Phase II Template

PHASE II COLLABORATIVE CULTURE ASSIGNMENT TEMPLATE

Team member names: Alicia Staton, Rachel Nachman, Nichole Schumaker
Goal of team:
Our initiative is designed to improve homework completion and accuracy, academic performance,
and school attendance. With regards to homework completion, our initiative aims to improve the
frequency and accuracy of completed homework for students who originally earned less than a
60% homework completion percentage. Furthermore, our initiative aims to improve the academic
performance of students who originally earned a homework completion percentage between 80%100%. Additionally, our initiative addresses special education students who have not demonstrated
mastery of the three learning objectives aligned with this initiative. Through various interventions, it
is hoped that these special education students will improve their understanding of the
mathematical content aligned with these objectives. Lastly, our initiative aims to improve the
attendance rate for students who originally earned lower than an 85% attendance rate.
Overall, we want our fifth-grade students become productive, contributing, active members of
society and develop the skills needed to have a solid foundation that promotes high expectations,
regular attendance, and collaboration. Furthermore, while engaging in hands-on and real world
simulations, our students will construct deeper content and technological knowledge to help them
succeed both inside and outside of the classroom. Through our initiative, students will become
lifelong 21st century learners with the skills and drive necessary to be successful in the workforce.
Curriculum level of students and field of study: Grade 5 - Math (determining equivalent
fractions, ordering fractions, and representing proper fractions using visual models)
Roles of team members:
Rachel: editor, organizer, schedule keeper, give updates
Alicia: editor, collaborator, task manager, give updates
Nichole: editor, group meeting notes and summary, give updates
Timeframe of team interactions and plans:
Course Week
Week 4

Week 5

Action Plans

Completions

-Decide our roles

-Roles were defined

-Setup a schedule of
meetings

-Schedule was set

-Edit schedule

-Schedule updated

-Invite Datta Kaur to next

live session

-Invite sent

-Template and rubric

-Read each others Phase posted in Google Docs
I projects
-Held 2 successful Google
Hangouts

Comments
We got an early start and kept a 1-week ahead pace.
This was done with strong personal accountability and
steady stream of communication.

Our teamwork is really paying off. We were able to

make minor adjustments so the schedule time/dates of
our meetings and task completions can be done. Our
group meetings have been very productive and positive.
We were able to identify themes, trends and start to
build foundation for the three initiatives.

-Read through Phase I

projects

Week 6

-Continued reading
through Phase I projects
-Take notes on each
others projects
-Develop initiative
-Group meeting with
professor

-Further discussed Phase I We are working extremely well together. Everyone is

projects
following the guidelines we set regarding due dates and
we are in constant communication. Additionally, we are
all sharing ideas and discussing the ideas of others. Our
-Met with professor on
group conference on October 20th lasted 2.5 hours,
October 20th and had a
live group conference (2.5 during which we further discussed our initiatives and
decided next steps.
hours in total)
-Began collaboratively
working on Phase II
project

Week 7

-Rough draft of initiatives -Edit Phase II template

are due on Monday,
October 28th
-Draft Phase II initiatives
with data tables and
-Continue completing
graphs
Phase II template
-Had a live group
-We are planning on
conference on October
having a live group
27th (2 hours)
conference on October
27th

We had another successful week! Our constant

communication, feedback, and openness with each
other has really helped in the development of this
project. Our live group conference on October 27th was
extremely beneficial; more ideas were shared, questions
were answered, and improvements were suggested. We
are looking forward to our next group conference on
October 30th and are also excited to meet in person on
November 3rd.

Week 8

-We are planning on

having a live group
conference on October
30th

Our group worked extremely well together! We met at

Starbucks on November 3rd to finish this project
together. Overall, we collaborated successfully and
learned from each other throughout the duration of this
phase of the project.

-Held a live group

conference on October
30th to continue editing
our project

-We are planning on

-Held an in-person group
having an in-person group meeting on November 3rd
meeting on November 3rd to finish working on this
project

Student learning considerations for team planning:

There are 75 students in fifth grade. Out of these 75 students, 21 are special education students,
18 are Limited English Proficient students, 60 receive Free and Reduced Meals, and 5 have been
retained.
Due to the socio-economic status of a majority of our students, many students do not have access
to a wide variety of technology at home. Therefore, the Department of Education has issued iPads
to all fifth grade students and teachers. The internet service for these iPads has been provided for
AT&T. These iPads will be used inside of the classroom; however, all students and teachers will be
allowed to bring them home as well. Thus, all students will have access to technology both inside
and outside of the classroom.
Furthermore, our school has a moderate level of family involvement. While some family members
are actively involved in their students education, there are other family members that are not.
Thus, family collaboration is a component of all three initiatives in our plan.
Based on our observational data, it is evident that a majority of our students enjoy their time and
school and are engaged throughout the school day. A component of our school improvement plan
is mathematics, and while students enjoy learning mathematical concepts, it is an area of
academic weakness. Thus, the academic component of our initiative plan relates to the fifth-grade
mathematics curriculum.
Student data considered during team planning:
A wide variety of data were analyzed and considered during our team planning. For the homework
helpers initiative, we identified two groups of students - students who earned less than a 60%
homework completion percentage and students that earned between an 80%-100% homework

