Data Collection
Data Collection Methods:
Data collection methods for the six-week plan included surveys (check-ins/weekly rating scale), reflection journals, anecdotal notes, and tally marks. Surveys or check-ins/rating scales were provided to check-in with students on how they were feeling on a scale 1(bad)-10(good). The surveys asked social and emotional questions connected to school, peers, and themselves through the completion of a google form. This form provided me with a way to track student progress and student growth from week to week from the perspective of the student. Reflection journals were used by the students to write one grow and one glow about themselves using the skill or skills that they learned that day. I reviewed the journals and responded to students daily with suggested strategies and ideas to help them grow. I recorded anecdotal notes when I observed students using positive or negative social-emotional skills and documented them in a binder. I reviewed these notes every week to see which social-emotional skills the students were struggling with and what skills I needed to reteach or bring in the following day. Anecdotal notes coordinated with tally marks. Tally marks showed the negative skill or skills they were using such as cursing and hitting instead of the skill(s) taught that day when interacting with peers. The tally marks were displayed on the white board and represented the growth or need for improvement of the whole class. The anecdotal notes provided a way to highlight specific students and situations that resulted in the tally marks for the whole class. I coordinated tally marks with the anecdotal notes as to the skill or skills student were struggling with. I documented the results on the white board. The tally marks showed every time students were using the skills positively or if improvement was needed in a particular area. Since these skills were coordinated with notes, I was able to pinpoint what skills the students had mastered or needed to improve on as a whole class or as individuals.
Observation Log is where the teacher complied anecdotal notes and areas of strengths or growths students showcased throughout the day on social-emotional skills.
Observation Log
Weekly check-ins allowed the teacher to see how students were progressing and identify if their self-reflection was matching with the observations/anecdotal notes that the teacher had.
Weekly Check-ins
Reflection journals allowed students to self-reflect on daily skills and to discuss any concerns they had with peers to the teacher in confidence.
Reflection Journal
Daily tally chart focused on the negative behaviors that highlighted the deficiencies in social-emotional skills. Curing and hitting were the main displays of poor self-regulation skills and peer interactions when conflicts arise.
Daily Tally Chart
The pre- and post-baseline was used by the teacher to see where students started and finished on social-emotional learning when it came to their self-reflection. This baseline allowed the teacher to a starting point for where they needed to go.
Pre- and Post Baseline
Why:
The data collection methods were chosen because they not only used the students' reflection on the skills, but allowed the me different ways to provide student differentiation. The data collection methods provided multiple perspectives on social and emotional learning that was being achieved in the classroom. This provided me with a perspective through the observation of students' social-emotional skills in the classroom and it provided the students' with a perspective through weekly check-ins and reflection journals, and whole class perspective through tally marks on the white board for behavior. Through these perspectives, I was able to see the bigger picture and a true vision of what path I needed to take in order to guide the students and provide strategies for them to achieve social and emotional learning skills.
How:
1. The data reflected the students' needs by providing me with where the students were emotionally. This information allowed me to fill in strategies and coping skills that the students were missing and provide the students the life skills needed. Weekly check-ins were a way that provided insight into skill deficits. A student was struggling with how to manage conflict between two friends in her friend group. Two of her friends were saying unkind things to each other outside of school through social media. Their rating throughout the weekly check-in was lower than previous weeks and they utilized the "any further concerns" box to share their situation. The counselor and I got together and brainstormed ideas as to what the students could do. I discussed with that student the different strategies that could be used like stating they did not want to be involved or discuss negative things about a peer, tell them to stop because what they were saying was not true, or to leave the situation and/or tell one of their peers to also leave the situation. The student chose to leave the situation and told them to leave the situation. After that, the conflict died down and the students chose to be separated from each other. In turn, the students were able to improve academics, collaborations with peers, and relationships in and out of the classroom. Reflection journals and weekly check-in assessments highlighted the students' emotions and feelings over topics in and out of the classroom that were affecting productivity.
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2. The data collected allowed me to individualize goals and instructions for students because independent student responses were used to guide lessons. I was able to see what strengths and gaps there were, and was also provided with the student perspective as to what strengths and gaps there were. This led to individualized plans for student improvement. When looking at the student reflection journals, I was provided with information needed to individualize strategies, and also found that there were common themes occurring in the classroom that needed to be addressed in order to provide overall instruction. For example, for a week, a student in the reflection journal kept switching between yelling or hitting a peer as a positive because he was not doing it that day or a negative he was doing that day. After seeing that pattern for a couple of days not only in his journal, but through observations, I asked him why he thought he was addressing peers in that way. This student would accept positive or negative feedback from peers. This student was struggling with realizing the boundary between being funny and being hurtful. I pulled that student for a one-on-one discussion about ways to have positive interactions with peers and how he was upset his peers did not like him, but it was only because his actions pushed peers away. That discussion helped the student see how his actions affected other people and tried to interact with peers differently. While the student still had many moments going forward, he did show growth through small moments such as apologizing or owning his actions.
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3. The information that was gathered provided a baseline that showed where the students were currently socially and emotionally. This was completed using the pre-check baseline, the reflective journals and observations for daily changes to instruction. The pre-check baseline showed me an insight into where students were starting and what general areas students were struggling with in social-emotional skills. I used the information to prepare social circle. Social circle was where students received initial instruction for social-emotional skills they were lacking. Throughout the week, social circle was used in coordination with the reflection journals and anecdotal notes taken during observations. In these journals, they were able to provide insight into their strengths, weaknesses, or struggles they were having with peers. This was a safe space for me to examine how student growth and changes were going. This also provided me a platform to provide individualized strategies, along with provide concern or praise that I had witnessed from my observations. Finally, weekly check-ins were done to verify student growth and where students were in order to address these needs the following week. This provided guidance for instruction the next week and the skills to be highlighted. When looking are these check-ins, I could see a pattern such as students struggling with social media and providing lessons based on digital citizenship and cyber bullying.