RDG 581/586 Practicum

Week Two

Summary:

Preset a summary of your findings for your subject or group of subjects. Include information on the pre-test results. The results reporting forms provided by Bear et al. (2008) and Leslie & Caldwell (2011) should be included in the appendix section of your case study report. Summary should include:

1) Spelling inventory

2) Word recognition

a) In isolation (word lists)

b) Prior knowledge (concept-questions task, prediction)

c) In context (miscue analysis)

3) Comprehension (graded paragraphs)

a) Ability to retell

b) Ability to state the problem(s)

c) Ability to restate the outcome/solution

4) Reading level

5) Listening capacity assessment

Pre-Test Needs Assessment:

Assessment

Identify a subject or group of subjects in your classroom or tutoring environment who is/are struggling in reading.

Complete a battery of literacy assessments with the subjects of the study to gather data about their literacy proficiencies. These will serve as your pre-tests and as your post-tests in Module 8.

Pre-assess subject(s) using the Qualitative Spelling Inventory

Qualitative Reading Inventory-5: Refer to the following assessments:

1) Spelling Inventory: for administration and scoring guidelines.

2) Word Lists: for administration and scoring guidelines.

3) Prior Knowledge Assessment: for administration and scoring guidelines.

4) Qualitative Reading Inventory using Passages: for administration and scoring guidelines. All elements should be addressed.

Cuteness Break

Case Study Research Paper

Week Four

Week One

Week 1 Implementation/Reflection Entry 1 (Results):

Implement Week 1 of your action plan and reflect on/revise the plan as needed. The action plan may be revised based on the interests of the student(s), responses of the student(s) to the activities, and new assessment results.

Write a Results Reflection Entry of about 500-750 words. This results entry will include the items in the action plan that are being addressed, evaluate its implementation, and make modifications to the action plan outline. Include the following:

1) How did the week of tutoring go?

2) What did you learn about your student(s) that you didn't know before?

3) Discuss at least one thing you will change for next week's lessons.

4) Any modification made to the action plan should include the reasoning behind the change.

Record work with the student(s) on the Practicum Activity Log Summary. The Practicum Activity Log Summary form is located in the "Practicum Manual (Graduate)" document in the Student Success Center. The Practicum Activity Log Summary will be submitted weekly throughout your intervention process and as part of the appendix in your case study report.

Initial Elements of Case Study:

Introduction: Write a rationale of 250-500 words for your case study that communicates the research question(s) and a rationale as to why this study is being conducted.

a) the specific purpose of the study

b) at least one research question that guides the study

c) an overall rationale for why this study should be conducted.

Literature Review: Write a review (500-1,000 words) of the literature (peer-reviewed journals) regarding the impact that qualitative reading inventories and subsequent educational intervention plans have on literacy development in elementary students.

Methodology: Write a student profile of 250-500 words for each student (you may work with one to three) that you intend to use as the subject(s) of the case study.

Your profile should include the following at a minimum:

1) Name (pseudonym), age, and grade level of subject(s)

2) How each subject typically performs in reading activities

3) Literacy behavior indicators exhibited in a class environment

4) Behavior indicators exhibited outside the class environment

5) Attitudes about reading

6) Second language issues

7) Family involvement, if possible

8) Reason you chose the student(s) for your case study

Week Eight

Week Three

Case Study Research Report

Observation Reflection

Post-Test Needs Assessment

(Same as Pre-Test)

Each day of your scheduled action plan should focus on your four target areas and should contain a variety of different activities (i.e., not the same activities every day). You have a plethora of choices available to you in the ideas presented in the Bear et al (2008) text and in the assigned reading for this module. Use this as an opportunity to practice them with a struggling student. The average time frame per tutoring lesson should be about 30 to 45 minutes daily depending on the age of your subject.

Throughout this course, you will conduct a case study research project. Your practicum hours (90) will be used to facilitate that process. You may count both preparation time and subject face-time hours toward your 90-hour requirement. For example, hours that you use to prepare for implementing the pre-test, the implementation itself, preparing for and implementing an intervention plan for your subject(s) literacy growth, implementing the post-test, and writing the case study report will all count toward your hour requirement.

Identify a colleague who agrees to serve as your Peer Mentor. Your Peer Mentor will need to observe a lesson (any interactions with students) in which the Peer Mentor Observation Reflection Form can be completed. This process can occur during any of the face-time lessons that you complete with the subjects of this study. Include the Peer Mentor Observation Reflection form as an Appendix in your case study report.

Administer a post-assessment (test) to the subject(s) of your

study, repeating the process you implemented in Module 2.

Complete a battery of literacy assessments with the subjects

of the study to gather data about their literacy proficiencies.

These will serve as your post-tests.

The test batteries and the data/analysis forms

are in the Reading Inventory Documents.

Post-assess subject(s) using the

Qualitative Spelling Inventory

and

Qualitative Reading Inventory-5.

The case study research report will entail the following steps:

1) Identify an elementary student(s) to be the subject of study.

2) Develop a rationale and research questions for the study.

3) Pre-test the subject(s) reading skills using Leslie and Caldwell’s (2011) informal reading inventory and a word-study-assessment (Bear et al., (2008).

4) Subsequently, develop and implement a 4-week intervention plan designed to speak to the results of the testing and improve the subject’s skills sets in reading.

5) Post-test your subjects using the same assessment tools.

6) Discuss the results and implications of the study.

Literacy Intervention Action Plan (e-Portfolio assignment):

1) This portion of your investigation will be included in the Methodology section of your case study.

2) Create a 4-week plan of action to improve the literacy of the student(s).

3) Your action plan should state goals for your student(s) and why these goals are appropriate based on assessments and what you know about the student(s). Include goals for each of the instructional components, when appropriate, in the lesson plan guide.

4) The action plan (lesson plan guide) should address the areas of need in the form of activities and direct instruction for the student(s).

5) The action plan should identify at least four areas of improvement based specifically on the pre-assessment data you collected and which will be the foci of your tutoring sessions for the next four weeks.

6) The action plan needs to be subdivided into four blocks of five days, with each day outlining exactly what activities you plan on using with your target student(s). The total number of lessons should equate to the times per week that you have face-time with the subject(s) of your research. Please see the Action Plan example.

Week Seven

Textbooks

Week 4 Implementation/Reflection Entry 4 (Results):

Same as week 1 Implementation/Reflection Entry.

Week Six

Week 3 Implementation/Reflection Entry 3 (Results):

Same as week 1 Implementation/Reflection Entry.

Week Five

Week 2 Implementation/Reflection Entry 2 (Results):

Same as week 1 Implementation/Reflection Entry.

RDG 581/586 Practicum