Field Based Learning Assignment

EDL 273
Spring, 2017

The purpose of this assignment is for students to have an opportunity to learn about the
development of a responsive strategic school improvement plan using cycles of the
Plan-Do-Study-Act process.

Part Ia: Plan – Collect and Chart Data to Assess the Current Situation

Assess Current Reality

Measure Data What do the data mean?

Previous Unit ● 59% of students were proficient ● 4 out of every 10 students in my
Summative ● 18% of students were near classes on average were not above
Assessment Data proficiency an 80% on the summative
● 23% of students were not near assessment.
proficiency
Human Impact Unit ● 27% of students are proficient ● The Pre Assessment questions are
Pre Assessment ● 12% of students are near only level 1 and level 2 questions.
(Current Unit) proficiency ● This shows that over a quarter of
● 61% of students are not near the students have a strong
proficiency background in the material.
● Three quarters of the students in my
classes need review of terms that
are considered lower level.

1. What do the data say about students’ current level of performance? The current
level of performance is low. The data shows that the students are starting without
much background knowledge of the material at the beginning of a unit. It also
shows over 40% of students did not reach proficiency on the summative
assessment.

2. What might be causing the current results? I believe the current results are being
caused by a lack of formative assessment and self-monitoring of those results.

Part Ib: Plan – Define the Current Situation

1. What is the problem/opportunity for improvement and why are you selecting it?
a. The opportunity for improvement is to increase my use of formative
assessment and allow my students to self-monitor those results.
b. I am selecting this because I have always believed in the ideal or
philosophy of a student-centered classroom. I have not put some of those
ideals into practice. This is a big step forward in the right direction
towards making this philosophy part of my reality.
2. How is this opportunity for improvement connected to the mission and vision of
the school?
a. This is my school’s mission statement: Engage all students in learning a
challenging curriculum delivered through quality instruction. This
opportunity for improvement directly ties to the last part of the mission
statement about quality instruction. I am improving my instruction in the
classroom.

3. What is currently being done to address the issue?

a. I am currently trying learning maps/capacity matrices. This was done as a
previous FBLA to improve student’s awareness of the unit’s goals or
essential questions. I plan on continuing to use these tools in this unit.

4. What SMART goal(s) will you set for improvement?

a. Specific - 100% of students are proficient on formative assessments during
the Human Impact Unit.
b. Measureable - Weekly formative assessments derived from content plan.
c. Attainable - One effective teaching strategy and student expectation.
d. Relevant - Personal philosophy put into practice.
e. Time Bound (annual goals) - By the end of the Human Impact Unit - 35
days total (Mar 6 - April 28)
 Part II: Do – Plan Improvement Strategies
1. What improvement (change) strategies will you implement in the next 45-60
days?
a. I will give weekly formative assessments derived from the unit content
plan.
b. These weekly formative assessments will build each time so students have
multiple chances to show proficiency on different standards.
c. The questions will also change, but stay in the same level of rigor.
d. I plan on using exit tickets that I will have handed back to me at the end of
class.
e. I will grade them using this scale for each question: 2 = proficient, 1 =
almost there, 0 = needs improvement
f. The use of a Plus-Delta after select labs and activities linked to the
formative assessments for improvement purposes.
g. Lastly, I will display the data for these formative assessments by class
period anonymously (no student names) so students can see the class data.
2. What has caused you to select those strategies?
a. I selected these strategies because I feel I need to do more to infuse
formative assessment in my instruction while also giving students the
opportunity to see growth and track that progress.
3. How and what data will you gather to determine if the improvement strategies are
working?
a. The formative assessment data I will be gathering will determine if the
strategies are working. If the data shows growth over the life of the unit
per class period the improvement strategies have succeeded. Another
piece of data I could look to is the summative assessment. If I see more
than 60% of my students at proficiency it is possible to view this as a
successful improvement.

45 to 60 Day​ Action Plan:

Strategies for Improvement

SMART Goal: ​For the Human Impact Unit, 100% of students will be proficient on the weekly
formative assessments which are derived from the content plan.
Person(s)
Tactic Metric Goal Date
Responsible
Creation and use of weekly formative 1 formative assessment per 5 formative Begin - Mar 3 Teacher, Students
assessments derived from the content week collected for data. assessments for End - April 28
plan (Human Impact). the unit
Use of proficiency scale for 2 = proficient (full All 5 formative Begin - Mar 3 Teacher
formative assessments. understanding) assessments are End - April 28
1 = near proficient (partial checked using a
understanding) proficiency scale
0 = not proficient (no for all students.
understanding)
Track proficiency data for each Student performance on 100% of students Begin - Mar 3 Teacher, Students
formative assessment per class. formative assessments. are proficient on End - April 28
 weekly formative
assessments.
The use of a Plus-Delta after select Students participate in giving All students Begin - Mar 3 Students
labs and activities linked to the feedback on positives and participate in End - April 28
formative assessments. improvements for activities feedback.
done throughout the unit.
This feedback will be used to
improve instruction.

Part III: Study – Determine the Effectiveness of the Plan

1. What data gives evidence of plan’s effectiveness?

2. What data gives evidence of plan’s lack of effectiveness?
3. Were all strategies implemented with fidelity? Why or why not?

I only have one data point currently which was taken this Tuesday. I plan on taking
formative assessment data each week for the next 60 days. The unit just started
unfortunately. If I see data suggesting that students in my classes are becoming more
proficient over the 60 days the plan is effective. If my classes stay the same or decline in
overall proficiency then the plan lacks effectiveness. If my classes bounce around in
proficiency with no clear growth, then it may be time to look at adjusting the plan. So far
I have implemented all of my strategies as stated and plan to continue to do so for the
next 60 days.

Part IV: Act – Determine the Next 45 to 60 Day Action Plan Based on Your Results

1. What strategies will you continue in the next 45 to 60 day action plan? Why?
2. What strategies will you discontinue in the next 45 to 60 day action plan? Why?
3. What additional strategies will you add in the next 45 to 60 day action plan?
Why?
4. How will you sustain improvements found to be effective?

I will update this Act portion when I have more data (at least 3-4 data points). I did not
want to force the 60 day plan when the timing was not right and with spring break
holding things up.

I chose this route because I am slowly moving towards a student-centered classroom. I

have made changes such as integrating a learning matrix into instruction. I had the
students create mission statements for each period after spring break recently. My
assessments have student choice and allow for retakes. I feel that student and classroom
progress monitoring is the next step in giving them more responsibility for their learning.
Below you will see pictures of how I am integrating this PDSA into my classroom.
Final Data​: Climate Change Test
Total Students at Proficiency: 94 out of 152 = 62%
Total Students near Proficiency: 60 out of 152 = 32%
Total Students not near Proficiency 9 out of 152 = 6%

Reflection​: I have seen a modest (3%) increase in proficiency from the last unit test to
this one. This would lead some to believe the effectiveness was not high and therefore
not worth the effort. I disagree with that sentiment. As I compared students who were
not near proficiency from the previous unit to this one there was a very noticeable drop
from 23 - 6%. That means the students who were struggling and never getting those
reteaching opportunities were receiving and them and making strides to at least near
proficiency.

I plan to continue this PDSA into my next unit and into next year until it becomes
ingrained in my teaching. I asked for feedback three times from my students utilizing
plus deltas. The feedback helped me formulate future lessons and change lessons we had
done for the better. This process has made my students and myself more aware of their
progress throughout a unit and how to set goals based on that progress.
Six weeks of data