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Data Collection and Analysis of Saxon Phonics and Spelling KMichelle WallaceVirginia Commonwealth UniversityAuthor NoteMichelle Wallace, Graduate School, School of Education, Virginia Commonwealth University.This is an assignment for EDLP 711. The author worked collaboratively with a peer to complete Field Experience 2: Collaborative Evaluation Project Data Collection and Analysis. The first part of this assignment is an individually derived critique of the data collection and analysis process. The second part of this assignment is a collaborative insight into the Saxon Phonics and Spelling K program.Data Collection and Analysis of Saxon Phonics and Spelling KOne of the most essential skills that young children need to develop is that of reading. One program which effectively teaches the foundational skills needed to learn to read is Saxon Phonics and Spelling K (Saxon Publishers, 2005). To gain insight into the implementation of Saxon Phonics and Spelling K (Saxon) at ABC Elementary School, focus group meetings were conducted with Kindergarten teachers who have been using this program since the 2009-2010 school year and with related instructional personnel who support the Kindergarten teachers’ classroom implementation of the program (C. Gravely, personal communication, October 5, 2012) . This paper is divided into two sections: (a) a personal critique of the focus group data collection and analysis process, and (b) a consensus on the insights gleaned from the two focus group meetings.Personal CritiqueLogisticsTwo separate focus group interviews were held. The first group was comprised of Kindergarten Teachers using the Saxon program. The second group was comprised of related instructional support personnel including a speech therapist, an English as a Second Language teacher, a reading teacher, and a special education teacher, all of whom provide service to the Kindergarten students. For the group of Kindergarten teachers, this author was the interviewer and her partner was the recorder. During the next focus group, the author was the recorder and her partner was the interviewer. Interview ProcessAs the interviewer, it was hard not to add suggestive comments about the program especially being familiar with the Saxon program. The interviewer was able to focus on the responses since her partner was recording and taking notes. During the second focus group as the recorder, the author took notes about who was speaking and what was being discussed to make it easier to transcribe. Again, it was hard not to speak up or ask for clarifying answers as the recorder. Even using open-ended questions, the groups could have provided more information. The only change to make would be to have some additional probing questions prepared in case the focus group did not elaborate in their responses. Transcription ProcessDuring the interview, notes were taken on the person speaking and about their comments to make it easier to transcribe the interview session. Also, the focus group was given the protocol to gesture with a hand signal when they were preparing to speak. This helped to keep the transcription organized. Transcribing can be difficult if one does not know their group members. For this reason, next time, code numbers will be assigned to each person in the group. Protocol for gesturing when speaking will stil be used, as will taking hand written notes to pair up with the recorded session. Group Analysis ProcessThe partners separately highlighted the transcription comments felt to be important for the interview analysis. Then the comments were combined and a chart was generated into five themes. The comments by both groups were indentified separately using two colors of ink since there were vast differences in answers which needed to be depicted in the report. The process was beneficial for the group to compare notes and determine trends in the data. For a larger scaled project, combining themes to consolidate the information would be helpful. Report Generation ProcessThe report is based on five themes which came from focus group interviews. For each theme, the insights gleaned from the focus group interviews are examined and recommendations are made based on the information provided. For the purposes of this assignment, consensus was met on the recommendations and conclusions fairly easily. For a future, perhaps larger scaled project, more research would have to be conducted on the implications of the program to be able to make the proper recommendations. Insights into Saxon Phonics and Spelling K MethodThe Saxon Phonics and Spelling K program is a scripted program which follows a model of explicit instruction. The script provides “a clear explanation of the concept being taught” (Saxon Publishers, 2005). Meetings were held with two different focus groups to understand the extent of the implementation of Saxon at ABC Elementary School. The first focus group consisted of four Kindergarten classroom teachers. The second focus group was comprised of related instructional personnel who offer support services to students outside of the regular classroom including the Title I Reading Teacher, the English Language Learners Teachers, the Speech Therapist, and a Special Education teacher.The focus group