Action Research Reflection

Research Question and Context

The action research that has been undertaken focused on the chosen student’s reading

fluency and comprehension. The main focus of the research and the necessary

intervention involved improving each student’s sight word knowledge. The research

was undertaken in a very small catholic school on Brisbane’s north side. The school has

a high enrolment of students from indigenous and multicultural backgrounds. For many

of the students English is not their first language, therefore there is a large emphasis on

English and Literacy in all classrooms. Two students were identified as having

particular difficulty with reading and comprehension, therefore were chosen to

participate in the action research project. These students were from a grade 2/3 multi-

age classroom, Talarah from grade two and Joanne from year three. The program that

was used to assist in the teaching and learning of sight words was the Magic 100 and

Magic 200 Sight Words, which are used by the school in the early years classrooms.

These words are divided into categories (colours) based on the frequency in which they

are encountered whilst reading. The colour categories also increase in difficulty. Upon

commencing the research, data was collected to determine the reading level and sight

word knowledge of each student. To do this accuracy tests, PM Benchmarking, self-

perception questionnaires and speed tests were completed. These methods of testing

were also undertaken at the completion of the research period.

Implementation

The research was undertaken for the duration of eight weeks. The first two days of the

research involved observing the class and determining the students that were

experiencing difficulties in areas of their learning that could be improved through

research and implementation of an action plan. Once Talarah and Joanne had been

identified as having significant difficulties with reading fluency and comprehension,

approval was then attained from the classroom teacher and parents. The plan for the

research was to initially give the students a questionnaire which would determine their

confidence levels and self perceptions in relation to reading (see Appendix 1). For the

remaining seven weeks students participated in short intensive sessions

(approximately 20 minutes) three to four times a week. These sessions involved game

based learning of sight words as the children responded positively to this method and

were engaged in their learning and were made noticeable improvements. This method

of teaching and learning has been heavily researched and suggests that game based

learning effectively increases a student’s motivation to learn and also helps students

that struggle to learn new or challenging concepts (Blackwell and Laman, 2013).

Throughout these sessions, speed testing was also done using flash cards to determine

the child’s speed and accuracy when reading the words. The games that were used

during the lessons can be seen in Appendix 2.

As Talarah and Joanne began to make improvements with their sight words, one or two

sessions per week involved practicing their levelled classroom readers. Throughout this

period a number of challenges and surprises were encountered and modifications were

continually being made to cater for the student’s needs.

Surprises

Throughout the duration of the research, there were many occasions that both students

showed incredible improvements in their sight word knowledge and retention which

also had a positive effect on their reading ability. During the second week speed tests of

the sight words were recorded to monitor the student’s progress of speed and accuracy.

In the following week, a second speed test was conducted for both students and the

results were astounding. For the remainder of the research period speed tests were

conducted on a fortnightly basis and the student’s results continued to improve each

week (see Appendix 3). After two weeks of school holidays, it was surprising to see that

Talarah continued to improve the times in which she could read the 200 sight words.

Whereas, Joanne’s times were similar to the tests done prior to the holidays with some

improvements and some regressions were made with particular colour categories.

Within the first few weeks of learning and practicing sight words Talarah and Joanne’s

reading fluency improved greatly. The increase in the PM levels that Talarah was

making was extremely surprising. Upon commencing the research, Talarah’s PM

reading level was 17. As her sight work knowledge improved, so did her reading fluency

and confidence. During the first week after the holiday period she has progressed

beyond the PM levelled readers (level 30) and is now reading the same reader and is

reading at the same level as the other three grade two students in the class.

During the first weeks of the research, the improvements that were made for both

Joanne and Talarah were incredible. The girls reading ability and their confidence levels

when reading and working on their sight words increased within only two weeks. As

they continued to improve their sight words and reading fluency, their confidence in

other areas of their learning also improved. A study completed by the BBC has showed

that reading increases a student’s sense of achievement, confidence and self-esteem

(2014). This is evident as the self-perception questionnaires at the beginning of the

research period and upon completion have shown an increase in both Joanne and

Talarah’s self confidence and belief about their reading ability (see Appendix 4)

Throughout the research period, testing of the student’s speed and accuracy whilst

reading sight words were undertaken. During the first week, Joanne was only able to

complete the first M100 sight words, as she was reading more words incorrectly than

correctly when completing the M200 words. Being unable to read the majority of words

correctly was affecting her confidence and self-esteem, therefore these categories were

not completed. However, as Joanne worked on improving the M100 words, some of the

M200 words were gradually included into the activities and games. As Joanne’s ability

to read these words improved, she was able to exclusively practice the M200 words.