completion percentage yet did not achieve the three learning objectives of this unit. We felt as
though these two groups were important because homework completion is both valuable and
necessary for instruction. Furthermore, we found it interesting that students who completed their
homework frequently and accurately were still not performing well on the classroom assessments.
For the special education initiative, we looked at all students (both general education and special
education students) that did not meet each learning objective. While both general and special
education students are addressed in this initiative, there are other components of the initiative that
relate to just special education students. We decided to use the learning objectives Rachel created
in her Phase I proposal because they are aligned to 5th grade mathematics standards. The
percentages reflect the maximum score on each assessment (and maximum average score) set at
10. The sub-group of students that did not meet each objective was identified by determining the
students that earned below a score of 8 for objectives #1 & #3 and below 7.5 for objective #2.
Lastly, we identified students that earned lower than an 85% attendance rate. We felt that this was
an important sub-group of students to identify because poor attendance can affect academic
achievement, especially for low-income students unable to make up for lost time, research shows.
[It] can set a pattern of poor attendance and academic failure for older students, fueling the
dropout rate. (Attendance Works, 2010).
As a result of all of the above, what three initiatives were presented during your weeks of
team discussions? Please place the name, intent and description of each of three
initiatives below. Use as much space as you like to complete this template well.
Our initiative utilizes three different groups: the Leopard Learners (a group for students who need
re-teaching for a specific concept), Wildcat Winners (a group for students to analyze personal and
grade-level attendance data to encourage patterns of regular attendance), and the Jaguar
Jumpers (for students who would benefit from extension and acceleration activities).
The Leopard Learners will also meet Monday through Thursday for the last thirty minutes of the
school day. The Jaguar Jumpers will meet on Monday through Thursday for the last thirty minutes
of the school day. The Wildcat Winners will meet on Fridays for the last thirty minutes of the
school day.
Homework:
Interactive homework website, with podcast and vodcast of lessons, daily homework
assignment
Skype along with Face Time, will be used for two and a half hours an evening run by the
university students doing their internship
Big Marker will be used for students who need visual assistance through the use of the
whiteboard feature
Students can submit homework online through ipads or save questions in the notes
section
Flipped Classroom
Special Education: Those special education students (and general education students) that need
re-teaching of the learning objectives will meet in the Leopard Learners group on Mondays through
Thursdays. This group will be co-taught by the Leopard Learners teacher, the Wildcat Winners
teacher, and a special education paraprofessional due to the large class size. Because this is a 3week initiative, one week will be dedicated to each of the three learning objectives aligned with this
unit. At the end of each Tuesday session, an assessment will be given on the concept that was retaught during the Monday and Tuesday of that week. Based on those assessment results, it will be
determined who still needs re-teaching and who can move to the Jaguar Jumpers. Those students
who are still receiving re-teaching at the end of the week (Thursday) will take an additional
assessment to measure their understanding of the content being re-taught.

Attendance: All students will look at their attendance data to create visual representations to show
their attendance rate for each week. This initiative is aimed at encouraging patterns of regular
attendance for all students. The Wildcat Winners will meet every Friday for thirty minutes to create
multimedia presentations to inspire others with positive peer influence to maintain high rates of
attendance. Teacher teams will meet to discuss grade level attendance data, identify causes for
poor rates of attendance and put interventions into motion for students at risk for falling behind
their classmates academically. Fifth grade teachers will assist the Wildcat Winners explore areas
to improve their personal accountability, sense of responsibility, time management, and pride in
oneself.
On-Grade Level and Acceleration (in addition to our initiatives): The Jaguar Jumpers will be
comprised of students who benefit from acceleration and enrichment activities. They will meet on
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. On Monday and Tuesday of each week, any
student that does not need re-teaching on the learning objective being covered that week (based
on Phase I data) will attend the Jaguar Jumpers. Furthermore, on Wednesday and Thursday of
each week, those students that were in the Leopard Learners that no longer need re-teaching will
join the Jaguar Jumpers (based on the assessment data from Tuesday of each week). A more
detailed description of the assessment process for the Leopard Learners is discussed below.
The three academic learning objectives aligned with this initiative plan are:
Maryland Grade 5 Mathematics Standard 6.0: Knowledge of Number Relationships and
Computation/Arithmetic
Learning Objective #1 - Students will display their ability to determine equivalent forms of
proper fractions by presenting a video of 5 examples of these fractions with at least 80%
accuracy according to the rubric provided.
Learning Objective #2 - Given a set of four fractions, students will be able to order the
fractions in ascending and descending order by constructing visual models of these
fractions with at least 75% accuracy according to the rubric provided.
Learning Objective #3 - Students will demonstrate their ability to represent proper
fractions by constructing visual models of 5 examples of these fractions with at least 80%
accuracy according to the rubric provided.
Initiative I (Title): Homework Helpers
Initiative I (Goal):
During a three-week period students in group A who have less than a 60%
homework completion rate will show evidence of daily use of online homework
tutoring help and homework completion and accuracy through online submission,
with a 90% percentage rate.
During a three-week period students in group B who had a 80% - 100% homework
completion rate, but below a 70% success rate on objectives will show a success
rate of 85% on objectives through Study Island assessments.
Initiative I:
Homework has always played a vital role in the learning process. It is an extension of the learning
environment and a connector for home and the school. Through the years parents have depended
on homework coming home so that they are able to know what is going on in the classroom and
see how their child is progressing. So the question becomes what happens when students dont
do homework? Does this affect their work in school? Our data shows two very different trends. The
data is based on the average completion of homework based on 5 assignments a week. We
decided to set the homework completion goal at 4-5 (80-100%) assignments completed as
satisfactory while completion of 3 and below (0-60%) was seen as unsatisfactory. With these
parameters the first focus was placed on 27 out of 75 students (36%). This is a significant number

