TITLE "I didn't pick this class!" Fostering Engagement in High School General Music

PRESENTER Mark Koons


ABSTRACT

This study began as an exploration into external factors, such as non-music faculty members and

student families, of declining student enrollment in high school music classes. Due to the short time

frame of this study, the scope of student enrollment soon changed to student engagement. Following

initial student surveys, it became clear that this action research study needed to focus on strategies to

foster engagement of seniors enrolled in Survey of Music--a class where nearly fifty percent of the

22 students had no music education since elementary school. The results of these initial surveys

supported the original inquiry of the study and guided the development of a in-class intervention

plan. Over a three week period, the teacher implemented classroom resources and discussions which

outlined the sequencing of content information, mirrored student resources used in other content

areas, and involved cross-content knowledge. In doing so, the intervention aimed to provide a more

familiar learning environment for students, where they felt they could have success. The intervention

was evaluated and modified based on narrative student interviews and surveys, supplemented by

quantitative student survey responses.

34

TITLE Inquiry into Strategy- Based Problem Solving in 2nd Grade Mathematics

PRESENTER Julie Lim


ABSTRACT

In order to successfully learn place value and develop number sense in mathematics, second grade

students need to learn how to use a variety of appropriate strategies and manipulatives. Students can

better grasp these mathematical concepts by using number lines, tens and ones, and place value

blocks. This inquiry project is focused on finding out if second grade students from a Title I

elementary school, especially ESOL and male/female learners, who use these strategies can reach

target improvement levels after ten days of instruction. The project focuses on implementing a

variety of different strategies and measuring the impact on student learning by using a variety of

formative and summative assessments. In this class comprised of 20 students (12 ESOL, 10 boys and

10 girls), the teacher modeled three different strategies. Students practiced using the different

strategies to find what worked best for them. Students solved story problems, participated in different

games and activities to learn the different approaches. At the end of the unit, assessment data was

analyzed to determine if students reached target achievement levels.

35

TITLE Strategies to Improve Student Attitudes toward Completing Assignments

PRESENTER Josiah Lookingbill


ABSTRACT

Developing competence in Algebra requires interpreting, analyzing, and solving complex problems.

Without completing homework assignments, by which students can strengthen knowledge and skills,

many students’ grades and performance may be adversely affected.

The project requires students who do not turn in homework to complete a missing homework form

which expresses the students’ reasons for not turning the work in, understanding of consequences,

and plan moving forward. Ideally, students will construct their own plans to increase the frequency

with which their homework is turned in. Additionally, teachers may learn how students perceive the

assigned work and positively dialogue.

The 38 students observed are selected from two sections of co-taught Algebra 1 in a racially diverse

suburban high school. Nine of the students receive math-specific special education services.

Over the four-week period, homework completion will be measured against prior class trends; a pre-

and post-survey will be administered to assess students’ attitudes towards homework; observational

data will be collected; and scores will be evaluated to demonstrate the effectiveness of the

intervention.

36

TITLE Building Sight Word Stamina

PRESENTER Emma Lynch


ABSTRACT

Sight word recognition is a crucial skill in order for students to be successful with reading. I am

researching to what extent will small group instruction increase my students’ achievement in the

recognition of sight words. Working in small groups will give my intervention group the

individualized attention they need in order to be successful with recognizing sight words they need to

know in order to improve their reading fluency and comprehension. I will have the students read

sight words out loud to me and then take the lowest 3 students and have them complete activities

related to sight word fluency twice a week for twenty minutes. Then I will perform a post-

assessment of the students re-reading the sight words for their pre-assessment to me again to see if

they improved.

37

TITLE Method to Break Down Complicated Math Problems

PRESENTER Destiny Matthews


ABSTRACT

After conducting a mathematical warm up for five days repeatedly, four students demonstrated a

disconnect in content and a struggle in fluency with simple multiplication problems. Therefore, the

inquiry topic became, "Can mastery of simpler math help solve more complicated math problems?"

The action research was conducted in an elementary school with four fifth grade students; three

female students and one male student in a small area outside of the classroom. Students were asked

to focus on process over product in three one hour sessions. Participants were required to follow a

four steps procedure and to conduct that procedure in each session until the post test. At the end of

the three sessions students found the answer to be more important than the procedures.

38

TITLE Using Authentic Tasks and Reading Strategies to Improve Problem Solving Abilities

PRESENTER Fedor Menchukov


ABSTRACT

This study examined whether collaborative, authentic tasks, coupled with the “Three Reads Strategy”

can have a positive impact on student ability to persevere through problems they find challenging or

overwhelming. Study participants were one class of 19 seventh grade students in a suburban middle

school. The class was fairly diverse with approximately half of the students being female and half

being races other than white. Data were collected from assessment questions that involved multiple

step problem solving within the context of the problem. Over a period of 6 weeks, participants were

tasked with collaborating in solving problems that related directly to their real world experience.

Additionally they were asked to employ a specific reading strategy when approaching more rigorous

word problems. Initial findings indicate that students were more invested in the material and became

more independent when attempting harder problems. These findings suggest that authentic tasks,

coupled with reading strategies, could potentially lead students to gain more agency as independent

learners of mathematics.

39

TITLE The Effects of Implementing Physical Activity During Instruction on Students' Academic

Performance in Mathematics

PRESENTER Erin Meredith


ABSTRACT

This study will examine the effects of implementing physical activity throughout the school day on

students' academic performance in mathematics.

Research Questions:

(1) How does physical activity affect students' academic performance in mathematics?

(2) To what degree does length of time affect students' academic performance in mathematics?

Data will be gathered from a small, rural elementary scho. The participants will include

fifteen 2nd grade students. Of these students, 35% identify as African American, 35% identify as

Caucasian, 7% identify as Hispanic/Latino, and 21% identify as two or more races. This study will

be conducted in a general education classroom.

This study will take place over four weeks. The first two weeks will be used to evaluate

students' academic performance prior to the implementation of physical activity. The last two weeks

will be used to evaluate students' academic performance post implementation of physical activity.

During weeks three and four, I will incorporate 5-10 minutes of mild to moderate physical activity

during daily mathematics instruction. I will use data collected from summative assessment

instruments during weeks one and two to compare and measure students' academic performance.