During the seventh week an accuracy test was completed and Joanne was able to read

94/100 of the M100 words and 92/100 of the M200 words. The results for the first

accuracy test completed in week one, progressive tests and the final accuracy test can

be seen in Appendix 5. During the last few weeks of the research period when Joanne

was playing games with the M200 words she claimed “they’re too easy, I want to do

harder words now”.

Challenges

The research project has allowed both Joanne and Talarah to make great improvements

to their sight word vocabulary which has increased their reading fluency and their

ability to comprehend a text. However, throughout the research period a number of

challenges were encountered and modifications to the original implementation plan had

to be made to accommodate for Joanne and Talarah’s needs.

After the first two weeks of the research it was noticeable that Talarah did not

understand the meaning of many of the words that she was reading in the M100 and

M200 lists. Talarah and her family are Indigenous and Aboriginal English is spoken at

home, therefore she has limited exposure to the vocabulary of Standard Australian

English taught at school. To overcome this issue and to increase her understanding of

the words she was learning, the words would be put into a sentence and a simple

definition would be given (Harrison, 2011). This was a simple and effective way to

determine the words she knew the meanings of and allowed opportunities to teach the

meanings of unknown words.

A challenge that arose within the first few days of the research period was that Talarah

could read the majority of the M100 and M200 words. Although she read the words

slowly, she was able to read most of the words accurately. It was challenging to then

determine why Talarah was struggling with reading. When Talarah was reading the

sight words from a list or during an activity, she could read the words accurately but

slowly. However, when reading the same sight words in sentences within a text, she

struggled to recall the words. To overcome this, games and speed training were used to

improve the rate at which she could identify the words. As she was able to read the

words faster in isolated games, she was then able to recall them faster when reading a

book. As her ability to quickly recognise the words in a text improved, her reading

fluency increased dramatically, as did her confidence. Talarah is now reading at the

same level as her peers.

Joanne has made great improvements throughout the research period. However despite

the increase in her sight word knowledge and ability to quickly recognise words, she

was still making visual errors when reading words such as “came” and “come”; “was”

and “saw”. This was a challenge as she was able to learn more difficult, new words and

could read them accurately, however was unable to correctly identify simple words.

This challenge was overcome by repeated and exclusive practice of the particular

words.

Modifications

As the research and progress of both students developed throughout the research

period, some modifications were made to the original research plan. Initially books of

high interest were going to be included into the sessions involving reading practice.

However, this did not become a large aspect of the research as the main focus was

improving sight words and practicing reading fluency using classroom readers.

A number of modifications had to be made to accommodate Talarah as her

improvements were rapid and her retention of what was being learnt was excellent.

Once she had learnt a word correctly, she was then able to read it accurately and with

speed each time it was encountered. Talarah improved dramatically in a short space of

time, therefore the next level of Magic Words, M300 were given and these were also

learnt quickly. Therefore, further modifications were made to focus on reading and

extending her vocabulary. This modification was made as research suggests that

“reading improves children’s comprehension, vocabulary, fluency and writing”

(Donalyn, 2010). It was evident that as the research period concluded, Talarah’s reading

fluency and comprehension improved, as did her writing ability.

Data Collection and Analysis

Accuracy tests

Accuracy tests were completed at the beginning of the research period to determine the

student’s ability to read high frequency sight words. These tests were completed twice

during the duration and then again at the completion of the research period. These tests

were summative tests to determine the words that the students struggled to read which

allowed them to be focused on during activities and games.

The accuracy tests below display the results of Joanne and Talarah’s progress when

reading the first M100 and M200 sight words. The words that the students read

incorrectly have been marked with a dot in a colour corresponding to the date of the

test. Words that were read slowly or read incorrectly but then self corrected were not

marked as incorrect.

