Mae Guerra

Practice Makes Perfect!

Education

Masters Candidate

Instructional Technology

The University of Colorado at Denver

B.S in Applied Learning and Development

The University of Texas at Austin

Teaching Experience

4th grade teacher Valverde Elementary School - Denver Public Schools

7th grade study skills teacher Place Middle School - Denver Public Schools

1st grade teacher Gilpin Elementary School - Denver Public Schools

8th grade math teacher Cole Middle School - Denver Public Schools

Background Information on the Two Different Studies

Place Middle School

Research Study

- Using Computer Technology to Improve Student Essay Writing

Valverde Elementary

Research Study

- Using Immediate Feedback to Motivate Students in Writing Effective Summaries

School Demographics

Place Middle School

Low socio-economic group with 74% of students participating in Free Lunch Program

State average 33%- CO Dept. of Education

Valverde Elementary

Lower socio-economic group with 81% of students participating in the Free Lunch Program

State average 33%- CO Dept. of Education

School Demographics

Place Middle School

42% Hispanic, English Language Learners

36% Black

17% White

3% Asian

1% American Indian

1% Unspecified

Valverde Elementary

91% Hispanic, English Language Learners

5% White

3% Black

1% Unspecified

- CO Dept. of Education

School CSAP Scores Before Intervention

Place Middle School

7th grade

Reading – 34% (2006)

Writing – 26% (2006)- CO Dept. of Education

Valverde Elementary

4th grade

Reading – 18% (2007)

Writing – 8% (2007)

- CO Dept. of Education

School CSAP Scores After Intervention

Place Middle School

7th grade

Reading – 44% (2007)

*10 PT. GAIN

Writing – 40% (2007)

*14 PT. GAIN- CO Dept. of Education

Valverde Elementary

4th grade

Reading – 23% (2008)

*5 PT. GAIN

Writing – 20% (2008)

*12 PT. GAIN- CO Dept. of Education

Essay Writing Component at Place Middle School

- Utilizes a variety of writing prompts- Assesses each individual essay based upon

the Six Traits of Writing- Contains Individual Student Portfolios - Students evaluate their work based on

computer feedback then generates better responses

- Students keep track of their writing in an online student portfolio

The Six Traits of Writing

The 6 trait writing model helps students understand what is working well and what needs to be improved in their writing. This model gives teachers a focus for their writing instruction and gives all a common language for talking about and celebrating writing. The model also breaks down writing performance into a manageable group of teachable and assessable skills.

The Six Traits of Writing

Ideas Organization Voice Sentence Fluency Word Choice Conventions

Final Presentation of the WTL research study at CU Denver

Learning Problem

The problem at Place Middle School is that 7th grade students are failing to meet the requirements of the Colorado Model Content Standards in writing.

Gap Analysis

The ideal state at Place would be that students would be proficient at writing essays that demonstrated proper sentence structure, correct punctuation, and capitalization. The actual state at this school is that students do not consistently demonstrate these skills based on CSAP scores.

Multiple Causes

1. Students lack organizational skills in writing

2. Basic grammar skills are below grade level

3. Teachers are asked to teach at grade level with curriculum that does not support learner’s needs in grammar and punctuation

Determined Need/Recommendation

The need is to improve student achievement in the area of writing and improve test scores. The recommended action is to utile the WTL program and to teach students the six traits of writing model and how to use it in their writing.

Learning Goals

To increase learner achievement in writing by meeting Colorado Model Content Standards and by scoring proficient on the Denver Public School’s Post-Benchmark Assessment.

The following year, learners had a 14 pt. gain in their CSAP scores

…how did this happen?

Learning Goals Met

Essay Writing and Immediate Feedback

Computer-provided feedback would seem to have several important advantages. First of all, once the requisite programming is in place, computers can tirelessly provide feedback in response to student work. Unlike feedback from a teacher, this feedback can remain unbiased, accurate, and nonjudgmental of student characteristics or the nature of the student answer.

