Phase I
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School Demographics
The Integrative Capstone Project will be taken place at Name Elementary School (NES) in College Park, Maryland. NES is a Title I school that educates grades Head Start to sixth grade with 365 enrolled students from the city of College Park and neighboring cities.
Target Group Demographics
The make-up of the class that will participate in the Inegrative Capstone Project consists of 17 first grade students with 6 below grade level (BGL) reading, 5 on grade level (OGL) reading, and 6 above grade level (AGL) reading; according to the Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA) for mid-year first grade. Of the 17 students there are 10 females and 7 males. The ethnic demographic of the participating students are 7 African-American, 6 Hispanic, 2 white, and 2 Asian. Though there are no students who do not receive special education services with an IEP (Individualized Education Plan) there are 3 students who receive ELL (English Language Learner) services.
Permission to implement this Integrative Capstone Project was approved by the Principal of NES (January 2011).
The Nature of the Problem
By the end of the first grade, in the area of writing first grade students of NES are expected to be able to write a simple paragraph about a specific topic. Students must be able to compose a simple paragraph with a main idea and supporting details. In order to compose simple paragraphs students must be able to organize their thoughts using a graphic organizer. The problem in which most of the current first graders of NES have is the ability to generate their own organized simple paragraph on a given topic with minimal dependency on their teacher.
When it comes to writing simple paragraphs, the target students are able to produce a topic, but have difficulty formulating supporting details to expand on their topic. Through classroom observations the teacher found that the students are not sure as to how they should build their topic. Using a graphic organizer, the teacher provides prompts and subtopics to help students steer their thinking. According to Lee et al. (2007) "research on the writing process of poor writers shows they do not have a sense of priority . . . they spend little time planning and begin writing although they are still confused about the task." Because students at this age lack the ability to create mental representation of what they are writing, the students cannot write a succinct well-thought out writing piece.
Who it Affects
This problem affects students when they reach standardized testing (grades 3-6). When the target group reaches third grade, they are expected to answer BCRs (brief constructed responses) based on a given text. According to 2010-2011 NES Fast Test results, the intermediate missed indicators conclude that students had difficulty specifically with BCRs. Ensuring that students have more practice with writing BCRs, first grade is the place to start.
Proposed Technology-Based Solution
At the first grade level, students are not developmentally ready to organize ideas mentally and to write a BCR. To allow students to be able to organize thoughts, graphic organizers help students arrange their thoughts on paper. The current teacher has been using paper graphic organizers to help student organize their thoughts, however student still have difficulty. A possible technology-based solution to this problem is to utilize computer-based graphic organizers like Kidspiration.
Relative Advantage to Proposed Solution |  |
References
Lee, C., Bopry, J., & Hedberg, J. (2007). Methodological issues in using sequential representations in the
teaching of writing. ALT-F, Research in Learnign Technology, 15(2), 131-141.
Lorenz, B., Green, T., & Brown, A. (2009). Using multimedia graphic organizer software in the prewriting
activities of primary school students: What are the benefits? Computers in the Schools, 26 (2), 115
129.
