Week 3 Assignment, Part 3

Week 3 Assignment, Part 3

Draft Action Research Project Progress Report

Project-Based Learning: How the Implementation of a 21^st Century Skill-Based Approach Affects Achievement

 

In 2012, my district embarked on a mission to determine the best practices and methods in order to prepare students for college, careers, and state tests.  In the elementary levels from kindergarten through fifth grade, a cohort was constructed of one teacher per grade level per elementary school (5 total elementary campuses).  These teachers received three days of training for the Buck Institute (BIE) in order to prepare them for the methods they would implement in the following school year.  The expectation set forth was for this cohort to implement the theory and practices of Project-Based Learning in their classrooms for an entire school year in order to test whether or not full-blown implementation throughout the district would be necessary in order to improve test scores and college preparedness. According to the AYP reports from previous school years, my elementary campus continued to show minimal growth in student achievement across all areas keeping us farther away from our goal of becoming an exemplary campus.  The AYP targets for Reading and Math for the 2012 tests were 87% and 83% passing, respectively.  Figure 1 and 2 show the campus percentage of met expectations for Math and Reading, while also indicating the upcoming federal expectations for each subject(TEA, 2012).  The resources being put into the piloting of the PBL method ignited this question: Will implementation of the Project-Based Learning approach affect the academic achievement of the 3^rd and 4^th graders on my campus?

 

Figure 1: AYP - Reading                                                                                                           

	All	AA	Eco. Dis.	SpEd
Reading - Campus	94	86	93	80
Reading Target 2013	87	87	87	87
Reading Target 2015	100	100	100	100

 

Figure 2: AYP - Math

	All	AA	Eco. Dis.	SpEd
Reading - Campus	94	86	93	80
Reading Target 2013	87	87	87	87
Reading Target 2015	100	100	100	100

 

The objective of this inquiry is to determine the relationship between the Project-Based Learning approach and the student academic achievement of 3^rd and 4^th graders at my campus.  The vision planned for this project is to document student achievement of 3^rd and 4^th grade PCL students throughout an entire school year and compare their achievement and academic growth, as measured by Curriculum Based Assessments (CBA), Benchmarks, and the STAAR test, to the achievement of students of similar demographic make-up in the same grades who are not participating in a PBL class environment.  As the district flirts with the idea of implementing the PBL teaching method across the elementary schools based on the results of this pilot year, I would like to conduct my own research to show the affect(s).

While the achievement gap expands, the window of opportunity to produce students ready for the real world decreases.  Schools (including my own) must find a way to instruct students in a way which prepares them for the post-secondary world they will enter.  Project-based learning offers an approach to teaching and learning that requires students to learn the content through a series of 21^stcentury skills and practices.  The amount of research, problem-solving, communication, collaboration, and presentation prepares students for the next grade, college, and the technologically savvy world in which they will enter a workforce (Larmer, 2010).  According to Buck Institute, schools that use project (or problem) based learning techniques and methods report higher proficiency rates in Reading and Math than other schools within the same district that do not use these methods.  In fact, the ELS performance report for 2007-2008 suggests reading proficiency is an average of 9% higher (in some cases 40%) and in Math, an average of 3-4% higher (ELS, 2009).

Therefore, when I was chosen to participate in the cohort of the pilot year in my district, my principal and I determined that there was a need to determine the impact these methods would have on our students.  If the school or district plans to implement this practice through every teacher, they will need data that shows the affect on our 3^rd and 4^th graders.  3^rd and 4^th graders were chosen simply due to the availability of data, including CBAs, benchmarks, and STAAR.

Since the only personnel involved in the project is myself, administration and the 4^th grade teacher, communication of the vision has been very positive and efficient.  The fourth grade teacher is eager to see the results.  Administration would like for the findings to be presented to the Assistance Superintendent (Director of Curriculum) and Board, if possible.  All who are involved are on board and aiding in the completion of the project, which will finish after preliminary results of the 2013 STAAR tests are released.  Ideally, the findings will be communicated to the campus, district administration, the board, and the global community via a blog.  Fortunately, finances and personnel resources are not a direct concern for this research project.  The research plan was developed in conjunction with the district and state testing schedules.  Curriculum was not adjusted or altered in any way, other than within the nature of the teaching model of PBL.  Student learning was and is able to continue as planned based on the district scope and sequence of the curriculum and the needs of the PBL cohort. 

The initial needs assessment aided in determining the importance of researching the inquiry regarding the implementation of PBL in the district.  Previous testing data and the district graduation rates indicate that we, as a district, need to implement changes to better meet the needs of our students.  Implementing the pilot cohort of Project-Based Learning is one way our district is aiming for improvement.  At the elementary level, it was determined that teaching methods were inconsistent and ill-fitting for the world in which our students will enter as adults.  Therefore, my principal and I decided to determine what, if any, changes would occur on our campus if we taught our students the same curriculum, just with a different approach.  To date, there has been no conflict to resolve regarding the action research.