since we are only around 10 students away from half of the classes falling into the unsatisfactory
range. On the other hand, there is a group of students (15 out of 75, or 20%) who completed 4-5
homework assignments (80%-100%) with accuracy, however the success they were experiencing
with homework was not translated into the classroom. Their objective averages ranged from 0.4/10
(4%) to 5.8/10 (58%). Once we added both of these groups together the overall number of
students who needed homework assistance was 42 out of 75 (56%). This encompasses more than
half of all the fifth grade classes. At this point we decided as a team that something needed to be
done and that is when we began developing our homework initiative.
It was very important to us to get the parents involved in this process therefore part of this initiative
will be a communication tool for parents. This tool will allow us to inform parents about the daily
homework assignments as well as give a way to communicate with us as well. According to the
Center for Public Education there are six types of parent involvement:
1. Parenting, in which schools help families with their parenting skills by providing information on
childrens developmental stages and offering advice on learning-friendly home environments;
2. Communicating, or working to educate families about their childs progress and school
services and providing opportunities for parents to communicate with the school;
3. Volunteering, which ranges from offering opportunities for parents to visit their childs school
to finding ways to recruit and train them to work in the school or classroom;
4. Learning at home, in which schools and educators share ideas to promote at-home learning
through high expectations and strategies so parents can monitor and help with homework.
5. Decision-making, in which schools include families as partners in school organizations,
advisory panels, and similar committees.
6. Community collaboration, a two-way outreach strategy in which community or business
groups are involved in education and schools encourage family participation in the community
(2011).
The one that our initiative will focus on is number 4, Learning at home. According to The National
Education Association, The research is clear, consistent, and convincing, parent, family, and
community involvement in education correlates with higher academic performance and school
improvement. When schools, parents, families, and communities work together to support
learning, students tend to earn higher grades, attend school more regularly, stay in school longer,
and enroll in higher level programs (2008). It is our goal to enhance and build the home school
relationship by providing an open line of communication at all times. This initiative encompasses
the parent and family (through open communication and interactions) and the community (through
interns, technology donations, and the purchase of software programs for students).
GROUP A (Students that completed 60% or less of their homework):
Averages of Students With Low Homework Completion Scores

Students

Objective 1 AVG

Objective 2
AVG

Objective 3
AVG

Homework Completion

7.2

5.6

3.4

4.6

2.6

3.4

3.6

4.6

3.8

3.2

3.4

2.6

4.4

4.4

14

5.8

4.4

3.8

15

6.4

4.2

2.4

21

2.6

3.4

3.4

22

5.4

2.4

GROUP B (Students that completed all of their homework yet still earned low assessment
scores):

Averages of Students with High Homework Completion Scores

Students

Objective 1 AVG

Objective 2 AVG

Objective 3 AVG

Homework

10

4.8

4.2

13

5.8

3.6

23

0.4

2.2

24

0.4

1.6

0.4

25

4.6

4.8

4.4

Data:
For Group A you will notice that the students averages highlighted in red declined over the three
objectives. As for the students who were not highlighted, they showed a pattern of inconsistency
and their averages never rose above a 5/10 (50%). While the students highlighted in red declined,
they at some point managed to actually get averages between the 5-6.5 range (50-65%). This
leads us to believe that as their homework completion declined, so did their scores on the
objectives. This also says that had they completed the homework more often and with accuracy,
their averages would have been better. Along with homework assistance, these numbers also tell
us that there is a lack of communication between the home and school. A plan for informing
parents of assignments daily will also be a part of the homework initiative.
For Group B you will notice that these students had a high instance of homework completion with
accuracy. However, what they are capable of doing at home is not translating to school. This is a
concern because these students are going home completing the homework frequently and
accurately, but not retaining or mastering the concepts. For example, the student highlighted in red
completed all homework assignments accurately, yet had the lowest scores on the objectives. It
makes you wonder just how much assistance they are getting at home or are they actually
completing the assignments themselves. This is a situation that needs to be remedied especially
since homework is an extension of the school day meant to promote practice and reinforcement.
This group of students needs a different approach to homework, one that forces them to engage
with the material in a way that they are forced to learn even if someone is helping them along.

Summary:
The need for a homework initiative was determined based on these two groups of students and
their data. By combining the two groups we found that 42 out of 75 students (56%) have issues
with homework either completion or understanding. This is more than half of the class which is a
grave concern. The homework initiative focuses on these two groups of students using, hands on
modeling and practice, long term projects with support, online re-teaching/conferencing/tutoring,
iPad applications, and practice software. This initiative will run for 3 weeks (each week focusing on

one objective) under the umbrella of a long term all inclusive project to demonstrate
understanding.

Initiative: Evening Tutoring with College Interns (Group A):

This group of students had issues with homework completion. One way that they will be supported
is through an evening tutoring program 4 nights a week. This tutoring program will take place
Monday through Thursday from 4:00-6:30 PM. The students will be able to login to one of three
sites using their iPads, powered by AT&T (through a business partner relationship). The sites will
be manned by our college interns who have volunteered 2 hours an evening on a rotating weekly
schedule. The interns will be able to address student concerns in real time using Skype or
Facetime. If a student needs more assistance requiring examples, they will let the intern know
before the session so that they can log on to Big Marker (this program was purchased for the 5th
grade team by the PTA). Big Marker is a site that supports online conferences. The nice thing
about this site is that it comes with access to a whiteboard. This will allow the students and the
interns to write or draw on the board. Along with this feature, the student and intern can also chat
via webcam, text, or audio. With Big Marker you can also save the files that you create so study
sessions can be accessed later. Along with the students, parents can also join in on the session in
order to learn how to provide help for their student during off hours and weekends.
Monitoring Tool:
Success on this initiative will be based on two things:
First:
Students will receive a score for the number of login sessions they complete each evening with the
interns. A scale of 0-10 will be used in 2.5 point intervals, so for each day that a student logs in and
spends at least 30 minutes working with the intern they will receive 2.5 point. If the student
completes daily logins of no less than 30 minutes, they will earn 10 points for the week. Success
for this portion of the initiative will be set at 90%, thus making it necessary for students to earn
extra points by staying on for extra time. This data will be tracked daily by the interns when the
students login. They will also track the amount of time each student spends in the session. Extra
points will be credited for each half hour that a student stays online at the rate of .5 points. So an
extra 2 points per day can be earned by the students for spending extra time online completing
homework, thus making it a grand total of 18 points for the week.
Second:
Students will have to submit homework assignments online via the Glencoe mathematics website
with 90% accuracy. Students will use the online Glencoe textbook site in order to complete
homework assignments and submit them via email. The site allows the students to complete the
assignment, review their answers, score final products, and email them directly to the teacher.
Tracking Student Success:
An Excel spreadsheet will be created in order to track both sets of data. This spreadsheet will be
kept in the students individual data portfolios as well as the classroom data portfolio. Each
weekend students will go to Kids Zone: Learning with NCES at
http://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/createagraph/ in order to graph their data and analyze their data. This
graph and summary will then be added to their data portfolio. Parents will be required to sign off on
their students data portfolio activities weekly.

