Sitson Phase III

Improvement in Study Skills and Homework Completion

Purpose
Ninth graders attending Watkins Mill High School showed a need for additional support in order
to meet learning objective goals and to increase the rate of homework completion. This
initiative was created to support learners in their study habits and homework. Data showed that
incomplete assignments had a direct correlation to academic performance in the classroom.
Because there was a number of students whose academic progress is impacted by lack of
home support and lack of study skills, teachers developed an initiative to address those
concerns. According to Wolfes (2009), it was found that 56.8% of high school students only
study when they have to, and 53.7% of high school students skip over charts, graphs, and
tables, when reading assigned texts (p.3) . Based on these findings, teachers will work to
explicitly teach a variety of study skills such as note-taking, reading graphs and charts, and
summarizing texts.
The learning objectives for this initiative are:
Students will be able to select and use information resources available through
technology
Students will be able to apply time-management and task management skills
The goal of this initiative is to instill a variety of active learning strategies so that students can
better succeed in the classroom and at home. By creating a learning environment in which
teachers guide students to study effectively, and provide opportunities for peer-feedback,
students are better prepared for greater levels of success (Wolfe, 2009). Students need
experiences in such environments where collaboration and technology resources play an
important role.
What the data shows
Quarter one data was used to support the basis of this initiative. Teachers analyzed student
academic progress, homework completion rates, MSA data, and demographics (including
Special Education and ELL) to determine the type of initiative that would best support these
students. Specifically for this initiative, teachers honed in on students who had low homework
completion rates as well as low academic progress. These students were individually chosen
based on who the teachers think would best benefit from the program.
The following chart (Table 1) shows students rating of homework completion. Students were
given a rating between 0-5, where five represents those who complete homework assignments
every day, and 0 represents those who complete homework assignment rarely. To determine
the homework rating, teachers evaluated how often a student completes and turn in his
homework (in a 5 day school week), and how accurate the assignments are completed. The
graph shows that 36% of students of students are not completing the assignments in a timely
manner (rating of 0-3).

Sitson Phase III

Table 1

Homework Rating
14
12
10
8
Number of Students

6
4
2
0

Rating

Who are the students?

Teachers are looking for students who demonstrate needs in academic content, demonstrate
needs in homework completion, and also need support to develop study habit skills. Through
this initiative, students receive the skills needed to improve in reading, writing, and math
content areas. The after school program will provide students with support in those homework
assignments as well as long term projects such as essays or multi-media presentations. When
deciding who should be a part of this program, teachers also considered the needs of students
with an IEP, ELL students, and students who do not have support at home.
The following graph (Table 2) displays the nine students who have low homework rates based
on the different groups- general ed, Special Ed, and ELL. These are students who have a
homework completion rating between 0-3.
Table 2

Sitson Phase III

Student Groups with Low HW Rating

7
6
5
4
Number of Students 3
2
1
0

General Ed

IEP

ELL

Student Groups

Causes as to why students are not completing assignments may derive from lack of
motivation, poor attitudes, lack of home support, or even learning disabilities (Bryan, 2004 p.
214). This initiative will work to increase student homework productivity. Students need to
become independent in completing homework and through this type of scaffold, the level of
student independence increases.
During a ninth grade team meeting, teachers reviewed academic achievement data, and
selected a total of seventeen students to take part in the after school program. The following
graph (Table 3) displays all the students who were selected for the program based on the
student groups. This includes students who scored poorly on homework completion (see Table
1), as well as those who had lower academic achievement (scoring 60% or lower on overall
average). The hope is to support these students in teaching effective study habits, so that
classroom grades increase. By knowing who the students are and what learning implications
they may have, it allows teachers to know that a variety of teaching strategies is needed in
order to support all learners.
Table 3

