Overall Instructor Rating: Satisfactory
Ratings explanation:
- Exemplary - A model answer in almost every way (this is given out very rarely).
- Satisfactory - Very well done; you've met the expectations of the assignment. There are some minor problems, so read my feedback well.
- Marginal Pass - You pass, but there are lots of issues to consider. Read my feedback very carefully and be sure you understand the points/issues I raise.
- Not satisfactory, redo and resubmit - The assignment was not completed appropriately. I am concerned that you do not understand the process well enough yet. To get credit for the assignment, you need to redo it, most probably on another topic. Read and consider my feedback very carefully before redoing.
Instructor's Overall Feedback:
Lenrose,
You have done an excellent and thorough job on this IDA. My suggestions for improvement below are minor.
1a. You can cut this short to: "Interrelated Resource (IRR) SPED program because the rest of the information you give is actually repeated in 1b."
1b. Can you include any platforms for instruction? (Books, whiteboards, hands on activities, etc..) See Lloyd's example.
4b. You provided excellent examples of hypothetical data that would result from the reports and your surveys.
6. The problem statement is best written with the IRR SPED program as the subject of the problem. By doing this, the IRR SPED program is clearly responsible for the problem and this shows that they need to 'take action' to resolve it. Try this:
"Interrelated Resource (IRR) SPED Program is not providing adequate instruction, preparation, and practice in standardized test-taking skills & strategies students to students in grades 3-5 at Mansfield Elementary." If you want, you can include the additional information, "which would enable them to achieve scores that are commensurate with ability & achievement levels on evaluation instruments such as the CRCT," but it is certainly not necessary as part of the problem statement.
Please email me if you have any questions,
Lindsay
1. Preliminary: Describe the context within which this potential instructional problem takes place. This will pinpoint where the problem is located. If instruction is deemed necessary, this will be the place where it will be designed and implemented.
a. List the context, also known as the "system of interest".
Your final response:
Interrelated Resource (IRR) SPED program for students in grades 3-5 at Mansfield (PK-5) Elementary School located in Newton County, Georgia.
b. Describe or show how the context relates to the bigger environment. Show how this context relates to other levels of the system within which it works.
Your final response:
The Interrelated SPED Resource program at Mansfield Elementary School serves a total of about 20 students in grades 3-5. These students make up approximately 3.7% of the total school enrollment of 532 students. Mansfield is located in rural eastern Newton County, Georgia, & is part of the Newton County Georgia Public School District which is governed by the Georgia State Department of Education. All students in the IRR program are mainstreamed in 3 or more academic classes per day. SPED services for these students range from a schedule of 100% inclusion to up to 3 hours of resource instruction per day using a "pull-out" model of service delivery. One IRR SPED teacher is employed to serve all 20 students in grades 3-5. All students have current IEPs.
The instructor's feedback to step 1:
No specific feedback given on this step.
2. Symptoms of a problem. Write a brief description of some symptoms that make you stop and wonder if something is wrong.
Your final response:
For the past several years, there has been a significant discrepancy between student ability levels and actual student performance on standardized CRCT test results among IRR SPED students in grades 3-5 at Mansfield Elementary School.
Using the evidence cited above, describe why you believe that these symptoms signal a problem. Keeping these questions in mind, describe the reasons for identifying these symptoms as problematic.
Your final response:
These symptoms indicate a serious problem because if the trend continues, students will experience significant difficulty successfully completing required grade-level "exit" exams as well as ultimately being unable to pass the GA high school graduation test. Also, considering the time and effort expended in preparing for and administering the CRCT test, it would be to the advantage of students and teachers alike for test scores to be an accurate reflection of student ability.
The instructor's feedback to step 2:
No specific feedback given on this step.
3. Preliminary Problem Statement. Based on 1 and 2, write a preliminary draft problem statement. Your context should be the subject of the statement. This is just the initial pass -- the statement will be revised in subsequent steps.
Your final response:
General education teachers & IRR SPED instructors are not providing IRR SPED students with adequate instruction in standardized test-taking skills or adequate standardized test preparation.
The instructor's feedback to step 3:
No specific feedback given on this step.
4. Verify the problem and determine specific needs. Two things will now happen concurrently. First, you need a systematic procedure to identify and collect data in order to verify that a problem exists. Second, you must identify information that the data sources may help uncover.
Data sources (who, what) |
Information gathered |
What did you find? (Needs)* |
Example: Interview participants in course; administer class survey; administer test of understanding.
|
Example: Participant opinions on IDAs and course; Participant score on test. |
Example: Participants believe there is too much jargon (felt need); Participants don't understand ID vocabulary as compared to other classes (comparative need); Participants don't score above national average (comparative need); Participants don't/couldn't see the relation between their work and the ID process) |
| Your final response:
Compare this group's CRCT scores with other indicators of academic achievement & ability such as report card grades, IQ scores, and individual achievement test results. Consult with administrators, counselors, general education teachers, & the IRR teacher in order to receive feedback regarding their thoughts on the reasons for poor CRCT performance. Meet with Gr. 3-5 IRR students individually or in small groups in order to discuss problems they have encountered during CRCT preparation & testing. Distribute questionnaires to parents to get their input into what may be causing poor performance on CRCT.