Talarah’s M100 Records Talarah’s M200 Records

It can been seen from the records that Talarah was able to accurately read the majority

of the sight words in the first test and was then able to read them without errors for the

remaining tests. Although she was able to read them correctly she read slowly to avoid

making mistakes.

Joanne’s M100 Records Joanne’s M200 Records

Joanne’s results show a large improvement between the first and second M100 tests. It

can be seen that when testing the M200 words in the first and second testing periods

that she was unable to complete the aqua, lime and lemon words as they were too

difficult and she was making more incorrect than correct attempts which was affecting

her confidence. Therefore testing was only completed for the pink and purple words

until she was confident to attempt the remaining colour categories.

Speed Test Records

Speed tests were undertaken on a fortnightly basis to determine the speed and accuracy

at which Talarah and Joanne were able to recall the sight words. Talarah and Joanne’s

results have been compiled separately.

Talarah’s results show that she made constant improvements throughout the testing

periods. In many instances the times in the first week have been improved by half by

the final week. Talarah enjoyed the speed tests as she was motivated to improve the

time of her previous result.

It can be seen that in the first two weeks of the speed testing that Joanne did not

undertake testing for the M200 words as she was still struggling to read the majority of

them and testing her on these words would not have been a positive experience for her.

However, as she continued to improve throughout the research period she began

attempting the pink and purple words as she felt confident with these. By the end of the

testing period she was able to read all the words and time results were recorded. The

improvements that she made when reading the M100 words were excellent in the first

three weeks, although after the holidays some of her times were slightly slower whilst

some had improved.

Class Test Results

Talarah and Joanne were making excellent improvements with the times in which they

were able to recall the sight words, however it was difficult to determine at what speed

they should be able to recall them to improve their reading fluency. Therefore, each

student in the class was tested and a class average was taken. The average did not

include Joanne or Talarah’s results.

Joanne and Talarah’s best time records were taken and compared to the class average. It

can be seen that for many of the colour categories that both students are within a few

seconds of their peers. This shows that the mini-lessons focused on improving their

sight words has had a positive effect on their ability to quickly and accurately recall

sight words.

Confidence Records

Before beginning any lessons a questionnaire was given to the students to determine

their confidence levels and self perception of their reading abilities. The same

questionnaire was then given at the completion of the research period to determine if

the student’s confidence had improved.

Joanne’s first questionnaire Joanne’s final questionnaire

It can be seen that before beginning the action research that Joanne thought she was

good at reading and at the end of the research her confidence had improved as she

selected the ‘great’ face. It can be seen that she wishes to continue her reading and this

can be seen through her enthusiasm for learning and her engagement during the mini-

lessons.

Talarah’s first questionnaire Talarah’s final questionnaire

The questionnaires show that Talarah’s confidence and self perception of her reading

ability has improved after the research period. She has also selected the ‘great’ face for

wanting to improve her reading, this may be due to her improved confidence and the

knowledge that she is able to improve if she practices.

Conclusions

Upon completion of the research project it has become evident that explicit teaching of

sight words in an intensive manner helps students to learn and retain high frequency

words, thus increasing their reading fluency and comprehension. The improvements

made by both participants are significant and the results and data collected show

continual improvements throughout the research period. This method of teaching sight

words is supported by Ehri (2005) and Blackwell and Laman (2013), as they their

research is in agreement that children learn to associate letters and their relevant

sounds, decode those sounds to pronounce words correctly, then with repeated practice

these words are committed to memory. It is these methods that have been used as the

foundation of the implementation of the research project.

The method in which the sight words were taught to the students was through games

and flash cards. It was evident that the students were more engaged and enjoyed

participating in the games rather than flashcards, although they were effective. The

games that were used throughout the research period included a reading racetrack

board game, a memory card game, bingo, an iPad spinner and flashcards (see Appendix

2). This style of learning has been researched by Shahtout, McLaughlin, Derby and

Arenez and it has been found that a game based approach to learning sight words

employs fluency and accuracy whilst allowing students to practice methods that aim at

mastering reading (2012). The games that were employed involved continual repetition

of chosen sight words which allowed the students to read the words a number of times

throughout a game. The games were designed and created in a way that the words could

be altered as the students progressed.

