5. Describe Their Implementation

The teacher used the "Solar System" Unit Organizer with a class of 20 sixth graders. The class contained boys and girls of varying abilities. She did the Cue and the Do, but forgot the Review. She will do it next time. She said it was very easy for the students. None of her ESE or ELL students struggled with it. 

She was surprised at how easily it went and she is happy with the result. 

Mrs. Blevins used the Unit Organizer Routine to introduce her fifth grade inclusion classes to the unit on Nonfiction Text Structures-Organizational Patterns. During subsequent class periods, she would provide instruction on the various topics within the unit, prompting her students to add to the Expanded Unit Map as they progressed. I observed her on three different occasions during this period. 

The teacher I worked with has implemented 4  unit organizers so far this year, including the one we made during the PD session. He implemented them with all his classes of 8th grade science students. He felt the students benefitted and he used it as part of his observation, which received good feedback since graphic organizers are one of the things administration is focused on. One of the biggest benefits to having the training seemed to be his growth is using the cue-do-review sequence during instruction to help students make connections as well as understanding and beginning to use the unit organizer as a routine in the classroom, instead of a one-off activity. With the help of the science coach the teacher was able to come to my room to observe the cue-do-review process and then take back some ideas to his classroom. We also discussed some ways to implement the unit organizer during various parts of the unit, instead of just as an introduction or just as an ending review of the material. The only other hurdle we faced was getting unit organizers made in time to get the copies sent, but copy limits were recently relaxed and upon request, even late request, copies were granted for graphic organizers. 

Devonna began implementation with her students and saw the benefits she was looking for. (She even had some students who created their unit organizers electronically since the school division was a one-to-one division.) Unfortunately, after co-constructing two unit organizers with her students, her department head became worried this would be an expectation for the entire department and "strongly encouraged" the principal to have Devonna stop using this tool. Being new to the school and not wanting to jeopardize her place on staff, Devonna did stop implementing unit organizer; this was the major challenge we faced together. Due to this and the climate of the school, we did stop working on future organizers and I did discontinue my coaching with her in that setting. Devonna did state she enjoyed using the unit organizer and hoped to return to using them in the future.

We taught the class using stations.  I modeled the lesson first.  She taught the last two stations.  We used a small room in the library for our station.  The other students were working independently in the library-researching information for their next speech.  The room was tight-that was the biggest challenge.  Their was no screen or technology which was unfortunate because we had created a power point but we had small groups of about 4 students so it was easy to have us working together at one table.  The small group allowed for lots of discussion with the teacher and gave the plenty of opportunities to respond and ask questions. 

This was presented at a training on transition to a group of teachers and special ed supervisors.  This unit organizer was a useful tool to use for  note taking during the presentation. I found it  was difficult for the participants to write in the little boxes, but kept the flow of the presentation. 

I spoke with A.D. on her implementation of the unit organizer routine over the last quarter and an half.  She replied that she has been using the device regularly and has completed 4 of them at this time.  There has been an increase in engagement from her students since she has begun using the device.  It has also helped her with her own pacing and schedule as she has started to use the routine.

The devices are becoming much easier to put together as she has built them and she was excited to say that other teachers have seen her use the device and are interested in also attending training.  We did discuss the challenge of remembering to do the Cue-Do-Review in its entirety, she remarked that she has forgotten to Cue on occasion and the time crunch at the end to Review was difficult.  I suggested placing reminders in the back of the room that she could see to help her remind herself of the process.

We wrapped up the conversation around her data piece, she is planning on using her students final exams in comparison to their midterms as her Student Outcome and believes it will be successful.  She definitely plans on continuing with SIM next year and is eager to attend more training over the summer to further her knowledge and gain another routine or two.

Colleen saw improvement in her general education students. We took data from formative assessments from some of her ESOL and 504 students and saw clear gains. These students seemed to have benefited from the organizational structure of the unit, having clear goals, and establishing routine.