Kindergarten School Readiness

Kindergarten School Readiness

1Action Research Proposal

Rhonda Hill

EDD/581

Instructor Elizabeth Ashley

March 25, 2013

Problem Statement

Action Research Proposal

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Problem StatementThe problem is students entering Kindergarten are below

proficiency in school readiness. Upon narrowing of the problem and intervention will be implemented.

Problem Description


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Problem Description

Students entering Kindergarten are struggling in school readiness. Many students need help in reading and writing. The reason for this problem or that it may not have been addressed is because at this level many teachers do no initiate differentiated instruction and techniques to meet the need of the student. I have selected this action research project because students who do not receive the necessary learning skills needed to meet proficiency at this level end up lagging behind in later years.

Purpose of the Project


Purpose of the Project

The purpose of this project is to make sure all students entering Kindergarten upon completion meets proficiency in school readiness.

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Effective Curriculum Program

Use of Differentiated Instruction

Improve Reading and Writing Skills

Writer’s Role


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Writer’s Role Teacher Researcher Graduate Student Stakeholder

Problem Documentation


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Reasons: Disadvantage students (poverty, English

language learners, no prior schooling). Assessments Curriculum and Instruction

Solutions: Focus Groups Survey

10-Item Survey

Program Evaluation:

1. Are our programs producing the results in student learning desired?

2. How well do students actually perform?

3. How well should students perform? Instructional Leadership:

4. Are teachers and instructional strategies in given areas producing results?

5. What do the teachers need to ensure student competence?

6. What kinds of professional development would help? Classroom Instruction:

7. Are the teaching instructions working?

8. What do the students already understand and what can they already apply?

Instruction and Diagnosis:

9. What does the student need help with?

10. What misconceptions and or strengths does the student have?Action Research Proposal

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Participants of Survey

Participants: Administration Teachers Parents


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Literature Review Focus


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Literature Review

Author(s) of the Study

Title of the Study

Purpose of the Study

Pertinent findings that support the Study

Shelly Brown Poverty and Pre-K: Does Head Start Really Help Students

Many students are not ready to read when they enter school.

“A fairly large research base shows individuals from poverty and historically disadvantaged minority groups (Brooks-Gunn & Duncan, 1997; Jencks & Phillips, 1998) are at significant risk for poor school performance.”

Amanda M. VanDerHeyden, Joseph C. Witt, Gale Naquin, and George, Noell

The Reliability and Validity of Curriculum-based Measurement Readiness Probes for Kindergarten Students

Is to create a series of reliable and valid curriculum-based measurement probes useful as screening tools in the identification of kindergarten students in need of academic intervention.

“Recognition of beginning letter sounds is a phonemic skill that kindergarten students are expected to master early in kindergarten (Good & Kaminski, 1996).”

Sara Daily, Mary Burkhauser, and Tamara Halle

School Readiness Practices in the United States

To examine the readiness of U.S. students beginning kindergarten and the disproportion between low income students and more wealthy students.

Early Learning Guidelines (ELA), created by U.S. states in order to define skills and abilities necessary for a student's successful start in kindergarten.


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Literature Review Cont’d


Title of the Study

Purpose of the Study

Pertinent findings that support the Study

Sandraluz Lara-Cinisomo, Allison Fuligni, Sharon Ritchie, Carollee Howes, and Lynn Karoly

Getting Ready for School: An Examination of Early Childhood Educators’ Belief Systems

To examine early childhood educators’ beliefs about what children need before entering kindergarten.

Focus group interviews conducted with early childhood educators from three learning settings: public center-based programs, private center-based programs, and family child care centers.

Maria Cahill Getting Ready for School: An Examination of Early Childhood Educators’ Belief Systems

To focus on meeting the early literacy needs of children through Preschool using outreach story time programs.

Shell Point Elementary School in Beaufort, South Carolina, a rural school has seen continued decline in the readiness skills of entering kindergartners

Adam Winsler, Lindsey A. Hutchinson, Jessica De Feyter, Charles Bleiker, Louis Manfra, Suzanne C. Hartmann, and Jerome Levitt

Child, Family, and Childcare Predictors of Delayed School Entry and Kindergarten Retention Among Linguistically and Ethnically Diverse Children

With kindergarten retention is on the rise within the current climate of high-stakes testing and escalating. This research focus on the various risk factors such as poverty, low maternal education, single parent status, minority status, English language learner (ELL) status, and male gender.

The present study examines the prevalence and predictors of delayed school entry and kindergarten retention using data from the Miami School Readiness Project (Winsler et al., 2008).


