The overall topic of my action research is Blended Learning with a Station Rotation
Model in 3rd grade MacGT classrooms. The goal of this action research is to determine
if the implementation of Blended Learning in 3rd grade MacGT classrooms allows high achieving students to show a year's worth of growth in reading. I am interested in researching this because I am a 3rd grade MacGT teacher. As the teacher who has the majority of the high achieving and Gifted and Talented students in our grade level, I want to determine if blended learning in a MacGT classroom has similar benefits for high achieving students as low achieving students who participate in blended learning models.
Themes
Research Questions
When researching the impacts of blended learning on academic success of reading, many research questions were geared towards students working below grade level. For example, the purpose of Synder’s (2020) study was to,
determine the impact of an intensive blended learning reading intervention on the standardized assessment scores of middle school students who were at least two grade levels behind in reading at a Title I school in Georgia and aimed to establish if students who were significantly below grade level could make growth with the assistance of an intensive blended learning reading intervention [Abstract].
Similarly, Macaruso, P., Wilkes, S., & Prescott, J. E. focused on researching the benefits of blended learning when used as a reading intervention (2020). It can be concluded that there has been much research focused on students who are performing below grade level and utilizing blended learning as interventions. This is another reason why I am interested in researching the benefits of blended learning on students who are performing above grade level and need enrichment.
Methods
There are a couple different methods researchers have used to fulfill their action research plans. Synder (2020) and Macaruso et. al. (2020), both used quantitative only methods using data from Lexile scores, ANCOVA models, and NWEA assessments. This differed from Schechter, R., Kazakoff, E. R., Bundschuh, K., Prescott, J., & Macaruso, P. (2017) and Wilkes, S., Kazakoff, E. R., Prescott, J. E., Bundschuh, K., Hook, P. E., Wolf, R., Hurwitz, L. B., & Macaruso, P. (2020) methods’ that utilized mixed method research. Schecter et. al. (2017) and Wilkes et. al. (2020), used quantitative data but also incorporated teacher interviews and surveys into their methodology.
For my methodology I am going to focus on using a quantitative method. To track my students reading achievement, I will use data from beginning of the year Fountas and Pinnell (F&P) Informal Reading Inventory (IRI), middle of year F&P IRI, and end of year F&P to document reading level growth throughout the school year. I will also utilize our district Reading Curriculum Diagnostic Benchmark (CDB), Mock STAAR Reading Assessment, and STAAR Reading Assessment. My goal is to figure out the specific percentage of 3rd grade MacGT students who showed a year's worth of growth.
Findings
Macaruso et. al. (2020), Prescott, J. E., Bundschuh, K., Kazakoff, E. R., & Macaruso, P. (2017), Schechter et. al. (2017), Snyder, A. (2020), and Wilkes et. al. (2020) all found
that incorporating blended learning had positive effects on reading achievement. While this supports the idea that blended
learning has positive effects on low achieving students in grades Kindergarten through 5th, there is still limited research that blended learning has the same effects on students who are performing above grade level.
Conclusion
There are many pros and cons of the research that has been done regarding the benefits that blended learning provides for students’ academic success. The pros are that there is constantly new research being done on blended learning and its impacts. Since there is constantly research that is being done, it is keeping the data and findings relevant and updated for the field of education. It also has strengthened the idea that blended learning does indeed have a positive effect on students academic performance.
Although this research is constantly updated and supports the idea that blended learning is successful, it falls short on the research that has been conducted on high achieving students. The majority of research conducted has been on students who are performing below grade level. This is definitely one of the cons that stands out the most to me. In conclusion, this leads me to believe that the action research I plan to conduct will broaden the field of blended learning research on high achieving students and their reading performance.
References:
Macaruso, P., Wilkes, S., & Prescott, J. E. (2020). An investigation of blended learning to support reading instruction in elementary schools. Educational Technology Research and Development, 68(6), 2839–2852. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-020-09785-2
Prescott, J. E., Bundschuh, K., Kazakoff, E. R., & Macaruso, P. (2017). Elementary school–wide implementation of a blended learning program for reading intervention. The Journal of Educational Research, 111(4), 497–506. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220671.2017.1302914
Schechter, R., Kazakoff, E. R., Bundschuh, K., Prescott, J., & Macaruso, P. (2017). Exploring the impact of engaged teachers on implementation fidelity and reading skill gains in a blended learning reading program. Reading Psychology, 38:6, 553-579, DOI: 10.1080/02702711.2017.1306602
Snyder, A. (2020). The impact of an intensive blended learning reading intervention on standardized assessment scores. Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 2164. https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/2164
Wilkes, S., Kazakoff, E. R., Prescott, J. E., Bundschuh, K., Hook, P. E., Wolf, R., Hurwitz, L. B., & Macaruso, P. (2020). Measuring the impact of a blended learning model on early literacy growth. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 36(5), 595–609. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcal.12429
Comments