Web Based Research Projects with Assistance (a real world task) (Advanced Students):
Even though this group of students is not addressed through the data, we would be remiss to
leave them out of this plan. This group of students will complete online WebQuest projects using
programs such as Join.me (which is a free service that allows students to share their screens with
each other and work together) or Rabble Browser which can be used in class or at home on the
students iPads.

Homework Club (after school) (Group B):

This club is for the students who did well on homework but was unable to translate that to their in
school task. The club will meet three times a week on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday after
school from 3:30 - 5:00. For this hour and a half students will work with the teacher in a small
group setting on spiraled assignments

Monday:
Each week these students would revisit the original homework assignments for the objective being
reviewed. Based on the Common Core Mathematical Practices found at
http://www.mdk12.org/instruction/curriculum/mathematics/index.html students will be asked to:
1. Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them
3. Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others (students will switch
papers with other students to critique their work in order to find errors in their justifications,
process, or product.)
4. Model with mathematics (through the use of fraction bars, fraction strips, fraction models, etc.)
Students would be asked to show their work through models, which other students would then
have the ability to analyze and critique.
6. Attend to precision (Students will be required to show the check for their work)
This would be a way to really interact with the students in a smaller setting and help them to
understand, internalize, visually represent, and master the concepts that are being taught. This
group of students would work on assignments using manipulatives such as fraction bars and
fraction strips (2013).

Tuesday:
Each week students will choose one of the various methods used to create a presentation using
software such as Jing, Podcast, Vodcast, PowerPoint, Prezi, etc. in order to reinforce the activities
that were completed in homework club the day before. This activity will be completed using their
iPads, this way if the assignment is not completed in school it can be finished or worked on at
home. This day is dedicated to the sole use of technology.

Wednesday:
On Wednesday, students will complete an activity on their iPad for assessment purposes. The
assessment will be completed in one of two forms, Study Island or Socrative. Both of these
programs allow for management of student data.
Having these students complete their homework assignments at school will ensure that the
success that they are having on these will translate into the classroom. Completion will be
monitored, assessed, and reviewed.
Monitoring Tool:
Success on this initiative is based on one of two weekly assessments. On Monday, students will
take a pre-assessment on the objective for that week. This score will be saved to an Excel
spreadsheet and tracked by the student in their individual data binders (these were created in
order to build the students data literacy with giving them the ability to track and analyze their own
data). On Wednesday, students will take a five question mid-week assessment using their iPads
and Socrative. This data will then be added to the excel spreadsheet and their individual data
binders. On Friday, students will take an online assessment using Study Island. This data will then
be added to the spreadsheet and their individual binders.

Tracking Student Success:

Each weekend students will use the KidsZone: Learning with NCES at
http://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/createagraph/ in order to graph their data and analyze their data. This
graph and summary will then be added to their data portfolio. Parents will be required to sign off on
their data portfolio activities weekly.

Homework Club Recognition (Celebration of Success Ceremony):

At the end of the three weeks, a ceremony will be held for the students. Students who achieved
the percentage goal required for success will receive a $15.00 iTunes gift card and a gift certificate
for a free ice cream from Cold Stone Creamery. During the ceremony each group, having created
a presentation of their experience, will have the opportunity to share it with their parents, peers,
and administrators. This will be a multimedia presentation inclusive of audio, video, and written
parts. A reception will be held inclusive of relatives, students, and team members. This will be our
5th Grade Celebration of Success Ceremony.
Initiative II (Title): Special Education Learning Initiative
Initiative II (Goal): During a 3-week period, special education students will display an ability
to determine equivalent forms of proper fractions, order fractions, and represent proper
fractions using visual models by earning an average of at least an 80% on each weeks
assessments.
Initiative II:
Quite often, there is a considerable difference between the performance of general education
students and the performance of students with special education needs. As seen on the table
below, for all three objectives, the average score for fifth grade students without IEPs was more
than double the average score for fifth grade students with IEPs. More specifically, based on our
accuracy statement within each learning objective, none of the special education students
achieved any of the objectives. Students with special needs make up 28% of each class, and thus,
a great deal of consideration must be given to how these students can better succeed within the
classroom. Because special education students have a disability that adversely impacts their
academic performance, measures must be taken to help these students succeed academically.
These measures will encompass the special education learning initiative.