40

TITLE The Importance of Phonemic Awareness in Spelling

PRESENTER Samantha Miara


ABSTRACT

Spelling is a complicated process that requires the knowledge of numerous skills such as decoding,

phonics, and phonemic awareness. In a third grade class in a suburban elementary school, five

students were having trouble with strengthening their spelling skills through their independent word

work, spelling quizzes, and journal entries. The students demonstrated significant deficits in the areas

of phonemic awareness when completing these activities. For this reason, this inquiry focuses on the

question “To what extent will implementing the teaching and practice of phonemic awareness

increase my students’ achievement in spelling?” Throughout the inquiry I investigated the common

spelling problems for students, their relationships between spelling, reading and writing, their

spelling development, and the importance of phonics and phonemic awareness. The baseline of the

diagnostic test showed that the students needed to focus on beginning and final digraphs and blends.

Over a three-week period, I provided direct instruction for 15 minutes a day, emphasizing the

application of phonemic awareness skills when encountering predetermined blends and digraphs. The

intervention was accomplished through implementation of different practice activities. Weekly

assessments for each blend and digraph occurred resulting in a score and analysis of student data to

determine future strategies and practices for each student.

41

TITLE Improving the Comprehension of Informational Texts in Urban Adolescent Education

PRESENTER Natalie Miller


ABSTRACT

This study involved working with three 7th grade Geography classes in an urban school in order to

improve students' comprehension of informational texts. Students were 11-13 years of age and 99%

African American. Over 50% of the students were female. I taught three classes, all of which had

over 25 students. For my methodology, I used action research which provided a hands-on approach

that allowed for collaboration, critical pedagogy, results based on inquiry questions, and results based

my actions and practice. I first conducted a survey for every student where they answered questions

about themselves, their goals, and family background and heritage. I then worked to find culturally

relevant material to my students. The culturally relevant material chosen came solely from student

inputs and wants; information they wanted to learn about and to which they had a connection. Using

culturally relevant material, we worked together to incorporate the themes of geography in order to

further the understanding of informational texts. After conducting my research, there was an increase

in student participation, enjoyment of classroom activities, and overall understanding of the themes

of geography.

42

TITLE Efficacy of Daily Report Chart with Self-Selected Reward for Student with ADHD

PRESENTER Erin Morris


ABSTRACT

Working in a public middle school, I met a sixth-grade male student who was having difficulty in the

classroom. The student is diagnosed with ADHD and has an IEP and behavior management plan.

The student is not currently on medication for ADHD and teachers were looking for new strategies to

help him. I wanted to determine if implementing a daily report chart reinforced with a point system

collected for self-selected rewards would improve compliance with teacher directions and

procedures, initiation and completion of classwork, participation, and homework completion of one

sixth grade student diagnosed with ADHD over a five-week period? The student completed a self-

reflection, was introduced to the daily report card, and he selected his own reward (GameStop gift

card). Points are earned in each of the four categories and exchanged for school incentive tickets,

which can be used to purchase his reward. Data is collected from daily reports, periodic grade sheets,

and anecdotal notes to clarify anomalies. Teacher interviews are conducted with teachers of subjects

in which I do not see the student. In the end, I will look for an overall improvement in points and

student grades (which will show work completion).

43

TITLE Comparing Discrete Trial Training and Matching Games as an Effective Method of Teaching Sight

Words

PRESENTER Sean O'Dea


ABSTRACT

Discrete trail training (DTT) is an errorless learning method of teaching that breaks down an entire

skill into smaller and simpler tasks. A common complaint is that its methods are too robotic and

emotionless due to the repetitive nature. In this study, a matching game was used as a replacement

teaching method for DDT. The hypothesis was that the matching game offered a more interactive,

and self-motivating learning situation which would lead to a more meaningful and powerful learning

experience for the student. Two students with developmental disabilities were selected for this study

and were assigned two individualized list of five novel words. Each list of words was randomly

selected for each of the treatment conditions; Matching or DTT. Students participated in three

consecutive trails with one of the treatment conditions followed by a posttest to assess the student’s

knowledge. Five sessions were run for each condition. Then two maintenance probes were conducted

one and two weeks after the treatment to check for long term effects. The target goal for success was

80% accuracy during the posttest. Students were also asked which condition they enjoyed more.

44

TITLE Strategies to Improve Motivation and Participation in the High School Chorus Classroom

PRESENTER Tess Owen


ABSTRACT

This study examined the motivation and participation levels in a 9th grade chorus classroom. I

noticed that student motivation and participation, especially in the 9th grade class, were particularly

low. The study focused on the addition of physical warm ups and activities in relation to improving

student engagement and participation in the classroom. By adding physical activities and warm ups

to our class periods, the goal was to improve motivation and engagement in the classroom. Results

throughout the study showed improvement in student’s energy levels, along with improvement in

their engagement and participation throughout most class periods. The study took place at an urban

charter school serving 6-12th grade students. Twelve African American students consistently

participated in the research study, consisting of both female and male students. Data was collected

throughout the study using a pre-assessment Likert Scale, student surveys, observational notes, and

student interviews. Results of the data, including teacher feedback and observational notes, will be

analyzed.

45

TITLE Graphic Organizers in Mathematics

PRESENTER Kacie Owens


ABSTRACT

My topic focuses on the use of graphic organizers in mathematics instruction to determine if repeated

use will improve problem solving and computation skills in 5th grade students. The students have

been struggling to accurately and completely explain their thinking during problem solving tasks and

computation problems during class instruction; this will impact their scores on the PARCC math

assessment in the spring. The students struggle to explain their thinking and show their work in an

organized way, and as a result, do not communicate their thinking well. Graphic organizers have

shown to be effective in improving writing skills in other content areas and will be used to organize

the student's thinking for mathematical writing. Over a six week period, the students will use a

graphic organizer focusing on six components to improve their explanations and reasoning during

mathematical problem solving.

