Talking About NWEA, NECAPS, and DIBELS - Week 8

Prior to starting my Masters in Education program, I was oblivious to the great wide world of educational related acronyms.  Needless to say, I have become accustomed to hearing them but I still generally do not know what many of them are.  So, I smile and nod and then google them later.  Unfortunately, this can often take five minutes (feels like 20) of searching.

Take, for example, the new acronym I encountered in my tech interview:  DIBELS.  It is not DIBBLES.  It is DIBELS.  Now I understand the acronym but I am just beginning to understand what it is they do.  Luckly, unlike other acronyms, DIBELS are what they sound like:   a set of short procedures and measures for assessing the acquisition of early literary skills from kindergarten through sixth grade.  They are designed to be short and acurate.  And, according to Ms. M, they are a critical element in a successful reading intervention.  To me, this philosophy makes sense: less is more.  One gets as much information as possible from as small a sample as possible, which allows for more time teaching and less time testing.

Theoretically, this is the argument for any technology use.  It makes us faster and more effective. There is less trial and error and (ideally) more success.  However, that is only when the technology is working effectively.  What happens when the system crashes?

Yes, you guessed it...drum roll please...pencil and paper.  So, what is a teacher to do when technology is problematic and too few studies are available to give firm conclusions regarding the effectiveness of tech in the classroom?

The answer?  What they have always done.  Approach each situation with the best knowledge and preparation intertwined with flexibility.  Teachers have always faced this problem.  Nothing works perfectly a hundred percent of the time.  And sometimes, the best learning actually takes place through trial and error.  We must first fail to truly learn. And, ironically, in the world of video game learning we might even need to use cheats, which isn't really cheating after all.  The cheats reveal another problem to solve, forever unfolding.

Upon completing my field experience for this course, I found myself wishing for the opportunity to interview another teacher, someone older with many more years of experience.  For while I agreed with much of what Ms. M told me, I am sure if she were thirty years older she would probably have a differing opinion on some of the questions. Once again I was reminded that we must try and look at problems through different eyes. In doing so, we may create a solution that was never imagined.  Or more often than not, the solution is so obvious, we missed it the first time.

So many times I hear people say, "We have to do it this way because the kids are expecting it."  Or they say, "We have to do it this way because the world they are entering is immersed in technology."  I might argue that, yes, both of those statements are true. However, it does not necessarily mean that we have to do it that way.  In fact, maybe we shouldn't.  Maybe there is another way, not the old way,  another way.



Interview with Ms. M: a Reading Specialist with eleven years of experience

How long have you been teaching?

I was actually a fourth grade classroom teacher for seven years and now this is my fourth year as a part time reading specialist.  I have taught for a total of 11 years.

I also work with our Assistant Principal and am on the district data team.  My role has simply evolved. 

In the time that you have been teaching, how have you seen technology in the classroom change?

A huge deal.  In ten years I have seen it change a lot.  My first two years I had one computer for the whole classroom.  I used it in the classroom, however I rarely had students on it.  We did have a computer lab that students would go down to.  They would have keyboarding or they would work on a word document but that was outside of the classroom.  It was very separate.  I also had an overhead projector, and that was in 2004, so not that long ago.  We definitely had technology back then but it was not as prevalent in the classroom.  Now I am not teaching in a classroom, however I am going into classrooms and providing interventions to students so I see lots of technology use in the classroom.  For example, I see first graders working on Ipads or listening to stories on Ipods.  There is also the laptop cart making the rounds.  Technology has definitely infiltrated the classroom.  That is the biggest difference I see.  Technology is no longer separate.

Do you see it as a positive change, having technology seamlessly integrated?  Or do you sometimes wish that there were more of a separation?

Balance...

I think it is better.  I have a four year old and technology is in his life all the time.  He picks up my phone and knows how to use it without me even showing him how to use it.  Definitely there is a time to power down and learn things and write things by hand.  However, technology immersion is just part of our culture and we need to prepare students for it.

I think there is a balance.   Classroom teachers need to decide when is the appropriate time to use it and when is it time to use other tools. 

