Impacted Student Learning
The addition of individual writing conferences made a positive impact on the 20 writers in my classroom. The students were taught differentiated skills according to their exact area of focus. Students were working on developmentally appropriate skills that they were able to immediately apply. The targeted one-on-one instruction gave students a motivating drive to accomplish writing goals that were assigned to them.
Impacted Current Teaching
Individual writing conferences deepened my ability to ask guiding questions to students. Conferences were designed to be a conversation among the teacher and student. With young students, this was difficult when the students were unaware of what to talk about. I found that the questions I asked were what prompted a successful conference. With the implementation of guided questioning, I furthered my ability to meet students at their level and challenge their areas of focus.
Impacted Professional Growth
One aspect I have grown in professionally is my ability to identify a need in my classroom. Teaching is a complex job and it can be overwhelming, at times, trying to understand what the needs of each student. This action research aided me in determining the highest need of my classroom and applying it to each student.
I have also grown in my ability to professionally collaborate. I had many colleagues within my classroom supporting me with feedback. This insight was able to help me grow as a successful educator. As I grow in my own abilities, it will prompt student growth as I will be more aware of how to reach them on a deep, individual level.
What was Learned and What Questions Still Remain
One major factor I learned throughout my action research was the necessary component of being adaptive and open to change. While I planned to meet with a specific number of students each week, there were times that did not happen because of time constraints. Being adaptive allowed me to keep moving forward, even when the instruction didn't match the exact original plan.
A question that still remains is, "Did the seven snow days have an impact on the action research results?" This year, our district had 7 snow days, many falling within this six-week study. With multiple snow days, students missed valuable instruction that could have assisted student growth.
What needs to be changed, modified, or refined in the future?
In the future, I would like to change when I begin this research. I would like to start the research at the beginning of the semester when students return from Winter break. I found that the time that I began and ended my study was adapted in order to meet the time allotment for the research. I would have preferred to start the action research earlier in order to not feel rushed through content.
Another alteration I would like to make in the future is the student-friendly rubric. I would like to make these rubrics more purposeful for students to utilize successfully in their writing. Many students used the rubric but overestimated their ability. I would like to teach the rubric in a way that students can truly understand where they fall in the writing process.
How will future thinking, behaving and interacting will be impacted?
I felt that the interactions I had with students were extremely positive. The students and I were able to have insightful conversations built on trust. Going forward, I know that I need to continue to lead instruction with positivity. Having this mindset, students were able to understand I believed in them and their ability to learn.
My future thinking will be impacted by listening to students and the needs they have. Throughout this research, I was able to make small changes such as the location of writing, the utensil that they used, or the break chip. These alterations allowed students to be successful in our classroom writing environment. My future thinking will always keep the student's best interest in mind, knowing what they need in order to grow.
How action research will impact future teaching
Action research positively impacted my professional growth this year and for years to come. I have learned the importance of knowing each student as an individual learner. When I am aware of the specific needs of each student, I can plan purposeful, targeted instruction. This action research taught me how to track student needs but also how to monitor growth over time. Going forward, I plan to monitor student progress throughout a unit in an outlined manner just as it was done in this research.