Final draft of research project

I have been studying to be a teacher for 4 years now with a concentration in English. I started my field work at the beginning of the semester in an elementary school and was able to grasp how children learn. I noticed however, that every child is learning at a different pace, especially with their reading skills. In my opinion, reading skills are the most important skills to learn and it is most important to learn them at an early age. The children in my class for field work are placed in different groups based on their reading skills. I wondered to myself when I was looking at the wall of different colored groups, how is this determined and who determines it? And how does putting students into different reading levels, help them progress in the future? To figure this out, I decided to focus on how the students are assessed on their reading levels.

                “Taken together, data from a variety of assessments can help advise a teacher about the text difficulty that students can handle. This quote from “Organizing and Evaluating Results from Multiple Reading Assessments” represents my focus of my research because it states that assessments help teachers figure out what groups the students have to be in after they have taken the test. Assessments also help the teachers give the students a chance to improve because they are being placed in a group at their reading level and pace. By placing students in a group that they can handle, it is helping them succeed in the future because they are moving at a speed that is most comfortable for them. 

                To find out more about this thought, I decided to conduct an interview my cooperating teacher in my junior field work. She was more than happy to help and tell me her experiences with my analysis of student’s reading levels. My subject has been a teacher for 20 years and I figured with her many years experience as teacher, she can enlighten me on how the school assess the students on their reading levels and how the assessments help the students progress in their reading levels. I also decided to use ethnography; myself as the ethnographer. This is to analyze how my teacher feels about her students and their reading levels progressing.

                After conducting the interview with my cooperating teacher, I am able to gather more information than expected. I start my asking her questions on why she wanted to be teacher and how she felt about students reading levels. She explains that one of her past teachers inspired her to be a teacher and how she feels that it is an extremely important for students to have strong reading skills.

                “As a teacher, I feel that it is extremely important for students to have strong reading skills. If they know word attack skills and previewing skills, they can read any new information they come across…”

This showed me how she is very passionate about being a teacher and having her students succeed. Then I proceed to ask her to tell me about the students are assessed on their reading skills. She explains how the students are tested with the DRA (Developmental Reading Assessment) testing and STAR reading testing. The students also are assessed with the NJASK.

                After learning about the tests that are use to assess the students’ reading, I decided to look up what each test was and how they assess the students to further my analysis on the assessments. The DRA test is given at the beginning of the school year and it consist of a child reading a benchmark book (a book on their reading level) to the teacher and then retell the story to the teacher. The teacher then ranges the child on a set of skills, such as accuracy of reading, comprehension, and fluency. (Scholastic Inc) This test shows that the student is able to grasp a higher level of thinking skills and reading skills. Star Reading assessments are a standardized computerized test that is use to test reading (and also math). The child reads a passage or sentence and answers the multiple choice answer that corresponds with the test. I was actually able to see the test on the computer when I was looking their curriculum and it was really neat to see that how each reading level is accommodated in the test. The NJASk, I believe to be not the greatest test to assess the students with because they test tends to have reading passages that are well beyond any students’ reading level. It might be difficult for students who are a lower reading level to score as high as a student who is on a higher reading level.

                I continued to ask her how theses assessments help the students in the classroom and who determines the level of the students. She explains to me that the results from the assessment are determined by teacher expectation. She also explains how the result from the testing really helps her instruct her class to fit her students’ needs. I asked her if she thinks that the assessments really work, she explains.

                “Yes, because it helps drive instruction and it helps me decide how to group students in clusters that need a particular skill such as cause and effect, setting, main idea, etc.”

  I noticed with my time in the class, that the teacher spends more time with the children who are having trouble with reading than the students who scored well. This means that the assessments can give her a closer look on what student needs the most help and attention with their reading skills.

                As our interview continued, I asked her if the students improved in their reading skills throughout the year of schooling. She explained to me that she definitely sees an improvement from the being of the year to the end of the year. Even if it is not a big improvement, there was something there to show that the students learned. I asked her how the students feel very they see an improvement. She explains,

                “I can tell that their confidence increases in reading.”

 When anyone improves on something they were weak one, it makes them feel happy and want to improve even more. She can tell her students feel goods themselves and their reading skills.

                After conducting this analysis, I can see that I really learn a lot about the student reading levels. I learned who places the students in their levels. I found that assessments are varied, but in a way they still help the teacher provide for their students and their reading skills. I learned how the testing helps teacher instruct their reading lessons in their classrooms. I learned about how the reading assessment really helps the students increase their confidence. I was also able to see how much my teacher cares about her students and how much she wants her students to succeed. In the end, I was able to learn the answers to how student reading levels are determined.

