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Summer R.O.C.K.S. Program
Westfield Washington Schools
Westfield, Indiana
Team Composition
Jodi Dubovich, Shamrock Springs Elementary 4th Grade Teacher
Beth Bielefeld, Westfield Intermediate School 5th Grade Teacher
Aaron Byers, Carey Ridge Elementary 2nd Grade Teacher
Maria Esterline, Instructional Technology Coordinator
Jennifer McAndrews, Oak Trace Elementary 4th Grade Teacher
Background
Title I, K-12 School District in Westfield, Indiana
Mission Statement: To provide meaningful and
engaging work in the pursuit of profound learning
Vision: To be the world-class learning organization
focused on continuous quality growth for all
Background on Moodle
Moodle is our learning management system. It is developed from a
learning-centric perspective. It enables teachers to easily set up
interactive, online class communities and materials for classes. This
enables students to not only learn within the classroom walls but outside
the classroom walls as well. This online learning community is in a
secure environment.
Moodle was instituted at Westfield-Washington Schools in the 2008-
2009 school year. Not only is Moodle used in K-12 schools, but it is also
used at the college/university level as well as in the business
industry. By implementing this learning tool in our district, we are
preparing Westfield-Washington Schools’ students for the real world.
1a. How was our project selected?
1b. How does the project support our goals?
Goal: Reduce gap on NWEA RIT scores from Spring to Fall
Goal: Provide cost effective, valid and engaging summer learning for Westfield families
Goal: Reduce summer learning loss in all areas for students in grades K-8
Strategy: Create free and interactive summer learning vehicle with Moodle
Strategy: Provide feedback and collect data throughout the summer for participating students
Initiative: Use core standards and district technology experts to create Summer R.O.C.K.S. program
Initiative: Provide monitoring and feedback to students within Moodleusing Westfield Teacher experts
Output (Measure)- Compare NWEA RIT scores from Spring to Fall after completion of Summer R.O.C.K.S. Moodle program
1c. How were key stakeholders identified?Key Stakeholders Why chosen
Students -Need to retain essential standards-Need to pass ISTEP+-Need to reach NWEA RIT growth goals-Need 21st Century learning exposure
Monitoring Teachers -Provide feedback to improve/change programming-Continuously update content to meet needs of participating students
-Collect and analyze data
Next-In-Line Teachers -Use data to guide classroom instruction-Compare previous year’s data to show summer learning loss gapclosing
Administrators -Need to increase student performance-Raise ISTEP+ passing rates-Raise NWEA RIT scores to meet growth targets
1d. How are the key stakeholders impacted?
Key Stakeholder How are these stakeholder impacted?
Students -Improved academic performance-Better prepared for upcoming school year-Close the summer learning gap-Improved technology skill set
Monitoring Teachers -Validation from feedback and level ofparticipation by students
-Use differentiated instruction and increaseknowledge of best practices
-Increased awareness of creating Moodle activities
Next-In-Line Teachers -Less time spent reviewing previous year’s content-Increased awareness of incoming students’ academic skills
Administrators -Increased student performance-Raised ISTEP+ and NWEA RIT scores-District-wide consistency
2a. How was the root cause identified?
Student takes
Spring NWEA over
grade level skills
Summer
Break
Student takes Fall
NWEA to build on
previous skills
Due to summer regression, teacher spends weeks
reviewing previously taught material
Problem Statement
2a. How was the root cause identified?
2a. How was the root cause identified?
Potential Root Cause:
The lack of student learning
opportunities results in
academic regression during
the summer.
2b. How did the team use data and information?
Used soft data such as teacher observations on how
students were performing on previously learned standards
Used NWEA test scores and compared previous spring
score to current fall score indicating learning loss
Used district CIC (Common Instructional
Checks) to compare retention of previous grade level skills
2c. What key data was identified in team’s analysis?
2d. How did the team ensure it identified the actual root cause?
Root Cause:Students regress over the summer due to
lack of learning opportunities
Validated by:Analysis of soft and hard data of a
sample class following their progress
over two years
Our Corporation recruited a team of teachers from each grade
level, IT experts and administrators to evaluate and enhance the
current summer program.
Team Discussion :
Where we have been, what results do we want and how do we obtain those results?
Answer: Start the process by reviewing past initiatives with
an eye on the future.
