Artifact # 1: Educational Survey Assignment with Data Analysis Summary

This educational survey aligns with the following standards: Standard 3: Learning

Environments. The teacher works with others to create environments that support them (text,

media, social interaction.) Reading Literature RL.1.3 individual and collaborative learning, and

that encourage positive social interaction, active engagement in learning, and self-motivation;

Standard #8: Instructional Strategies. The teacher understands and uses a variety of instructional

strategies to encourage learners to develop deep understanding of content areas and their

connections, and to build skills to apply knowledge in meaningful ways; Standard #10:

Leadership and Collaboration. The teacher seeks appropriate leadership roles and opportunities

to take responsibility for student learning, to collaborate with learners, families, colleagues, other

school professionals, and community members to ensure learner growth, and to advance the

profession. NYS Code of Ethics Principle 3 Educators commit to their own learning in order to

develop their practice; Responding to Literature RL 11; Reading Literature RL 1.3 Make

connections between self, text, and the world around Describe Characters, Setting, and Major

Events in a Story Using Detail. NYS Learning Standards, Standard 4: Language for Social

Interaction Students will listen, speak, read, and write for social interaction; TEAC/CAEP Claim

1 Subject Matter; Claim 2 Pedagogy and Best Teaching Practices; ISTE Standards for Teachers

1.c. Facilitate and inspire student creativity and learning; for Students, Standard 1 b, Empowered

Learner; International Literacy Association (ILA) Professional Standards, Standard 1,

Foundational Knowledge, Standard 2, Curriculum Instruction, Standard 5 Literate Environment;

CEC Standard #2, Professional Competence; Ontario Curriculum Standards Grade 1 Reading for

Meaning 1.1 Variety of Texts and 1.2 Purpose; Social Studies B2.2 and Ontario Teacher Ethical

Standards: Ethic Standard of Care.

 My Educational Survey project is one of particular importance to me. Communication is

the foundation of successful personal and professional relationships. Over my working and

personal life to date, I have come to value the importance of clear and consistent communication

with respect to expectations. In order for my students families to work together with me towards

the common goal of educating their child in the most effective way possible, we must all be on

the same page. How do we accomplish that? The answer is through clear, concise and consistent

communication. In surveying students families at the beginning of the school year about their

childs attitudes and interest towards reading, I will be better able to gear my reading program

towards students interests and needs. It is important to me to be able to understand the level of

support that each child is able to receive at home so that I can set out realistic expectations for

achievement throughout the year. Some factors to consider are socio-economic status, access to

technology and library resources outside of school hours, time that parents have available to

spend reading with their child and who the families feel is primarily responsible for helping

students learn to read. This survey was designed to gain insight into all of those areas of concern

as well as being mindful of culturally responsive teaching and accommodation for learners with

special needs.

An article published in the Journal of Literacy Research (Volume 30, Number 2,1998,

Pages 297-319) discusses Vygotskys research in the area of developmental literacy. It states that

social constructivist research on literacy includes attention to the motivational and emotional

dimensions of literacy, as well as the cognitive and strategic ones. Vygotsky's approach to

learning was holistic, and he advocated the study of higher mental functions with all their

complexity (Moll, 1990). Research on school literacy learning conducted from a social
constructivist perspective assumes that students need to engage in authentic literacy activities,

not activities contrived for practice. Social constructivist research on literacy learning focuses

on the role of teachers, peers, and family members in mediating learning, on the dynamics of

classroom instruction, and on the organization of systems within which children learn or fail to

learn (Moll, 1990).

Given this research, I believe that assessing the opinions, needs and expectations of

students families with regards to developing a successful reading program is of paramount

importance. This research will also allow me to communicate effectively with family members

about their childs needs and progress throughout each term. When there is a clear line of

communication between home and school, students tend to fare better in all aspects of school

life.
EDUCATIONAL SURVEY

Wendy Ward

Medaille College

EDU 510
Thematic Concern

The purpose of this survey is to determine the importance of home and school support in

childrens reading success and enjoyment from a parents perspective. Studies have suggested

that students have a higher likelihood of success in academics when their efforts are supported

and encouraged at home.

Target Population

The target population of this questionnaire is parents of students in elementary school

from grades 1-6.

Introduction

Studies have shown that students achieve greater academic success if they have support

from home. Support comes in many forms, perhaps most importantly, having a parent/parents

who are available, able and willing to help their child(ren) with homework and assignments.

Furthermore, if students perceive that their parents and their teachers all believe that (s)he has the

ability to succeed, the student often performs well.

 Studies have also confirmed that students who practice reading on a consistent basis

achieve more than those who only participate occasionally. Online programs which are set up

though the school and used at home are examples of collaboration between student home for the

purpose of increasing student success and enjoyment of reading.

Below are the details of the surveys which were completed by elementary school parents

(grades 1-6) in the community.

The Survey Questionnaire is included below.