Work cited:

·         http://www.scholastic.com/resources/ article/leveled-reading

·         J. Rubin. “Organizing and Evaluating Results from Multiple Reading Assessments.” The Reading Teacher, 6.4( May 2011) 606-611

·         http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STAR_(software)

Interview transcript

My main focus for my research is how schools assess student's reading levels and how do the assessments help the progress of their levels. Some methods that I am going to use is interviewing (which is seen on the bottom) and discouse analysis to find the teacher's feelings on these assessments.

Here is a part of my interview for my research project.

Laurie: Tell me a little bit about why you wanted to be a teacher?

Christy: I had a 3^rd grade teacher, Mrs. Schmitt that was the first teacher to make learning fun and easy. I knew then I wanted school to be fun and easy for everyone.

Laurie: How long have you been a teacher?

Christy: I was a teacher in North Carolina for 10 years and in New Jersey for 10 years.  So 20 years total as a teacher.

Laurie: As a teacher, how important do believe reading skills are for the students?

Christy: As a teacher, I feel it is extremely important for students to have strong reading skills. If they know word attack skills and previewing skills they can read any new information they come across. If they can ask questions as they read they will be able to give self-purpose to reading allowing them to be more focused and they will gain a better understanding of it.

Laurie: With your teaching experience, have you notice differences with students and their reading levels?

Christy: Students who are from Hispanic culture tend to struggle with reading due in part to Spanish being spoken at home. 

Laurie: How often do the students work on their reading skills? (In the classroom and at home)

Christy: Students work daily on their reading skills in the classroom in all subject areas. Students are encouraged to read daily for 30 minutes working on their reading skills in addition to homework.

Laurie: Describe to me how the school assesses the reading levels of students?

Christy: DRA testing and star reader testing is done. Also the NJASK test is used to test their reading ability.

Laurie: Is there any flexibility in the way the school gives the assessment?

Christy: Yes, individual classroom assessment, not NJASK set by state.

Laurie: Who determines the grades of the students?

Christy: It is determined by teacher expectation.

Laurie: What are the levels that students are place in after the assessment?

Christy: The assessment help place students in groups sometimes according to ability, skills needed, or mixed abilities.

Laurie: What are the factors that cause the students to perform at the lower levels?

Christy: Parental support, cultural background (language spoken at home different from school)

Laurie: Can you tell me time when a student performed low on an assessment, but achieved high grade in reading? Can that be because the student does not perform well on tests rather than class work?

Christy: Yes, Special Education student had IEP received a modified grade on appropriate grade level.

Laurie: Do the assessments correspond with what the students are learning in the classroom? 

Christy: Yes based on what they learned and also helps drive instruction.

Laurie: Do you think the assessments really work? If not, what would you change?

Christy: Yes, because it helps drive instructions and it helps me decide how to group students in clusters that need a particular skill (cause/effect, setting, main idea, etc.)

Laurie: How often do the students get assessed for their reading levels? If so, are the assessments different then the first assessment?

Christy: DRA at the beginning and the end of the year. (different both times) Learnia every October and April. (different both times) Star reader 5 times, at the end of each marking periods.  (different test every time)

Laurie: I know you assess the students every marking period in addition to the other assessment; do you believe that the whole school should be doing this as well?

Christy: Yes, I do believe the whole school should do this. This assessment drives my instruction and helps me meet the individual student needs (weakness). However we do need to be careful not to assess just to assess, it needs to be a purpose.

Laurie: Describe to me the differences that you see in the student’s reading levels in the beginning of the year to the end of the year?

Christy: Confident level increases.

Laurie: Are the differences good, bad, or fair for certain students?

Christy: Always an increase (good), some greater than others.

Laurie: What factors do you believe cause a student not to progress in their reading levels?

Christy: Poor self esteem, lack of support, wrong reading material and at inappropriate level.

Interview protocol for research project

My main focus for my research project is how are children tested on their reading levels and what factors cause their reading levels to be high or low. Here is part of my
Interview protocol that I will be using on my participant to find out more about the focus of my research.

Interview for Research project
 
Tell me a little bit about why you wanted to be a teacher?
 
How long have you been a teacher?
 
As a teacher, how important do believe reading skills are for the students?
 