interview questions were drafted to determine the depth of the implementation. Focus group members provided information on the following: (a) implementation of the Saxon program, (b) specific aspects of the program that are used daily, (c) changes needed with the program, (d) the training and support received, and (e) additional information to share in regard to the program. Transcripts of the meetings were used to code the qualitative data collected on the implementation of Saxon at ABC Elementary School. Using a coding process, the data were classified into the following themes: (a) materials, (b) learning processing/instruction, (c) supplemental materials, (d) needs, and (e) training. Each of the focus groups provided relevant information within these themes which helped the interviewers begin to understand the depth of the implementation of Saxon.Materials Kindergarten teachers at ABC Elementary School use the daily lesson activity that comes with a worksheet. Worksheets begin very simple at the beginning of the year and progress to making words by the end of the year. Letter cards are used to build words and review upper and lower case letters. Flash cards and picture cards are used daily. Oral assessments are used at the end of every week or four lessons. Some teachers do not see the value of using assessments with every student every week as they know which students are weak on the lessons. Another teacher commented assessments are good, especially with the inception of a new teacher evaluation tool beginning this year which is tied to student improvement in achievement (Kindergarten Focus Team, Personal Communication, October 5, 2012).Related instructional support personnel use less of the actual Saxon materials. Typically, they follow along with the letter of the week introduced by the classroom teacher. Then supplemental materials are used, including activities on the SMART ? Board, to support the learning of the letter of the week. Some of the Saxon worksheets are used as a review for the special education teacher. The speech therapist does not use any of the materials (Related Instructional Support Personnel Focus Team, Personal Communication, October 5, 2012).The Saxon program includes eight main material components: (a) controlled vocabulary and practice, (b) annotated bibliography, (c) coding, (d) spelling, (e) assessments, (f) pacing, (g) handwriting, (h) reading fluency (Simmons, 2006). The classroom teachers alluded to using five of these components regularly (controlled vocabulary and practice, coding, spelling, assessments, and reading fluency). The related instructional support personnel only mentioned using the controlled vocabulary and practice materials as review materials. Mostly, the related instructional support personnel use their own materials which are used to support and supplement the Saxon program.Learning Processes and InstructionThe Kindergarten teachers conduct instructional activities related to the Saxon program daily. Learning activities include the alphabet warm-up, the review of a skill, blending, rhyming and beginning sounds, and phonics coding skills. A daily worksheet is used to reinforce the letter of the week. Classes read as a whole group and then individually or in small groups. Students hunt for sight words, code words, and look for word family words using the materials provided. On the worksheets, students identify and write letters. Later in the year, CVC (consonant, vowel, consonant) words are introduced to help identify beginning sounds with picture to practice the related sounds (Kindergarten Focus Team, Personal Communication, October 5, 2012).Related support personnel conduct lessons which support the letter of the week. SMART? board technology is used for hands on learning activities. The speech therapist goes into each Kindergarten classroom to introduce a motion for the letter of the week to give the students an auditory and tactile learning process for each letter. Manipulatives are used by the special education teacher to help teach position words (Related Instructional Support Personnel Focus Team, Personal Communication, October 5, 2012).The instruction which takes place in the regular classroom supports the materials which are being utilized by teachers at ABC Elementary School. The related instructional support personnel are mostly creating their own lesson to support the learning processing introduced in the regular class setting. The Saxon program is designed to be used with a core reading program in a manner that provides a “double dose” of instruction of foundational skills (Saxon Publishers, 2005). Students at ABC Elementary School are getting at least a double dose of instruction based on the way instruction is being provided in the classroom as well as by the instructional support personnel. For example, every student is getting a double dose of phonemic awareness with the letter of the week as the speech therapist introduces a motion that goes with every letter to the entire class.Supplemental Materials Kindergarten teachers use supplemental decodable readers, some consumable and some hard back materials, to reinforce what students are learning in the daily lessons. The fluency portion of the Saxon program is supplemented by the kindergarten teachers. Finally, handwriting