46

TITLE Train of thought - Effective teaching strategies to increase students’ understanding of geometry

through application problems

PRESENTER Kimberly Ozuna


ABSTRACT

This study examined whether content-based reading strategies and academic vocabulary

development can improve student ability to successfully solve real-world problems involving

geometry. Applying mathematics to solve real world problems is an essential skill for students to be

college and career ready. Participants were 50 high school students in an urban district. Data were

collected from pre- and post-tests that consisted of application problems and were scored with a five-

point rubric and captured the strategies used to solve the problems. Over a period of three months,

participants were asked to close read/annotate the problem and explain how to solve the problem in

their own words before solving. Initial findings indicate that integrating content literacy not only

helps students use academic language more frequently and feel more confident in explaining the

problem but also gives student a more in depth understanding of geometry. These findings suggest

that students who are taught to integrate literacy activities into their mathematics courses, including

content-based reading strategies and academic vocabulary development, have a positive learning

experience and as a result improve their understanding of the subject and overall performance.

47

TITLE Improving WIDA Speaking Scores by Explicit Teaching and Practice

PRESENTER Kunjrani Pani


ABSTRACT

This study focused on improving ELL oral proficiency for the speaking domain on the WIDA test.

The purpose of this study was to help students lower their affective filters through practice, explicit

teaching, and teacher feedback in order to improve oral proficiency. The problem identified in the

ESOL classroom was that students struggled on the speaking domain of WIDA because their

affective filters were too high. Based on this, a specific question addressed by this study is as

follows: Does practicing for the WIDA speaking section lower ELLs’ affective filters and improve

students’ speaking scores? The hypothesis of this study states that by explicitly teaching students to

correct their verbal responses through continuous speech and not to press the stop button, their

speaking scores on WIDA will improve. In a six-week intervention, fourteen 2nd and 3rd grade

participants practiced one WIDA-like speaking prompt per week, which was created using

VoiceThread. Data was collected using a pre-test and post-test found on WIDA.ams.us. Scores were

determined using the WIDA speaking rubric. Data was also collected using student self-checklists,

anecdotal notes, and a post-intervention survey. Raw data results indicate that practicing for the

WIDA speaking domain helped improve ELL speaking scores.

48

TITLE Place Value Lesson Among Elementary School Students

PRESENTER Erica Parks-Shannon


ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to determine if using manipulatives during mathematics instruction

increased the student's learning process of place value. Does using mathematics manipulatives

improve students understanding of place value? At the beginning of my senior year, I had the

opportunity to intern at an elementary school in a second-grade classroom to complete my student

teaching. After observing the students for 4 weeks and reviewing the students test scores, I noticed

that majority of the students struggled with understanding the place values. I decided to work with 4

students who demonstrated a poor understanding of place values. Each student completed a pre-test

on place value before beginning the intervention process. There was a total of 3 interventions

completed during this study. Each intervention involved the students interacting with different

mathematics manipulates. At the end of each intervention, I was able to track the progress of the

students in order to test the validity and reliability of the present study. The outcomes were measured

by presenting the students with a pretest, mid test and post-test. Results of this study indicate that

when the students visually interact with place values, they develop an understanding for the meaning

of numbers.

49

TITLE Cute Kahoot

PRESENTER Margaret Pedersen


ABSTRACT

The research question is “Will using competition and collaboration through computerized exit tickets

(Kahoot) with Algebra I students once bi-weekly for Unit 5 paired with error analysis improve

students’ scores on the Unit 5 test compared to their scores on the Unit 4 test?” The study was

conducted in a high school with 21 Algebra I students including 86% ninth graders, 9% tenth

graders, and 5% twelfth graders. In addition, the population includes 52% male, 48% female, 48%

white, 48% African American, 4% Hispanic, 33% above performance level, 38% average

performance level, and 29% below performance level. Algebra I meets every other day. Three times,

the students completed a 7 question Kahoot. Two questions were not worth points and five were

worth points. Each student had their own device, either a personal cellphone or a school computer.

The students also had a piece of paper divided into 8 sections to record their work and answers. The

piece of paper was used to find common mistake and incorrect answers. These answers and mistakes

were used to generate the incorrect answer choices for the next ticket. The piece of paper was also

used to determine a participation grade. Students could make corrections on the chart paper in order

to earn back points. Winners did not receive a prize. The ticket took about 15 minutes at the end of

class. Unit 4 and Unit 5 test scores along with Kahoot scores (out of 21 points), and a survey from

after the second Kahoot provided by Kahoot was collected and analyzed. Test scores were compared.

50

TITLE The Effects of a Concrete, Representational, Abstract (CRA) Framework on Math Fact Fluency of a

Second Grade Student with an Unspecified Math Learning Difficulty

PRESENTER Rachel Philbrick


ABSTRACT

This instructional inquiry project will investigate the effects of a concrete, representational, abstract

(CRA) framework on math fact fluency of a second grade student with an unspecified math learning

difficulty. The focus learner is a female second grader (S) who has not attained district benchmarks

for math fact fluency within 10, which is negatively impacting her acquisition of and fluency with

grade-level math skills. The learning objective of this project is that S will correctly solve -1 and -2

subtraction math facts for numbers 0-10 without her fingers. The intervention is based on the CRA

framework, an evidence based practice that links conceptual and procedural knowledge. First,

manipulatives will be paired with numerals to teach S to physically demonstrate subtraction facts

(concrete). Then, a number line with numerals will be used to teach mental strategies for math fact

recall (representational). Finally, numerals alone will be used to teach abstract notation (abstract). A

multiple probe single subject design will be used. The intervention will be sequentially introduced

across four conditions (e.g. -1 math facts with numbers 0-5), intermittent probes will be

systematically collected during baseline sessions, and daily progress monitoring assessments will

measure learning outcomes.

51

TITLE Inquiry into 3rd Graders’ Understanding of the Structure of Fictional Texts: Plays and Poetry

PRESENTER Whitney Pomeroy


ABSTRACT

Knowing how to examine the structure of fictional texts is crucial to understanding how each

successive part builds on earlier sections to advance the plot. By reading plays and poetry, then

interacting with the text to discover acts and scenes, stanzas and verses, students can construct

meaning between the parts that make up the whole, or the plot. This inquiry project took place in a

self-contained elementary classroom of 13 female students and 4 male students, five of whom

receive ESOL services, with 11 students identifying as Hispanic. This class is in a Title I suburban

school. During the two-week unit the teacher facilitated discussions of key terms involved in the

structure of both plays and poetry and clarified other vocabulary used within each text. Students

participated in various activities including lessons incorporating the arts, movement, critical thinking,

self-motivation strategies, and technology enhancements. The teacher reflected upon an assessment

after each activity and analyzed pre/post unit assessment data to determine effectiveness of the

learning strategies implemented in the unit.

