Leading the Pack 2012: Elementary Mathematics

Wow!  It is hard to believe that we are in March of 2012.  I feel like the school year just started and I do not know where time has gone.  The Action Research Plan is in full swing, with modifications along the way.  Change is not always a great word to use around educators; therefore, when the new Fact Fluency Program unfolded at the beginning of the 2011-2012 school year, challenges were faced.  I knew teachers wanted the program.  During the summer, they were all so pumped with the knowledge that was gained on fact fluency and how critical it is for our students to achieve college and career readiness standards. But, the excitement faded quickly, as many things do when the new year starts.  There are always so many chaotic events taking place at the beginning and end of the school year, that the preparation that went into the newly purchased resources, was overwhelming.  Fortunately, there were ways to fix the stress level and alleviate the frustrations of our classroom teachers.  The curriculum department immediately jumped on board with supplying all materials for each teacher, so that funds were available and materials were easy to obtain. Therefore, problem number one was fixed, with more on their way.  Starting a new program from the ground up has been overwhelming and exhausting , but very beneficial.  The aches and pains we all felt with the new program were masked when the results have proven to be so beneficial in such a short time period.  Our students have shown marked improvement and have utilized their number sense skills to support the abilities to become independent thinkers and better problem solvers.  We have begun a journey that will pay off in time, but will take time and sometimes the "not so quick to fix projects" do build up with many levels of frustrations.  At the current time, we are working on making adjustments to the Fact Fluency Assessments that are given two times a year so that they align to meet vertical alignment needs and the student expectations set by the state.  Teachers are continuing to grow as learners and have realized the importance of number sense.  We will be meeting in the next couple of weeks with every curriculum writing team Kindergarten through 8th grade to address concerns or questions of the grade levels.  In conclusion, I feel that this project has been significant to the success of our students and has earned the respect of teachers.

My action research plan is unfolding and as it unfolds new thoughts and ideas are coming into play.  I have made some changes, due to my reflections and conversations with my colleagues.  I will be posting these soon.  I would love to hear your thoughts to my changes. 
Coming soon............ Revisions

As a result of many blog and discussion board comments, I have made some changes to my action research plan.  I have indicated all changes in purple this week (last week/ red, original document/blue). 

I appreciate all comments that were made in either the blog or the discussion board this week.  These comments helped me with the process of reflection, revisions and clarity of my plan.  Many readers commented on the aesthetically pleasing blog and I do appreciate these motivating comments as I continue to make revisions to it. The development of my blog has come through trial and error.  A true learning process!  Also, all my readers agreed with the urgency of this topic.  Fact fluency is a topic that apparently is up and coming in many school districts.  They supported my findings and acknowledged my accuracy and deep knowledge that I have developed on this topic.  I was given many ideas on what others are doing for fact fluency and found many of their programs and lessons to be consistent with our new program.  One important comment was the need to show how I was going to build the fact fluency.  I am so glad that this was mentioned because it helped me to clarify my thoughts for my readers.

As I reflect on the changes I have made below, I contribute the clarity and details to my readers.  This new and improved plan will hopefully provide more direction and specifics as I follow it in the months to come.  I also, added my name and position consistently through the plan to show that I was going to be an active participant in not only dissemination of the data, but also in the process of collecting the data.  Another significant change was the addition of professional development that occurred this past summer.  After reflecting on the process of how we got to this new program, I felt it was necessary for me to show that professional development and training was provided for all mathematics teachers in order to help develop their understanding of number sense and how it affects fact fluency.  Lastly, I felt as though I needed to give more specifics to the last column of my plan: revisions made to SIP based on monitoring and assessments, therefore, I revised this section and tried to give as many specifics as possible (reviewing other blogs helped significantly with this task).

 The knowledge that I have gained from my readers has been very beneficial in the process of revisions and reflections.  I have learned through experience that two minds (or more) are always better than one.  The collaboration of others who are working to achieve the same goals has been very helpful.  I have gotten many ideas from reviewing other’s blogs and action plans.  Lastly, I did make mention to the new TEK revisions that will be implemented in 2013-2014.  Some of these revisions will effect number sense and the direction of fact fluency, (from what I have reviewed in the TEKS draft, it will be an improvement).

Action Research Study Plan Revisions

Action Research Study

Planning Template

Mission Statement

Barbers Hill Elementary will achieve success by educating and motivating a community of learners where individual excellence is expected from students, faculty, and parents working as unified partners so that we provide a strong foundation for a successful future.

Goal:  What effects does a newly implemented district fact fluency program have on developing number sense for struggling third grade mathematics students?