worksheets, activities, and work banks are used as supplemental materials (Kindergarten Focus Team, Personal Communication, October 5, 2012). The related support personnel primarily use supplemental materials for their programs. Materials are selected based on the letter of the week (Related Instructional Support Personnel Focus Team, Personal Communication, October 5, 2012).Research shows that students need repetition to effectively learn to read. “Children love to do things over and over. Hands on practice with concrete materials, such as an easel for writing, manipulatives for youngsters. . ., and access to previously read books, facilitates this practice” (Irwin, Moore, Tornatore, Fowler, 2012, p. 21). The supplemental materials used by classroom teachers and related support personnel are a means of giving students multiple resources for practice of reading and literacy skills.NeedsWhen the Kindergarten teachers were asked what changes were needed to the Saxon program, their ideas were varied. All of them felt that a technology component compatible with SMART? Boards is needed. Other teachers said that more reading and literature materials would be beneficial. One felt that the literature should make connections for young learners, such as having characters for certain letters. For example, “Leo the Lion” could represent the letter “L” and be in featured in materials throughout the curriculum (Kindergarten Focus Team, Personal Communication, October 5, 2012). The related instructional support personnel felt that more hands on materials were needed which could be used by support personnel such as them. To them it does not make sense for the support personnel to use the same materials as the regular classroom teachers (Related Instructional Support Personnel Focus Team, Personal Communication, October 5, 2012).The Saxon program supports research on the need for visual processing. The program “promotes visual processing to help students develop the means to mentally organize information for quick and easy retrieval” (Saxon Publishers, 2005). This research supports the focus groups suggestion for materials for use with the SMART? Board which would allow for hands on highly visual activities. TrainingThe Kindergarten teachers spoke about a training which was held a couple of years ago at the beginning of the implementation of Saxon. One teacher explained how the trainer demonstrated how to use materials that were included with the program and how a whole daily routine would run (Kindergarten Focus Team, Personal Communication, October 5, 2012). The related instructional support personnel have not had formal training on the program. They have relied on the training provided by other teachers. One indicated she had learned as she implemented the program (Related Instructional Support Personnel Focus Team, Personal Communication, October 5, 2012).With a program as specific and in-depth as Saxon, training is imperative for teachers to see how the materials can be used. It is important for teachers to understand the research base of the program. Training would explain the components of explicit instruction, double-dosing, multi-sensory instruction, visual processing, phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary instruction, and comprehension (Saxon Publishers, 2005).RecommendationsThe following recommendations are made based on the focus group interviews. First, additional training needs to be provided. It has been several years since the initial implementation of the Saxon program. New teachers and support teachers did not receive training from the company and may have only been provided information based on what other Kindergarten teachers felt was important. Second, time is needed to develop lessons for the SMART? Board. Many of the teachers are using this device to provide supplemental instruction to the program which does not have technology resources available. Finally, additional reading fluency materials are needed to supplement the resources provided with the kit. The teachers spoke about the annotated bibliography provided by Saxon, however, very few of those resources are available in the school’s library. This would be a recommendation provided the funding is available.ConclusionSaxon Phonics and Spelling – K is a supplemental program used to teach phonemic awareness at ABC Elementary School. Information provided by focus groups indicates strengths and areas for probable improvement in the implementation of the program. Further investigation is needed to determine actual classroom practices in regard to program implementation. Student data needs to be reviewed to determine the effectiveness of the program. ReferencesIrwin, J., Moore, D., Tornatore, L., Fowler, A. (2012). Expanding on early literacy: Promoting emerging language and literacy during storytime. Children and Libraries: The Journal of the Association for Library Service to Children, Summer/Fall, 20-23. Retrieved from Saxon Publishers. (2005). Scientific research base for Saxon phonics and spelling K-3: Foundational research and program efficacy studies. Retrieved from Publishers & Simmons, L. (2006). Saxon phonics and spelling K [Program Materials]. Texas: Brown Publishing Network, Inc. ................
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