52

TITLE Increasing Latino Students' Academic Achievement

PRESENTER Reina Quintanilla


ABSTRACT

Multiple factors affect the academic achievement of Latino students such as the lack of diversity

within the school and its curriculum, misconceptions and the role that socioeconomic status plays in

academic achievement. According to the 2015 National Assessment of Educational Progress results

for the state of Maryland, only 18% of the Hispanic students are proficient in reading in the fourth

grade, in comparison to 36% proficiency rate among white students. The Latino population continues

to grow, but they are lagging behind in academic achievement. Given the large population of Latinos

students in school systems, it is important that improvements and accommodations are made to help

Latino students achieve. Through action research, an intervention program was developed in order to

increase student reading level, reading behaviors, and homework completion. This intervention

program served four third-grade students who are reading below grade level. Through the

intervention program, the students received differentiated homework at their reading level to increase

homework completion, had access to books at their reading level to take home, and learned reading

strategies such as sequencing and retelling to increase comprehension. Qualitative data was collected

through field notes and interviews to get an insight into behaviors and feelings towards reading.

Quantitative data was collected on homework completion, and reading assessments. Student work

was also analyzed to track improvement in work quality. Reading assessments were administered

pre- and post intervention to track growth. For the intervention to be successful students had to grow

at least two reading levels, and have an increase in homework completion percentage.

53

TITLE Examining the Effects of Introducing 4th-Grade Geometry Through Varied Instructional Approaches

PRESENTER Adam Raabe


ABSTRACT

Students in this 4th grade Title I classroom have reached a point in the semester where it is time to

introduce them to geometry. This racially diverse class is comprised of 16 on-grade-level students.

This inquiry is focused on determining how these students develop an understanding of key geometry

concepts after being involved in a variety of instructional approaches, including traditional teaching

tasks, small-group guided instruction, student-based learning tasks, art-integrated student

exploration, physical activity, competition, and critical-thinking exercises. Pre- and post-test

assessments, along with formative assessment data are examined and analyzed to determine the

impact of instruction on student learning. The aim of this 10-day geometry unit is to provide a

diverse set of instructional tasks to match the diversity of the students, allowing the teacher to gain

better understanding of how the students learn, as well as informing future instruction. This inquiry

project highlights the benefits and shortcomings of using a varied-instructional approach with 4th

grade students.

54

TITLE Parental Involvement From Primary to Secondary School: Examining The Implications of

Administration, S.E.S, Language and Ethnicity

PRESENTER Martina Ramirez


ABSTRACT

Research has shown parental interest in their child’s education to be the single greatest predictor of

achievement for children 11-16 years old. While parent’s and school’s cooperation and engagement

is at its highest in years K-5, studies have shown that as students near and enter the secondary level

of education parental engagement decreases and schools begin to communicate less with parents,

parents attend less parent-teacher conferences, and reports of dissatisfaction with school-staff

interactions begin to rise, this becomes strikingly evident in the transition from 5th to 6th grade. This

study will examine the direct correlation between parental involvement in primary and secondary

school level of achievement at an urban elementary/middle school. This research will assess possible

effective strategies that could increase parental involvement and provide best practices to promote

increased partnership between the school organization and parents. Specifically, examining the

correlation between low parental involvement with ethnicity and language proficiency would be

relevant. Currently, the math class population is composed of 60% Hispanic and 38% African

American. Approximately, 15% of the class is in the ESOL program.

Methods for data collection will include but not be limited to; interviews with parents, school

administration, and students. In addition, test scores and attendance to parent-teacher conferences

will be evaluated. By both examining the correlation between parent involvement and any possible

organizational barriers which contribute to low parental involvement, the study should provide

objective data that could be used by administrators and the like to effectively implement specific

strategies to increase parental involvement.

55

TITLE Increasing Reading Comprehension Within Standardized Testing

PRESENTER Kierstin Rosensteel


ABSTRACT

The AP English exam is in two parts: multiple choice and essay. The multiple choice consists of

reading comprehension, as well as grammatical understanding. The essay is graded based upon the

student’s ability to accurately and effectively answer an essay prompt. I will be giving a pre-

assessment that mimics the style of the AP exam. From there, I will be implementing a variety of

instructional strategies (targeted small-group instruction, technology integration, whole-class

discussion) in an effort to improve each student’s score. After three lessons, I will give the same

assessment to see if there has been improvement. This project will be implemented in an 11th grade

AP English class consisting of 23 students. The class is predominantly Caucasian with only five

African-American students and five Asian-American students. There are nine females in the class,

making the class approximately 61% male dominated. There are two students with 504 plans and

one student with an IEP. This class also contains at least three students whose first language is not

English. Overall, this class is incredibly diverse in their needs, ability, and achievement levels. The

current class grade average is 69%, with a majority of the students in the C-D range.

56

TITLE Using Student Data Analysis to Inform Rhetoric Instruction

PRESENTER Jennifer Russo


ABSTRACT

In order for teachers to write effective lesson plans that support the learning of all students, they must

be able to assess their students' knowledge prior to developing instructional strategies. An effective

way to measure student prior knowledge is to have students take a pretest before the beginning of a

new unit, so that the teacher can use this data not only to inform instruction, but also to measure

student growth over the course of the unit. This inquiry study focuses on how teachers can use

student data to inform instruction, assess student growth, and evaluate the effectiveness of

instructional strategies. The ninth-grade GT English class in this study consists of 32 students who

are diverse in their backgrounds and in their English language arts skills. Before beginning a new

unit that involves identifying and evaluating rhetoric, the teacher gave students a pretest that

measured their prior understanding of rhetorical appeals: ethos, logos, and pathos. The teacher then

used the data from this pretest while developing three lessons for the class to improve their

understanding of rhetoric. The teacher implemented both teacher-directed and student-centered

strategies that met student areas of need. After teaching these lessons, the teacher gave students a

post-test, similar to the pretest, to measure student growth. Comparing the pretest results to the post-

test results enabled the teacher to assess the effectiveness of the instructional strategies put into place,

in order to demonstrate evidence of student learning and to improve future pedagogy.

