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We will intervene in four
elementary schools during the second year of the project; two schools with
similar demographics will provide control data. The initial implementations will
involve K-1 classrooms, teachers, and students. Interventions will be
implemented in the original four schools, two previous control schools, and an
additional elementary school in a different school district during the third
year of the project; a single school from the second school district will
provide control data. Second year implementations will address K-2 classrooms,
teachers, and students; new implementations will involve K-1 classrooms,
teachers, and students. During the third and fourth year of implementation, all
participating schools will be involved in systematic intervention efforts. In
some schools, K-3 classrooms, teachers, and students will be involved. In other
schools, interventions will focus on K-2 or K-1 classrooms, teachers, and
students.
Formative and summative assessments will be used
to evaluate the specific and overall effects of the project.
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To
address questions about violations of school rules, classroom rules, and
classroom procedures, we will monitor discipline referrals on a
daily basis using a standardized form and computerized tracking system (SWIS-II).
The form provides categories for major and minor school rule infractions
that represent misbehaviors for which an office referral is appropriate;
each infraction is cross-referenced with those in the computerized tracking
system. Numbers and types of referrals for different groups of students will
be compared within and across participating schools as a measure of the
effectiveness of the interventions. |
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Questions
related to effects on classroom climate and ecology will be assessed
using the Stalling Observation System (SOS) or similar measure. Each teacher
will be observed for four one-hour periods before, during, and after
participation in targeted interventions. The SOS is a complex, low inference
observation system sensitive to different instructional methods, teaching
styles, and classroom environments. Using the SOS, an observer alternatively
gathers data on the teacher and his/her immediate environment and on the
entire class. The Classroom Snapshot (CS) of the SOS yields data on the
activities of each adult and student in a classroom at a given time; size of
groups, types of materials, and two aggregated activities (i.e., Interactive
Teaching and Organizing/Off-Task). Positive predictors of student
achievement, such as reading aloud, instruction and explanation of new
materials, review and discussion, and practice drill, are included in
Interactive Teaching activities that are observed. Passing out papers and
lining up students for recess are examples of Organizing activities and
negative social interactions and discipline are examples of Off-task
activities that are observed. CS data will be compared across schools
participating in the project using a pretest/posttest multiple baseline
design. |
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To
address questions related to effects on classroom behavior, 30
randomly selected students will be periodically monitored using a time
sampling procedure with 10 second intervals observed for a period of 30
minutes on at least 10 different occasions during the fall and spring
semesters of the school year. On-task categories include writing, reading,
answering questions, asking questions, talking academically, playing an
academic game, paying attention (eyes on teacher in designated area),
raising hand, looking at materials, and moving or playing appropriately.
Disrupting class, looking around, talking inappropriately, and doing an
inappropriate task are coded as off-task behavior. Percentages have been
calculated by dividing the total number of intervals into the number of
intervals the observed students was on-task or off-task and multiplying by
100. These observational data will be compared across schools participating
in the project using a pretest/posttest multiple baseline design. |
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A
variety of measures should be used to evaluate student
progress in reading. For example, at the end of each of the Phonological
Awareness Intervention sessions, instructors will record student progress on
daily data collections sheets. At the end of every fifth lesson, a mastery
test will be administered, and the results will be recorded on Mastery Test
Recording Sheets. After each mastery test, directions to proceed to the next
lesson or repeat lessons will be given based on the number of correct
responses of participants. We will also evaluate the effects of Tertiary
Intervention with experimental and control group comparisons of the Test of
Phonological Awareness and the Letter-Word Identification Subtest and the
Word Attack Subtest of the Woodcock-Johnson Psychoeducational
Battery-Revised. Curriculum-Based Measures, DIBELS, and state literacy
assessments also will be compared. |
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Attitudes
of teachers, students, and parents regarding school climate and other aspects of schooling
are routinely assessed in schools with end of the year attitude surveys. The
75-item questionnaire addresses opinions about the school administration,
management of school resources, instructional leadership, student outcomes
and staff morale, school discipline and behavior, and overall satisfaction
of parents and teachers. Students respond to items about their school, the
school climate, and their opinions about their education. Comparisons of
these available data will be completed using a multiple baseline design
across participating schools and will be used to address additional
questions related to effects of school-wide interventions. |
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Additional common data
will be collected as directed by the coordination center using methods and
instruments that will be determined for both reading and behavior. Prior
implementations of reading and behavior interventions has been completed by
the staff and these projects provide an indication of our capacity to
address the effects of our work on climate and instructional ecologies,
student behavior, and academic achievement in participating schools. In
close collaboration with the coordination center and other funded centers,
we will build on prior experience to address specific questions using
recommended methods and instruments for both reading and behavior. |
Research Design
|
Project Year
One
[05-06]
|
Project Year Two
[05-06] |
Project Year Three
[05-06] |
Project Year Four
[05-06] |
Project Year Five
[05-06] |
|
|
Design Year One
|
Design Year Two |
Design Year Three |
Design Year Four |
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Identify Target CMS Schools
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Idlewild
Elementary [Treatment]
K-1
Data Collect |
Idlewild
Elementary [Treatment]
K-2
Data Collect |
Idlewild
Elementary [Treatment]
K-3
Data Collect |
Idlewild
Elementary [Treatment]
K-3
Data Collect |
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|
Montclaire
Elementary [Treatment]
K-1
Data Collect |
Montclaire
Elementary [Treatment]
K-2
Data Collect |
Montclaire
Elementary [Treatment]
K-3
Data Collect |
Montclaire
Elementary [Treatment]
K-3
Data Collect |
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|
Piney
Grove Elementary [Treatment]
K-1
Data Collect |
Piney
Grove Elementary [Treatment]
K-2
Data Collect |
Piney
Grove Elementary [Treatment]
K-3
Data Collect |
Piney
Grove Elementary [Treatment]
K-3
Data Collect |
|
|
Thomasboro
Elementary [Treatment]
K-1
Data Collect |
Thomasboro
Elementary [Treatment]
K-2
Data Collect |
Thomasboro
Elementary [Treatment]
K-3
Data Collect |
Thomasboro
Elementary [Treatment]
K-3
Data Collect |
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|
Albemarle
Road Elementary [Rolling Control] |
Albemarle
Road Elementary [Treatment]
K-1
Data Collect |
Albemarle
Road Elementary [Treatment]
K-2
Data Collect |
Albemarle
Road Elementary [Treatment]
K-3
Data Collect |
|
|
Druid
Hills Elementary [Rolling Control] |
Druid
Hills Elementary [Treatment]
K-1
Data Collect |
Druid
Hills Elementary [Treatment]
K-2
Data Collect |
Druid
Hills Elementary [Treatment]
K-3
Data Collect |
|
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Walter G. Byers Elementary
[Rolling Control]
K-1
Data Collect |
Walter G. Byers [Treatment]
K-2
Data Collect |
Walter G. Byers [Treatment]
K-3
Data Collect |
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