Final TechQuest Project Description

Why does it matter?
I have six students who are currently reading 2 or more years below grade level. Clearly they are unable to make one year’s growth in one year with current teaching methods, meaning they will only fall further and further behind. Once they reach middle school, these students will receive limited direct reading instruction. Instead of “learning to read,” they will be required to use “reading to learn.” The format of many middle and high school classes is to have students read several pages of information for homework, perhaps answer some comprehension questions, then discuss the reading the next day in class, with the teacher expanding on the information, etc. If these students are unable to do the required homework, or pre-teaching of the material, they won’t be able to answer the comprehension questions, they will be lost during class discussions, and most likely do poorly on any tests about the material. If a student learns a minimal amount in 7th grade, they will have a weak foundation for 8th grade, a weaker foundation for 9th grade, and so on. This results in poor grades, low achievement, low self-esteem, possible behavior problems, dropping out of school, and having difficulty getting a high-paying job. This can even happen to “bright” students who merely struggle in reading!

Clearly, it is necessary to remediate reading difficulties as soon as possible and as thoroughly as possible to increase the probability of success over a lifetime.

What technology will I use?
I will use the online program Explode the Code. Explode the Code has been a phonics workbook bestseller for over 30 years. It helps students build essential literacy skills such as phonological awareness, decoding, vocabulary, comprehension, fluency, and spelling. This program is research-based and teacher-tested program, and exceeds “No Child Left Behind” requirements and National Reading Panel Standards. The online program also can be used in all three ties of the Response to Intervention model, which my school is currently in the first year of implementing. The Explode the Code website reports some of the merits of its online program as:

· Abundant practice and reinforcement opportunities for greater retention.
· Development of comprehension skills through reading in context.
· Accommodations for English Language Learners and struggling readers.
· Individualized instruction and reinforcement based on continuous assessment.
· Research-based instruction supported by auditory and visual cues to promote independence.
· Robust reporting features that provide ongoing progress monitoring.
· Online delivery available across school, home and extended day services—no installation required.
· An engaging, game-like interface and built in reward system make learning fun for students.

Efficacy studies (on www.explodethecode.com) indicate that students who used Explode The Code Online every day for 20 minutes for at least 10 weeks gained reading proficiency at a rate of at least three times that of students from the same schools who did not use the program.
Clearly, that for less than $50 per year per student, a program that can truly result in reading growth three times that of not using the program is certainly worth the cost. Also, no additional software, hardware, student or teacher training is necessary. The activities and progress monitoring are entirely online. The student interface is easy to use, and students merely have to hit “play” to start the first lesson. They are then given audio instructions as they need to complete more difficult tasks throughout the lessons. The teacher interface is also very straightforward, and even moderately technologically savvy educators can quickly and easily see their students’ progress using graphs, charts, and standards lists.

I have previously used Explode the Code workbooks, and they were excellent for students who actually completed the assigned classwork and homework. These students showed significant reading improvement throughout the year. The biggest struggle was motivating students to complete the workbooks! Even if the lessons were at an appropriate level, my students seldom put forth their best efforts; they often read only the words they already knew, and guessed at the answers, or even just blindly guessed. By the time I had corrected the workbooks for that day, many students had wrongly completed 50% of the activities. If we spent the next day fixing the mistakes, we wouldn’t get to the next day’s work, and so on.

In contrast, with the individualized online version, students cannot move on to a new activity until they correctly complete the current activity. Students are also motivated because they receive small colored tokens on the computer for each activity they compete correctly, with bonus points for speed and accuracy. At the end of each day’s work, each student can be shown their progress (hopefully moving upwards!), so they know there is a real reason for them to be completing the lessons. Students also want to complete more lessons than their peers, so they have surprisingly stayed actively engaged for a solid 30 minutes at a time. If a student starts a series of lessons that is too easy for them, the teacher can see that they are scoring “advanced” on many lessons in a row, and can manually skip them up to a higher level, decreasing the likelihood of boredom from easy, mindless tasks.

I believe that concrete, direct instruction in phonological awareness and decoding, as well as activities for comprehension, set in an engaging, computer based environment will have a significant positive impact on the reading levels of my students.