57

TITLE Improving Multiplication Fluency

PRESENTER Samantha Russo


ABSTRACT

Mastering multiplication facts is a key skill set that students should have upon leaving fourth grade.

Fact fluency assists students not only in multiplication but serves as a basis for more advanced skills

like fraction sense and division, both of which are in the mathematical curriculum. Multiplication

facts make up the foundation for higher order thinking skills within mathematics. This reflective

inquiry focuses on the extent to which direct instruction will increase student achievement in

mastering multiplication facts to improve math fluency. For this reflective inquiry, I chose nine

students who, through MAP testing, classroom observations and informal multiplication facts

assessments, were identified in need of extra support and direct instruction. This group was a

heterogeneous mix of boys and girls, all in fourth grade and were mostly African American with one

Hispanic student and one Arabic student. Over a period of four weeks, students were given an initial

assessment of their multiplication facts. Based on these results, I isolated certain multiplication facts

that students struggled with. We then used fluency drills and games to increase fluency. Each activity

was graded afterwards to direct our meetings and to analyze the impact these activities had on their

multiplication fact fluency.

58

TITLE To what extent will small group instruction increase student achievement in identifying the main idea

of a passage?

PRESENTER Eleanore Ryan


ABSTRACT

I worked alongside my mentor teacher to identify the needs of her students in her fourth grade ELA

classroom. The data she collected for her SLOs showed that students were having difficulty

determining the main idea and identifying the stated and implied key details within the text. We

observed that when the main idea is clearly stated, students comprehend. However, when the main

idea is implied throughout an entire text with details not clearly stated, students have difficulty

reaching the main idea on their own. This is significant because there is a need for students to

increase their comprehension abilities as described by the grade four reading informational text

framework for Maryland’s College and Career-Readiness Standards. Therefore, the question that

guided my research for this study was, “To what extent will small group instruction increase student

achievement in identifying the main idea of a passage?” Once to twice a week for four weeks I pulled

a group of eight students who struggled with identifying the main idea as identified by my pre-

assessment. My small group instruction consisted of whole group and independent activities with

frequent assessment to increase and monitor their growth in identifying the main idea of a text.

59

TITLE Sight Word Recognition

PRESENTER Madeline Schroeder


ABSTRACT

Sight words are the high frequency words that regularly appear in reading. Students that lack basic

sight word knowledge and recognition tend to struggle in both reading and writing. In my second

grade classroom, six students have tested below grade level for both reading and writing. According

to the data I have collected, I believe that one of the underlying causes of this problem is the

students’ difficulty identifying sight words. Identification of these fundamental sight words is

necessary for improvement in reading and writing, in addition to other subject areas that require these

skills. Throughout this study I have worked with the students to increase the rate and accuracy of the

identification of the sight words. Students increased their exposure to and applied their knowledge of

sight words through hands-on activities such as sight word Go Fish, bingo, and writing sight words

with playdough and in shaving cream. Assessments that were used to analyze students’ growth

include pre-primer and primer Dolch word assessments, running records, and spelling inventories.

The results of the study indicated an increase in the accuracy of sight word recognition, both in text

and in isolation.

60

TITLE Writing in Ramp Up to Algebra

PRESENTER Megan Sheppard


ABSTRACT

With passing PARCC assessment scores being a requirement for graduation, students need the

expository writing skills to explain their thinking in mathematics. The purpose of this study was to

determine if implementing a writing prompt on daily wrap-ups for the purpose of explaining thinking

increasesq student assignment & assessment scores in Ramp Up to Algebra. The course is made up

of two periods of ninth-grade students for a total of thirty-six students in a suburban high school.

Each class is equally split by gender and students are of diverse racial backgrounds. The average

score on the baseline assessment before implementing the intervention was 66. Over the course of a

math unit (4-5 days a week for approximately 4 weeks), the teacher will have students complete a

written response question on their daily wrap up. The wrap up will include a math problem based on

the day’s lesson and a question asking students to explain, in complete sentences, how to solve the

problem to a classmate who was absent that day. Graded assignments, written responses, and quizzes

were assessed, and the unit test will be evaluated to determine the impact of the intervention.

61

TITLE A Cover-Copy-Compare Strategy to Improve the Spelling of Sight Words

PRESENTER Elisabeth Smisson


ABSTRACT

Sight words are used in all forms of communication. The ability to correctly spell sight words can

impact an individual's ability for success. The student was a 5th grade, 11-year-old, male with a

specific learning disability in an inclusive general education classroom. The inquiry question was:

What are the effects of the cover-copy-compare strategy (C-C-C) for a 5th grade student with a

specific learning disability? The dependent variable was the number of correctly spelled sight words

out of 24, and the independent variable was the C-C-C strategy. The C-C-C strategy involved

showing the correct spelling of a word, covering it, typing it from memory, and then comparing the

response to the correct word. A changing criterion single case design was used. S was assessed at the

end of each intervention session to see if he could spell the words. Since the total number of words

was 24, S would learn to spell 6 words at a time. As soon as 6 words were correctly spelled for 2

sessions, S learned 6 more words. This continued until he learned all 24 words. The goal was to learn

to spell all 24 words at the end of 8 weeks.

62

TITLE The Effects of Video Modeling on Solving/Simplifying Equations and Expressions: A Single Case

Project

PRESENTER Kanika Staten


ABSTRACT

To gain a county issued high school diploma, S must pass Algebra 1. She will continue to see the

algebraic skills introduced in sixth-grade until she graduates. This single-case study targets one of

S’s Individual Education Plan goals and supports future learning by exploring: What are the effects

of video modeling on percent accuracy of solved/simplify equations and expressions for a sixth

grader who has cognitive impairments? S receives services under specific language disability. Her

disability impacts her expressive and receptive speech, her hearing, and her cognitive reasoning. S

receives math instruction in a co-taught, general education setting. Video modeling was the

independent variable in this project. The percent accuracy on her progress monitoring (testing) was

the dependent variable. During instruction, S watched a peer model. After each step, S imitated the

model. During testing, S was given the accommodation of a calculator and the permeant support of a

diagram. She completed 8 problems (four problems each phase in the multiple-baseline design). S’s

baseline score was 0% accuracy for both phases. The tests were analyzed after completion to

determine the effectiveness of using video modeling to teach S a key math skill.

