Action Research Activity EDU 599

Nicole King Wilson College

Action Research Procedure

Step 1: Administer district benchmark Step 2: Identify participants Step 3: Provide the intervention toolkit Step 4: Progress monitoring, goal setting, and practice. Step 5: Data collection Step 6: Reassess using district benchmark

Step 1. Administer district benchmark

In order to monitor multiplication fact fluency, the fifth grade students took a district benchmark test in the fall, winter, and spring. The benchmark test consisted of 50 multiplication facts. The students were timed for one minute to assess automatic recall, and then continued for two more minutes for district assessment of fact knowledge. Automatic recall is between 30-40 correct facts per minute. To be considered secure in multiplication facts knowledge, the students must have completed at least 48 facts correctly in 3-minutes.

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Step 2:Identify participants

The winter benchmark results indicated 40 of the 74 fifth grade students were not at a level of automatic recall of multiplication facts. These students were sorted into two equal groups in relation to their level of recall. In one group, students, and their parents, were offered the home-based intervention to improve multiplication fact fluency. Parental support is critical to the intervention, so it was necessary to get parental agreement in order to participate. There were 12 students whose parents agreed to participate in the intervention. The other group (control group) was not offered the intervention. Some students in the control group were dropped in order to maintain equal levels of automaticity and population in both groups.

Step 3: Provide the intervention toolkit

In order to participate in the intervention at home, the participants were given a toolkit with the following materials:
Step by step instructions for the intervention. A set of one minute timed tests with answer keys. A timer (if needed). A progress monitoring chart to enter scores, fluency goals, and parental signatures. Multiplication Fact triangles (provided by the Everyday Mathematics program).

Step 3: Intervention at home

1. Using the provided timed-tests, the parent monitored the one minute timed test. After one minute, the parent and child corrected the test using the answer key provided.

2.
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Step 4: Progress monitoring, goal setting, and practice.

Following the one minute timing, the student and parent entered the number of facts correct (FCPM), and set a goal for FCPM for the following intervention session.
The parent signed the chart to indicate participation.

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Step 4: Progress monitoring, goal setting, and practice.

The student and their parent followed the progress monitoring with a 3-4 minute facts practice using the fact triangles provided in the intervention toolkit.

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Step 5: Data collection

At the end of each week, the students returned their toolkit with the progress monitoring sheet, and used timed test materials. The researcher entered the data into an Excel program that matched the students progress monitoring sheet. The researcher reviewed the data with the student, and replaced the used timed tests with new ones. This was repeated weekly throughout the research period.

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Step 6: Reassess using district benchmark

At the end of the research period, the control group and the research group were given the same winter benchmark as was given prior to the research period. The results were analyzed between and within groups.