Implementing and evaluating writing interventions for K-2 students

Academic mentor: Meaghan McKenna

Community partner: Danville Public Schools

Project description: 

The curriculum team at Danville Public Schools is interested in enhancing their K-2 writing instruction by adapting writing intervention lessons  from the Early Elementary Writing Intervention (e.g., McKenna et al., 2021) to align with their newly adopted curriculum Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA).

The research team will be meeting with a K-2 literacy team weekly (consisting of the director of curriculum, district coach(es), and teachers). They will also be present at summer gyms to gather feedback from teachers who attend regarding the lessons and begin establishing relationships with them so that a writing data-based decision-making project can be initiated when the 2024-2025 school year begins. This will involve working with teachers on reviewing students' data and determining what lessons will be most responsive to students' strengths/needs. It will be a cyclical process used throughout the entire school year (and ideally in years to come). In addition to lessons, the researchers will establish an assessment plan/schedule and protocols for meetings to engage in data analysis, interpretation, and planning. We want to collaborate with the teachers on all of the materials we develop to ensure they are perceived as feasible and useful.

Role of the Community-Academic Scholar:

The Community-Academic Scholar will attend meetings and summer gyms to gather feedback from teachers. They will use feedback from the teachers and to refine materials and follow up with any agreed upon action items to prepare for the meeting with the literacy team the subsequent week.