With your teaching experience, have you notice differences with students and their reading levels?
 
How often do the students work on their reading skills? (In the classroom and at home)
 
Describe to me how the school assesses the reading levels of students?
 
Is there any flexibility in the way the school gives the assessment?
 
Who determines the grades of the students?
 
Do you happen to remember a time when you disagreed with the grade a student received?
 
What are the levels that students are place in after the assessment?
 
What are the factors that cause the students to perform at the lower levels?
 
Can you tell me time when a student performed low on an assessment, but achieved high grade in reading? Can that be because the student does not perform well on tests rather than class work?
 
Do the assessments correspond with what the students are learning in the classroom?  
 
Do you think the assessments really work? If not, what would you change?
 
How often do the students get assessed for their reading levels? If so, are the assessments different then the first assessment?
 
I know you assess the students every month in addition to the other assessment; do you believe that the whole school should be doing this as well?
 
Describe to me the differences that you see in the student’s reading levels in the beginning of the year to the end of the year?
 
Are the differences good, bad, or fair for certain students?
 
Can you tell me about a time when a student did not progress in their reading levels throughout the school year?
 
What factors do you believe cause a student not to progress in their reading levels?
 
Is there anything else you like to add about student reading levels?
 
 

DA. project

The transcript that was chosen was Chat Rooms which are split into two excerpts. The Chat Room transcripts focused on a young girl who explained that when she was in the 5^th grade, she entered into a chat room and mistakenly thought that she was talking to a friend but it turned out to be an older man. Later on in the transcript, she talk about how she used the internet with her friends; and how she tried to warn her siblings about the dangers of the internet since her parents were not familiar with it. The transcript is in the form of an interview between Sally and the young girl Angela. The focus of this transcript is represented in ways of power relations and micro-macro perspectives. As the transcript is read, one will notice the different ways Angela presents herself and how she changes her sense of control throughout each transcript, which will show us power relations. One will also notice how Angela changes her language when she is talking about her experience in the chat rooms when she was in the 5^th grade; this is a difference compared to the second excerpt when she is talking about her and her friends using the internet. This example shows us some of the macro and micro perspectives that are used in this transcript. Both transcripts show us the different ways Angela presents herself when she is talking to Sally. Angela is the only one who is being interviewed, but she is able to express each person in the situation through these perspectives.

                In the first excerpt, we notice that Angela is very open about talking about her use of the internet. She explains in the interview that she loved the computer and using the internet, but she later explains that it can be dangerous. She says this because she thought she might be talking to a pedophile in a chat room. As one reads this excerpt, they will notice how Angela’s language changes when she talks about the man in the chat room. She explains,

“We didn't have a computer, but we had web TV.  Must have been in fifth grade.  And it was a slow connection and you could have a little keyboard, and you could, check your email, and you could also chat strangers - which was dangerous cause I think I talked to a pedophile I'm not sure, I I was in fifth grade I gave him my phone number when he called me I hung up I was so scared…”

 This is example of both Micro and macro perspectives, as well as power relations. When she uses the word “I”, she is stating what she did and how she felt, but what influenced her to do her actions was the older man. Even though Angela did not know that she was giving her number out to an older man, we see how the influence of a stranger can be on a 10 year old girl. As we grow up, we are taught to never talk to strangers, but for a young child, sometimes they are easily convinced because they have not learned right from wrong yet.  Angela was also influenced by the powers of the internet. Many people did not know the dangers of the internet when it just came out into peoples’ homes. For Angela, the power of talking in a chat room to a stranger took control and gained an advantage over Angela.  Also if one would notice, Angela is sort of speaking like she is back in fifth grade; “I gave him my phone number when he called me I hung up I was so scared…” This is assuming that she is trying to grasp our attentions as well as the interviewer’s attention, to express how she was feeling when the man called her or to show us how she is reliving the experience of that time. The older man sort of took control of her actions and she followed them. As stated before, this is because younger children are easily convinced by strangers.  In a way, Angela knows that what she is doing is wrong, but the power that the older man was strong enough for her to fall into his trap since he is a complete stranger to her.

                Another example of micro and macro perspectives, as well as power relations, would be when Angela describes what she is wearing to the older man. She explains,

“Yeah, well as soon as I heard a deep voice I was like, that is not a kid, and like I think he asked me what I was wearing, and so I I was like, I'm wearing pajamas - bye, and I was like Oh my gosh, he's going to find where I live, my mom's going to kill me, so I didn't go on WebTv for a long time. .”