|
Your final response:
A comparison of report card grades, Stanford-Binet & WISC-III intelligence test scores, & Woodcock-Johnson III individual achievement test scores with CRCT scores for IRR SPED students in grades 3-5 at Mansfield indicates that there is a significant discrepancy between student ability levels and actual performance on the CRCT. Most Gr. 3-5 IRR students are performing well below expectations on the CRCT as compared to classroom performance, IQ scores, and individual achievement test results. General education & IRR SPED teachers agree that Gr. 3-5 IRR SPED students are often "short-changed" during test preparation activities in their mainstream classes. These activities may have been inadvertently scheduled for times when the IRR students are receiving "pull-out" instruction in resource class, or during times when they are receiving related services such as speech/language therapy or mental health counseling. Instructors also indicated that even when IRR students are present for test prep activities, they often seem to have difficulty focusing, appear to be "day-dreaming", or just seem easily distracted in general. This indicates that test prep for IRR students may be more successfully carried out in a one-on-one or small group setting such as the resource classroom. School administrators indicate that they see an increase in discipline referrals for IRR students as testing time approaches. In a few isolated incidents, school security has been forced to intervene due to extreme acting-out behavior among IRR students at test time. School administrators and counselors feel that this behavior may be attributable to "test anxiety" which harks back to a feeling of "lack of preparedness" among IRR students. Parents also report seeing increased acting-out behavior and signs of stress at home such as somatic complaints (headaches, stomach aches, etc.), insomnia, nail-biting, lack of appetite, & increased dependency needs. IRR students report that they feel uncomfortable or embarrassed to ask questions or admit to a lack of understanding when they are preparing for CRCT testing in a large group setting such as the general education classroom. They have indicated that they would prefer doing test prep activities in an individual or small group setting with the IRR teacher. Some teachers have also indicated that they do not have adequate class sets of test prep materials. The IRR teacher has stated that she has NO CRCT practice/preparation materials in her classroom. Parents have indicated that they would like to help students at home, but are unsure what skills to work on, or how to go about reinforcing skills that have been taught during the school day.
|
Your final response:
1. IRR students should be allotted more time for test preparation & practice in an individualized or small group setting. (FELT)
2. Parents should be provided with information & resources that will enable them to assist students at home. (EXPRESSED)
3. Both general education & the IRR teacher should be provided with adequate test preparation/practice materials & resources. (EXPRESSED)
4. Support services such as school counseling should be made available to students to help alleviate symptoms of "test anxiety". (FELT)
|
*Note: You are not required to gather data; you can draw on your experience or imagination to list the data you might gather.
The instructor's feedback to step 4:
No specific feedback given on this step.
5. Prioritize your list of needs.Which are most important? Why are they most important?
Prioritized needs |
Reasons/evidence for priority |
Your final response:
1. Both general education teachers & the IRR teacher should be provided with adequate test preparation/practice materials & resources. (EXPRESSED)
2. IRR students should be allotted additional time for test preparation & practice in an individualized or small group setting. (FELT)
3. Parents should be provided with information & resources that will enable them to assist students at home. (EXPRESSED)
4. Support services such as school counseling should be made available to students to help alleviate symptoms of "text anxiety". (FELT)
|
Your final response:
The first priority is aquisition of materials since fulfillment of the other needs is dependent upon the use of appropriate instructional materials. Both general education & IRR teachers indicated that current materials were inadequate to address the needs of all students. Both groups of teachers also indicated that Gr. 3-5 IRR students have not been allotted adequate time during the school day to master CRCT practice & preparation objectives. Parent involvement is the next priority because "at-home" instruction will be used to reinforce skills learned at school so obviously this instruction must take place following school-based instructional sessions. Specifically addressing the issue of "test anxiety" is last because it is a "symptom" of lack of preparation for the test rather than a problem in itself. Adequate preparation & practice for the test in addition to regular intervention by the school counselor should alleviate or diminish these symptoms.
|
The instructor's feedback to step 5:
No specific feedback given on this step.
6. Rewrite your problem statement. Take a moment to look carefully at the initial problem statement that you wrote. Revisit your prioritized needs and check if your problem statement is still accurate and appropriate.
Rewrite the problem statement here:
Your final response:
Interrelated Resource (IRR) SPED students in grades 3-5 at Mansfield Elementary are not receiving adequate instruction, preparation, and practice in standardized test-taking skills & strategies which would enable them to achieve scores that are commeasurate with ability & achievement levels on evaluation instruments such as the CRCT.
The instructor's feedback to step 6:
No specific feedback given on this step.
7. Identify the instructional goals. The last step in Needs Assessment is to list a few goals of instruction. Remember, not all goals can be solved through instruction. The instructional goals you identify will be the starting information for the next steps in the instructional design process. List the instructional goals in order of priority.
Instructional goals by priority |
Reasons for importance |
Your final response:
1. IRR students will improve overall performance on CRCT following regular participation in test preparation program.
2. IRR students will apply standardized test-taking skills & strategies during test preparation & practice sessions, & during actual CRCT administration.
3. IRR students will demonstrate increased ability to manage "test anxiety" symptoms.
|
Your final response:
Goals 1 is important because improvement of CRCT scores is the original rationale for conducting the needs assessment, and is the ultimate goal in developing & completing the various interventions designed to improve test scores.
Goal 2 is important because the development & application of test-taking skills & strategies is vital not only to improving CRCT performance, but to improving overall performance on ALL standardized tests.
|
The instructor's feedback to step 7:
No specific feedback given on this step.
|