 EDUCATIONAL SURVEY

Directions: This survey is to be completed by parents of elementary school

students (grades 1-6). The purpose of this questionnaire is to assess the importance
of support at home and school as it relates to your childs success and enjoyment of
reading. Please circle the number below that describes how much you agree with
each question. Remember that your answers are completely anonymous so you
may answer as truthfully as possible.

Circle 1 for Strongly Disagree and Circle 5 for Strongly Agree.

EXAMPLE:

Strongly Disagree Disagree No Opinion Agree Strongly Agree

1 2 3 4 5

1. My child enjoys reading.

1 2 3 4 5

2. My child likes to read by him/herself.

1 2 3 4 5

3. My child prefers to have an adult to read to him/her.

1 2 3 4 5

4. My child reads with a parent, sibling or caregiver 5-7 times per week.

1 2 3 4 5

5. My child has the opportunity to visit the library outside of school hours.
 1 2 3 4 5

6. Reading is an important part of our family culture.

1 2 3 4 5

7. My childs teacher is primarily responsible for teaching my child to read.

1 2 3 4 5

8. The teacher is primarily responsible for getting extra help for my child if he or she
struggles to read.

1 2 3 4 5

9. With regards to my childs reading progress, open communication between home and
school is important to me.

1 2 3 4 5

10. I would enjoy receiving reading progress reports from my childs teacher.

1 2 3 4 5

Youre almost done!

Please share some additional thoughts with is by filling out the comment section of
our survey.
11. Does your child read voluntarily or do you need to remind him/her to read?

12. Where does most of your childs reading material come from? For example, school
library, community library, online or home?
o School library
o Home Library
o Community Library
o Bookstore
o Online

Comments:

13. If the school offered a 1 hour reading strategies workshop for parents and students,
once per week for 5 weeks in the evening, would you or a family member be available to
attend?
o Yes
o No (Please select a reason or provide more detail).
 o Cannot afford the time
o Not interested
o Not needed
o Do not have child care for siblings
o Other, please explain:

14. How often would you like reading progress reports from your childs teacher?
o Weekly
o Bi-weekly
o Monthly
o On report card is sufficient

Thank you for taking the time to complete this survey. The information you
provided will be used to assist the school in modifying reading programs to better
serve the needs of our students. It will also guide us in determining the best
method of communication between home and school in reporting student reading
progress.

for taking the time to participate in this valuable survey!

Parent Answers to Survey Questions are listed below.

 1. My child enjoys reading:
4,5,2,5,4,4,5,2,1,5 (Agree)
2. My child likes to read by him/herself:
4,4,1,5,4,4,5,2,1,2 (Agree)
3. My child prefers to have an adult to read to him/her:
5,5,5,4,5,5,5,5,4,5 (Agree)
4. My child reads with a parent, sibling or caregiver 5-7 times per week:
5,5,5,2,5,5,5,1,1,5 (Agree)
5. My child has the opportunity to visit the library outside of school hours.
4,4,4,5,5,5,5,4,4,5 (Agree)
6. Reading is an important part of our family culture.
4,4,5,5,5,5,5,4,4,5 (Strongly Agree)
7. My childs teacher is primarily responsible for teaching my child to read.
2,4,4,4,2,2,2,4,4,4 (Agree)
8. The teacher is primarily responsible for getting extra help for my child if he or she
struggles to read.
2,2,4,5,2,2,2,5,4,2 (Disagree)
9. With regards to my childs reading progress, open communication between home and
school is important to me.
5,5,5,5,5,5,5,4,4,5 (Strongly Agree)
10. I would enjoy receiving reading progress reports from my childs teacher.
5,5,5,5,5,5,5,3,3,5 (Strongly Agree)

11. Does your child read voluntarily or do you need to remind him/her to read?
Voluntarily
Voluntarily
Needs to be reminded
Voluntarily
Voluntarily
Voluntarily
Voluntarily
Needs to be reminded
Needs to be reminded
Voluntarily

12. Where does most of your childs reading material come from? For example, school
library, community library, online or home?
o School library: 6
o Home Library: 2
o Community Library: 2
o Bookstore: 0
o Online: 0

13. If the school offered a 1 hour reading strategies workshop for parents and students,
once per week for 5 weeks in the evening, would you or a family member be available to
attend?
o Yes
o No: 2 Reason: Not needed

14. How often would you like reading progress reports from your childs teacher?
o Weekly: 7
o Bi-weekly: 2
o Monthly: 0
o On report card is sufficient: 1

Summary & Analysis

Overall, the results of the parent surveys were positive. Most parents agreed that their

child(ren) enjoy reading and read with a parent, sibling or caregiver 5-7 times per week. That

may seem like a lot but it does coincide with the answers to question number 6 which asked if

reading was part of the family culture so the two go hand in hand.