Again, she is using “I” which is micro perspective in this excerpt. When one says “I”, they are placing the situation on themselves. When Angela uses “I”, she is describing herself as an individual in a situation that is from her past. The older man and her mother are in control in this situation. The older man asked her what she was wearing and she explained that her mother was going to kill her if she found out.  Children are supposed to respect their elders. In this case, Angela thought she had to answer the older man because he is an adult. She also thought about what her mother would do to her because her parents have the most control over her life.  This brings this to the fact that Angela is overcome by power, which brings us to power relations. When one see the word “I” in the excerpt, they notice that Angela knows what she is doing is wrong and that she knows there will be consequences. The man asked her what she is wearing and she did give him an answer, which means she is being sort of under command by this man. When she realizes what she did wrong, her language expression, “Oh my gosh”, tells us that she knows what she did was wrong. She also explains how her mother will kill her if she found out, and this tells us that she understands the consequences and now the power is moved to the mother.

                In the next excerpt, Angela was asked to explain how her and her friends used the internet. She explains,

“…check our emails, check our home pages, see if people left us messages, go in chat rooms and chat with our friends, exchange pictures with people that lived in our area that was our age, which could be dangerous, cause they could be imposters, we really didn't care.”

 One will notice that instead of Angela saying “I”, she was using “we” and “our.” This means that Angela was become a part of the macro perspective because she was becoming a part of the crowd. When Angela is part of her group of friends, she has something to fall back on. She is not alone in any situation that her and friends might get themselves in to. She either has someone to back her up or someone to put the blame on in a bad situation. So in a way, Angela has an advantage when she’s in a group. As she explains what she and her friends did with internet, her language also stays in the part as if she was younger than what she was now; one can also see that as the excerpt goes on. The micro perspective in this excerpt would be the young man Angela and her friends were talking to in a chat room one time. She explains,

 “um, one time we were in a chat room, chatting, well my friend and I were like, oh lets go with that guy's sceen name, and then, he was like do you have a picture, we sent a picture, we found out it was our pastor's son who was like 20, and we're like eeuew he's like an older brother, and then when he saw our picture he's like why are you doing that, why were you sending pictures to strangers, and kind of got mad at us.”

Once again, Angela and her friends were under control by the power of the young man asking for their picture, but when they realize it was a person they knew, the young man got angry with them. Soon Angela’s language becomes childish again when she says words like “ew” and explains how young they were compared to him.

                 Throughout each transcript, we are able to grasp what Angela is feeling; what power was over her; and why she spoke and acted the way she did. It was almost like she wanted us to know what truly happened and did not want to leave anything out. Overall, we can grasp the true emotion Angela felt and the factors that made her feel this way. The way the older man influence her in the first transcript; being a part of a group in the second transcript, helps us see how the perspectives helped her explain the situations from her past.  Also, we are able to focus our attention on how micro and macro perspectives and power relations play a big role in our daily language. 

Blog 8 Farrell, Arizpe, and McAdam

This article explains different ways immagrant and non-immagrant children repond to a picture book. Researchers work with small groups children, which half the group of children are considered immigrants. The researches wanted to pursue in this research because they felt the immgrant children do not express themselves as much as non-immgrant children.

They found that non-immgrant children had trouble writing about the book and that immgrant children were able to write comments without any problems. They thought that this result was because the immgrant children had experience in immigration. Also, immgrant children are able to use more pictorial clues to understand the text.

Methonds for this article would be interpreting the data that includes intertextuality, design, and analying intentions. They also stated that they used annotated spread to gather data. They were able to use this to find experiential, interpersonal, and interpretive responses.

Draft of the Discourse Analysis Project

                The transcript that was chosen was Chat Rooms which are split into two excerpts. The Chat Room transcripts focused on a young girl who explained that when was in the 5^th grade, she entered into a chat room and mistakenly thought that she was talking to a friend but it turned out to be an older man. Later on in the transcript, she talk about how she used the internet with her friends; and how she tried to warn her siblings about the dangerous of the internet since her parents were not familiar with it. The transcript is in the form of an interview between Sally and the young girl Angela. The language of the transcript was represented in ways of power relations and micro-macro perspectives. As the transcript is read, one will notice the different ways Angela presents herself and how her languages changes in each excerpt, which will show us power relations. One will also notice how Angela changes her language when she is talking about her experience in the chat rooms when she was in the 5^th grade; this is a difference compared to the second excerpt when she is talking about her and her friends using the internet. This example shows us some of the macro and micro perspectives that are used in this transcript.

