CP Entry #14 Reflect on what worked and what did not work during the process of completing your Change Project. What would you do differently and what would you use again?

Overall, I feel my project went well but I did have several obstacles to overcome.  Every year we have a new bunch of students.  Unlike other grade levels, we do not have any "data" to know what our students know or don't know.  Last year, I based my project on the need to improve my math scores according to my i-ready data.  We usually give a mini assessment before school starts to make our classes.  Both years I have taken the average students.  This year, the "average" students were lower than last year's "average" students.  I also began this year with several young students, students that have never been to school before, students with major custody issues, and several students with major behavioral issues.  Along with my classroom management issues, the district changed the sequence of our math program.  All of these obstacles posed a challenge for sure!!!

During the process of completing my Change Project, there are some things that worked such as using the MFAS assessments instead of the math series.  These assessments provided more information than a multiple choice question format.  I would also ask the students to explain their answers which would help to guide my instruction for all of my students.  I also liked that there were many assessments to choose from on the CPALMS website.  However, I did have to narrow down which ones I liked the best.  I liked that the CPALMS website gave great supplemental math lessons for extra support to the math series.

Some things did not work out so well such as what I mentioned before about my class behaviors, time frame for teaching the lessons, etc.  I also found it difficult to make time for all the regular classroom assessments in their leadership notebooks, the math series assessments, i-ready diagnostic and progress monitoring, and the MFAS assessments.  Most of my assessments needed to be completed one-to-one which takes an enormous amount of time.  Once I narrowed it down to the bottom 25% of my students, this made the assessment task much more manageable.

I plan to continue to implement my project next year and use even more of the MFAS assessments.  I will narrow down the best ones and use them on a weekly/monthly basis.  I plan to encourage other members of my kindergarten team to use them as well.  :)

CP Blog Entry #13 What part of your Tier III training met your needs and what part did not meet your needs?

In Module 1: Part A-Introduction to Change Project w/ Proposal for Change Project, I was able to come up with a need in my classroom, which prompted my change project.  This project was about increasing my math scores by using the LESRA model.  However, I did have to "change" my project to the MFAS assessments. 

In Module 1: Part B-Designing a Digital Portfolio Course, I was able to learn some new technology pieces that I could incorporate into my life along with some ideas for my classroom.  I feel more confident in many more skills yet I can always learn more.  Some of the digital tools were not user friendly for my grade level (kindergarten).  If I used some of these more often, I would feel more accustomed to them.

In Module 2: Part C-My Change Project in Action w/ Planning Guide Implementation and Documentation, I was able to implement my project to help with a need in my classroom.  This has been a challenge but I enjoy learning a new idea to use in my classroom that will eventually be helpful.  The majority of my project is just now getting started due to the type of domain I picked.  I chose to increase their knowledge in numbers and operations.  In kindergarten, we start out with geometry, measurement/data, and counting and cardinality.  Numbers and operations comes later in the year. 

Overall, all modules helped with my project because each area was important and met my needs. 

CP Blog Entry #12 Has there been "buy in" for the continuation of your Change Project and at what level? Ex. Classroom, grade level, school, district, state, global, etc.

My Change Project would continue to stay in the classroom level at this point.  I am still figuring out how to implement the MFAS assessments successfully along with which ones to use for the kindergarten level.  My class continues to be a challenge on a daily basis which makes teaching a new concept difficult.  My i-ready scores have increased and they are showing growth, but my project could be improved on several levels.  I already have ideas for next year to really get a handle on this.  I also have eliminated some of the assessments that were not beneficial or take too much time to administer.  These steps will help with next year's implementation.  I am beginning to branch out and see what schools, teachers, etc. are already using them in kindergarten to find out which ones are beneficial to their students.  I really like the concept of using them but as with any subject area, there is never enough time!

CP Blog Entry #11 What ideas have you formulated to "Pay Forward" your Change Project?

To "Pay Forward" my change project, I have had many ideas such as implementing this idea to my grade level, my school, and county wide.  On the other hand, I have had some struggles with this project so my initial thoughts have "changed."  As for now, I plan to "pay forward" my project in my own classroom for at least one more year.  My class this year has been very challenging which makes implementing anything new that much harder.  Next year, I plan to have the MFAS assessments ready to use and will feel more confident when using them.  I will start from the beginning of the year and implement them along with using small group for my math instruction.  I hope that having a more consistent and manageable class will make this project even more of a success.  I am making progress but it is very slow and it was not off to a great start  My lead teacher has been a huge help with this project along with the CAPE 3 cohort.  :)