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At the beginning of this study I had planned to use a pre/post paired t-test. Unfortunately, due to the Corona Virus Pandemic of 2020, I was unable to give my students the post test assessment.
Data Set One: Student Surveys
The graph above displays the weekly students surveys given to students every Friday where they rated the graphic organizers used each week. The x-axis displays each week my students completed a survey and the y-axis displays the number of students who circled the corresponding thumbs. The number on each bar is the exact number of students who chose that thumb listed in the legend. The graphic organizer used during Week 1 was the compare and contrast graphic organizer. The graphic organizer used in Week 2 was the cause and effect graphic organizer. The graphic organizer used during Week 3 was the theme graphic organizer. Finally, the graphic organizer used during both Week 5 and Week 6 was the Somebody, Wanted, But, So, Then (SWBST) graphic organizer. I did not give my students a survey during the fourth week of the study as we spent that week looking at two separate graphic organizers during a Presidents' Day review activity in Reading.
As I analyzed this data set, it was clear to me that the majority of my students liked the Somebody, Wanted, But, So, Then graphic organizer the most. When looking at the Two Stars and Wish portion of the survey, many students loved how easy this organizer was to follow and to take what they wrote in the boxes to write a summary. Additionally, this has been the one organizer I see students continue to use each week as we work on writing summaries over the texts we read. While students loved the Somebody, Wanted, But, So, Then graphic organizer, my students' least favorite was the theme graphic organizer. When looking at the comments students provided with this organizer, the majority of students thought it was very hard. Throughout the week, we discussed what theme was and how to use evidence from the text to support what we thought the theme was. When completing a blank organizer, many students struggled with determining the theme of the story by themselves. Because of this, in the future, I would change the organizer by having a multiple choice part in the theme box, where students would select the theme and then use their supporting detail boxes and write evidence from the text that supports the theme they selected.
Data Analysis
Critically Examining my Data
Data Set Two: Question and Answer Written Responses
The graph above displays the gradual growth my students made in their reading comprehension skills throughout my six week study. Each bar shows my classes' overall comprehension scores on short answer comprehension quizzes. At the beginning of the study, my students averaged a score of 79% on these comprehension quizzes. By the end, they were averaging 91%. When looking at students' papers, it was evident that what helped improve these scores were the graphic organizers as my students would draw them on the backs of their papers. Additionally, students became active readers as they would take the time to go back into the text to find their answers.
The set of data above displays the growth my students made together in their reading comprehension abilities on the bi-weekly analytical writing response papers. When examining the data, and looking back at the entire school, my students have grown so much in writing well written and organized responses to a story's essential question. Moreover, the data set above shows how well my students responded to using the R.A.C.E. Strategy when writing their answers alongside using graphic organizers. When looking at my students' work, many students would draw out their own organizer on the backside of their papers. As shown in the data, from Week 2 to Week 4, my class' average score dropped by 6%. When analyzing both sets of written responses, I believe what led to this drop was not having the R.A.P.P. or R.A.C.E. strategy reminder at the top of the paper as Week 4's written response was part of our President's Day activity. Additionally, during the last week of the study, the class average jumped to 93%. This was the first written response students did that was graded using the R.A.C.E. strategy. When looking at previous written responses, students lost points for not explaining how the text evidence they used supported their answers to the essential question and because they did not restate the question as a statement. Unlike the R.A.P.P. acronym, R.A.C.E. helps students remember to restate the question and explain how their evidence supports their answer. Finally, towards the end of the study, students also became better summarizers. Because of this, the majority of students were able to use their summarizing skills alongside the R.A.C.E. strategy to write a well written and organized analytical written response over an essential question to a story they read.
Data Set Three: Anecdotal Notes
The data chart above shows the amount of students each week who chose to independently complete the weekly graphic organizer when given a comprehension quiz at the end of the week to help them. The x-axis displays each week of the action research study and the y-axis displays the number of students who used the graphic organizer that week independently to help them on the quiz by either completing a blank graphic organizer or drawing their own. When analyzing this data point, the graphic organizer used independently the least was the Cause and Effect Graphic Organizer from week 2. However, when going back and looking at students' work, students showed that they had gained an understanding on how to find the cause to an effect or vice versa by going back into the text. The graphic organizer used the most independently from students was the Somebody, Wanted, But, So, Then Graphic Organizer. When looking at students' work from this week, the majority of students chose to create their own graphic organizer by writing SWBST down the side of their papers and filled out the different letters as they read the story.
Additionally, when looking back at my anecdotal notes from both whole group and small group instruction, it was interesting to see how well students adapted to using graphic organizers while reading. For the majority of my students, the graphic organizers helped get them to become more active readers and participate in group discussions as students wanted to help one another complete the graphic organizers in groups. However, it should also be mentioned that a reoccurring theme I noticed in group work and independent work was that students' intrinsic motivation played a key role in students' attitudes about using graphic organizers. Throughout the week, students did not like using the organizers as they saw them as "Too much work." However, once seeing their own comprehension quiz scores increase, students mindsets began to change about using the graphic organizers as they began seeing how much they helped them comprehend the stories they read. Overall, my anecdotal notes showed that the graphic organizers helped my students grow in the reading comprehension skills and helped them become active readers.
Triangulating the Data:
In looking at all three data sets, a common theme emerged. My students showed growth in reading comprehension as they became active readers. This confirmed that my hypothesis was true; the use of graphic organizers will increase students ability to comprehend what they are reading. The first data set, a student feelings survey, revealed what graphic organizer my students thought helped them the most in developing an understanding of the stories they read as the Somebody, Wanted, But, So, Then Graphic Organizer was used both weeks by all of my students. Thus, all 24 students found at least one graphic organizer that helped them grow in their reading comprehension skills. The second data set, Weekly and Bi-Weekly Comprehension Quizzes, exposed my class' growth in their comprehension skills together as a group. The third and final data set, Anecdotal Notes, displayed my students' mindsets and usage of the different graphic organizers. Each week, students had the option to use the graphic organizer independently outside of our small group and whole group instruction when working on reading the weekly stories by themselves. In doing so, multiple students chose to use the graphic organizers, even though they thought it was more work, because they saw how much graphic organizers were helping them understand the story better. More specifically, my class used the Somebody, Wanted, But, So, Then Graphic Organizer the most as this was their favorite format and easiest for them to access. As a result, my students grew in their summarizing abilities throughout the action research study as they learned how to properly form a short, simple, and to the point summary about what they read. Therefore, it can be concluded that out of the various graphic organizers used throughout the study, my students found the Somebody, Wanted, But, So, Then Graphic Organizer to be the most helpful since students were the most comfortable with using it. With more exposure to the compare and contrast, cause and effect, and theme graphic organizers, I believe my students will continue grow in these comprehension skills as well. Because all three of my data sets demonstrated student use of the organizer and students' improvement in reading comprehension, my purpose statement stands true.
