Rachael

toc =Rachael Leupold=


 * Facebook ID:** Rachael Zebedeo Leupold
 * Linkedin ID:** Rachael Leupold
 * Twitter ID:** RachaelL6
 * Skype ID:** rachael.leupold



My name is Rachael Leupold and I am a kindergarten teacher at Chamberlain Primary School in New Britain. Our school consists of PreK-grade 3 classes. There are 6 kindergarten classes and they are all-day programs. Chamberlain follows a model called Project CHILD and has been recognized as a Project CHILD National Demonstration School. The model focuses on station-based learning with some whole-group instruction. The students are responsible for reading a station board to find their work location and then following the directions on their task card to complete the assignment. They are then asked to reflect on their work and make goals for themselves. The model requires them to be independent but also gives them opportunities for cooperative learning. EDT 598 is my third class in the program. I do not have a lot of technology experience at this point in my career. Our district lacks the funds for purchasing new technology. We currently have 1 SMART board in the school for teachers to share. I have used it a few times but I am still trying to get comfortable with it. I have some experience with SMART Notebook from EDT 500 and I look forward to using it more. I have used the Elmo occasionally and find it to be very helpful with our large class sizes. Chamberlain was fortunate to receive grant money to purchase IPads for all of our literacy teachers. We use an application called Tango to complete our DRA testing. It has taken some time to familiarize myself with the program but after using them for a second time in April, giving the assessment is becoming easier.

My partner is Wendy Osipowicz

1. Linkedin Update
June 6, 2012

Wendy and I joined Linkedin this week. We began by looking for research about iPads in the elementary classroom. We made that our focus because our school received a grant for iPads for all of the reading and writing teachers in the building. We primarily use them to administer the DRA test to our students 2-3 times per year. We are always looking for new "apps" to enhance our instruction and hopefully finding people who have experience with them will help to weed out the good from the bad. We joined a few groups such as the Early Childhood Researchers and Technology Integration in Education. I emailed and heard back from an educational consultant at Brainchild's iPad Integration. He recommended I look at the research and case studies on their website, @http://www.brainchild.com/professional-development/about/research/ and download their free app.

2. Reflective Essay #1
June 7, 2012

I believe that research is when you are interested in learning more about a particular topic and you study that topic through literature and your own experiences with particular materials, resources, etc. I myself do not have a lot of experience conducting research but I have in the past read other people's research. Most of the research I've read is from when I was doing my undergraduate work in elementary education with a concentration in English. During this time I learned about the importance of citing your work and I also gained experience using APA and MLA formats. It has been a long time since I have used either format so I will need to familiarize myself with them again.

In my school district the teachers who have received tenure after four years will begin to complete an action research project during their fifth year. I will be doing this for my first time next year because I was tenured this year. I have heard my colleagues working on and discussing their action research with eachother. I compare it to when the school completes our grade-level Common Formative Assessments (CFA's). This year the focus for our kindergarten CFA was on story retell. It is a very important skill for children to master because it is required during the Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA) and to be considered reading on grade-level. We analyze baseline data and then implement new strategies we have learned either from researching ideas online or talking with colleagues. We then reassess the students, analyze the data, and discuss successful strategies. If we were to take it a step further we could look for people on the internet who have conducted research on story retell and review their findings.

What I want to learn from doing my research in this class is more about technology and English Second Language (ESL) students. The district I work in has a very large Hispanic population and many of the children come into kindergarten speaking little or no English. This can be a struggle for them because a good portion of the school year is spent on learning the language first. It also becomes challenging when there isn't anyone at home that speaks English to be able to help with homework, etc. I want to find as many ways as I can to reach these students with my instruction and resources. I think the iPad we have in the classroom will be a great tool. Learning about what others have tried will help me to find the apps with the "most bang for your buck", especially considering the district does not fund purchasing apps. I look forward to finding new ways to incorporate the iPad into more of my daily instruction.

