- Since our building does not qualify for any Title I money, we do not currently have an interventionist for these grades. We do have a teacher for third and fourth grade. Kindergarten has an aide that serves two classrooms. The need is greatest for first and second grades, so we decided to focus there in this study. Based purely on need, we agreed to limit the study to students in first and second grades.
- The second reason has mostly to do with scheduling a building with 900+ students. Trying to schedule intervention time and specials (art, music, library, p.e., computer, Spanish) dictated a smaller study.
Overall, the study remains essentially the same and should provide information to inform decisions for the following year. We reached a consensus on the apps that needed to be installed on the iPads to collect data and on the need for meeting with the aides prior to the school year to address their perceptions of the research project.
One of the issues we discussed is how to manage the change for the teachers in first and second grades and for the instructional aides. We discussed using force field analysis with the affected teachers as a means of gaining their support. As far as the aides are concerned, the greatest issue to overcome is their perceived value to the school. Currently the perception is that they don't feel valued. To address this we talked about creating a professional atmosphere through mentoring, accountability, inclusion in planing time with teachers and creating a physical space for interventions as a means to "professionalize" their purpose in the school community.
Sounds like you had quite the week changing your Action Research Study. I think with your plan with creating a better atmosphere with your aides and helping them feel valued will affect everyone overall. Glad you figured out this new plan before all of it got started! You saved some serious time down the line doing this now. Well done!
ReplyDeleteI do believe that narrowing your study will be better for the teachers and for the instructional aides.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Lisa that helping the aides feel valued will affect everyone, even those not involved.
Are you planning to use the aides nearly all day, every day, or are you going to have a schedule for part of the aides' day? Just wondering.
They will be scheduled most of the day, but will only be providing interventions for part of the day. The rest of the time they will be working in third and fourth grade classrooms not involved in the research project. I think giving them a schedule will protect them from the whims of some faculty members who want to employ them less constructively.
DeleteI think it's wise to narrow your group. First and second grades are so important to make sure that students are staying on grade level prior to entering those testing grades. I know first grade specifically tends to have fairly high retention rates if students are not ready to promote. I bet you'll also be able to link in this data as the year progresses. I also agree that you need a schedule for your aides. They will feel better and more useful about their jobs. They have important roles in day-to-day operations too.
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