            The sample population classes participating in PBL in this study include a G/T inclusion class and a SpEd inclusion class.  Therefore, the data will indicate implications for general education students as well as students with special or exceptional needs.  Also included in the population sample is a wide array of all special interest groups and sub-populations.  Therefore, the data will also indicate affects for those students as well.  Once achieved, the data will be disaggregated for each sub-population, much like the develiery of AYP reports.  The plan is to indicate differences in achievement in PBL and non-PBL students.  Hopefully, the research will show that this method is a probable approach to exceptional learning for all students. 

 

References

Dana, Nancy F. Leading with Passion and Knowledge: The Principal as Action Researcher. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin, 2009.

Expeditionary Learning Schools (2009).  SY 2007-2008 ELS System Wide Performance Data.  New York, NY: ELS, 2009.

Larmer, John & Mergendoller, John (2010).  The Main Course, Not Dessert. In A. Solis, J. Larmer, & D. Ross, PBL 101 Workbook (pp. 49-52).

Larmer, John & Mergendoller, John (September 2010).  8 Essentials for Project-Based Learning. In A. Solis, J. Larmer, & D. Ross, PBL 101 Workbook (pp. 53-56).

Texas Education Agency.  2012. Adequate Yearly Progress Campus Data Table. http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/cgi/sas/broker.

 

 

Progress on the Action Research Front

In my action research project, I am investigating the effectiveness of instruction delivered through project-based learning (PBL) practices.  I will closely investigate the effect of this instruction on the student achievement of third and fourth graders compared to a sample group of third and fourth graders not receiving this method of instruction.  In the beginning of August, I spent 3 days (18 hours) in PBL training presented by the Buck Institute for Education.  Then, on August 17, I spent an hour with my principal reviewing and refining the proposed action research plan.  The search for research on PBL (3 hours) is not complete but I have made an excellent dent in reviewing and selecting research articles and dissertations relating to the subject. Another hour of time was spent collecting permission from all affected parties to complete the research.  All were on board and accepted the inclusion willingly as they too would like to see the effects of PBL.  My principal and I are currently in the midst of selecting the non-PBL group with which we will compare benchmark and state testing results to the PBL groups.  We are looking for the best way to keep all non-PBL student names from 3^rd and 4^th grade completely anonymous to me as I do not want the achievement knowledge of other teacher’s students to affect our working relationship.  I also want to be completely blind to who this group includes so that there is a true measure of the difference or similarity in student achievement.  Once the group is chosen and final, I will maintain observation throughout the school year of their benchmark and state testing results and compare them to the results of my PBL class and the 4^th grade PBL class.

Snyder Action Research Plan

Goal: To determine the relationship between the Project-based learning approach and the student academic achievement of our 3rd and 4th graders on our campus.
Action Steps	Person Responsible	Timeline Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
1.Interview campus principal to determine areas of needed improvement in the school	self	June/July 2012	interview questions time with site supervisor	narrow down areas of needed inquiry to improve our campus Need: Student achievement through engaging teaching approach that combines significant content with 21st century skills: PBL
2.Gather research articles, books, professional literature on the benefits of PBL on student performance	self	July 2012- Aug 2012	articles books blogs essays professional literature	research paper at the end of action research project
3.Attend BIE’s PBL training to work with grade-level cohort representatives to develop curriculum-based and integrated projects	self district admin. cohort	July 31-August 2, 2012 August 14, 2012	BIE training documents and materials revised state standards	n/a
4.Obtain permission to access student data, both demographic and testing	self principal	August 2012	written permission	n/a
5.Obtain permission from 4th grade PBL teacher to observe project results and survey students	self	August 2012	written permission	n/a
6.Select 3rd/4th grade non-PBL sample population	self principal	August-September 2012	access to student AIES data	similar demographic/gender data to PBL sample population
7.Monitor student achievement throughout 1st semester -benchmark data -project evaluations	self	August-December 2012	Campus Benchmark Results and PBL project evaluations	compare/contrast data of PBL group to findings of non-PBL group
8.Obtain student survey of PBL student sample population	self	December 2012	survey	record findings of student engagements and success
9.Monitor student achievement throughout 2nd semester -Benchmark data -project evaluations	self	January-June 2013	access to benchmark results and project evaluations	compare/contrast data of PBL group to findings of non-PBL sample populations compare 1st semester results to 2nd semester results
10.Obtain student survey of PBL sample populations	self	May-June 2013	survey	record findings of student engagement and achievement compare/contrast 1st semester results to 2nd semester results
11.Obtain teacher surveys of perceived student achievement	self	May-June 2013	survey	record finsings and compare/contrast to results of PBL teachers and non-PBL teachers
12. Disaggregate student scores of STAAR for Math, Reading and Writing	self principal	October 2013	testing results from state	compare/contrast 2012 STAAR data to 2013 STAAR data and compare testing results of PBL sample group to non-PBL sample group
13.Write research paper presenting findings gathered from August 2012-October 2013	self	October-November 2013	student data surveys professional literature and articles	Proof supportive of the inclusion of PBL approaches in classrooms to enhance engagement and improve student achievement, therefore school ratings
14. Present findings to campus administration and other district administrators	self	December 2013 or January 2014	Paper and findings charts/graphs	Question/Answer