The responses this quantitative reasearch study show that the parents take ownership of

responsibilities related to their child(ren)s success and enjoyment of reading as evidenced by

their answers to question 7. Most parents feel that they are primarily responsible for teaching

their child(ren) to read. Interestingly though, if their child(ren) struggle with reading and reading

comprehension, those same parents believe that the school should source the resources to assist

their child in overcoming those challenges.

All families surveyed were from middle class, two parent professional homes with access

to technology, libraries and educational programs. I believe that is why the results were mostly

positive with regards to the success and enjoyment that most of the children had with reading.

Most children also enjoyed reading, although students identified by the parent respondents as

ADHD, ADD, Autism Spectrum and Gifted enjoy reading but require assistance and reminders.

The results of the qualitative data collected during this survey allowed for parents to shed

light on the issues by adding comments. The analysis of the data is included here.
 I was surprised to learn that 4 students whose parents answered the survey were identified

as ADHD, ADD, Autism Spectrum and Gifted. That seemed to make the biggest difference in the

first few questions about reading enjoyment and reading alone vs. with a parent, sibling or

caregiver. Most of those parents responded that their child did not enjoy reading and preferred to

have an adult read to him/her. The parent of the student identified as having ADD indicated that

her child often just reads for school assignments and doesnt pay close attention to the content

because she is disinterested. That not only affects her comprehension but she lacks the interest

and motivation to read for pleasure. I believe that the results of the survey were skewed as a

based on the small sample and range of student abilities within the survey sample. It would be

difficult for me to publish an accurate representation of the findings based on these two factors. I

would want to conduct a separate study comprised completely of students with ADD/ADHD,

Autism Spectrum and Gifted.

Plan of Action

Studies have shown, that students whose families encourage and support them at home,

perform better overall academically than those who come from homes which lack academic

support.

The main plan of action would be the implementation of an after school reading program

once a week for 5 weeks, 1 hours in duration. Students and parents would attend together

however the parents and students would spend the first hour of the program separately. While the

students were in the library reading a book with a teacher and creating an art project to

complement the book, the parents would be in a classroom with another teacher, learning about

various reading strategies (such as lips the fish or stretchy the snake for a grade 1 or 2 class).

The students and parents would all get together for the last half hour and either read with their
child using the strategies just learned or explore an online reading program together. This would

work well for everyone, especially parents who are not 100% comfortable with technology

because the teachers would be there to answer questions and provide demonstrations.

All except 2 parents surveyed said they would be interested in participating in that type of

program. The 2 who were not interested felt that they or their child(ren) did not require extra

help. Such a program would be an excellent opportunity to show the students that school and

home are interested in helping them to succeed at reading and enjoy the process.

Weekly Newsletters would be welcomed by parents. These newsletters could be simple in

nature, indicating the name of the book, the reading strategy (i.e. fluency, comprehension etc.)

and the results of assessments carried out during classroom reading times. This communication

would help parents by giving them information that they can use to reinforce and enhance what

is being learned at school.

An online reading program such as [Link] would be an excellent addition to the

reading curriculum. This would be a simple way to link home and school in working towards a

common goal or reading target. Parents, teachers and students can track progress using this

program which would be highly motivational and build an atmosphere of team work!

Plan for Improvement

I believe that improvements could be made at home and school in the area of students

motivation to read. What motivates a student to read is as unique as his/her personality and

interests.

I would improve the variety of books in the classroom. I would begin by asking the

students in the class to fill out a reading interest survey. I would ask them to tell me what topics

they are interested in reading about. Then, I would have them tell me what type of book they
would prefer to read i.e. hard copy picture book, hard copy chapter book, online books,

magazines, non-fiction/fiction etc. That would give me a good idea of what students preferences

are. I would then ask the students to bring in books that they like and I would bring in books (or

find resources online) according to what the students said they were interested in. Each week, I

would have a designated number of students share their book preference with the class and I

would ask them to complement that reading choice with one from the classroom.

I believe that this type of improvement in the classroom would show the students that I

have an interest in helping them to find their love of reading and challenge them to take

ownership of their reading abilities.

In asking them to bring a selection from home, I feel that would give the parents an

opportunity to see what topics interest their child. In adding a classroom choice to the students

choice, I believe that I could open a students mind to another type of reading material that he or

she may not have tried on their own.

I would also complement this plan for improvement with my plan of action by

communicating to the parents via newsletter, indicating their childs classroom choice, for

example, if a student chose to find an online book where they normally would read a hard copy

picture book. I would think that would open up discussion at home about possibly including that

new source of finding reading materials.

I would most definitely encourage students and parents to read books, magazines,

newspapers and online materials. Each one of those sources is written differently and contains a

variety of visuals. Its amazing how exposing students to something as seemingly

inconsequential as a new form of reading material can open his/her mind to a whole new hook
into learning. When a student is motivated to read, their potential becomes limitless and passions

are uncovered.

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