3a. How was the final solution selected?
Year One
- Paper Packets or Purchased Workbooks
Year Two
- Basic Moodle
Year Three
- Enhanced Moodle
Year Four and Beyond
- Where do we want to go
Mission: Stopping the
“Summer Slide”
3a. How was the final solution selected?
•Deep knowledge of core standards
•High level of participation among students per grade/activities per grade
•Summer-long participation
•Learning assessments
•Continuous improvement of program
•Cost-effective and accessible program
More of What We Want: Less of What We Do Not Want
•Learning loss from summer regression
•Students starting the new school year behind on academic skills
•Significant cost or demands on families
3a.- How was the final solution selected?
3a. What are potential solutions?
Year One 2008 and before Reflection
Where We Were: Teachers copied random activity worksheets for
students to complete over the summer and/or schools had vendor
supplied workbooks for purchase.
Key Points: *Easily created by teachers
*No accountability for students or teachers
*Copying costs to make packets; not always able to be located by
students when school started in the fall
*Difficult for teachers to grade
*Not necessarily directly linked to standards
*No lead team in charge for grade level or schools
Team Discussion Results: Packets do not provide enough
reliability or engagement for students; difficult for data to be obtained;
no secure numbers on student participation
Key Points: *Available to 5th and 6th grade students
*Only quizzes were provided
*No monitoring or reporting
*No learning enrichment (no new content)
*Minimal cost; teacher created quizzes and students accessed
site on their own or through library Internet
*Not familiar interface to students
*Single session quizzes; no reason to return to site
*Able to collect some data on student participation; about 75 students
Team Discussion Results: Not enough interaction with other
students or teachers, data was limited, students did not return to the
site throughout the summer months
Year Two 2009 Reflection
Where We Were: Basic Moodle was introduced in our
district; select teachers decided to use this online format
3a. What are potential solutions?
Key Points:
* Students were familiar with Moodle interface
* Available to only 4th-6th grade students
* Added content; 30 assignments/activities for reading and math
* Easy to navigate for students
* More engaging activities
*Teacher monitoring
* Reporting/Trending of results
* Increased student participation
Team Discussion Results: Greater student participation, students began
meeting each other before the school year started via Moodle chats and messaging, usable data for teachers and corporation
3a. What are potential solutions?Year Three 2010 Reflection
Where We Were: Enhanced Moodle site with more activities
and monitoring based on the results and feedback we received
from the previous year
Year Four 2011 Identified Major Enhancements
Key Points:
*Expanded Summer R.O.C.K.S. to include K-8 students
*Sought student and parent feedback
*Increased teacher lead team numbers
*Teachers monitoring student participation daily
*Separated activities into months which included additional
activities, games, lessons, videos and end of month
benchmarking quizzes
*Increased student and parent awareness through websites,
flyers and newsletters
3a. What are potential solutions?
Needs:--------------------------
Summer Learning Loss Program :
Cost Effectiveness Access Accountability
Student Interest
Copied Paper Packets
Purchased Workbooks
Basic Online Quizzes
Enhanced Online Activities, Lessons, and Quizzes
3b. How was the final solution selected?
= Poor = Good = Excellent
3c. How was the final solution selected?
3d. Final Solution- What were expectedbenefits and how were they determined?
A team of teachers was asked to worked together and build
the updated Summer R.O.C.K.S. program
March 2011
Teachers used state and district standards to create
lessons, activities, and quizzes for students
March and April 2011
Teachers were recruited to monitor and collect data
throughout the summer on the Summer R.O.C.K.S. site
April and May 2011
Our district informed students, families and
community centers about our Summer R.O.C.K.S. program
May 2011
Students were excited and began using Summer
R.O.C.K.S.
May 2011
Summer R.O.C.K.S. began to collect data for 2011
June 2, 2011
4a. How was the solution’s implementation planned?
4b. What was the process for implementing the solution?
All classrooms were visited by district technology experts to
explain how Summer R.O.C.K.S. worked, how to access it and to
share some of the great results from the past.
Families and the community were provided the information via
newsletters, blogs, Internet sites and flyers.
We have data to support increased participation in our program:
4c. How did the team achieve support for implementing the solution?
<2008 = Unknown number of participants
2009= 75 participants
2010= 500+ participants
2011= 1,016 as of 6/10/11
4d. How will the results be measured and sustained?
