Module 4 Week 6 Initial Discussion Post

Collaborating with my colleagues throughout my action research project has been both beneficial and a rewarding experience. Collaborative discussions have been beneficial because I had the opportunity to ask questions as well as have input from respected colleagues on how to best implement skills needed when using repeated readings to foster increased reading fluency and comprehension. My colleagues were able to help me choose more precise actions to present to my students to ensure students were provided with the most conducive learning experiences. Collaboration between teachers has been shown to contribute to both school improvement and greater student success (Oldac & Kondakci, 2020). Reviewing my gathered data with my colleagues allowed me to see that the limited data I had was only the tip of the iceberg and that I could continue to test the benefits of repeated readings and students’ growth. By participating in in collaborative discussions with my peers I was able to refine my process by identifying areas of strengths and weaknesses and implementing strategies to further develop strengths and begin developing weaknesses.

When collecting data, I chose to use deidentified documents, critical friend groups, and field notes to help me analyze my findings. The first data I analyzed was the use of deidentified documents. I used the results from form 3-1 to analyze student fluency. I used as assessor copy of this form each day to have students read the same passage to me, noting their scores on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I marked their scores from Monday as their initial scores, Wednesday as midpoint and Friday as final. I next used this data and discussed the results with my critical friend group, comparing my interpretation of the data with their knowledge. Finally, I looked over the field notes I had taken while listening to my students complete the repeated reading each day to see if there were any pattens that I could determine to discover inconsistencies or areas of concern. My data demonstrates that repeated readings can have a positive impact on students reading fluency and comprehension, which coincides with the literature review completed earlier.

The analysis of each data set was indicative that repeated readings are beneficial for growth in students’ fluency and comprehension skills.

Oldac, Y. I., & Kondakci, Y. (2020). Multilevel Analysis of the Relationship between School-Level Variables and Student Achievement. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 48(4), 762–780.

Respond to at least two colleagues by comparing your experiences. What collaboration techniques worked for you? How can you keep those practices going as you move forward in your career? How did the collaboration process help you with your analysis of data?

Response to Angela Killebrew

Hi Angela! I also met with my critical friend group (colleagues) prior to implementing my action research. During this meeting, I shared my thoughts and plans for my research and asked for their feedback along with any suggestions they could offer to me. Upon meeting with my peers, they suggested that rather than using two different passages for the duration of my research that I only use for the length of my study and using the same passage for both fluency as well as comprehension. My critical friend group

was also one of my three data collection tools. According to Carlson, critical friend groups can provide criticisms to assist with plan guidance as well as assisting with interpreting work sample data (2019).

Carlson, J. (2019). “How am I going to handle the situation?” The role(s) of reflective practice and critical friend groups in secondary teacher education. International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 13. https://doi.org/10.20429/ijsotl.2019.130112

Response to Shawn Hoel

Shawn,

I too was able to view my research from an alternative perspective due to contributions provided by my collaborators. My critical friend group provided me with insight that I had overlooked previously. Based on input from my colleagues, I altered my research materials slightly and opted to only use one passage for the repeated readings to determine fluency as well as comprehension of questions. My peers were pivotal to me refining my research process.

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