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Literature Review Cont’d


Title of the Study

Purpose of the Study Pertinent findings that support the Study

Renee P. Pavelski-Pyle Best Practices in Assessing Kindergarten Readiness

Focus on the numerous challenges that have developed in response to the first national education goal that states, "All children in American will start school ready to learn."


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Action Goal

The goal of the intervention is to increase effectiveness of teachers in implementing school readiness for kindergarten students. An intervention implementation to meet this goal

includes evidence-based curriculum , professional development, and differentiated instruction.

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Proceeding

Forward

Time to take ACTION!

Selected Solutions

Fundamental Instruction Curriculum Professional Development Differentiated Instruction (see Appendix A)


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Calendar Plan

Week OneAugust 26 – August 30 Initial Reflection.

Week Two – Week FiveSeptember 2 – September 27 Review of Literature.

Week SixOctober 7 – October 11

Contact Principal, School District, and University Review Board to secure permission for study.

Week Six – Week NineOctober 7 – October 30

Gather baseline data (student work examples and observational notes). Conference with students and parents on October 29 (collect permission forms)

Week Eight – Week NineOctober 14 – October 25

Phone parents to discuss action research study. Send home permission forms. Make follow-up calls to parents.


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Calendar Plan

Week 10 – Week 13November 4 – November 29

First Phase:

Week 10November 4 – November 7

Discuss goals with students and work with students to create a rubric for grading.


Conference with parents to discuss student goals and progress.


Student work examples (artifacts)Conference with parents to discuss student accomplishments toward goals.

Week 14January 20– January 24

Interim Data Analysis

Week 15 January 27 – January 31

Discuss goals with students and work with students to create a rubric for grading.


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Calendar Plan

Week 16February 3 – February 7

Conference with parents to discuss student goals and progress.

Week 17February 10 – February 14

Student work examples (artifacts)Conference with parents to discuss student accomplishments toward goals.

Weeks 18 & 19February 17 – 28

Data Analysis (observation notes in journal, transcripts from student and parent conferences, rubrics, and artifacts).

Weeks 20 & 21March 3 – March 14

Writing results and putting the action research study paper together.

Weeks 22 & 23March 17 - 28

Revisions of paper.


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Expected Outcomes


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1. Kindergarten graduates will demonstrate knowledge of school readiness. Specifically, the student will be able to demonstrate understanding of areas in reading and writing.

2. Teachers attending professional development will demonstrate competence and the ability to apply education strategies.

3. Teachers should be able to recognize student learning styles and differentiate instruction appropriately.

Measurement of Outcomes


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Anecdotal Notes Portfolios Checklists (see Appendix B)

Assessments (see Appendix C)

Evaluations

Analysis of Results


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Finding of Results: Core Observation Record Early Learning Literacy Skills Assessment Dynamic Indicator of Basic Early Literacy

Skills Targeted Audience:

Administration

Teachers

Parents

References


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Adams, M. J. (1990). Beginning to read: Thinking and learning about print. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Bing.com. Picture of Activity Packets. Retrieved from http://www.bing.com/images/search?

q=pictures+of+primary+students+working+in+centers&qs=n&form=QBIR&pq=pictures+of+primary+students+working+in+c

enters&sc=0-28&sp=-1&sk=#view=detail&id=EB0BDA900934E2CD5BE86857EE8C4585A9D59AB8&selectedIndex=37.

Bing.com. Picture of Classroom Centers. Retrieved from http://www.bing.com/images/search?

q=Classroom+Centers&FORM=RESTAB#view=detail&id=B21D11CDBBCFC4F1F97833FCAC49E2A61175F05F&selected

Index=17.

Bing.com. Picture of Man on Books. Retrieved from http://www.bing.com/images/search?

q=pictures+of+literature+reviews&id=709EAC5F1AEF38170B45F7EAA456F06C4C108067&FORM=IQFRBA#view=detail&

id=709EAC5F1AEF38170B45F7EAA456F06C4C108067&selectedIndex=0.

.

References

Bing.com. Picture of preschool portfolio. Retrieved from http://3.bp.blogspot.com/preschool-portfolio.jpg.

Bing.com. Picture of problem documentation. Retrieved from http://www.bing.com/images/search?

q=pictures+of+problem+documentation&qpvt=pictures+of+problem+documentation&FORM=IGRE#view=detail&id=0F71B3

0638E0A45F1D8DEB3FBC646542DE3EAEF5&selectedIndex=50.