(Mason, Bruning, 2001)

Feedback on Essays

I always did well on essay tests. Just put everything you know on there, maybe you’ll hit it. And then you get the paper back from the teacher and she’s written just one word across the top of the page, “vague.” I thought “vague” was kind of vague. I’d write underneath it “unclear,” and send it back. She’d return it to me, “ambiguous.” I’d send it back to her, “cloudy.” We’re still corresponding to this day … “hazy” … “muddy”…

(Jerry Seinfeld, 1993)

Motivating Students in Essay Writing Using Immediate Feedback

We live in an age where instant feedback is everywhere!

- Text messaging

- Instant Messaging

- Facebook

- MySpace

Instant Feedback and Text Messaging

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOGW3kfCRJA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzXhMNa2MK8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GliKm-4uTYU

Positives about WTL vs. Texting

Spell Check and Grammar Check WTL will not recognize words that are abbreviated Writing in WTL needs to be in complete sentences

with the period or it will not grade the essay or summary

WTL utilizes immediate feedback approach without hindering grammar, usage, or style necessary for good writers

Summary Writing in WTL

“The current emphasis on proficiency tests makes summarizing a required skill. The goal however is larger than passing a test. We want students to be able to abstract the important ideas and carry them forward as tools for thought.”

Irene C. Fountas and Gay Su Pinnell,

Guiding Readers and Writers Grade 3-6, 2001

Summary Writing in WTL

“Summarizing. This is, perhaps, the most common and most necessary strategy. It requires that the student provide a general recitation of the key text content.”

Richard L. Allington

What Really Matters for Struggling Readers, 2001

Summary Writing in WTL

“Summarization is one of the most underused teaching techniques we have today, yet research has shown that it yields some of the greatest leaps in comprehension and long-term retention of information.”

Rick Wormeli

Summarization in Any Subject, 2005

Self-Assessment and WTL

A key focus of the WriteToLearn program is to help teachers provide effective feedback to students and to develop self-assessment skills in students so that they make improvements in their own drafts.

Let’s Tour WTL

www.pearsonkt.com/cgi-bin/writeToLearn/teacher/login.cgi

Summarizing Lessons into a continuous 5 day approach

Utilize writing strategies Develop reading comprehension skills Understand effective summary techniques Learn to abstract the main idea from a fiction

story or non-fiction passage Develop the important details that support

the main idea

Day 1- Guided Reading Groups

Engage the reader - use “I wonder statements” in guided reading

Making predictions about the text - “What do you think you will learn from this book?” “What do the pictures in the book tell you?” Turn and talk to your reading partner – “What do you already know about this topic?” “What do you want to learn about this topic?” Reading in groups and with a partner Independent reading after guided reading Creating a running record in assessment notebooks (Lucy

Culkins)

Day 2 – Reading for Meaning

Use context clues to identify the meaning of a word Review new terms in glossary Use note-taking stategies to find the important

details Read for the main idea Complete the reader response questions within the

writing journal Begin the outline for the summary within the writing

journal

Day 3 - Writing the Summary in Writer’s Workshop

Create an attribute chart for summary writing

Use a summary rubric to write the summary Use graphic organizers to organize thoughts Skim and Scan for important details Good leads – Grab the readers attention Begin the summary with an amazing fact Write in paragraphs

Day 4 - Proofreading in Groups and in Individual Conferences

Use a peer-editing rubric to edit summary Find common grammar mistakes Example: check sentences for subject and predicate Find common spelling mistakes (homophones) Example: there and their Give constructive criticism politely Use the Glow and Grow strategy effectively Turn and Talk to your partner (guided reading) “What are three things you learned from the book? Is that

an important detail you can include in your summary?”

Day 5 - Computer Lab

Students type summary into WTL Individual conferencing with student having

difficulties WTL feedback Editing and revising to improve summary

based on feedback Students finished have option to return to

past summaries and revise them

WTL Video

http://www.pearsoned.com/ednews/may08pages/writetolearn.htm

Questions?

Action Research Report Literature Review Data Analysis