3. YouTube
June 21, 2012

media type="custom" key="19382570"
This video outlined a research study that is very similar to what I am interested in researching. I have the iPad for my kindergarten class and I would like to find out if it is a useful resource for reinforcing letters and letter sounds with my Tier 3 intervention students. The audience in the study is similar to my previous classes.

media type="custom" key="19382686" I enjoyed hearing the students and teachers tell about why they like using the iPad in school. Everyone had mostly positive things to say about it but 1 teacher did say that iPads don't replace desktop computers. It was great to listen to the students describe how to navigate around the device so it appears that students don't struggle using it independently.

media type="custom" key="19382818" This was a video where a kindergarten teacher explains her action research project on using technology to enhance children's writing.

media type="custom" key="19382846"

** 4. Inquiry Plan Draft **
Study I am using for a model For my inquiry plan I would like to study the use of SMART boards, or other interactive whiteboards in the classroom. I will be using the article Interactive Whiteboards: Boon or Bandwagon? A Critical Review of the Literature written by Heather J. Smith, Steve Higgins, Kate Wall and Jen Miller. This article studied the use of interactive whiteboards in the classroom and whether or not this is a fad that will remain or something that will fade away. I feel that since it is now 7 years since the study was conducted and schools are still purchasing them and using them on a daily basis, they are here to stay for a while. The article itself didn’t seem to answer the question but it did provide a lot of information on the students’ and teachers’ reactions to using the technology. Their reactions were mostly positive and I would like to find out if it will be successful in a primary classroom.

Literature Review (Still working on it)

Problem The school that I teach at follows the Project CHILD model where the students’ work is station-based, promoting independent and group learning. There are math, literacy, and dramatic play stations that my kindergarten students attend. During station time the teacher is conducting guided reading lessons with small groups. For this reason, it is challenging to oversee all station work and be sure that all groups are actively engaged and on-task. One particular station that students have difficulty staying engaged and completing their work in a timely manner is the Word Work station. In the fall, most of the work at this station requires groups to work together to sort pictures by initial sounds. They are often given paper copies of pictures that they must cut and glue under the appropriate letter that matches the initial sound for the corresponding word. The students frequently fool around and are not engaged in their work at all and do not complete the task. In my previous year’s class more than 50% of the groups were not completing their station work in the time given. I am looking to create Word Work stations that are more motivating for the students in order to increase the amount of groups actively engaged and completing their work during the given time

The Activity The activity will be done in the morning during station time and will focus on the Word Work station. The students will be asked to listen for words with a given initial sound. They will be given a group of pictures, about 10-15, and they will have to determine the initial sound for each. They will then need to arrange pictures with that initial sound in the given chart, under the given letter. They will arrange the pictures with the incorrect initial sound on the other side of the chart. I will have two groups with 4 students in each, complete the activity described. Group A, the paper and pencil group, will complete the activity on paper as I have assigned in the past. The pictures they will be given are black and white paper copies and they will need to cut them out and glue them in the chart provided for them. Group B will complete the task on the SMART board. The students will work together to review each picture on the screen. They will then use the board and manipulate the pictures into two groups, those starting with the given sound and those that do not. Each time they are at the Word Work station they will work on one of the letters previously discussed in class- m, s, t, p.

The Audience I do not yet have any information on the students I will have in my class for the upcoming school year. My audience will be based on my past 4 kindergarten classes from the same district and school. The district has a very large population of Hispanic students, and small populations of Caucasian, African Americans, Polish, and Arabic students. I can assume that I will again be given 25 students, ages 4-5. There will be a large number of students with no school experience yet because they did not attend preschool. In past years it was around 60 %. There will also be a group of students, possibly around 20%, who are English language learners. In past classes I have not been given the special education students but in kindergarten there are a lot of students in the Tier 3 category because they struggle academically. Many of these students have not yet been identified as needing special services but will in the future.

The Objective The students will learn to become more active learners, meaning they will stay on task, participate, and contribute while working independently as well as in groups in order to complete their work. Our school district has placed a large emphasis on 21st century skills necessary to get students college and career ready. They have created a section of the report card to grade students in the areas surrounding academic behaviors and are a focus in every classroom.

Materials I will need the following materials to conduct this study: SMART board Pictures of things with initial sounds /m/, /s/, /t/, /p/, both digital and paper copies Pictures of things with initial sounds other than /m/, /s/, /t/, /p/, both digital and paper copies Charts for each letter sound, both digital and paper copies Example
 * Starts with M [[image:http://edt598s12.wikispaces.com/site/embedthumbnail/placeholder?w=200&h=50]] || Does not start with M ||

Pencils Scissors Glue

Data Collection At the end of the allotted time for station work, 15-20 minutes, I will collect the work from Group A and then visit Group B to see where they have put each of the pictures on the chart.

Evaluation I will be looking to see if each group finished the task and if not, how many pictures they have left to analyze and sort. I will also look to see if they found all of the pictures with the particular initial sound and if they have chosen any incorrect pictures. I will document these results and find the percentage of correct and incorrect answers.

Timeline I will have the same two groups of four students attend the Word Work station twice a week for 4 weeks. Each time they are at the station they will focus on a different beginning sound. This will be done in early November once station rules and routines are in place and we have focused on the letters m, s, t, p.

