First, I used students’ formal district writing assessments to truly monitor their progress. These were considered my pre and post assessments. I felt that this was a strong way for data collection because it allowed me to see where my students were at the beginning and middle of my action research. I used this data collection method in order to see students overall growth as a writer using the formal district writing rubric.
Second, I used teacher and student self-assessment. Students took an attitude survey on writing and writing conferences at the beginning and the end of my action research. I hoped that by the end of my research that my students felt more comfortable with writing, and they better understood writing conferences. I videotaped myself two times throughout my action research and reflected on student conferences. After the first round of writing conferences with my students, they then began reflecting and rating themselves on their implementation of their writing goal in future pieces. They rated themselves with a one, two or three. One being they did not think about their goal. Two being they thought about their goal but did not implement it into their writing, and three that they implemented their goal into their writing. I rated them as well for a stronger comparison. Overall, I this data collection method provided me with qualitative data and allowed me to learn about the perceptions of the students.
Third, I took formative writing data. The topic or writing trait that was the focus of the teacher-student writing conference was what I scored on each week. I scored the students based on the changes they made in their writing. They can get a one, two, three, or four. This scoring was based on the district scoring. A one is they did not make any changes. A two is they attempted, but it was weak. A three is proficient meaning they did exactly what I asked, and a four is if the student went above and beyond the strategy I gave them. I took this data each week and tracked it. Taking formative quantitative data allowed me to see the students progress throughout my action research instead of simply at the beginning and the conclusion of the research.
**All resources can be found on the Action Plan page.