Action Steps/ Activities	Person(s) Responsible	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources/ Research Tools	Evaluation/ Benchmarks	Revisions to SIP based on monitoring and assessments
Professional Development- Fact Fluency	Mary Cummings- Elementary Curriculum Coordinator	June 2011	Creative Mathematics- Kim Sutton	Professional Development On-line Survey	Training of teachers on fact fluency and foundations of number sense increased their awareness of the importance of this issue and gave some suggested solutions.
Professional Development- K-8 Effective Mathematics Program	Sandra Duree- Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction	August 2011	Book Study- K-8 A Study of Mathematics by Marilyn Burns/ Journaling Packet/ Presenter Christy Stewart	Professional Development On-line Survey	Book Study provided cross-curricular discussions on the effective components of a mathematics program including fact fluency.
All 3rd grade math students will take the Inventory Assessment on 2nd grade TEKS	Third Grade Mathematics Teachers	August 29- September 2, 2011	Harcourt Third Grade Inventory Test D2SC	Data disaggregation Chart	Identify bottom 10% of the third grade
Professional Development Training on New Fact Fluency Materials (Consistent day to day lessons)	Mary Cummings- Elementary Curriculum Coordinator	August/September 2011	Creative Mathematics/ 10 Block Fact Fluency Program	Information presented to all mathematics teachers K-6/ teachers fill out form and signed up for training with Mrs. Cummings	Included 10 Block Fact Fluency Program into our Campus Improvement Plan for all mathematics programs
All 3rdgrade math students will take the Star Math Assessment	Third Grade Mathematics Teachers/ Response to Interventionist/ Math Specialist: Christy Stewart	September 6- September 22, 2011	Renaissance Learning: Star Math Diagnostic Assessment	Star Math Diagnostic Reports Grade Level Summary Report Screening Report	Identify bottom 10%- look for trends in student names – list those that are the same as on the Inventory Test
Review current list of Response to Intervention Students/ Tier 2 and Tier3	Response to Interventionist/ Math Specialist :  Christy Stewart	September 22-30, 2011	List of Response to Intervention Students and Tier Levels/ Identified Skills	Progress Monitoring Logs from Interventionist/ Percentages on Skills	Review identified skills on each RTI student and their rankings in the grade level/ look for trends in students names comparing them to previous diagnostic assessments/
Teacher Questionnaire on their students who may have been in the bottom 10%- Background Information	Christy Stewart/ Third Grade Mathematics Teachers/ Reading and Math Interventionist	September 2011	Teacher Questionnaire/ Student Cum Folder/ Progress Monitoring Logs/ D2SC Data/ Classroom Performance/ Grades	Review questionnaire and background information on students	Create a Chart to Track Student Data from Pre/Post Assessments/ Curriculum Based Assessments/ Other Diagnostics
10 Block Fact Fluency Program/ Addition/ Subtraction	Third Grade Mathematics Teacher Response to Interventionists/ Math Specialist: Christy Stewart	September - December  2011	10 Block Fact Fluency Program/ Creative Mathematics	Pre-Assessment and Post Assessment by Fact Group	Record data on tracking chart/ identified sample group
10 Block Fact Fluency Program/ Addition/ Subtraction	Third Grade Mathematics Teachers Response to Interventionists/ Math Specialist: Christy Stewart	September- Based on student need	10 Block Fact Fluency Lessons	Specified 10 Block  lessons depending on data disaggregation/ Informal Assessment	Record Data on Tracking Chart/ Show growth of fact group/ plan of action/ move on or repeat block
10 Block Fact Fluency Program/ Multiplication	Third Grade Mathematics Teacher Response to Interventionists/ Math Specialist: Christy Stewart	October 2011- May 2012	10 Block Fact Fluency Program/ Creative Mathematics	Pre-Assessment and Post Assessment by Fact Group	Record data on tracking chart/ identified sample group
Mid-Year Fact Fluency Assessment	Third Grade Mathematics Teacher Response to Interventionists/ Math Specialist: Christy Stewart	December 12- 16, 2011	Third Grade Mid-Year Fact Fluency Assessment/ BHISD Assessment Booklet	Record Mid-Year Assessment	Send home record of progress to parent/ report card/ Record information on tracking chart/ determine plan of action based on data
10 Block Fact Fluency Program/ Multiplication/ Division	Third Grade Mathematics Teachers Response to Interventionists/ Math Specialist: Christy Stewart	January 2012- May 2012	10 Block Fact Fluency Program/ Multiplication/ Division	Record Pre-Assessments and Post-Assessment Scores	Record data on tracking chart/ identified sample group
10 Block Fact Fluency Program/ Multiplication/ Division	Third Grade Mathematics Teachers Response to Interventionist/ Math Specialist: Christy Stewart	January 2012- May 2012	10 Block Fact Fluency Lessons	Specified 10 Block lessons depending on data disaggregation/ Informal Assessment	Record Data on Tracking Chart/ Show growth of fact group/ plan of action /move on or repeat block
Star Math Assessment	Third Grade Mathematics Teachers Response to Interventionists/ Math Specialist:  Christy Stewart	December 2011	Renaissance Star Math Diagnostic Assessment	Evaluate Individual Student Trend Lines	Record Data on Tracking Chart/ Show growth in trend line/ If no growth then create a plan of action