63

TITLE Talking Circles as Behavior Intervention

PRESENTER Eric Voboril


ABSTRACT

Restorative practices have become an increasingly common approach to responding to disruptive

behavioral issues in schools. One strategy in the spectrum of restorative practices are proactive

talking circles. Talking circles are inclusively structured meetings where students engage in

reflective and problem-solving discussions. This project looked at the impact of talking circles

implemented 3 days a week with a 20 member third grade classroom. Would this strategy lead to a

lessening of the frequency of disruptive verbal interactions in the classroom? Through qualitative

observations of the classroom environment, focus group responses and measuring disruptive

incidents, the teacher is determining the impact of this strategy.

64

TITLE Guiding Students’ Inquiry of Cross-Curricular Connections Between Area of Planar Figures and

Operations of Multiplication and Addition

PRESENTER Rebecca Weisberg


ABSTRACT

In the state of Maryland, students in the 3rd grade receive first exposure to learning about area.

Specifically stated in the Common Core State Standards, students learn to relate area of planar

figures to the operations of multiplication and addition. How can teachers best guide student

inquiries to build conceptual understanding and make cross-curricular connections between these two

concepts? This inquiry project focuses on implementing instructional strategies to build student

discovery of area from first exposure to having a conceptual understanding of the topic and making

cross-curricular connections. This inquiry took place in a racially diverse, second grade math

classroom at a suburban Title I elementary school. The 23-second grade students involved in this

inquiry were all above grade level in math, learning the 3rd grade math curriculum. The scores on the

pretest data ranged between 0-5 out of 14 points. Over a 2-week period, the teacher implemented a

variety of instructional strategies focused on building background knowledge and teaching key ideas.

Students led discussions to build understanding, make sense of problems, and to look for and make

use of structures and patterns. Formative assessments and post-tests were analyzed to determine the

impact of the strategies employed in the unit.

65

TITLE Writing Equations to Match Word Problems

PRESENTER Kaitlynn Welly


ABSTRACT

When students are tackling a word problem, one of the first steps that will be essential to their

success with the problem is choosing the correct operation. This study focused on the effect of using

concrete and representational models while writing equations to solve word problems with all four

operations: To what extent will modeling with mathematics increase my students’ achievement in

writing mathematical equations to match word problems? This study was conducted in a third

grade classroom in a public elementary school. There were four students involved and the group met

twice a week for three weeks, with each meeting lasting 25 minutes. Students were assessed prior to

the start of the study. They were presented with word problems, for each of which they named the

operation and the equation they would use to solve the problem. Over the course of the three weeks,

students used counters as manipulatives, as well as drawings and bar diagrams, in order to

demonstrate their thinking processes. At the end of the study, students were assessed in the same

way they were at the beginning.

66

TITLE An Inquiry into Written Expression of Fourth Grade Mathematical Concepts

PRESENTER Scott Williams


ABSTRACT

This project is an inquiry into written expression of fourth grade mathematical concepts. This study

took place in a fourth-grade classroom at a Title I school. As part of the School Improvement Plan,

written expression is focused on in all subject areas. However, this study narrows the window of

written expression to the content area of mathematics. More specifically, this inquiry took place

during a 10-day unit, encompassing six lessons, on equivalent and comparing fractions. Students in

this study included 14 fourth-grade students, who were assessed as part of two target groups: gender

(9 female, 5 male) and, either “Accelerated” or “Enrichment”. Throughout the 10-day unit, students

participated in a variety of learning activities: whole group lecture/discussion, whole group

comparison competitions, small group/partner practice, small group focused lectures, and

independent writing/computational practice and assessments. Students participating in this inquiry

also had opportunities to practice and demonstrate conceptual understanding through the use of

concrete manipulatives, the construction of semi-concrete visual models, and written expression

using abstract models (such as algorithms). Finally, identical pre- and post-test mathematic journals

were administered and analyzed to assess student growth.

67

TITLE Building The Foundation to Literacy

PRESENTER Robin Williams-Boodhoo


ABSTRACT

I conducted my action research project with 5th-grade students. The purpose of this was to improve

students reading comprehension specifically on informational and literature based text. The four

students in my small group were chosen based on their reading comprehension iReady scores from

the beginning of the school year. The students tested on a 2nd grade or lower reading level and

struggled on phonics, vocabulary, literature, and informational text. The students were then given a

5th-grade reading comprehension pre-exam to determine their current reading comprehension level.

The students with the lowest scores (Pre-K level) were then chosen to partake in this research. In

order to improve students scores, I created three intervention activities. Next the students sat with the

teacher to discuss interests, hobbies, challenges etc. Small group intervention lessons were formed

around students interest. After the interventions took place three out of four of my students increased

their score, one of which scored 100% on the post-test. When the students took their mid-year iReady

assessment, two of the students improved their score by two grade levels.

68

TITLE Improving PARCC Scores with Rule of Four

PRESENTER Kayla Willis


ABSTRACT

This study examined the Rule of Four as a strategy for improving student mathematical problem

solving ability. Study participants were 70 students in four Algebra 1 classes in a suburban high

school. The Rule of Four encourages students to represent the problem in four different ways:

graphically, symbolically, numerically, and in words. The Rule of Four strategy is well aligned to the

Universal Design for Learning Principle of Multiple Means of Representation. Data was collected

from a pretest and post-test that included open ended math questions. Over a period of three months,

participants used at least two representations listed in the Rule of Four as part of the problem solving

process. Initial findings indicate that students find problem solving more manageable since the

problem is being broken down allowing the students to make connections between various forms of

the same content. These findings suggest that the Rule of Four is a successful way to help students to

develop skills to preserver in problem solving.