On the flip side of that I have many technological tools at my disposal for use in intervention.  However, as a reading department we choose not to use those tools.  Students get them (technological tools) at home and in the classroom in small doses.  We choose to use a more “hands on” approach.  We always have the books in their hands because that is precious time, especially when we are working with struggling readers.  So I say it is very important, however in my own role I don’t use technology as they do in the classrooms.

Can you go a little more in depth as to why you choose not to use technology in the interventions?

Many times when you are using a tech tool it becomes more of an independent activity with the student learning between them and that piece of technology.  When we do a reading intervention, we only have half an hour of time with the student three days a week.  That is a very limited time, especially when you are trying to focus on skills that a student is lacking or struggling with.  So, we just find it is a better use of our time and more efficient to work with the students one on one and do error analysis rather than play a game on the Ipad.  Also- when we work with students, we are often in small groups (2-3 students) and technology can take away from that dynamic.  Even in the classroom, when students are working one on one with their classroom teachers, they are not using technology.  The technology piece tends to come in more when they are working independently.

Can you explain the process you go through with data collection and using the data for differentiating instruction?

I am considered the data manager for the whole school for reading.  We have a variety of classroom assessments as well as assessments we use for intervention.  And all of those are turned in to me.  For instance, at the classroom level, we have reading bench-marks and they do those three times per year. The results are documented on a spreadsheet and those are turned in to me.  I then put them into a site called Infinite Canvas, which stores our attendance and all of our student tracking information.  That information is stored from year to year so that teachers can look back at prior years.  We also input some classroom assessments into a site called Performance Tracker which is through the NH Dept of Ed.  State assessments like the NECAP are already put into the Performance Tracker. In addition, we add local assessments so that we can then analyze and look at trends.  The biggest part for us is our intervention data.  Every other week we collect DIBELS data.  The information depends on the grade level.  Every month case managers and reading specialist turn in their DIBELS info.  I put that into the DIBELS management site and we print out reports from that.  I then give the reports to grade level teachers.  We use the reports to track where students are to make decisions about their instruction.  So, if we have a student who is receiving tier two reading intervention (which means they are receiving 3 half hour sessions outside of the classroom) and they are not making any gains, we would say “OK, what does this student need ?  What can we change to help this student make better progress.”  And the opposite is true.  So for example, if we have a student who is making huge gains, we can then ask if the intervention is necessary anymore.  So, yes, we use that a lot to have data conversations with classroom teachers to help them make decisions in how they adjust their teaching.

How often do you meet with the teachers?

Informally, we meet all the time.  Every time I give an assessment, I touch base with the classroom teacher so that they always know what is going on.  More formally, it is only three times a year.  Actually, this coming year we are planning to move to having formal meetings every two months or so.  We want to see students moving ahead and becoming independent learners.  That is our goal.

How do you keep up to date with technology?

For me, it all depends on what I am doing in my job.  I am always researching things on the Internet.  I also think taking classes is a good thing to keep informed.  I am always learning things from colleagues and learning about things through word of mouth.  For example, we were just doing a new teacher orientation and the new teacher was sharing a program that she had used in her former district that we had never heard of. 

There is so much out there, it is hard to keep on top of things.  However, when you hear directly from someone else, someone you know, you are more willing to take on something new. 

In my role, I don’t change a lot.  I think if I were a classroom teacher my tools would change more frequently.

Can you think of any negative aspects of having so much technology in schools?

Well…(laugh), it doesn’t always work.  There have been many times in my career where I have had an excellent idea and then you get up in front and press the button and then it doesn’t work.  We often think of technology as being such a time saver, but when it doesn’t work it is actually a time waster.  Then you are forced to go back to basics because the technology isn’t working. 

In addition, I think there is a need for kids to have time to power down, especially in Middle and High School when they are so frequently on social media or their computer. We do need to make sure students are learning how to learn from one another, face-to-face.  However, it is our world and we do need to be prepared for how to use technology in a responsible way.  Like I said earlier, there needs to be a balance.

We have found that a lot of teachers do not have the time to keep track of data and looking at trends.  It is important for schools to have individuals whose job is to gather the data and process the data into a format that can then be shared and analyzed by all teachers.  

PLCs in particular can look at processed data and talk about what they see.  They can then learn from one another especially in that format.