School Decisions through Data Driven Change

[Date of Submission]Abstract

The assumptions that achievement of writing and reading are established from support and instruction in various surroundings, in which numerous methods are used by the teachers that differ by child control and level of teacher support, such assumptions are assumed by a philosophical orientation, known as, balanced literacy. To create a balance between meaning-based and skill-based approaches to literacy instruction, between student-centered and teacher-directed activities and between writing and reading, I have described the real-world attempt made by the Simmons Exceptional Center (SEC), Simmons Career Center (SCC) and Teen Parent East (TPE). I adopted a triangulation strategy with various approaches of data collection inclusive of an interview of the site administrator, surveys of teachers, inventories of school buildings and physical environments of classrooms and observations about classroom. Furthermore, the method through which the data is connected to educational decisions for adequacy and quality by the school is analyzed. For discussion of this program, the site administrator was contacted and requested for an interview. The types of data used to make instructional improvement and professional development decisions were learned through the means of this interview. To evaluate results what were the types of data collected, monitoring of the reform effort, involvement of stakeholders in the process of decision-making, to assess this need, the types of data used and reasons for using such types of data, reasons behind the need of this reform, subject areas, grades or students that were impacted and the reform effort or the specific school improvement, were the topics included in gathering of information. In the last, the types of data collected are analyzed and identified for adequacy and quality regarding program outcomes after the interview is conducted.

Introduction4

Supporting Questions for Primary Research Question5

Literature Review6

Research Methodology9

Results and Findings10

Discussion13

The Implementation of the Balanced Literacy Approach15

Conclusion17

School Decisions through Data Driven Change

Introduction

There is a variety of perspectives associated with the term, balanced literacy. Some view that to offer various stages of child control and teacher support, balanced literacy is the only way. Others perceive balanced literacy as a thought about mutual development of writing and reading. A third perspective is understanding of balanced literacy as a combination of skills-based and whole language instruction (Pressley & Et.al, 2002). All researchers can agree that a balance of elements is comprised by the balanced literacy, even though it may be an evasive concept. Through explicit comprehension, vocabulary, expressiveness and fluency, phonemic awareness and teaching of phonic, the essential dimensions are stressed by the balanced literacy.

The key features of this approach are the systematic word study instruction, writing workshop, reading work-shop, independent reading time and daily read-aloud (Reutzel & Cooter Jr, 2000). Through a variety of structures, like, mini lessons in writing and reading, interactive writing, shared reading, guided reading and read-aloud, the strategies and habits of effective reading are demonstrated by the teachers (Au & Et.al, 1997). The students are allowed by the teachers to independently and successfully apply those strategies to their own writing and reading, by coaching them ...