69

TITLE Upper Elementary Student Responsibility for Graded Assignments

PRESENTER Claire Zarrilli


ABSTRACT

Independent completion of assignments is a skill that upper elementary students need to develop in

preparation for middle school. At the same time, advanced students in clustered ALPs classes can be

challenged with several concurrent independent assignments of varying duration. With decreasing

resources and programs for advanced learners since the passage of No Child Left Behind,

independent student work can allow an ALPs teacher to meet the compacting, acceleration and

enrichment needs of the higher achieving students in the general classroom. In this fourth grade

ALPs language arts class, the 24 A/B scoring students generally work responsibly on independent

assignments during guided reading but sometimes fail to turn in work on time due to pull-outs for

instrument instruction, school schedule disruptions or student absences. Students who lose track of

several assignments often have trouble catching back up. The study involved 11 male/13 female

ALPs fourth-graders in a suburban alternative academic curriculum elementary school of 580

students. The class has two black students and one Latino student, but no ELLs. The intervention is

an assignment tracking sheet with columns for the individual student to complete the date the

assignment was given, its name, the due date, and a check-off column to note when the assignment

was completed and turned in. The intervention will be modelled by the researcher upon

implementation and individual copies of the tracking sheet will be provided to each student to keep

up-to-date independently. The researcher will maintain a completed, up-to-date version of the

tracking sheet at all times, add new assignments and due dates to it as they are given, and post it on a

bulletin board at all times for students to reference as needed, for example, if they are absent from

class. The researcher will keep a log of every student’s graded language arts assignments and

whether they are turned in on time, late or not at all. The type of assignment, reading or writing, will

also be tracked. Data will be collected for a total of seven weeks and compared to the summary

statistics from the baseline period to determine if the intervention has a measurable effect on

assignment turn-in rates.

70

TITLE Cover, Copy, Compare: An Addition Fact Fluency Intervention

PRESENTER Jennifer Knobel

UNIVERSITY Johns Hopkins University

ABSTRACT

A crucial skill contributing to success in math is fact fluency. This begs the question, would a brief,

targeted math intervention increase the basic math fact fluency of students in special education? To

answer this question, research was conducted with a group of four 4th grade students in special

education. The teacher met with these students for 5-15 minutes at the end of each day, over a total

of 28 instructional days, in a separate class setting. The students practiced their addition fact fluency

using the Cover, Copy, Compare method. Using this method, the students practiced purposefully

selected math facts by looking the fact, covering the fact and rewriting it, and then uncovering the

fact to compare their response to the original fact. Data was collected periodically throughout the

study using a series of 5 assessments. In each assessment, flash cards were used to measure the speed

at which students were able to answer each math fact. Depending on the speed, each fact was sorted

into one of three categories: fluent, known, or unknown. The final outcomes of the study were

determined based on the number of facts that the students were able to increase their speed in

answering.

71

TITLE Strategies to Improve Multiplying Multi-digit Numbers Using the Standard Algorithm

PRESENTER Kelly Connor


ABSTRACT

In fifth grade, students are expected to be able to multiply multi-digit numbers by using the standard

algorithm. By this point students have practiced using the area model as well as partial products.

However, fifth grade students continued to struggle with this fourth-grade standard and were not

successful when asked to use standard algorithm. What other strategies can be used to lead students

to successfully multiply multi-digit numbers using the standard algorithm? The students that were

chosen were students who struggled with math and were performing below grade level. In addition,

a pre-assessment was administered to determine who would take part in the study. The practices

implemented were different strategies to multiply multi-digit numbers. In the beginning, we focused

on using the area model and partial products. Next, we focused on using the standard algorithm with

an emphasis on understanding place value. Over a 3 week period, the teacher candidate provided

instruction and modelling and worked with students to identify their errors in multiplication when

using different strategies. Students turned in samples of their work after each session to determine

their understanding of the new strategies.

72

TITLE Improving Accuracy in Reading by Strengthening Decoding Skills

PRESENTER Emily Lewis

UNIVERSITY Bowie State University

ABSTRACT

The participants of my study include 5 first grade students who struggle with sounding out and

decoding words as they are reading texts. The specific skills that they have not mastered are

identifying and pronouncing short vowel sounds, consonant blends, and digraphs. The students will

be pulled for a small group 2-3 times a week for 20 minutes for 8 weeks. During this time, the

students will practice building and decoding words with regular spelling and sound patterns while

applying their knowledge of decoding and word attack skills. The students will use dry erase boards

and magnetic letters to build words. The students will also participate in sound reveal activities to

practice sounding out and decoding words. I will measure growth by assessing the students' abilities

to sound out 10 different words that test the student’s knowledge on the skills listed previously for

pre and post data. The students are assessed in an isolated environment and were shown each word

one at a time. The students then had 12 seconds to sound out each word. I then recorded their

responses.

73

TITLE Dolch Words

PRESENTER Kathleen Dwyer


ABSTRACT

For this project, I will be selecting a small group of 5 students who are having difficulty with high

frequency Dolch sight words. These students are unable to identify common, high frequency sight

words, and data has shown this from previous sight word list assessments. These students scored

below first grade level, and need support to learn sight words. I am hopeful that with repeated

practice, involving games, as well as reading, and writing practice and strategies these students will

score on grade level for the assessment. These students have difficulty writing and reading because

they are not familiar with high frequency sight words. They have difficulty reading and writing

because a lot of the books they are reading in guided reading include sight words, as well as their

journal writing pieces, so if they cannot identify the sight words, they will not be able to comprehend

what they are reading/writing. Some strategies that I used are repetition, matching the picture to the

word, multi-sensory writing (ex. With sand or shaving cream, and play-dough) and I will show the

child the word and have them say it out loud, and then also have the child read the word and spell it

out as well as the use of flashcards and games. My post-assessment shows that all 5 of the students

improved.

74

TITLE Increasing Oral Reading Fluency

PRESENTER Angelique Mosley

UNIVERSITY Bowie State University

ABSTRACT

It is important when reading to produce fluent readers. If a child is a fluent reader, then their

comprehension will be on target. In the first grade we do not test children guided reading level until

November to give them time to get adjusted and practice reading more. We will using their reading

levels from Kindergarten. It was found 7 students were still not fluent readers. One child may have

not been a fluent reader due to the student behavior, but the student was included. How to help a

child improve their oral reading fluency became the. Research shows that reading in pairs or choral

reading can help improve their fluency rate. Several strategies was used to help the students achieve.