Bing.com. Picture of School Readiness. Retrieved from http://childhood101.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/school-

readiness1.jpg.

Bing.com. Picture of Solution Puzzle Piece. Retrieved from

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=pictures+of+solutions&qpvt=pictures+of+

solutions&FORM=IQFRML#view=detail&id=CDBC48B323A94327F712B80C002FF42D24133109&selectedIndex=7.

Bing.com. Picture of Survey. Retrieved from http://www.bing.com/images/search?

q=pictures+of+participants+in+surveys&go=&qs=ds&form=QBIR#view=detail&id=26EA8F66829B1739FB93F3A6F9DBF1E

E8BECDCB3&selectedIndex=407.


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References

Bing.com. Picture of Teachers. Retrieved from http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=teachers&qs=n&form=QBIR&pq=teachers&sc=8-

8&sp=-1&sk=#view=detail&id=EF53AFB77B737AF3569391C257403B677706A060&selectedIndex=128.

Brooks-Gunn, J., & Duncan, G. J. (1997). The effects of poverty on children. The Future of Children, 7(2), 55-71.

Brown, S. (2004). Poverty and Pre-K: Does Head Start Really Help Students?. Conference Papers -- American Sociological Association,

1-19.

Cahill, M. (2004). Meeting the Early Literacy Needs of Children through Preschool Outreach Storytime Programs. Knowledge Quest,

33(2), 61-62.

Daily, S., Burkhauser, M., & Halle, T. (2011). School readiness practices in the United States. National Civic Review, 100(4), 21-24.

doi:10.1002/ncr.20080.

Differentiated Instruction Overview. Retrieved from http://www.efdlrs.com/~crown/di.

.


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References

Good, R. H., III, & Kaminski, R. A. (1996). Assessment for instructional decisions: Toward a proactive/prevention model of

decision-making for early literacy skills. School Psychology Quarterly, 11, 326-336.

Google.com. Picture of assembly. Retrieved from http://www.google.com/unitycharterschools.org.

Hendricks, C. (2009). Improving schools through action research: A comprehensive guide for

educators. (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

High Scope Educational Research Foundation (2013). Retrieved from http://www.highscope.org.

Improving Teaching and Learning with Data-based Decisions. Retrieved from www.lesn.appstate.edu/.../Pruthero

%20Improving_teaching_and_learning_with_databased_decisions.pdf.

Jencks, C. S., & Phillips, M. (1998). The black-white test score gap. Washington, DC: Brookings.

JuiceInc.com. Picture of checklist. Retrieved from http://www.juiceinc.com/images/uploads/Checklist_image_CMYK.jpg.


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References

Kindergarten Reading / Language Arts Curriculum. Retrieved from http://www.sightwordsgame.com/

kindergarten/kindergarten-reading.

Pavelski-Pyle, R. (2002). Best Practices in Assessing Kindergarten Readiness. California School Psychologist, 763-73.

Stevenson, H. W., Parker, W., Wilkinson, A., Hegion, A., & Fish, E. (1976). Longitudinal study of individual differences in

cognitive development and scholastic achievement. Journal of Educational Psychology, 68(4), 377-400.

VanDerHeyden, A. M., Witt, J. C., Naquin, G., & Noell, G. (2001). The Reliability and Validity of Curriculum-based Measurement

Readiness Probes for Kindergarten Students. School Psychology Review, 30(3), 363.

Winsler, A., Hutchison, L. A., De Feyter, J. J., Bleiker, C., Manfra, L., Hartman, S. C., & Levitt, J. (2012). Child, Family, and

Childcare Predictors of Delayed School Entry and Kindergarten Retention Among Linguistically and Ethnically Diverse

Children. Developmental Psychology, 48(5), 1299-1314.


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Appendix A


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The Principles of Differentiated InstructionPlanning is based on individual learnersStudents participate in respectful workMultiple learning strategies are usedIndividual and group norms are in placeAssessment occurs in a variety of waysA synonym for good teaching for every childTeaching concepts provide focus and a foundationTeachers and students form a learning partnershipFlexible grouping is essential for student movement

Appendix B

Student Name:

Reading Observational Checklist

Level of Concern: Little or No Concern

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Great Concern

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Knowledge verbally an visually of alphabet

Word Identification one, two, and three letters

Clapping out the number of syllables in a word.

Interest in reading activity. Knowledge of parts of book.

Reading from left to right, top to bottom.

Appendix C

Early Literacy

Skills Assessments Comprehension

Phonological

Awareness

Alphabetic

Principles

Concepts about Print

Documents

Kindergarten School Readiness