Average Score For Learning Objectives

Learning Objective

Special Education
Students

Non-Special Education
Students

Objective #1

3.485714286

6.988888889

Objective #2

3.028571429

6.4

Objective #3

2.742857143

5.755555556

10

There are a wide variety of disabilities, all which impact students in different ways and require
different accommodations, modifications, and instructional aids. This initiative does not aim to
group all special education students together; it is evident that each student needs to be looked
at differently and that instruction must align to each students specific and individual needs.
First, it should not be assumed that all students will demonstrate mastery of an objective after only
learning the content for the first time. While some students may achieve a lessons objective(s)
after taking part in the lesson one time, this is not true for all students especially those students
with special learning needs. Many special education students need to learn the content multiple
times and in smaller settings. As stated above, even after practicing the skills aligned with this
fraction unit on multiple different assessments, it is evident that none of the special education
students demonstrated a mastery of the learning objectives. Thus, a major component of this
learning initiative is the idea of re-teaching. As stated above, a specific group (the Leopard
Learners) will be dedicated to both special education and general education students that need reteaching for the three objectives that this fraction unit aligns with.
Re-Teaching: Leopard Learners
This group will meet Mondays through Thursdays for the last thirty minutes of the school day.
Since this initiative will extend over the course of three weeks, one week will be dedicated to each
learning objective in this unit. For example, on Monday and Tuesday of Week 1, all eighteen
students from each class that did not meet the first learning objective will attend the Leopard
Learners group. At the end of the following day (Tuesday), an assessment will be given on
determining equivalent forms of proper fractions. On the Monday and Tuesday of Week 2, all
nineteen students from each class that did not meet the second learning objective will attend the
Leopard Learners group. An assessment that focuses on ordering fractions will be given at the end
of the session on Tuesday. Additionally, on the Monday and Tuesday of Week 3, all 23 students
from each class that did not meet the third learning objective will attend the Leopard Learners
group. At the end of the session the following day, an assessment will be given that focuses on
representing proper fractions will be administered.
Each student in the Leopard Learners group will be assigned a school iPad and all assessments
will be given using the Socrative iPad application. Through Socrative, assessments will be loaded
on to each students iPad. Once each student completes the assessment, the scores will be sent
directly to the teachers e-mail inbox. The teacher will be notified of the percentage of students that
answered each question correctly (or incorrectly) and will also be able to see each students
answer to each question. Based on the results of each assessment, it will be determined who still
needs re-teaching and who can move to the Jaguar Jumpers for the remainder of that given week
(a description of this group is provided above). Those students who are still in the Leopard
Learners on Thursdays will receive another assessment to determine their proficiency on the

11

objective that was re-taught that week. Throughout the week, students will use the Socrative
software to complete practice activities prior to taking the assessments. This ensures that students
are familiar with how to use the Socrative software when taking the actual assessments.
The Leopard Learners group will be co-taught by the Leopard Learners teacher, the Wildcat
Winners teacher, and a special education paraprofessional due to the large class size.
This re-teaching will incorporate a variety of instructional strategies that align to the students
specific needs and that may have not been utilized when the lesson was taught the first time. For
example, students will be given opportunities to use manipulatives (such as fraction strips) and
visual organizers (such as highlighters, foldables, post it notes, and vocabulary journals) that may
have not been offered during the whole-group instruction. Additionally, the content will be modified
or adapted to meet the students instructional level. For example, the second learning objective of
our unit asks students to order four different fractions in both ascending and descending order. If
students cant compare two fractions, then they will not be able to order four of them. Thus, the reteaching will focus on first developing students understandings of the more basic skills needed in
order to achieve the learning objectives. Students will also complete authentic problems that will
allow them to apply their understandings to real-world situations.
Furthermore, even though a large number of students did not meet each learning objective, reteaching will still be done in a small-group setting. Although there will be a larger number of
students in the Leopard Learners on Mondays and Tuesdays, these students will be divided into
smaller groups. This allows for the instruction to cater to each students specific needs and it also
allows for all students to receive a greater amount of support and attention.
Technology will also be incorporated into the re-teaching. It has been proven that technology
integration has positive effects on student engagement and achievement. When re-teaching a
specific concept, students will be given access to technology that aligns with the material they are
learning. Fractions may seem abstract to some students. To solve this issue, virtual math
manipulatives will be used. These virtual math manipulatives not only allow for mathematical
concepts to become more concrete, but they have also proven to have a greater effect on
students academic performance compared to physical manipulatives (Johnson, 2011). There are
many websites that offer free virtual math manipulatives, and thus, utilizing these tools will not
pose an extra cost to the school. Additionally, tutorial software can also be used during reteaching. While it is similar to a teachers instruction, it is completely done on the computer and no
additional materials are needed (Roblyer & Doering, 2013). Tutorial software provides students
with direct instruction as well as opportunities to practice applying the skill or demonstrating an
understanding of the concept. Technology improves motivation and engagement for both general
education and special education students, which as a result, can also lead to gains in
achievement. Incorporating tutorial software into re-teaching will allow students to receive
instruction from both a teacher and through the use of technology.
Additionally, as stated above, the Socrative software and iPads will be used to assess students
mastery of each learning objective. Furthermore, students will also use their iPads to access
instructional support programs such as Study Island and the website CoolMath, both of which
allow students to practice applying the skills embedded within the learning objective they are
studying that week. Students will be given the option to bring their iPads home with them, thus
allowing for them to use these instructional support programs both inside and outside of the
classroom. Overall, there are various methods of technology integration that would be valuable as
part of the re-teaching component of this initiative.
It should be noted that while this initiative focuses on special education students, both general and
special education students are involved in re-teaching, peer tutoring (discussed below), and
familial collaboration (discussed below). There is an additional component of this initiative that
solely applies to special education students. Additionally, the objective of this initiative only applies
to special education students.

