Action Plan

Implementation

What?

I implemented one on one conferring with the use of goal setting during IDR (individualized daily reading). An additional, less formal strategy used in my study was accountability tasks.

Conferring

Conferring is when the teacher meets with students individually. Conferring can happen during any subject area and will look different in varying content areas. When conferring, specifically during IDR, the teacher will simply talk with the student about their reading lives, listen to the student read, and offer a teaching point for the student to try during IDR. Utilizing this one on one approach allows the teacher to tailor strategies to each student's needs.

When I conferred with students, I viewed it more as a conversation and not a question and answer. Even though I asked students questions, it was known between myself and students that this was a two-way interaction and if they had something to say, I wanted them to share. During a typical conference, I would ask some of the following questions:

How are you doing? How has IDR been going for you?
What book are you reading? How do you feel about it? Are you enjoying it?
Where are we at with our goal? How can I support you? Do you need any additional strategies?
Can you read some of your book to me? Can you start reading where you left off? Can you read your favorite part to me?
What just happened in what you read? What is your favorite part of the book so far? Why is it your favorite?

These were guiding questions. Some conferences I asked several questions and others the student mostly talked. It depended on what the student needed that day.

Goal Setting

Goal setting is a strategy used to motivate students to work towards something, in this case, a goal. Goals are primarily created by the student, with the help of the teacher. I had specific skills, along with goals, listed where students could see. That way, if they were struggling to develop a goal they could see examples. Some skills the goals were centered around were stamina, fluency, comprehension and others along the lines of finishing books and the physical act of reading.

I used goal setting within conferring with students. At the end of the conference, we would talk about the current goal set, or if needed, set a new goal. The process of setting a new goal started out with me giving students a goal. Towards the end of the study, students were choosing their own goals and playing an active part in determining strategies to use to achieve said goal. After conferring with students and listening to the them read, I had an idea of what I thought their goal should be. We discussed what I thought, what they thought, and decided on one collective goal. From there we would discuss one or two actionable steps they could take in order to achieve their goal.

As part of their morning work (time in the morning where students prepare for the day), students would choose the task they would complete for IDR today. Using that time in the morning helped save actual reading time when it came time to read. Because of this, students already had their tasks glued into their notebook before IDR started. After reading for 15 minutes, students completed the accountability task independently. I would look at the tasks weekly to check for misunderstandings. If needed, I would have those students complete a task with me the next time we conferred together to correct their misunderstandings or help with directions.

Accountability Tasks

Accountability tasks are specific tasks students complete after the activity, in this case - after independently reading. Accountability tasks are generally assigned by the teacher, but teachers can provide students with choice in what accountability task they complete. By completing accountability tasks, students can show the teacher learning occurred.

IDR check-ins were completed when students finished their accountability tasks early, or had extra time. These allowed me to check in with students who may not show they are struggling with the task, but need support in another area.

Student Resources

Goal Setting Bookmarks

IDR Notebook

Who?

I chose to focus on six students within my study. These students were students who, when given the attitude survey at the beginning of the year, displayed a strong dislike for independent reading. This alone was something I longed to change. In addition, three out of the six students had the lowest scores on the MAP reading test and all six students were in reading intervention.

How?

The time allotted for IDR was 25 minutes. To keep myself and the students on track, two timers were displayed. One timer was displayed and set for 15 minutes, which was the amount of time students would read, and a second one for 10 minutes, which was the amount of time students had to complete their accountability task. After the first timer started, I would invite one student at a time to confer with me. When I called on students, they knew they would be coming to my table to talk with me about their reading and goals and should bring their goal setting bookmarks and book.

Why?

Reading is a fundamentally important part of life, and from the moment children begin reading, the importance of it only grows. Like all other learned behaviors, reading is a skill that must be developed over time with repeated practice, and will be used every day in many instances. It is important to distinguish the difference between simply possessing the ability to read and having the desire to read, though. Through conferring and goal setting, I wanted to create a love for reading in my students along with developing strategies to improve reading success.

Literature Review

When?

My action research was implemented between January 27th, 2021 to March 19th, 2021. As previously mentioned in the rationale, my district started the year at half capacity. A change was made at the end of January to move to full capacity in February.

Meeting Diverse Student Needs

Using these strategies (conferring, goal setting, and accountability tasks) together created a more unified approach in improving success in reading and overall desire to read. These strategies were chosen specifically based on the needs of students in the classroom. Although each student's needs vary, these were some common themes. Some students needed the one on one support and connection that was offered by conferring with students. That support included ensuring each student had books that were just right for them, or books at their independent reading ability. Another group of students needed goal setting to motivate them to achieve at higher levels. Others needed to be held accountable for reading; giving them accountability tasks subsequently provided the opportunity to prove engagement in text. Students within this elementary school, and specifically my classroom, had highly diverse needs. Choosing something that could be easily differentiated was necessary and critical. This is why conferring with students along with goal setting and accountability tasks were chosen as the central strategies of this study.

Culturally Responsive Practices

Creating a culturally responsive classroom and space for my students is something I strive to do each and every day. To do this, I provide opportunities that are equitable and accessible to all learners. In my study, the strategies being used presented the ability to individualize the skill and need for each student.

Choice

Providing students with choice in how they show learning is an incredible form of differentiation. When students are given choice, motivation, engagement, and enjoyment increase due to students taking ownership for their work. Choice was provided to students in the following ways:

Book

Students were encouraged to select books of their interest and at their independent reading level.

Physical Location

Students were able to select their physical location in the room where they would read during IDR.

Goal Setting

Students were choosing their reading goals during the goal setting process along with a strategy to use.

Accountability Tasks

Students were able to choose which skill they wanted to complete for their accountability task time.

Pacing & Time

To provide accessibility to all learners, the use of time was adjusted for different groups of students. One way this was shown was after students selected their goal. Students were able to move at their own pace towards reaching that set goal. Another way the use of time was adjusted was for the students who were not able to complete the accountability task in 10 minutes. They stopped with 15 minutes left and used that extra time to complete the task fully.

Task Expectations

In order to be equitable, the accountability task expectations were differed based on different students and their needs. For example, for the same skill of visualizing, one group of students had to write two to three sentences explaining their visualization, and another group was only required to write one sentence. In addition to that, handwriting lines were also provided to support students who struggle with handwriting. This allowed all students to meet the learning requirement in a way that was best for them at their own developmental level.

Collaboration

When planning my study, I collaborated with multiple internal stakeholders. Due to being a single section building, I did not have a teaching partner. This did not stop me from collaborating with others in my building. The main educator I collaborated with was the reading specialist in my building. She teaches many of my students, therefore, this made collaborating with her easy and purposeful. She is also very knowledgeable in the reading curriculum we use in our district and, because IDR conferring is part of this curriculum, she had information regarding that part of my study. I also collaborated with my principal during this time. We had several conversations regarding students' differing needs and how I could best support them.

The main external stakeholder that I collaborated with was my CADRE Associate. We had several conversations together discussing students I should focus on in my study, what types of goals and accountability tasks to use, and what structure would work best for IDR. She supported me in preparing materials prior to the start of the study, helping with data collection, and providing crucial moral support. Another external stakeholder that I collaborated with was other CADRE teachers. Although we are all at varying grade levels, we were still able to collaborate ideas that could be shared between our grade levels. Lastly, I collaborated with UNO professors to discuss my literature review and the implementation of research based strategies.

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