        In the first excerpt, we notice that Angela is very open about talking about her use of the internet. She explains in the interview that she loved the computer and using the internet, but she later explains that it can be dangerous. She says this because she thought she might be talking to a pedophile in a chat room. As one reads this excerpt, they will notice how Angela’s language changes when she talks about the man in the chat room. She explains, “We didn't have a computer, but we had web tv.  Must have been in fifth grade.  And it was a slow connection and you could have a little keyboard, and you could, check your email, and you could also chat strangers - which was dangerous cause I think I talked to a pedophile I'm not sure, I I was in fifth grade I gave him my phone number when he called me I hung up I was so scared…” This is example of both Micro and macro perspectives, as well as power relations. When she uses the work “I”, she is stated what she did and how she felt, but what influenced her to do her actions was the older man. Also if one would notice, Angela is sort of speaking like she is back in fifth grade; this is assuming that she is trying to grasp our attentions as well as the interviewer’s attention, to express how she was feeling when the man called her. The older man sort of took control of her actions and she followed them. In a way, Angela knows that what she is doing is wrong, but the power that the older man was strong enough for her to fall into his trap.

        Another example of micro and macro perspectives, as well as power relations, would be when Angela describes what she is wearing to the older man. She explains, “Yeah, well as soon as I heard a deep voice I was like, that is not a kid, and like I think he asked me what I was wearing, and so I I was like, I'm wearing pajamas - bye, and I was like Oh my gosh, he's going to find where I live, my mom's going to kill me, so I didn't go on WebTv for a long time. .” Again, she is using “I” which is micro perspective in this excerpt. The macro perspective is the older man and also her mother. The older man asked her what she was wearing and she explained that her mother was going to kill her if she found out. This brings this to the fact that Angela is overcome by power, which brings us to power relations. When one see the work “I” in the excerpt, they notice that Angela knows what she is doing is wrong and that she knows there will be consequences. The man asked her what she is wearing and she did give him an answer, which means she is being sort of under command by this man. When she realizes what she did wrong, her language expression, “Oh my gosh”, tells us that she knows what she did was wrong. She also explains how her mother will kill her if she found out, and this tells us that she understands the consequences and now the power is moved to the mother.

        In the next excerpt, Angela was asked to explain how her and her friends used the internet. She explains,  “…check our emails, check our home pages, see if people left us messages, go in chat rooms and chat with our friends, exchange pictures with people that lived in our area that was our age, which could be dangerous, cause they could be imposters, we really didn't care.” One will notice that instead of Angela saying “I”, she was using “we” and “our.” This means that Angela was become a part of the macro perspective because she was becoming a part of the crowd. As she explains what she and her friends did with internet, her language also stays in the part as if she was younger than what she was now; one can also see that as the excerpt goes on. The micro perspective in this excerpt would be the young man Angela and her friends were talking to in a chat room one time. She explains, “um, one time we were in a chat room, chatting, well my friend and I were like, oh lets go with that guy's sceen name, and then, he was like do you have a picture, we sent a picture, we found out it was our pastor's son who was like 20, and we're like eeuew he's like an older brother, and then when he saw our picture he's like why are you doing that, why were you sending pictures to strangers, and kind of got mad at us.” Once again, Angela and her friends were under control by the power of the young man asking for their picture, but when they realize it was a person they knew, the young man got angry with them. Soon Angela’s language becomes childish again when she says words like “ew” and explains how young they were compared to him.

        Both excerpts give us explains of micro and macro perspectives and power relations. The language basically speaks for itself in this interview. We are able to grasp what Angela is feeling; what power was over her; and why she spoke and acted the way she did. It was almost like she wanted us to know what truly happened and did not want to leave anything out. Overall, we can grasp the true emotion Angela felt and the factors that made her feel this way. Also, we are able to focus our attention on how micro and macro perspectives and power relations play a big role in our daily language.  

Blog 6: Chat room transcript (DA project)

 I chose the Chatroom transcript because it shows many relations to the how people use technology. I feel like a good research question for this would be "How does the language in this transcript relate to the way the world uses technology today?"

This transcipt used language and power relations. It was also in an interview format and this is why I feel it is easy to see how the language plays a big part in this transcript.

I would use each response from the two people involved in the transcript and focus on their language and how they present themselves while they are talking.