Throughout the duration of the project, it was observed that as Joanne and Talarah

improved their sight word knowledge and their reading began to improve, their

confidence also improved. Noticeable changes in the student’s participation, willingness

and enthusiasm during classroom activities were also observed. Therefore it is possible

that when students feel confident in their reading ability, they are more confident in the

classroom and other areas of their learning and are thus more willing to participate in

class activities which continues to further their learning.

Identify limits

The action research project was planned to cater for the needs of two individual

students. The plan was designed to give both students opportunities to increase their

knowledge of sight words in order to improve their reading fluency and comprehension.

Surprises and challenges arose during the research, however limitations were scarcely

encountered. Absenteeism did not occur often, however when students were absent

they were not able to participate in the planned sessions which resulted in restricted

progress. Similarly, unplanned events such as swimming lessons, excursions and

celebration days restricted the number of sessions that could be conducted each week.

As the research period extended over Terms 3 and 4, the two week school holiday break

caused limitations in learning and progress. In the first week after the holiday break,

both students had made regressions in some areas, however within the period of a

week, improvements were made and progress continued.

Personal learning and implications for future teaching practice

Participating in action research has provided many learning opportunities. The key

lesson that was learnt was that individualised, intensive and engaging mini-lessons are

a very effective way to gain knowledge and achieve maximum retention. Although

individual sessions are not always practical or possible with a larger class, small group

sessions would have the same effect. This is an approach that will be integrated into

future teaching practices when teaching foundational knowledge. Similarly, the use of

repetition and frequent revision of previous material also proved to be very effective for

increasing the retention of knowledge for both students.

During the research, it was learnt that when too many unknown words or concepts

were introduced at the same time confidence levels, student engagement and

motivation decreased. Therefore gradually increasing the difficulty or slowly

introducing new ideas is a more effective and empowering method for students. When

introducing new ideas or repeatedly teaching a concept it has been learnt that game

based learning is the most successful way to engage students. Also, showing genuine

enthusiasm and interest in the student’s learning and progress was a great motivator

and really encouraged the students to succeed. Therefore these approaches and lessons

that have been learnt throughout the duration of the research will be implemented into

future teaching endeavours in order for students to succeed.

Part B

Action Research Experience

Action research was a rewarding and educational experience. The purpose of the

research was to undertake study and implement plans and practices to improve the

reading fluency and comprehension of two students with reading difficulties. The main

focus of the research and the mini-lessons was to improve sight word knowledge and

retention in order to improve the student’s reading fluency and confidence. Upon

completing the research, implementing a variety of teaching strategies and making

continual adjustments to the mini-lessons, the practice of undertaking reflective

teaching in the classroom has become a natural and habitual process. This teaching

approach will continue to become part of my classroom practice, which will be of great

benefit for my students as I will continually be making adjustments in order to cater for

each individual’s needs.

Throughout the research period, many of the Australian Standards were met. These

include:

1.2 - Understanding how students learn

This standard was met during the observation stage as I was closely observing how the

students I would be working with preferred to learn and the motivation tools that

would be necessary to encourage their learning.

1.5 – Differentiating teaching to meet the specific learning needs of students across the full

range of abilities

This standard was met as I was continually modifying the lessons and activities for each

student to ensure the mini-lessons and activities were specific to Joanne and Talarah’s

learning needs.

2.5 – Implementing literacy strategies

This standard was continually being met as the focus of the research was to improve

reading fluency and comprehension, during which a variety of literacy strategies were

implemented by the students to assist their reading.

3.1 – Establish challenging learning goals

This standard was implemented on a fortnightly basis as the students would challenge

themselves to improve their reading times and improve the level of their PM

Benchmark books.

3.2 – Plan, structure and sequence learning programs

This standard was performed on a weekly basis as the lessons for the week would be

planned and sequenced to ensure the students were completing a variety of tasks in a

structured manner to improve their retention of sight words and build their reading

confidence.