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Peer Tutoring
Another core component of this learning initiative is the idea of peer tutoring, which will take place
on the Wednesday of each week. According to Vygotsky, knowledge and learning are constructed
through humans interacting with one another (Pritchard, 2010, p. 88). Peer tutoring allows for
students to work together one as the tutor and one as the tutee and results in a deeper
understanding of the content for both students. When the tutor teaches a concept, he or she needs
to verbally explain the content, answer questions, and provide examples. As a result, the tutor is
developing a deeper understanding of the material. Furthermore, the tutee is receiving additional
attention and support, and as a result, is developing a deeper understanding of the material as
well.
Both general education and special education students benefit from peer tutoring. However, for
special education students that are accustomed to being pulled by a teacher (and may feel
segregated as a result), this strategy allows them to receive extra support from their peers in a
less-intimidating manner. Additionally, it should not be assumed that the tutee is always going to
be a special education student. The tutor must be someone who demonstrates mastery of a
specific concept or objective, and this can be either a general education or special education
student. When special education students find themselves in the role of the tutor, their selfconfidence may improve as well as their feelings towards school and learning. Peer tutoring also
promotes the skill of collaboration, which is a valuable skill that students need to develop in order
to succeed both inside and outside of the classroom.
Various students will be involved in peer tutoring. First, the Jaguar Jumpers will play an integral
role. Since these students have demonstrated a proficient understanding of these three learning
objectives, they will be asked to then teach their peers who need additional support. Furthermore,
older students (such as middle and high school students) will be allowed to volunteer in the
classroom during peer tutoring sessions. College interns will be able to volunteer their time tutoring
as well. These college interns will be the same volunteers that are providing students with extra
homework support (as discussed above).
Furthermore, there are various opportunities for technology integration within the peer tutoring
sessions. First, students can use Jing. This is a screen capture program that will allow students to
record themselves teaching their classmates (if a computer is being used as part of the tutoring
session). With Jing, students can record their tutoring sessions and then post them online. When a
computer is not being used as part of the instruction during a tutoring session, students can utilize
other forms of audio or video recording software (such as Apple iMovie) to record their tutoring
sessions and post them online. Regardless of whether students use Jing or iMovie, the tutees
can access the tutoring from home via the computer or via their iPads. This will allow the tutees
to revisit the tutoring sessions from home (if needed). Additionally, this will also allow another way
for the teachers to consistently monitor the students and ensure quality tutoring sessions.
Furthermore, because there will be access to a Promethean Board within the classroom, tutors
can create their own flipcharts to better assist in teaching the content to their peers. By creating a
flipchart, students are gaining experience in using technology to create a multimedia presentation
or final product that conveys ideas.
Familial Collaboration
This learning initiative also includes a component of familial collaboration. Effective teaching
bridges the gap between school and the students families. When students families are aware of
what students are learning in the classroom, they can provide additional academic support outside
of the classroom. For special education students, this additional support is extremely valuable.
Furthermore, students family members should feel as though they are partners with the teacher.
By working together, the teacher and students families can better help students better succeed
academically.

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When looking at special education students, it is essential to look at the whole child not just his
or her disability or academic performance. Family members can provide great insight into students
strengths, needs, or interventions that have been helpful outside of the classroom. Additionally,
family members can provide information regarding related service care (therapists, psychologists,
doctors, etc.) or outside factors that may affect a students performance inside of the classroom.
Thus, a collaborative partnership between the teacher(s) and students families is both valuable
and essential to better help the student succeed within the classroom.
There are various ways that technology can be used to promote a school and family partnership.
First, a grade-level website will be created that informs family members of what is taking place
inside of the classroom. As stated above, special education students can greatly benefit from extra
academic support. However, the only way that family members can provide this support is if they
know what their student is learning. A grade-level website can include an overview of the specific
concepts and skills that students are learning, as well as example problems or activities that
students can complete at home. Additionally, a grade-level website can also include a separate
section of links to websites (such as IXL or StudyIsland) or other educational software and
tutorials that would allow students to receive additional support at home. Grade-level newsletters
can also be sent out electronically (and posted on the grade-level website) to inform families of
important news or updates throughout the grade. Lastly, Promethean Board flipcharts or
video/audio-recorded tutorial sessions can also be provided to students families. All websites,
newsletters, flipcharts, and tutorial sessions can be accessed either via a home computer or via
students iPads. This will allow family members to access instructional resources at home, and as
a result, provide students with opportunities for extra support.
Accommodations & Supplementary Aids and Services
Additionally, a component of this learning initiative is the fact that data must be collected regarding
special education students accommodations, supplementary aids, and progress. Each students
Individualized Education Program (IEP) must be reviewed on a frequent basis to ensure that they
align with the students performance and needs. In order for special education students to have
the greatest opportunity for academic success, they must receive any necessary accommodations
or supplementary aids and services. It is up to the IEP team to determine what exactly these
accommodations or aids and services are. In order for these determinations to be made, data
must be collected. This data must also show a discrepancy between when the student can do with
the accommodation or aid and what the student can do without the accommodation or aid.
Additionally, once these accommodations, aids, and services have been implemented, data must
be collected to determine whether these additional supports are having a positive effect on
students academic performance.
Furthermore, accommodations, aids, and services can only truly be beneficial if the student knows
how to use these additional supports. For example, if a student with needs in written expression is
given an electronic spelling and grammar device, yet does not know how to use it, then it can be
assumed that this accommodation will not help the student learn. Students must be given explicit
and direct training on how to use their accommodations or supplementary aids and services. This
can be done by modeling how to use the tool (such as a spelling and grammar device or math
manipulatives) and by giving students opportunities to practice using their accommodations. It is
hoped that as a result of explicit accommodation training, students will be better able to use their
accommodations to help them succeed academically.
Evaluation
This learning initiative will only be valuable if it is assessed and evaluated in terms of student
success. The effect of re-teaching and peer tutoring will be assessed twice a week (Tuesdays and
Fridays) throughout the duration of the three weeks. On both of these days, students will be given
an assessment to measure their proficiency of the concept and skill being discussed that week.
We will then grade these assessments to determine students scores. According to this initiatives
objective, we hope that special education students will earn an average of at least an 80% on each