The words per minute fluency exam can help determine the child's fluency rate and provide the

baseline and goal of were a child shall be. The students benefited from the intervention and when

tested by the teacher the scores improved greatly. The intervention is ongoing and another words per

minute fluency will be done to see how greatly the child improved.

75

TITLE Structuring a Compare and Contrast Essay

PRESENTER Jaylin Ramsey


ABSTRACT

Formulating a compare and contrast paragraph by reading two informational text is a common

struggle among students. One way students can achieve this skill is annotating and finding the what,

the who, the where, the why, and the how of both texts. Students need to learn how to organize their

thoughts by using a graphic organizer and then taking the information from the graphic organizer and

creating a paragraph. How does using a graphic organizer support the development of ideas between

two or more texts? This inquiry project focuses on strategies to successfully write a compare and

contrast paragraph. This English Language Arts class consists of twenty-eight 5th graders in an urban

elementary school. During the first month of school, the teacher modeled annotating different texts

and then forming a paragraph based on those text. The teacher assigned two power-write activities to

the students to practice writing paragraphs after reading a short text. These four students received a C

average or below on the two power-write activities. The two power-write activities and the power-

write pre-test was examined to determine an instructional strategy.

76

TITLE Sight Words Identification

PRESENTER Megan Curran


ABSTRACT

The topic of this inquiry study focuses on the following question: To what extent will small group

instruction focused on multi-sensory learning and repeated practice enhance my students’

achievement in automaticity of sight words? I have selected four specific students from my

homogenous second grade class to participate in my inquiry project. Data has proven that these four

students fall below grade level in both reading and writing skills. One student is an English language

learner and the three other students are taken out of our classroom each day for additional reading

instruction. I will meet with these students three times each week and each session will be thirty

minutes long. We will meet for three weeks, equaling nine sessions in total. Many different strategies

will be used, including spelling the words in play-dough, shaving cream, and sand. Also, I will have

my students read the words, spell them out on small white boards or chalkboards, and will utilize

flashcards repeatedly. The overall outcome of this inquiry project is that my students will recognize

sight words with automaticity, which will positively contribute to their reading ability.

77

TITLE The Turning Point: Using UDL Guidelines to Improve Dance Technique

PRESENTER Jessica Michaels


ABSTRACT

This study examined whether instruction designed to meet Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

guidelines can help improve student ability to perform pirouettes. Study participants were 50 seventh

grade girls and boys in an urban school district. Data were collected via a written and kinesthetic

pretest, observations, check-point assignments and a final written and kinesthetic assessment. Written

work was compared to written work while kinesthetic observations were only compared to

kinesthetic observations. Observations and assignments were graded on a 10-point scale, which was

provided to students in advance. Pirouettes, a turn used in almost all genres of dance, are one

complex skill essential to student success in dance. In order to properly execute this turn students

need to engage their control, focus and balance. Throughout one marking period, participants

practiced pirouettes in parts (preparation, focus and balance, and landing) and worked in small

groups to create diagrams or visual presentations explaining the execution of a pirouette. Initial

findings indicate that the UDL approach encourages students to ask questions which better their

physical technique. These findings suggest that multimodal instruction has a positive impact on

student learning.

78

TITLE Decoding Math Word Problems

PRESENTER Taylor Bond


ABSTRACT

In order for students to do well on iReady testing they must have the ability to understand the

operations in a word problem. What has been observed in the classroom is that students are able to

do math problems written in standard form, but when those same types of problems are put into a

word problem students tend to not understand what operation to use. A majority of third grade

students performed below grade level on the iReady “Numbers and Operations”. Seventy students

were tested, with 21 students performed one grade level below, and forty-two students performed

more than one level below for “number and operations.” So how can students properly understand

how to break down a word problem? By using different decoding strategies students can have a

better understanding of what operation to do, and what steps are necessary to correctly answer the

problem. This study will investigate if pulling students out for small group instructions results in

students having a better understanding of how to answer word problems. During these interventions

students were given a pre and post assessment to analyze the impact of the instruction given.

79

TITLE Physical Education Action Research

PRESENTER Walter Bounds


ABSTRACT

My action research was on improving students’ aerobic capacity and scores on the “PACER” test.

The “PACER” or Progressive Aerobic Capacity Endurance Run is a test that measures aerobic

capacity. The test starts at a steady pace but then becomes progressively harder as you advance in

levels. My question was: “Will ten minutes of cardio improve students’ scores on the PACER?”. I

chose five 5th grade students for my research and compared their results to the other fifteen students

in the class. These five students had the highest BMI numbers and showed the least interest in

physical education class. With these five students and the other fifteen students I conducted a pre-

test, mid-test, and post-test. Over the span of ten weeks after the pre-test we spent the first ten

minutes of each lesson doing cardio vascular activities. These activities included noodle fencing,

relay racing, ladder jogs, and a multitude of other activities to boost aerobic capacity. Over the

course of these 10 weeks ALL students including the five students with the lowest BMI improved

their scores on the PACER from pre-test to post-test. This study proved that you can improve ALL

students’ performance/learning in an all-inclusive and noninvasive way, no matter what the

skill/performance level is.

80

TITLE How Does Phonemic Awareness Affect Reading Fluency?

PRESENTER Jessica Gonzalez


ABSTRACT

A skill students need to improve their reading fluency is phonemic awareness. Phonemic awareness

is the ability to identify individual sounds that make up a word in spoken word. A few ways students

demonstrated this skill include decoding and blending letter sounds together, reading appropriate

grade level text to increase comprehension, interacting in group discussion, and formal assessments.

This action research project focuses on all of these instructional strategies, one specific one was

known as the “tap-out” strategy, which increased students’ phonemic awareness, influencing their

reading fluency. This specific intervention takes place in a first-grade classroom in an urban

elementary school. The class size consist of twenty-five students who are predominantly African-

American. Three students participated in four 20-minute sessions, using the “tap-out” strategy to

build their phonemic awareness to increase their reading fluency. Formal assessments were

completed following each intervention, and scores were recorded for analyzation.

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