End of Year Fact Fluency Assessments/ Addition/Subtraction/ Multiplication/ Division	Third Grade Mathematics Teachers Response to Interventionist/ Math Specialist: Christy Stewart	May 2012	Third Grade Fact Fluency Assessment/ BHISD Booklet	Compare Mid- Year to End of Year/ Evaluate Progress/	Record End of Year on Student Progress Monitoring Sheet for their 4th Grade Teacher/ Parent Letter sent home in report card
Star Math Assessment	Third Grade Mathematics Teachers Response to Interventionist/ Math Specialist:  Christy Stewart	May 2012	Renaissance Program	Evaluate Individual Student Trend Lines	Record Data on Tracking Chart/ Show growth in trend line/ If no growth then created a plan of action
Third Grade Teacher Evaluation/ Survey Form on the New Fact Fluency Program	Third Grade Mathematics Teachers Response to Interventionists/ Math Specialist: Christy Stewart	May 2012	Created by Christy Stewart, Sandra Duree, and Traci Spicola	Use teachers comments and student data to evaluate third grade fact fluency assessments	Revisions will be made based on assessment results/ timeline may change/ comments will be posted in this section
Evaluate Third Grade Fact Fluency Mid-Year and End of Year Assessment (if needed)	Christy Stewart, Traci Spicola, and Sandra Duree	December 2011 and May 2012	Third Grade Fact Fluency Assessment/ BHISD Booklet Teacher Evaluation/ Survey on the New Fact Fluency Program	Use Evaluation/ Survey to determine if changes need to be made in the assessments/ Look ahead to new revised TEKS for the 2013-2014 school year.	Revisions will be made based on assessment results/ timeline may change/ comments will be posted in this section
Evaluation/ Survey/Identify any new professional development trainings needed on number sense/ fact fluency	All Elementary Math Teachers RTI Interventionist/ Math Specialist:  Christy Stewart	May 2012	Teacher Evaluation/ Survey on the Staff Development Needs	Use Evaluation/ Survey to determine professional development needs	Create a list of professional development requests or needs and submit to supervisor
Fourth Grade (Same Sample Group)- Star Math Assessment	Fourth Grade Mathematics Teachers RTI Interventionist/ Math Specialist:  Christy Stewart	August 2012	Renaissance Star Math	Star Math Diagnostic Report Grade Level Summary Report Screening Report	Identify bottom 10%- look for trends in student names – list those that are the same as on the Inventory Test
All 4th grade math students will take the Inventory Assessment on 3rd grade TEKS- normally I would use TAKS data, but there will not be any release of data for the new STAAR in 2012	Fourth Grade Math Teachers RTI Interventionist/ Math Specialist:  Christy Stewart	August 2012	Harcourt Fourth Grade Inventory Assessment D2SC	Data Disaggregation Chart/ Evaluate	Chart/ Identify bottom 10% of the grade level
Review current list of Response to Intervention Students/ Tier 2 and Tier3	Response to Interventionist/ Math Specialist :  Christy Stewart	September 2012	List of Response to Intervention Students and Tier Levels/ Identified Skills	Progress Monitoring Logs from Interventionist/ Percentages on Skills	Review identified skills on each RTI student and their rankings in the grade level/ look for trends in students names comparing them to previous diagnostic assessments/
Teacher Questionnaire on their students who may have been in the bottom 10%- Background Information	Christy Stewart/ Fourth Grade Mathematics Teachers/ Reading and Math Interventionist	September 2012	Teacher Questionnaire/ Student Cum Folder/ Progress Monitoring Logs/ D2SC Data/ Classroom Performance/ Grades	Review questionnaire and background information on students	Create a Chart to Track Student Data from Pre/Post Assessments/ Curriculum Based Assessments/ Other Diagnostics
10 Block Fact Fluency Program/ Addition/ Subtraction/ Multiplication/ Division	Fourth Grade Math Teachers RTI Interventionist/ Math Specialist:  Christy Stewart	October 2012- May 2012	Fourth Grade 10 block Fact Fluency Program/ Creative Mathematics	Record Pre- Assessment and Post Assessment Scores Based on Fact Groups	Chart Results/ Determine needs of individual students/ The process is the same as stated above when the students were in third grade. I will track their progress for this year to make note of accuracy, flexibility, and fluency of math groups compared to last year.
Mid-Year Assessment	Fourth Grade Teachers/ RTI Interventionist/ Math Specialist/ Christy Stewart	December 2012	Mid-Year Assessment BHISD Fact Fluency Program	Record Mid-Year Assessment	Send home record of progress to parent/ report card/ Record information on tracking chart/ determine plan of action based on data
Star Math Assessment	Fourth Grade Teachers/ RTI Interventionist/ Math specialist/ Christy Stewart	December 2012 and give again in May 2013	Renaissance Program	Record Star Math Data/ Trend Line	Record Data on Tracking Chart/ Show growth in trend line/ If no growth then create a plan of action
Evaluate Effectiveness of Fact Fluency Program over the past 18-24 months. Review report with supervisor , Curriculum Council, and Math Curriculum Team	All Math Teachers Curriculum Council Curriculum Department	May 2013	Action Research Plan Report	Chart/ Graphs to show effectiveness of program/ Review data and determine changes that need to be made as reflected by the data	Make revision to program based on findings from reports/ Make revision based on new TEKS revisions