Thoughts on the data...

I just wanted to take the time to reflect on the research process thus far. It has proved itself to be a challenge only because of the many snow days. Last week we had three snow days at All-Star Elementary, so I was only able to get in two days of research in the classroom. This means I currently have 1 HELPS session, 1 repeated reading session and 1 Houghton Mifflin session to make-up. I didn't realize what a challenge it would be to find the time to make-up these group sessions. It is hard enough to find the 20-30 minute block each day to work with the scheduled group without interruptions. Also, two students were absent in the HELPS group on Monday so I have to make-up this session with these students. Just the factor of "time" itself has definitely been one of the greatest challenges so far in this research process.

Initial interpretations and thoughts about the data-

Please see the previous blog post for data that I have been collecting in this research journey. The data that I have collected is already beginning to answer some of the questions that I had. From the Garfield Reading Attitude Survey, I was able to see how motivated my students were to read. I could see that only three students fell on the extreme ends of the full scale scores. The STAR Test Results prior to beginning the study allowed me to see that thirteen of my students were reading below grade level. I was able to look at these students to see if they were in the RTI process, needed to begin the RTI process, or maybe just didn't score well on the assessment. I have been able to look at students individual data to see if I have any major concerns about the students progress in class. I can see which students are making large gains from session to session and which students are not. The data has also brought new questions to mind. After seeing results in the HELPS group and repeated reading group specifically, I am wondering which group has made the most progress so far. I have not compared the data from the running records of the two groups at this point. I have also thought about the fact that I am only working with the Houghton Mifflin group once a week but the other groups twice a week. Will this affect this groups scores? They are still working with me the same amount of time each week but it does make me wonder. I still lack one set of scores from the HELPS group, repeated reading group and Houghton Mifflin group due to snow days. Stay tuned for my next blog post which will include "thick descriptions" of what I am observing while researching.

I am also learning that analyzing the data takes time. The picture below shows a recent data party that I had...