Everything an Intern Needs to Know About
the “Impact on Student Learning” Project!
Salisbury University
ELED 411
Getting Started!
Action Research – SLO – Student Impact Study KWL Chart
Know
Want to Know
Learned
What do you already know? What are you wanting to know?
What is action research?
Action Research in Education
Action research is a
method for educational
practitioners to engage in
the assessment and
improvement of their
own practice.
It can also be a
community activity,
helping teams of
educators assess
problems in schools,
enact changes, and
reassess.
It can be an
individual tool,
helping classroom
teachers reconsider
their teaching
methods or to adapt
in order to solve a
problem.
Why should teachers try action research?
Improve your teaching.
• Action research will help you discover what works best in your own classroom
situation. It is a powerful integration of teaching and scholarship that provides a
solid basis for instructional decisions.
Document your teaching.
• Action research adds documentation by providing both a measure of teaching
effectiveness and a record of continuous improvement. These projects are
particularly appropriate for teaching portfolios, where they complement
descriptions of teaching strategies and student learning.
Renew your excitement in teaching.
• Action research provides a new lens for examining your teaching. Learning the
methods of conducting action research projects can provide an interesting
challenge, and discussing your project findings can open a whole new area for
teaching discussions with colleagues.
The Action Research Cycle
What are your
questions, problems,
interests?
What did you learning
from your data? What
questions follow from
the data analysis?
What data could help
you study your plan of
action?
YOUR TURN –
What are some
questions or
problems you
already see in your
internship?
What will be your
plan of action?
Johnston, M. (2006). The lamp and
the mirror: Action research and self
studies in the social studies. In K.
Burton (Ed). Research methods in
social education: Contemporary
issues and perspectives (pp. 57-83).
Greenwich, CT: Information Age
Publications.
Sample Classroom Action Research Examples
http://www.drawntoscience.org/educators/action-research/sample-action-research-3.html
What is an SLO?
Definition of a SLO
Student Learning
Objectives (SLOs) are
measurable instructional
goals established for a
specific group of students
over a set period of time.
SLOs serve as one of the
measures of student
growth for the State
Teacher Evaluation model
and may represent 20% 35% of the evaluation.
What do I need to do for my Student
Impact Study?
Student Impact Study – Graphic Organizer
Academic
Problem
Academic Goal
Academic
Resources
Baseline
Evidence and
Data Analysis
Student
Population
Learning Content
Instructional
Interval
Plan for Action
Evidence for
Growth
Growth Target
Target
Attainment
Implement Plan
for Action, Collect
Data, and Reflect
Make sure you
are collecting
sample of
student work!
This will be
helpful for
your final
product!
Sharing your
Research!
Review the Literature
You will need background information on your question, and a review of existing
sources is great for this purpose.
One good source of information is general books on teaching, often available through
the library, university faculty, or mentor teacher.
Another excellent source is the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC)
database, which indexes teaching-related publications of all types. You can search the
database at http://eric.edu.gov
The What Works Clearinghouse is another excellent resource for finding evidencebased interventions for working with students. You can search the website at
http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/
Or visit the Salisbury University’s library website. You can access numerous
education databases that will connect you to thousands of education resources.
www.salisbury.edu/library
All of the information gathered from these sources will help refine your plan of
action for your student
Visit the Salisbury University Library Website
Search all the
Education
Databases that SU
has access to!
Develop A Plan for Action
 What are the selected instructional strategies that
you are going to put in place to support students in
reaching the academic goal?
YOUR TURN – In a small group or with a partner, take some time to look at
some sample SLO’s from the Maryland Department of Education. What
kinds of strategies are included in the SLO’s? What kind of additional
strategies can you think of?
Baseline and Growth Target Data
 Examples of Types of Measures/Assessments
 Commercially developed and validated measures aligned
with the standards
 Criterion-referenced tests, inventories, and screeners
 District common benchmark assessment, end of course
exams
 Authentic measures to document performance
 School or teacher-developed approved measures
YOUR TURN – In a small group or with a partner, take some time to look at
some sample SLO’s data. Pay careful attention to how the SLO’s have
different goals or targets? What kind of growth target do you think you
would like to use with your Student Impact Study?
How much time or
manpower to
administer?
Is a scoring tool
available?
What to keep in
mind when
picking
assessments:
How much time or
manpower to score?
Will results be
available in time to
gather and use the
data?
Important Question!
Can my “Student
Impact Study” be
the same as my
mentor’s “SLO?”
An intern's Student Impact Study COULD
be very, very similar to the SLO that their
teacher is using.
There just might need to be some tweaking
when it comes to how “growth” will be
shown.
The main reason is that mentor teachers
might be using standardized tests as things
as their data points, and SU interns might
need to use other assessments. This is
because the data has to be collected pretty
quickly for the Student Impact Study
project. Interns might not be able to wait
on the end of term/year assessments.
So that's why it COULD be the same
problem/goal. . . .it just might be slightly
tweaked!
Gallery Walk – Poster Final Product
36 inches
48 inches
•The Gallery Walk Poster Template is
available in MyClasses.
•Use this file to create your final product
that will be displayed at the Gallery Walk.
•Every intern MUST create one of these
files that can be uploaded into LiveText.
This is how your Student Impact Study will
be graded.
•Final poster dimensions = 48 inches wide
by 36 inches tall.
Printing Option 1 - Your PowerPoint file can either be printed through the Salisbury University IT
Department (TETC 352) or you can take your file to an office supply type store (ex., Staples) and print
it yourself. This will create one “poster” that can adhered to a display board for the Gallery Walk.
Printing Option 2 – You may take the information from your PowerPoint file and separate it out to print
on your own home printer. Then these individual pieces could be adhered to a display board for the
Gallery Walk.
APA Style
When you make reference or cite the resources you used to help you
create your Plan of Action, it is essential that you correctly cite your
sources.
All citations and references must be cited using APA rules.
If you need assistance with this, please either visit the SU Writing
Center at http://www.salisbury.edu/uwc/
Or you can visit the Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) at
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/
Wrapping Up!
Action Research – SLO – Student Impact Study KWL Chart
Know
Want to Know
Learned
What are the THREE big ideas that you are taking away?