Action+Research+Plan

These are the areas on which I am focusing my action research plan.

Problem: With the implementation of the new writing standards, it has become evident through teacher observation and WriteToLearn that seventh graders at Beresford Middle School are weak in word choice.

__**Question:**__ Will integrating 21st Century Skills and Tools improve student achievement on standard 7.W.1.2 "Students can revise word choice in writing." Specifically, can I engage my students with problem solving and increase their understanding of the effects of word choice on the outcome of writing? Can I help them know the tools of technology to support their personal needs for revising and utilizing appropriate word choices in writing?

__**Plan:**__ Integrate 21st Century Skills and Tools into my lesson plans for standard 7.W.1.2. Administer pre and post assessments over the standard to gauge student understanding utilizing WriteToLearn and teacher observation. Use formative assessment in the classroom, over the course of the teaching and after the lesson to check understanding. I plan to have two lesson plans that are related to problem-solving in the areas of technology, resources, and revision. These skills will be utilized in other traits as well throughout the year, but this project focuses only on this trait.

__**Reflection:**__ This process has been interesting. I started with an idea of what I wanted to do with the kids. As I searched on the internet for tools to use, it was difficult to decide how in-depth I wanted to go. For one thing, there are many other standards to focus on. On the other hand, students need problem-solving skills in every aspect of school. What has surprised me throughout the year has been how many students can't fix technology problems and don't have an initial list of resources.

__**Implications for Future Work:**__ This will definitely be a project I will do in the future. I was amazed how many students improved their understanding of word choice by being required to define it in the podcast. I was also pleased how much their discovery skills grew in the process as well. I think that a project and the use of technology with immediate feedback can help them improve their other writing traits as well, and I hope to build on that the rest of this year and carry this into the next year for this particular group. I will continue to pre-assess and post-assess my students in many ways. I also will continue to find ways to utilize the technology within units to add to my students' skills. Starting with the standards and test data reaffirms my instincts about what the kids know and don't and ensures that I'm not wasting my time. In classes I didn't study with this research action plan, I have implemented more Achievement Series pre and post tests to guide me. It isn't that I wasn't doing those things before. The technology tools make it a much faster process.