Supporting Research:
Efficacy studies indicate that students who used Explode The Code Online every day for 20 minutes for at least 10 weeks gained reading proficiency at a rate of at least three times that of students from the same schools who did not use the program. This increased rate of gain is vital for struggling readers who are already years behind their peers in reading proficiency. These struggling readers have been unable to make a year’s worth of growth in one school year, which has caused them to be functioning behind their peers. There is no way for these students to “catch up” to their peers unless they start making more than one year’s progress in one school year. (www.explodethecode.com, 2010)

Advantages and Disadvantages of Scaffolding
http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/5074
“[Scaffolding] has been praised for its ability to engage most learners because they are constantly building on prior knowledge and forming associations between new information and concepts. Additionally, scaffolding presents opportunities for students to be successful before moving into unfamiliar territory. This type of instruction minimizes failure, which decreases frustration, especially for students with special learning needs.

Although scaffolding can be modified to meet the learning needs of all students, this is also disadvantageous because this technique, when used correctly, is incredibly time-consuming for teachers. Scaffolding also necessitates that the teacher give up some control in the classroom in order for learners to move at their own pace. Teachers who engage in scaffolding as a teaching strategy must be well-trained in order to create effective activities and tasks for all students.”

Explode the Code encompasses all the advantages of scaffolding without any of the disadvantages. It allows students to build on prior knowledge and gives many opportunities for success, but does not require individual planning for each student by the teacher, since the program individualizes the instruction automatically.

Motivating with Technology
http://erhubbell.wordpress.com/2008/01/04/research-on-student-motivation/
This article focuses on two of Marzano’s principles: engage students through frequent feedback, and have them participate in inherently engaging tasks. Explode the Code offers immediate feedback for each click of the mouse that a student makes. The use of technology and a game-like user interface is inherently engaging for the students I have chosen to use the program.

How will I implement this plan?
I applied for an East Lansing Education Foundation grant in Fall 2009 to buy licenses for my most severely struggling readers. I was awarded the grant for $360, and was finally able to have the seat-licenses available starting Monday, March 29th.

My moderately struggling readers will participate 3 days per week, 30 minutes per session, and my severely struggling readers will participate 4-5 days per week, for up to 40 minutes at a time (depending on how long they can stay focused and engaged). Because the progress monitoring tools are so easy to use, I will monitor students’ progress (or lack thereof) each day. Students can complete about 10 activities per session, so there should be a slight upward trend even across the work of one day. If a student is having exceptional difficulty, I can remediate with a one-on-one mini-lesson the next day before going back to the computer. If a student is breezing through activities, I can manually move them to a higher level to make a better use of their time.
In addition to the progress monitoring provided by Explode the Code program, I will also be giving each student the Slosson Oral Reading Test (SORT) every 2 weeks to gage their progress in word calling and decoding. The SORT also gives a grade equivalency, which can be a powerful tool when showing progress to parents and students.

The licenses continue for 1 year, so some students will continue using the program at home during the summer. Even sporadic use will be better than nothing in maintaining their reading skills during three months away from school. If a student graduates from the program by finishing all 7 books worth of lessons (takes 1-2 days to finish each of 15 lessons per book), they will be removed from the program and a new student can take over their license. Or, if a student is not making progress after several weeks, we will re-evaluate if this is the best intervention for them, or if they need an alternative.

If the majority of the students do show significant progress during the last 10 weeks of this school year, more licenses will be purchased at the beginning of the 2010-2011 school year, and more students will start the program. It will also be recommended to the K-4 buildings in our district, so that struggling readers can use the program earlier, before they fall so far behind in reading.

Four Facets of Education:
· Who will be teaching? I will be supervising the students’ use of the online program. The program is visual based and user-friendly, so I would like students to “figure out” how to use the program on their own if possible.

· Who will be learning? 5th/6th grade students, 5 qualify for support in reading, 2 qualify for support in writing, 1 low reader. 3 students have also participated in an after-school homework completion program.

· What are we learning? Phonics, sentence completion, vowel teams, diagraphs, beginning and ending blends, 7 types of syllables, 3 syllable words, vocabulary, comprehension. Also how to take an online class.

· Where are we learning? Computer lab, the only place in the school where I can have all 8 students use the program simultaneously. A classroom computer could be used, and one student could participate at a time throughout the day. Students can also use the program at home and during the summer.