TechQuest- Project Evaluation Blog Entry

Background
This project was very timely for me. My middle school is starting the process of the MiBLsi. We have our PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports ) plan in place, and we are going into our third year of implementation. In addition to this PBIS, this school year we are starting the RTI part of the process, and just last week I was asked to be the RTI specialist.

RTI is defined as “the practice of providing high-quality instruction and interventions matched to student need, monitoring progress frequently to make decisions about changes in instruction or goals, and applying child response data to important educational decisions”
(Batsche et al., 2005). From Website: pbis.org



What I have learned From my TechQuest and What Others Might Benefit From Knowing

My TechQuest is about using reading and technology to help middle schoolers read better. I began thinking about the project because I wanted to have a way for students to understand and be reflective in their reading skills (specifically- knowing their strengths and weaknesses). I started investigating CAIs (Computer Aided Instruction) to help students know about their reading abilities and then for them to have the means to work on those skills individually. Although there is research to claim CAIs can be moderately effective, I think they are created more for the secondary and tertiary levels of instruction and not for the class level of instruction I was looking for. At the time I started the project I wanted the reading strategies for the universal level, the classroom, the 80-90% of the students who are affected. See below chart for clarification of levels:

What would be helpful is to understand if one what to replicate this TechQuest is know what level of instruction one wants to tackle before investigating reading strategies /websites/ activities. I was looking for technology and reading for my classroom (universal intervention), but spent a lot of time researching for the more specific levels of instruction, the 20% of students who need more intense reading work which the CAIs would be better for. I am sure the entire class could use the CAIs, but it is not likely I would use them enough to be cost effective when there is a lot more curriculum to cover in a regular English class.

Because I did not fully implement the TechQuest project I cannot give all the specifics on what might help when using the sites with the students. The couple students that did try out the sites and assignments I gave them were motivated and liked using the computer to help in their reading comprehension. The GoogleLit Trip seems to be the one that was most interesting for my trial students. However, both students said they would need more instruction and guidance when using the GoogleLit Trip because it can be overwhelming. I would recommend learning about Google Earth and its features (great tutorials available) before tackling a GoogleLit Trip.

Evaluating My TechQuest’s Success

I hope to see a difference in my students’ abilities to reflect on their reading process. By zeroing in on comprehension and vocabulary and providing them with graphic organizers to display that thinking, I hope to see more of a reflection on their thinking/reading process. I am also going to use blogging as a way they can keep track of how they began the year thinking about text, entering posts every month and then reflecting on with a final post at the end of the year. Maybe by reading their own thoughts about the processes and strategies they used throughout the year they can see the changes that have occurred or not occurred in their reading.

The Future of My TechQuest

I will begin implementing my TechQuest in the fall of 2010. I look forward to using the reading comprehension sites and strategies with my students. My colleagues have already been informed about the research and information I have found this summer, and I will also be helping them implement portions of my TechQuest into their classrooms. I am still working on the vocabulary part and how that will fit into the class novels we will be reading in 8^th eighth grade English.

I will continue working on the secondary and tertiary levels of interventions for reading and technology since I am going to be the RTI specialist this coming school year. I will continue my investigation of the CAIs and see if they would be right for our school and helping struggling readers read better.

Resource & graphic:

"Response to Intervention & PBIS." Positive Behavioral Interventions & Support. TA& D Network, 2010. Web. 6 Aug 2010. .