Effects of i<Clickers in Third Grade Literacy Test Scores

Student testing scores always have room for improvement. I chose to test the i<clicker classroom response system based on a donation of the system from i<clickers sponsors. I used my own classroom as the testing room since I would be able to control the instruction as well as i<clicker usage. Since boys and girls do not test the same, nor do my classes have the same number of students, I compared the initial testing data from a diagnostic reading exam done during the first week of school and match up each student from Classroom A with a student from Classroom B with a similar initial testing score. I will also try to match the student up with the same racial and gender profile if possible.

Students will be given standardized tests each six weeks to determine the knowledge gained from the class as a whole, supplemented by the use of i<clickers in Classroom A and no i<clickers in Classroom B. The students have already done initial testing. All students from Classroom A are being tracked and they are matched with a student of similar gender, race and initial testing score from Classroom B. Based on the final findings of the project, teachers will be given classroom response systems and training in how to use the device or the classroom response systems will be used as an engagement tool and not a primary source of technology in the classroom. I believe that the students in Classroom A will have higher test scores that those who do not use the i<clickers in Classroom B.

After reading several articles, discussions and attending the i>clickers conference last summer. I decided to look into using these tools in my classroom. There are many reasons to use a classroom response system but an article from Wilcir Cardoso (2010) really stuck with me because it discussed the many reasons that students liked using the classroom response system. Students like the systems because: they made classes more fun and rewarding, made lectures more involved and engaging, made students feel more at ease because of the anonymity of the system, gave students an idea of their ability to understand the discussion, gave students an idea of how they performed in relation to the rest of the class, allowed problems areas to be identified, and resulted in a modest but valuable perceived increase in the quality of learning and teaching. I wanted my students to be able to experience those great steps of growth and individual learning. I discussed the idea first with other like minded professionals at the i<clickers conference. I came back home and discussed the idea with several campus administrators and when I decided to move to third grade, I decided to test out my project and ideas to see if using these classroom response systems could really bring the students to a greater state of learning awareness.

The project was discussed with my principal and my district technology coordinator. Both agreed to the plan. Classroom response systems are not required as part of the curriculum nor do most teachers even use them. I sent home a letter to parents at the beginning of the school year describing the project. I have not involved any more staff in my research project since I am controlling the research situation.

Since my research project was based solely upon my classroom it was very easy to manage the responsibility delegation since it all fell to me. I recieved my i>clicker system as a donation from Ball State University in Indiana. Students used the i<clickers on average every two weeks throughout the school year with an emphasis on test review and preparation. Students learned the system and quickly taught other students as needed.

I knew that this project would be great for the students since it would encourage them by competition. Many times the class would be rewarded for percentage goals or for individual achievement. I used the pre-test data to group the students based on initial test scores, gender and race. I wanted to keep the students on as equal footing as possible thus including the gender and racial standard. The testing was grade level wide based on the skills learning in that testing period as well as review of other skills. I included not only reading testing but also language testing in my review of results since I found that I used the system for both testing situations. There were no conflicts or problems using the classroom response systems. The student quickly picked up the classroom response system and how to use it. I communicated scores back to the students by discussing group percentages. Very rarely did I actually go into individual student scores unless there was a particular concern. Based on the results for the reviews, I was able to pinpoint students who needed to meet in small group to review skills.

My research project helps students by addressing their needs in a easy to read and categorize manner for instructors. Instructors are easily able to see exactly what skills need to be readdressed and made for better student learning and understanding. This improves learning for all students regardless of background.

• Cardoso, W. (2010). Clickers in the ESL classroom: The students’ perspective. Contact, 36(2).

Updated Action Research Plan

I did not have a lot of changes other than adding some student interest surveys in to simply have more data. These will not change my results since I am simply searching for number driven data. Please feel free to add more responses. From my weekly assignment: 

I was a little surprised that I received so many depressing comments on the discussion board, most of them questioning how I could withhold technology from my students. I thought about writing a response but decided to see how any of the responses affect my research plan. I found no reason to change my plan based on the discussion board comments since I am withhold technology for testing methods and these are not devices that belong to the district, they are my personal property.

I answered some questions about strategy usage that I did not add to my original plan. My students will be using their strategies because they will have the story we are working on with them. These stories come from a text book so I will be wasting no more additional paper and they will be able to use all of the strategies that we have worked on. I was also asked about student engagement but decided since I wanted my data to be about the testing numbers, I would ask about engagement but would not use it in my results except as a note. Other than that I received no other comments about my plan and after discussing with my site mentor, we have decided to keep it as it currently is.

Action Research Plan

You can also link to my plan here.

EDLD 5301 Week 2 Reflection

    This week gave many ideas for reflection due to the sheer amount of material covered. In the Dana text, we covered the nine main ideas for research for leaders. My main focus would be on the ideas of professional development and the school community. I feel that we must take the time to make sure that educators are being challenged and developed in a manner that they feel like they are growing as educators. I also like the ideas of campuses being united by one common theme or idea that all of the students can relate to.
    I was also able to choose a theme for my action research paper this week. My action research project will be to determine the effects of classroom response systems, specifically the i<clicker system, on literacy testing of a third grade class throughout the year. I would like to see if constant, instant feedback will play a part in test scores. I believe that this project will make students more aware of their thinking patterns and modify their thinking to improve their learning. I also believe that the introduction to a new technology as well as using pencil and paper will inspire more engagement. I believe that these students will have higher test averages than students in the previous year comparing benchmark data.

For More Ideas

Please feel free to check out my third grade blog @ Taking on Third or my class website @ Taking on Third (the classroom). I look forward to talking with everyone!

Why should educators be using blogs?

Educators should be blogging. They should be following, reading and creating ideas to encourage personal and professional growth. Leaders should be able to use blogs as a way of reflection, of data collection, and as a forum to receive advice and new ideas from those in the same positions. Leaders should not be afraid to put themselves out there to give and receive different viewpoints and ideas.

Using Action Research

Action research is different from traditional educational research in that the administrator/educator is looking at inside issues and attempting to solve them. In traditional research, educators are looking at outside resources and attempting to fit them to the school even though it may not be a top priority. Action research is important because we as educators need to look at what needs to be changed now in our schools, not necessarily what we can take from elsewhere that would merely be a change for changes sake. I have so many amazing ideas for action research floating around in my mind. In my district alone, I feel that a Professional Learning Community (PLC) revolving around discipline would be an excellent action research. This committee could involve parents of behavior issues, administrators and educators coming together to make goals and plans to improve these students’ behavior and learning. I would also like to see more collaborative meetings (tagged as professional development) between educators to discuss ideas and thoughts on improving their ability in the classrooms to improve student engagement and ownership. On this same note, there should be collaborative meetings between educators and administrator sharing ideas on what they believe might improve campus or classroom issues. Administrators should be using their educators to share and implement new ideas.