Dissemination I will write up a summary of my findings and share it with my colleagues, the principal, our Project CHILD coordinator, and the director of early childhood education. If my results turn out in favor of using the SMART board in a kindergarten classroom during station time, I will use this to plead my case to the directors in hopes of getting SMART boards for every classroom in our school.

5. Blog Activity
//Grading with Voice on an iPad// June 28, 2012

This opened my eyes to a whole new way of grading that I would not have thought about before. I teach kindergarten so I do not think it would apply to my grading system but I can see how it would be very beneficial in upper elementary, middle, and high school. I think it is a more up-to-date way of grading that is keeping up with the times. Students today are very tech savvy, especially those in high school and I think this type of feedback that would appeal to them. They would be more apt to listen to and reflect on it than they would be with written feedback. I also think that it helps the student really get the message because they are able to hear the teacher's tone of voice which can add more meaning. It is a possibility it may show that the teacher cares more because it is a more personal way of communicating their feedback. It also made sense to me that the teacher is more apt to give more detailed feedback when they are speaking it rather than writing it. My school recently got iPads so I will inform the upper grade teachers about iAnnotate.

6. Podcast
June 28, 2012

I chose a podcast from iTunes called iPads in Education, Step by Step iPad Rollout It was one of a few quick tutorials on how to roll out iPads in a school district. It showed the step by step process on how to care for an iPad and how to store it. The video was very thorough on showing how to appropriately clean the device without ruining it. I found this helpful because it is always easier to understand when you are able to watch someone else demonstrate it. Taking care of the iPad is very important because they are costly and most school districts are tight on funds so it is crucial that teachers handle and clean them appropriately. I could also see how this podcast would have been beneficial in the school where I teach because there are a few senior teachers that aren't very technology savvy and they would like a training they could continue to watch in the future when a question or concern arises. This is also true for any type of training that a school district or company gives. There should always be a way to access the information presented in the future and podcasts are an excellent way to make that possible. I can see how it would be useful for me to create a podcast for parents on how to guide their child through reading a story, using reading strategies, and retelling the events. This is something we ask parents to work on with their kindergarten students and a demonstration would help them see it in action.

7. Reflective Essay #2
June 28, 2012 I am now able to say that I have some experience looking at research as well as developing my own action research plan. It has been a very informative process yet challenging due to the fact that there is limited research in technology at the primary level, especially in kindergarten. I learned that most research is conducted on high school and college students and these studies will rarely apply to the primary grades. Almost all studies I found for elementary school were concerning grades 4 and 5. I contacted Mike Muir, co-author of "Emerging Results From the Nation’s First Kindergarten Implementation of iPads" to discuss his study on the benefits of using the iPad in kindergarten to practice and assess various literacy skills. When I asked if he knew of any similar research he informed me that unfortunately his study was the only one out there. I think this is mainly because iPads are just 2 years old and were only recently brought into the classroom as a learning tool. I believe that as more school districts purchase iPads for their teachers and students to use, more research will be conducted.

Originally I was interested in finding research on the use of iPads in the kindergarten classroom as an intervention for English second language (ESL) learners. I found that this was too specific and I would have to broaden my search to the use of handheld devices in an elementary classroom. I do plan on continuing to look for more specific research on the benefits of using the iPad in the primary classroom. I would like to find out how to better utilize the one I have for my class when providing interventions for students struggling with mastering letter and sound knowledge. According to Bebell, Dorris, and Muir (2012), “students in the iPad setting exhibited a substantial increase in their performance on the Hearing and Recording Sounds in Words (HRSIW) subtest, which measures a child’s level of phonemic awareness and ability to represent sounds with letters.” (p. 2) One issue that has come up at my school is most of the good apps cost money and the district does not have the funds to purchase them. for classrooms. This leaves teachers to have to pay for it out of their own pocket leaving them less likely to use apps at all.

Technology in the classroom has proven beneficial in most of the research I’ve read. Teachers must know their audience and choose a form of technology that is appropriate for them and the content, for it to be most effective. I have also realized the importance of first teaching students how to use the technology appropriately. This will help limit the amount of frustration students may have when using the device. The use of technology should not be forced. It should enhance the content, not take away from it.

Bebell, D., Dorris, S., & Muir, M. (2012). Emerging Results From the Nation’s First Kindergarten Implementation of iPads. Retrieved from  https://s3.amazonaws.com/hackedu/Adv2014_ResearchSum120216.pdf
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