Draft Action
Research Project Progress Report
03/13/2013
Vertically
Aligned Terminology
How will vertically aligned
terminology help students recall information on the topic and subject being
taught? I wanted to see if students would be able to recall information in a
more effective manner having a basic understanding of the word from the
previous grade level. The need for this came up with in conversation with my
principal do to the district putting an emphasis on a more vertically aligned
curriculum. It was also brought up at a faculty meeting about having a core
group of words that would be used to increase the recall of the students in
subject matter area.
The school that I teach at has a diverse
population and a social economic status of a Title One school meaning that more
than 75% of our students qualify for free lunches. The majority of the students
speak English as a second language and sometimes words get lost in translation.
The vision of this project is to
provide a bank of words that will be used through kindergarten through fifth
grade. As we start in the lower grade level the students will be introduced
through a picture of the word and the word itself, and a brief description.
When the students move up to the next grade the teacher will have the same
chart but will have added additional information to the word and a more complex
definition. To see if this is effective
the teachers will give pre-assessments on the words and the units that will be
coming up, teachers can then see how much time they need to spend on
reintroducing the topic and the meaning. The goal is for teachers to be
spending less time on reteaching and having the ability to go deeper into the
subject in the same amount of time. Since this is the first year to implement
we can only really see the involvement in the students as the year progress
with the understanding and the recall ability of the word and meaning. Once we
begin next year we will have a better understanding on how the progress of this
is coming and see where modifications are needed.
Trying to find information on
this topic is somewhat hard do to the neighboring topic of curriculum
alignment. This research can be defined as a best practice cause it has the
students achievement and understanding in mind, not only this but it involves
the parents being up to date on the information the students are learning which
will empower the parents and make them feel a part of the school community.
To my colleagues I let them know
that it is important to have a vertical aligned curriculum so students have a
foundation for information they will be receiving in the next level. More
important is the use of terminology this will help students be able to recall
information at a quicker pace and have a better understanding of topic. The family-school-partnership
will benefit the students and families by providing both parties with more
understanding of the importance of vertically aligned terminology. This
understanding will lend itself to the growth and academic success for students
on campus. Students will be on target
for the next upcoming school year and less instructional time will be needed in
order to catch them back up. During my
faculty meeting I set a task for us to determine an area of examination – in
this case vertical alignment in the category terminology. We broke into the alignment teams in each
subject and started breaking down word repetition. Next we worked as a campus to determine
importance of common word meanings.
Through discussion and collaboration the vertical team will came up with
a plan to get information from grade levels and start working on terminology
chart. After determining a plan of
action we implemented the components of the action as a campus by delegating
tasks and procedures.
In addition, constant monitoring of results
will be used to help determine the path in which we head as a campus according
to parent surveys and parent understanding.
The action research project will
reach many students who may struggle with recall and the English language. Not
only will the words be there but the pictures will help. If further help is
needed I would make the recommendation of video and audio so that all students
will have the ability to have a basic understanding of the terms. For the words
that we are able to have models we will introduce those to students who are
struggling with the basic concept.