Record number of students participating
Measure amount of time students are on the
Moodle site
Count the number of activities and
assignments students completed
Collect data of their quiz results
Compare the NWEA test scores from the spring to the fall to assess student
retention of skills
Reassess the program each year for areas of
improvement
5a. How were our team members selected? Executive Director of Learning Systems- Leader
Grade Level Teachers were chosen for their:
Technology expertise
Commitment to 21st Century learning
Leadership within district
Knowledge of data-driven learning
Central office Staff chosen for their:
Database Coordinator
Technology expertise
Knowledge of data retrieval process
Instructional Technology Coordinator
Technology expertise
Data research and analysis
Knowledge of online learning platforms
Prior to our project for School Improvement we:
5b. How were our team members
prepared to participate?
Trained team members on Moodle
Participated in Summer R.O.C.K.S. planning meetings
Created Summer R.O.C.K.S. learning platforms for specific
grade levels
During our project for School Improvement we:
Regularly checked and updated data using real-time information
from student usage of Summer R.O.C.K.S.
Participated in open dialogue with each other about program
success and needs for improvement both in meetings, via video
and through email communication
Consistently compared and shared data as a catalyst for
discussion and change
5c. How did our team members contribute?Team Members Major Contributions
Maria Esterline •Scheduled and facilitated meetings•Oversaw project •Gathered feedback and collected data•Produced graphs and comparative data•Supported team efforts and project
Jodi Dubovich •Analyzed data from team members•Co-created Summer R.O.C.K.S. learning platform for grade 4•District technology leader
Beth Bielefeld •Compiled data and information on summer learning loss•Analyzed data from team members•Created Summer R.O.C.K.S. learning platform for grade 5•District technology leader
Jennifer McAndrews •Compiled data and information on summer learning loss•Co-created Summer R.O.C.K.S. learning platform for grade 4•District technology leader
Aaron Byers •Co-created Summer R.O.C.K.S. learning platform for grade 2•Expert on Core Learning Standards•District technology leader
5d. How was our team performance managed?
Meeting times- Bi-weekly to weekly,
agreed upon times, video feed for review
Confidentialty- Data and information
vital to success of the project kept within
our team
Expectations- each member had
specific tasks and deadlines by which to
share information
Communication- team members
communicate via email, phone, text and
in person
Our team created specific norms for effectiveness:
6a. What where the results?
6a. What were the results?
6a. What were the results?Key Stakeholders Benefits/Evidence
Students -Enthusiastic return to school/teacher report-Less summer learning loss/data analysis-Recovered instructional time/principal observation-Increased technology skill/teacher observation and parent comment
Monitoring Teachers -Greater familiarity with standards/teacher report-Continued student relationships outside of the classroom/teacher report-Enhanced skills in web-based learning/ principal observation
Next-In-Line Teachers -Recovered instructional time with less review/teacher report-Receive “better prepared” students/teacher report-Opportunity for higher level technology based instruction due to enhanced student skill/teacher report
Administrators -Opportunity for innovation through greater skilled teachers in web-based learning/district level discussion-Better served students/ district level discussion-Higher student performance/district level discussion
6a. What were the results?
6a. What were the results?
6b. How did the results impact the goal?
6c. How were the results shared?
Results
Shared
Parents
Brochures
District websites
Community
District website
Students
School wide celebrations
Classroom visits
District
LDT and School Board monthly
meetings
Teachers
Faculty meeting
classroom visits
The Westfield-Washington School District has developed a no-fee summer enrichment program for our students.
This program, Summer R.O.C.K.S., fills the void in the academic calendar and supplies interesting, self-paced and
fun learning opportunities for students in grades K-8th.
Our unique Summer R.O.C.K.S. program can be replicated and customized by other schools in the United States and
internationally.
Each participating team member has expanded his or her own technical skills and capabilities.
Project Summary
Continuous Improvement: *Assessment of our program effectiveness through NWEA Fall testing*Compare NWEA Fall scores against the program content*Focus on problem areas where scores were lower than projected *Evaluation from student feedback for what was liked and not liked
Next Steps
Westfield Washington Schools
Submission for:ASQ Education Team Excellence Award
6b. How did the results impact the goal?
The first four days of summer break…..
1,238
Tasks Completed
K-8th