Data Collection
Methods
Pre and Post Test
In my study, I used three physical data points to determine the effects of the study, the first being the pre and post-tests. These tests were writing pieces that were graded based on our district mandated rubrics. Throughout the study, our class focused on persuasive writing pieces.
The same rubric was used for all of the graded pieces throughout this study. The students were graded on a four-point scale in the areas of ideas, organization, word choice and voice, and sentence fluency and conventions. Our goal was for students to obtain at least a three out of the four, which indicated that they were proficient in that skill. Overall, we strove for students to achieve a twelve out of a possible sixteen.
Writing Goals
My second data point was writing goals. I recorded this data by tracking the number of goals students achieved during this study and how long it took them to achieve their goals. My study was 8 weeks long. At each of the writing conferences, I took notes on what the students had been working on since we last met and where they were with their writing goals. The writing goals were chosen from indicators on the district writing rubrics. Each individual student was able to choose his own goal, with a small amount of guidance from me. Being allowed to choose their own goals, gave the students choice and independence of their learning. It also allowed students to be more invested in their own learning. As students achieved goals, I strove to push them to choose another goal outside of the writing process area that they had chosen previously.
Writing Attitude Survey
My third and last data point was writing attitude surveys that my students took three times throughout the study. The attitude survey asked ten questions on which the students rated themselves on a scale of 1-5. There were several different types of questions surrounding their liking to writing and the types of writing they like most.
Doing the survey before, during, and after the study allowed me to see how my teaching and the strategies that I implemented were affecting their attitude toward writing. The survey that was taken before and during the study also allowed me to change some of my teaching, check in with specific students, and plan ahead so students felt they were able to succeed within the writing block.
Data Used to Inform Instruction
The three data points were chosen for my research because, within my fifth-grade classroom, the highest academic need was in the area of writing. This was especially true for my male writers, as they had scored a lower than the female writers in my classroom. After analyzing scores from MAP data, baseline writing, and our attitude survey I saw a great need within our writing block. After a small amount of experience teaching writing and research, I found that writing is very individualized and subjective when it comes to grading. The reason I selected each of these data points was because of their relation to and supportive nature of each other. Each of these points had the potential to clearly show me growth in individual students, as well as the class as a whole. This allowed me to look at what skills students were mastering and what they needed more support in. I felt that the pre and post writing tests, the writing goals, and the attitude survey would plainly show what areas of writing the students were doing well and areas that needed extra instruction.
Pre and Post Writing Test
The pre and post writing tests were chosen as a data point because of the quantitative data that would be able to be drawn from the scores. Each of these tests were graded on the same rubric that was mandated from the district for this particular writing mode. The consistency of the rubrics also helped students gain knowledge of the skills they needed to master. Much of the rubric is carried over from prior grades but offers more in-depth knowledge in fifth grade. Students had the ability to use prior knowledge, especially on the pre-test that was given before any writing instruction had begun. The pre-test allowed me to see what skills the students possessed before I began my instruction. This permitted instruction to begin where students needed it most with more in-depth and individualized instruction to happen.
After administering the pre-test, the scores show that the boys in my classroom had a great need for support in writing. The highest score on our pre-test was a 12, which is a proficient based on the district rubric and right where we expect students to be at the end of the unit of instruction. On the other hand, the lowest score on the pre-test was a 6, which scored in the beginning range of the rubric. Seven of my eleven male students scored below proficient in the rubric area of ideas. Another seven of my eleven male students also scored below proficient in the area of organization on the rubric. These two areas on the rubric were a clear need of support.
Writing Attitude Survey
A writing attitude survey was chosen as a data point to allow myself to understand what the students' feelings were toward writing. I believe it is important for students to buy into what they are learning. When I gave this survey to my students at the beginning of my action research, I found that the majority of my male students sometimes liked writing but didn’t want more time to write in school nor did they want to share their writing. Through this analysis and conversations with students, I found that the students’ confidence in writing was low. This was in part by their feelings for writing but also because of past scores they had received on their writing pieces. From this, I wanted to help students change their mindset toward writing, which could help them want to write, share their writing, and feel more able within the writing block.
Individual Writing Goals
The last data point, writing goals, was chosen for the sole purpose of enhancing students’ drive during writing. I observed students working harder toward their goal within my classroom when they were given choice. When students sat down with me to choose their own writing goal, they were given choice from the rubric. Each student was given a rubric that would be used to grade all assessments in which they would choose an indicator, or bullet point, from a section of the rubric to work on in their writing piece. These conversations happened during writing conferences. Students were able to analyze prior pieces and rubrics to choose an indicator, and goal, that would best suit their needs. From that point, writing conferences would focus on the goal the student had set and prompts would be made to help the student work toward that goal.