Research+Proposal

Mode – research proposal Media – computer Audience - Purpose – to present my research study to the board for review Situation/Audience – they will be reading this piece to see if I may conduct my research as I have proposed Situation/Writer – I need to write this piece in order to begin my research project this fall, in order to complete a graduate class for my Master’s program. I don’t feel that this first draft is anywhere near what the final will be, but I really have no idea what the genre expects of me, and this will be a great project for me to learn how to get help.


 * Background (or Position Statement):**

For the first semester of the 2009-2010 school year, I will receive 18 of our grade’s lowest-scoring readers. My task is to improve their reading comprehension and fluency through the Lexia computer-based program and other curriculum of my own design in the form of a digital reading and writing workshop.

The goal for my research will be to determine if using technology with my struggling readers is beneficial to them, in measurements of both attitude and proficiency in comprehension and fluency. I know that students, especially at the middle-school age, are very interested in technology and typically have plenty of experience with many aspects of it, including cell phones, iPods, satellite receivers, video games, game consoles, computers, etc. Since they are familiar with and comfortable with technology on their own before they reach my class, it seems like a natural method with which to reach them through reading and writing as well.

Besides the Lexia program, I want to implement an “SSR with RSS” approach to getting my students online and actively reading and writing. I also plan to ask my students to read a book of their choice and create a digital book report. In doing this report, students will create a variety of writing pieces using various technologies, including audio recording, digital cameras, digital video cameras, digital story creation, and other free software programs to create dynamic reports that can be searched using keywords.


 * Research Question and Subquestions:**


 * Do the attitudes and proficiencies (comprehension and fluency) of struggling readers improve significantly after the use of digital reading and writing in a workshop format?


 * Subquestions**:


 * Do writing attitudes improve when technology is involved in writing?
 * Does writing improve when technology is utilized in writing tasks?
 * Can struggling readers read more successfully in digital formats?
 * Can struggling readers write more successfully in digital formats?


 * Related Research:**


 * Chris Tovani: “I Read It But I Don’t Get It”
 * Troy Hicks: “The Digital Writing Workshop”
 * What Works? A Practical Guide for Teacher Research
 * Harvey and Goudvis: “Strategies That Work” (later changed to "I Read It But I Don't Get It" by Cris Tovani)


 * Permissions:**


 * Principal/Administration – permission to research, distribute surveys to students and parents, use quotes, video footage, audio footage, photos and other information obtained during the research project in subsequent articles for publication
 * Students – permission to research, conduct surveys, use quotes, video footage, audio footage, photos, excerpts from their writing, and other information obtained during the research project in subsequent articles for publication
 * Parents – permission to research, conduct surveys, use quotes, video footage, audio footage, photos, excerpts from their child’s writing, and other information obtained during the research project in subsequent articles for publication.


 * Data Sources:**
 * MEAP scores
 * attendance records
 * IEP’s, if available
 * CA-60’s
 * surveys of students and parents, regarding reading and writing attitudes, technology aptitude and attitude, parental involvement with student work
 * Texts
 * Journal articles
 * Anecdotal evidence
 * Internet sites
 * Classroom observations


 * Methods and Analysis:**

I hope to create a workshop environment for this class by introducing a variety of prompts and ideas, and allowing students to choose their best work and their personal reading and writing processes on their own. I will use minilessons to teach not only reading and writing but technology as well, and I will utilize our school’s technology department to a great extent. I will expose my students to a variety of free and available software and techniques so that they have a wide array of possibilities from which to choose in creating their projects.

To get my students reading and writing, we will implement the “SSR with RSS” program. This requires my students to use an RSS feed program and choose topics of interest, which they will then synthesize and respond to online in a discussion/blogging format. Another project for this class will be a digital, searchable book report. Along with some of the more typical elements of a book report, my students will create a digital story in the genre of a movie trailer that “advertises” the book. They will also write a short article about a related topic of their choice as well, such as an author biography, a story about an upcoming movie based on the book, a series of interviews of other students who have read the book, or any other ideas the students can come up with.

At the beginning of the year, I will give the students in my class a pre-survey, gauging their interests in reading and writing, their attitudes on the subjects, and their perceptions of those same attitudes of the people around them, including their parents and friends. At the completion of the first nine-week marking period, I will give a similar survey to the group to determine any changes in attitudes, behaviors, and proficiencies in reading and writing.

The surveys, digital book report production, and post-surveys will be conducted during the first nine weeks of school, from September through mid-November 2009. From early November to mid-December I will be compiling the research, analyzing data, and writing the academic paper, among other pieces of writing.
 * Time Line:**

To break down the nine-week course a little more, I will be conducting the surveys during the first week of class. During the second through the eighth weeks, I will be implementing my digital writer’s workshop and gathering various data to compile for the results, including IEP’s, CA=60’s, previous MEAP scores, anecdotal records, and writing samples. In the last week of the marking period, I will be conducting the final surveys and assessments in both classes.

I anticipate finding a large increase in writing attitude over the nine-week course in my classroom. I expect my class to learn to take control and ownership of their reading and writing, and to understand that writing comes in many forms besides pencil and paper.
 * Possible Findings:**

I expect to see that my class has improved - scores in reading and writing that surpass the increased levels in the control group. I think at the end of this nine-week class, my students will be eager to share their works with a peer group and be able to answer questions about their choices, writing methods, and processes.

I think that I will also find that my students will become peer writing coaches during this process. It is already natural for most of them to help in the technology arena, and I think that because of our focus of using technology for writing that this will be a natural step for them to take, to start talking and conferring with each other about their pieces.


 * Dissemination:**
 * I will be writing an academic research paper on my research, data, and other findings of this project.
 * I will be writing an article to be published in an educational journal.
 * I will create a presentation of my findings to present to the other teachers and administration in my district.

Texts: $200 Projector: $500 Projector Installation: $300
 * Budget:**

Total Cost: $1000