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weeks assessments. These assessments will help us determine if re-teaching and peer tutoring
are having a positive effect on the academic performance of special education students.
Furthermore, teachers will collect anecdotal data regarding students frequency and accuracy of
their accommodation use. It is hoped that as a result of this learning initiative, students will be
more familiar with how to use their accommodations. Additionally, we predict that with more direct
and frequent data collection, we will be able to ensure that all special education students are
receiving the accommodations and aids that they need. With this increase in accommodation use,
we hope that special education students will be able to earn an average of at least an 80% on
each weeks assessments.
Lastly, teachers will distribute a questionnaire to students families regarding family involvement in
their students academics. The questionnaire will be distributed at the end of the three weeks and
will ask family members to describe how often they help their students at home and how often they
utilize the collaboration resources discussed above (grade-level website, newsletter, etc.).
Furthermore, family members will also have the opportunity to suggest additional techniques to
promote a collaborative partnership. While these questionnaires will not directly be linked to the
initiative objective, it will be used as a qualitative data source to better improve the collaboration
between the school and students families.
Overall, the data clearly indicates that special education students are suffering. This initiative,
designed with the data and pedagogical content knowledge in mind, hopes to improve the
academic success of this sub-group of students.
Initiative III (Title): Attendance Improvement Plan
Initiative III (Goal): During a 3-week period, students with lower than an 85% attendance rate
will create propaganda materials promoting the benefits of regular attendance that will be
published and posted in school, on our grade level website, and in a newsletter to parents
and the community, thus resulting in those students improving their attendance rates to
90% - 100%.
Initiative III:
There is a strong correlation between student learning, longer term life outcomes and attendance
at school. It is crucial that children and students develop habits of regular attendance at an early
age, even from the time they are enrolled in preschool classes. In 5th grade math, attending
school regularly while the basics of working with fractions are being explained is directly related to
the level of understanding students will have when attempting more complex operations using
fractions.
Children and students who have poor patterns of attendance are at risk of not achieving
educational benchmarks, social or psychological potential, and are disadvantaged when poised to
make quality choices later in life. These children may be socially isolated and place themselves at
risk of harm during times of absence because they are likely to be unsupervised. When
attendance becomes sporadic enough to create a trend, gaps in their knowledge are created and
their understanding of basic concepts suffer. These students are more likely to withdraw
themselves or not finish grade school. We will not stand idly by and allow this to occur. This
rationale is the backbone of our proposed Attendance Improvement Plan, skillfully crafted to
pinpoint the causes of chronic absenteeism of our 5th grade math students, to serve as a template
for a school-wide initiative to eliminate learning gaps for all students.
To create positive impact on changing what families and the community perceive an attendance
rate the school finds acceptable, a new attendance improvement plan needs to take shape and be
implemented with purpose. A plan cycle that is effective is one that includes these steps: Plan, Do,
Study, Act, Evaluate - then repeat.

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Teacher teams in each grade have been formed to drive this initiative and examine current and
past data so that causes for high absenteeism can be found, analyzed and prevented or
eliminated. Teams will develop a theory for improvement, draft a plan and implement their
attendance improvement plan, tailored to data their students generated. Teams study the results
and ask probing questions of successes and failures: to what extent did our actions lead to
improvement?, is this plan a success?, what, if anything, can be done differently in the next phase
of the plan?
[PLAN] To begin creating an attendance improvement plan, our school support staff (guidance
counselors, registrar, record keeper) compiled annual report data and trends over the past few
years and a summary report at the end of the previous school year. This data was aggregated and
sorted by teacher and given to them. Then, the current attendance situation is analyzed and the
areas of improvement will be pinpointed. Its important to note that a consistent understanding of
the attendance codes and how the codes are used must be explained to all staff members in a
building-wide professional development meeting. If discrepancies with the codes arise, a new code
system and key will be designed and training given during future professional development
sessions and as needed.
[DO] Cohort teams of teachers are formed by grade and subject taught. After meeting with our
cohort, we were able to crunch the numbers and identify patterns. Each team set a schedule of
meetings and decided which tasks would be completed during each meeting. The first team
meeting occurs after three weeks of classes.
[STUDY] When analyzing our student data as the 5th grade mathematics team during our data
study, the first pattern to emerge was the attendance rate of students who attended class every
day or had at least an 85% rate of attendance. These students met or exceeded expectations set
forth in each of the three learning objectives over the previous three weeks.
Students

Rate of Attendance (%)

95 - 100% Excellent; 85 - 94% Good; 75 - 84 % Fair; 74% - below Poor

Student A

93

Student B

80

Student C

86

Student D

90

Student E

100

Student F

78

Student G

87

Student H

78

Student J

96

Student K

92

Student L

94

Student M

82

Student N

98

16

Student O

81

Student P

68

Student Q

84

Student R

100

Student S

92

Student T

94

Student U

94

Student V

65

Student W

64

Student X

98

Student Y

99

Student Z

100
Findings: 16 out of 25 met 85% attendance rate; 9 did not meet
expectations KEY: Green = Attendance Rate meets expectations
Red = Attendance Rate is below expectations

The second pattern we observed was that nine students out of twenty-five in our gradebooks have
high attendance rates (between 86% and 100%). A subset of these nine students reveals -- out of
twenty-five students earned low assignment scores (in a range from 2/10 through 7/10) performed
below expectations set in our learning objectives. The expectations were set at this level so that
students who had a regular rate of attendance could achieve content mastery.

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Students with Low Attendance Rates

LO1 Avg

LO2 Avg

LO3 Avg

Student B

4.6

2.6

3.4

Student F

3.2

3.4

Student H

7.2

6.8

7.4

Student M

7.6

7.2

7.8

Student O

5.8

4.4

3.8

Student P

6.4

4.2

2.4

Student Q

9.4

8.4

Student V

2.6

3.4

3.4

Student W

4.4

2.4

Findings: 6 out of 9 students had average

scores below expectations; 3 of 9 earned
passing scores (except LO2 for Student H)

Our data study proved extremely fruitful by revealing the impact of missed instruction and learning
opportunities. New information was shared with the team when a member of the cohort, Alicia
Curry, shared a trend she identified. "Students who had a higher attendance percentage would
turn in accurate and complete homework more often. Our prediction was correct students who
had good and excellent attendance (85% and above) turned in complete and accurate
homework more frequently than those students who had fair and poor attendance".
[ACT] Our cohort agreed to meet regularly (every four days). In our meetings scheduled
throughout the remainder of the school year, we will continue to analyze attendance data using
several criterion, in which two criterion are focused on at each meeting. The first two sets of
criterion include, and are not limited to:

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absence rate by year level

patterns of absenteeism (over the year, 3 weeks, and each day for extreme situations)
at-risk factors (frequent lateness, leaving school early, involved in bullying, learning
difficulties, long stretch of absences due to injury or sickness, social or emotional issues)
health issues experienced by student and/or family member

Intervention strategies will be discussed, evaluated and selected to be rolled out, with
customizations based on our students' ages. The action element of the attendance improvement
plan is paired with our desired outcomes, performance indicators (how outcomes will be
measured), strategies to achieve those outcomes and resources and professional development
trainings as needed. Our grade was gifted Apple iPad mobile devices by the Maryland State
Department of Education, with each teacher having their own device in addition to 3 class sets
(25-30 per teacher). Our request includes specific applications be installed on the students'
devices: Google Drive by Google, Dropbox by Dropbox, and eClicker Host by Big Nerd Ranch,
Inc. Dropbox is a safe place for students to create and share multimedia elements. Google Drive
will be used to create spreadsheets and use as a platform for real-time student collaboration.
eClicker Host will be used by students to participate in polls teachers will create and present them
for their input as well as for voting on elements to include while drafting propaganda and
newsletter projects.
A separate set of applications need to be installed on the teachers' devices: Edmodo by Edmodo,
eClicker Host by Big Nerd Ranch, Inc., and TeacherPal by ITWorx. Edmodo is a social learning
platform for teachers, students and parents. Teachers can share content, record and access
homework and class grades. Edmodo can be incorporated easily into everyday classroom
activities and share information - teachers can send school notices and other important information
directly to parents and families. In addition, Edmodo has user friendly collaborative functions so
that teachers can share documents and exchange critiques and feedback with each other. eClicker
Host will be used by students to participate in polls teachers will create. TeacherPal is exclusively
for teachers to "take attendance, track grades and behavior" (App Advice, 2013). Each student has
a profile and email notifications can be sent directly to parents or families. The data stored in this
app can be backed up and stored on the application discussed above - Dropbox. These
applications can be used to keep teacher cohort teams organized and collaboratively
communicating in real time and provide tools so that students will actively track their own
attendance as well as attendance for their grade level and for the school.
[EVALUATE] Monitoring must be done at different intervals (weekly, every three weeks, each
quarter, each semester and each year) to identify students who are at risk to have major
attendance issues and learning gaps. At the beginning of the year, teachers in grades kindergarten
through five will meet and compile data to identify students whose attendance had placed their
academic success in jeopardy last school year. This process will be repeated in the last week of
each three-week period. This data will be sent to the school support team (guidance counselors,
registrar, record keeper) so they can prepare a list of at risk students for teachers to follow up with
every nine weeks.
At 3 weeks into the plan, cohorts of teachers have tracked the at risk students with TeacherPal and
catalogued relevant notes for each student. This information includes reasons for excused
absences, teacher observations of attentiveness in class, health concerns, and other student
learning considerations. After this step, profiles of these students have now been created and will
be shared during the next group meeting. At the group meeting, concerns are discussed and
perceptions shared to unearth reasons for high absenteeism. Before the end of the semester, a
series of meetings will be held to plan celebration assemblies for our 5th grade students to reward
and recognize those who have improved attendance.
At the end of each semester, students with the best attendance rate will collaborate to design and
create propaganda material to promote the attendance improvement plan in school and to send

19

out as notices using the applications previously discussed in this plan. There will three style of
notices: one style for each group of students, teachers and families.
To know if this initiative is truly successful, student assessment data will need to be looked at over
two or three 3-week periods. Those with high attendance rates should have corresponding high
scores on assessments in the unit on fractions. The inverse would also be true -low attendance
rate corresponding with low assessment scores. If these conditions do not occur, the Attendance
Improvement plan will need to be reevaluated, errors identified and corrected and then new
elements of technology or staff support will be tested and again, evaluated for effectiveness.
Individual Summary:
Through this project, I saw the value firsthand of sharing ideas and using data to support our
decisions. Developing this initiative plan was truly a team effort.
Using our data and analysis from Phase I, we identified sub-groups of students that were greatly
suffering. From there, we determined our initiative ideas. Each team member contributed their
input and thoughts. We supported our ideas with rationale and evidence, and we asked each other
questions to enhance our thinking.
While developing our initiatives, we had a goal in mind and tried to think outside of the box for
ways to achieve each goal. We used data as evidence to drive and support our initiatives and
reasoning. Again, through sharing ideas, each team member suggested components to better
improve each others initiative plans.
This was one of the most successful group projects that I have completed throughout my graduate
studies. Each team member had a set role and put in full effort towards completing her assigned
responsibilities. Furthermore, a schedule was set (which each group member abided to) and we
were sure to effectively time manage to allow for sufficient time to look deeply at the data and plan
our initiatives. Throughout the entire process, we shared ideas, provided feedback to each other,
and used our own knowledge and experiences to develop comprehensive initiatives. Incorporating
all of the details and data could not have been successfully completed alone.

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References
App Advice. Apps for Teachers. 2014. Retrieved on October 27 2013 from
http://appadvice.com/applists/show/apps-for-teachers .
Attendance Works. Why It Matters. Retrieved on November 2, 2013 from
www.attendanceworks.org
Center for Public Education. Retrieved on October 30, 2013 from
http://www.centerforpubliceducation.org/Main-Menu/Public-education/Parent-Involvement
Doering, A. H. & Roblyer, M.D. (2013). Integrating educational technology into teaching. (6 ed.).
Pearson.
Johnson, K. R. (2011). Physica; and virtual math manipulatives and their effectiveness in a fourth
grade classroom. In T. E. Stone (Ed.), Models of applied research in educational technology (3550). Adelphi, MD: UMUC Teachers Press.
National Education Association. Retrieved on October 30, 2013 from
(http://www.nea.org/assets/docs/PB11_ParentInvolvement08.pdf
Maryland State Department of Education. Retrieved on November 1, 2013 from
http://www.mdk12.org/instruction/curriculum/mathematics/index.html

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