3.6 – Evaluate and improve teaching programs

This standard was undertaken on a daily basis as the students were continually

improving. Therefore modifications to their weekly plans and daily tasks were

necessary to challenge and engage both students.

5.1 – Assess student learning

This standard was also completed on a daily basis in a formative manner, whilst

summative assessment was undertaken at various times throughout the research

period.

5.2 – Provide feedback to students on their learning

This standard was completed after each mini-lesson, this gave the students the

opportunity to receive praise and also to recognise their strengths and the areas that

would continue to be improved. When providing feedback, it also allowed the students

the opportunity to give me feedback on my teaching and the work that they were

completing. The students were able to tell me if they were finding the work too difficult

or whether they needed to be challenged further.

5.4 – Interpret student data

This standard was completed after each summative assessment piece to evaluate the

students learning and to make adjustments to the lessons and teaching.

Personal and academic journey as a pre-service teacher

Throughout the action research process and upon its completion, reflections have been

made about the research itself and the journey I have undertaken as a pre-service

teacher. Conducting action research has allowed me to view my teaching and my beliefs

about learning from a different perspective. I have gained an understanding of how my

ideas about teaching and learning have changed over the duration of my degree. The

most significant change I have had in my beliefs about teaching has been from my first

year of study and observation prac. I feel that I initially viewed teaching as very

structured and controlled, where tasks were set for students and those needing

assistance were given appropriate support to complete tasks. However, as I have

progressed throughout the years and during action research I have learnt that teaching

is about differentiating learning to ensure that all students have the opportunity to

succeed and reflecting on how lessons and tasks can be improved to benefit all students

is essential. This has been especially pertinent during the period of action research

when working with Talarah and Joanne, as their needs were the same - they struggled

with reading, but the methods of teaching and learning that was required to assist them

were completely different.

Upon reflecting on my growth as a pre-service teacher I feel that I am more passionate

and my desire to teach has grown stronger each year. Throughout my pracs I have

taught children from many different cultural and socio-economic backgrounds. I have

learnt a great deal from these practical experiences and my associate teachers. However

as a first year student I did not expect to teach children suffering from abuse at home,

children whose families can’t afford to send them to school with lunch, and children

whose families have come from war torn countries. These children have made me

passionate about teaching, as I want to give them a place to feel safe, happy and loved.

As a teacher, I will strive to teach them to love learning so they may be given

opportunities to succeed in the future. These practical school experiences have not only

made me passionate about teaching but more confident and knowledgeable as a pre-

service teacher. I know that over the past four years I have grown and developed as a

student and a pre-service teacher and I feel that the knowledge I have gained will help

me in my future teaching.

Appendix 1 – Confidence Questionnaire

Appendix 2 – Games used during mini-lessons

Appendix 3 – Speed Test Results

Appendix 4 – Confidence Questionnaires

Appendix 5 – Accuracy Tests

References

Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership. (2014). Australian Professional

Standards for Teachers. Retrieved from http://www.aitsl.edu.au/australian-

professional-standards-for-teachers/standards/list

BBC. (2014). Reading for pleasure. Retrieved from

http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/tutors/using-skillswise-as-a-tutor/reading-for-

pleasure

Blackwell, R., & Laman, S. (2013). Strategies to teach sight words in an elementary

classroom. International Journal of Education, 5(4), 37-44. Retrieved from

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Donalyn, M. (2010). Becoming a classroom of readers. Educational Leadership, 67(6),

30-35. Retrieved

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Ehri, L. (2005). Learning to read words: Theory, findings and issues. Scientific studies of

reading, 9(2), 167- 172. Retrieved from

http://www.tandfonline.com.ezproxy2.acu.edu.au/doi/pdf/10.1207/s1532799xss

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Harrison, N. (2011). Teaching and learning in Aboriginal education (2nd ed.). South Melbourne, Australia: Oxford University Press.

Shahtout, L., McLaughlin, T., Derby, K., & Arenez, T. (2012). The effects of direct

instruction flashcards and reading racetrack on sight words with two elementary

students with behavior disorders. Academic Research International, 2(2), 304-307.

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