Christina+Rogers

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About Me
Mrs. Christina Rogers is an English teacher at Carver School of Technology where she has taught for four years. She is also the ELA department chair. She has served as the sponsor of a peer mentoring program, Elite Sisterhood, Inc. and she has taken the young ladies on several college tours, etiquette and leadership seminars and community service projects. Mrs. Rogers hosted a community service initiative on teens and safe driving, and her school was awarded a $100,000.00 grant from State Farm. With the funds the Mrs. Rogers has implemented an after school enrichment program (SWAG Academy) for the students. Christina earned earned her B.A. in English from Georgia State University in 2001, her M.Ed in Secondary Education in 2002, and her Ed.S in 2012. Mrs. Rogers enjoys teaching English using a social activist approach because she believes her students will be able to use media to impact change through literacy.
 * Christina Rogers
 * Carver School of Technology
 * cphenomenal@gmail.com

Takeaways / Big Ideas
[ The EE Ford expereince has challenged me to become more introspective about my own teaching as I transition from teacher centered activities to more student centered activities. Students may initially be reluctant to review their peers writing and revise and edit their own. Thus, a number of students merely want a letter grade. However, when teachers are persistent in their approach to make students take accountability for their own actions, a number of the students will eventually acquiesce. In this project, I had the opportunitut to witness students engage in much needed dialogue to improve their writing.

AR Overview
My action research stemmed from my own evaluation of the lesson planning process and my own reteaching methods. Because this was an are in which I struggled, I decided to implement a student-centered approach to the reteaching method. Moreover, in order to make the research both meaningful and relevant, I relied on the Common Core Standards to drive my instruction as well as data from the writing assessments I administered during my classes. This project is a refelction of the data driven instruction that is strongly encouraged by the Atlanta Public School System.

AR Question
How will the use of reciprocal teaching and self- assessement improve student achievement on the Georgia High School Graduation Writing Test?

I began my action research by administering a diagnostic writing test to my 10th grade students. The topic was a sample Georgia HIgh School Graduation Writing Test from a previous school year. The first time the students tool the test, I used a rubric to assess them from holistic approach. However, after I recorded and assessed my students' scores, I realized that I needed a different approach to teaching the writing process. Thus, I decided that I would teach the argumentative essay according to components. I used mini-lessons, technology integration and scaffolding to teach the students how to write logic, emotional, and opposition paragraphs. The students were given a different paragraph to write each class period. After they completed their paragraphs, they were given a peer checklist/ rubric to lead student conferences. The student conferences required students to engage in dialogue about their own writing as well as their peers. After the students reviewed their peers' checklists, they rewrote the paragraphs and completed a self-assessment before turning them in to me. I then recorded the scores for both the rough drafts and the final drafts of each paragraph.
 * AR Process**

AR Data Sample
The students' scores and sample mini-lesson are listed below. Rogers' Teaching Methods: @http://youtu.be/tBHo-eSVO3A

AR Data Analysis
I After I examined the students' writing scores, I noticed that at least 40%of my students made gains each time they participated in the peer reviews and self -assessment. I also noticed that the students became increasingly motivated to produce good writing. Many of the students were accustomed to receiving grades with little to no feedback as well as minimal sefl-reflection. Although there were some students who did not show a great deal of improvement or motivation, the majority of my students made gains in their writing scores based on the logical appeal, emotional appeal, and opposition paragraphs.

AR Conclusions
Overall, the peer review and self-assessment produced positive results for my students and me. My students were able to grapple with their own work while giving constructive feedback to each other. The dialogue in the peer conferences created a sense of community among the students. On the same note, I learned to use this reciprocal

Lit Review & Resources
[list and/or link articles and other resources related to your learning this year, and relevant to your AR ]

Reflections
The E E Ford experience caused me to really reflect on my teaching practices, and it helped me develop a more student-share thitered approach in my classroom. Moreover, it was insightful to share this experience with other professionals who share a passion for this work. I realized that there are teachers both private and public who have a true desire to motiate their students to learn and push themselves beyond their academic limitations.