Sabbatical Report - Oranga School Website

Sabbatical Report 2009
The De La Paz et al. (2002) article makes the strongest case in my opinion
because the investigation was carried out with 58 students of which 30 were
in the experimental class and 28 were in the control class. Neither of the other
two studies involved numbers of this size or a control group running at the
same time to provide for greater comparison of data with respect to children
who had had the intervention compared with children who had not. The other
studies only used pre and post-test data from the children who had
participated in the intervention.
The study extended previous SRSD research by examining its effectiveness
with normally (average or greater than average based on a national test given
every spring) achieving writers and used a more traditional large group
design. The other studies were carried out with either highly capable students
or learning disabled students.
The study saw the participating students’ regular teachers delivering the
instruction in a traditional classroom setting while the other two studies used
researchers to teach the intervention. The use of the students’ own teachers,
the number of students and the starting academic ability all provide evidence
on the viability of this approach in a traditional classroom.
6.0 Implications: How effective is teacher practice in
impacting on students’ learning?
To find out how effective the teacher practice of explicitly teaching writing
strategies is in impacting on students’ learning we must evaluate the practice
of strategy instruction that the teachers’ are implementing. Evaluation can
provide confirmation that the strategy worked. It is also important for three
other reasons. Firstly, teachers who evaluate what they are doing closely are
better placed to make modifications to their teaching practice when needed.
Secondly, ongoing evaluation provides teachers/schools with a lot of insight
into what students/teachers are doing and what the needs of both participants
are. Thirdly, evaluation is important for student growth, as if teachers/schools
are unaware that the current practices are not working then they cannot make
the appropriate changes needed for student and teacher growth (Graham &
Harris, 2005).
When new methods or procedures are being used it is essential that time be
devoted to the evaluation of the practice so that it can be validated as either
effective or needing change (Graham & Harris, 2005). As the current
professional development is new there will need to be an evaluation
programme put in place to measure its effectiveness. The evaluation would
include teacher observations using an Observation Guide rubric (see
Appendix 1), discussions with teachers re the SRSD model, observation of
students at work, discussions with students’ and evaluation of student work
(both teacher and self evaluation).
If I were to look at this practice teachers would be observed using an
Observation Guide (see Appendix 1). The observation guide is based around
Jonathan Ramsay
Oranga Primary - One Tree Hill - Auckland