Sitson Phase III

Student Groups
9
8
7
6
5
Number of Students 4
3
2
1
0

General Ed

Special Ed

ELL

Student Groups

By seeing this data, teachers know that there will be a variety of learners- each of whom has a
variety of needs. There is a mix of general education students, Special Education students,
and English Language Learners. This means that when planning, teachers will be mindful in
knowing how these students learn best and provide supports such as visuals, explicit
modeling, providing example templates, etc. In order to make this initiative meaningful,
teachers must be able to use strategies that allow students to meet the learning objectives.
Learning Objectives
There are two primary learning objectives centered in this initiative, both of which are stated in
the introduction. The first objective comes from the Maryland Technology Literacy Standards
for Students. According to Standard 5: Technology for Information Use and Management;
students will be able to select and use information resources available through technology
(2008). Students are exposed to a variety of technology sites and to use technological tools to
support their learning. Another learning objective for this initiative is for students to apply timemanagement and task management skills. Though this objective is not stated as one of the
state standards, this is a learning objective all teachers agreed that students need to meet as it
can be applied across the curriculum. The hope is to take these learned skills and apply it in
their school work.
Technology
Every session will take place in the computer lab. Each student will have access to his or her
own computer. Some students may have their own devices and are welcome to use those as
well. Two free online sites are used primarily in this initiative; ExamTime and Collaborize
Classroom. Teachers will create a class profile so that students have access to each site.
Students will learn to use these sites during the first two weeks of the program. They are
expected to use these tools throughout the weeks, during and outside the after school
program.

Sitson Phase III

ExamTime (https://www.examtime.com/study-planner/) provides students with an online

weekly/monthly schedule planner. One of the benefits of this site is that students are able to
mark when assignments are due. This promotes skills in time management, prioritizing, and
organization. If students are working on a long term project, they can create a timeline for
small chunks of the project. These calendars can also be shared so that teachers may have
access to edit, or to check what students have completed. Bryan and Bursteins study (2014)
found that as students develop self-monitoring skills through the organizational aids, there was
an increase of assignment completion. This ties back to one of the learning objective for this
initiative; applying study habits. Additionally, this tool has its advantages especially for students
with IEPs, ELL students, and those who are strong visual learners by being able to visually
see the timeline of their weekly goals (Exam Time, 2014).
The second online tool, Collaborize Classroom (http://www.collaborizeclassroom.com/)
encourages students to collaborate with each other through the internet. Another important
targeted skill in this initiative is to promote the amount of communication between teachers and
students, and among the students themselves. Online communities plays an important role in
student academic success, however students need the guidance and modeling by teachers in
order to make the learning valuable (Boling et al., 2011). During the after school sessions,
teachers will model and scaffold the use of the online tools in order to effectively teach the
proper routines in an online community. Students use Collaborize Classroom for group projects
as they can share documents and communicate with other members. Collaborize Classroom
will be used to provide feedback among each other (teachers and students), and for students
to share a resources with each other.
Implementation Steps
The after school program will meet twice a week at the end of the school day; Tuesdays and
Thursdays from 3:00pm-4:30pm. Sessions begin with a discussion/mini-lesson co-taught by
the two teachers. These mini-lessons cover a variety of study habit practices, ranging from
note taking to time management. The lead teachers will discuss the importance of those skills,
model examples, and then have students apply those skills in their homework. Students will
also be required to reflect on the days lesson and consider how these taught skills will impact
their academic progress.
To assess student progress each week, teachers will monitor the amount of activity students
spend on the online tools; creating timelines, communicating with other students and teachers,
checking off complete tasks. In addition, teachers monitor how often homework is completed.
By the mid-way mark, the team of ninth grade teachers will need to meet to discuss how the
initiative has played out. Details of what is discussed at this meeting are explained under Team
Members. Continuous efforts in feedback and reflection will be used to make sure that there is
progress. This includes assessing student homework progress, student use on the online
tools, and improvement in the academic contents.
Timeline

Sitson Phase III

Data for this initiative was collected from the first quarter of the school year; this includes
academic grades, attendance, and homework completion. The implementation of this afterschool program will begin at the start of the second quarter. Below is the timeline of the
planned topics, events, and assessments.
Weeks

Study Skills and Homework Completion

-Teachers meet and look at data

-Select students for the initiative
-Send out invitation letters

-First meeting
-Student surveys
-Teachers introduce CollaboraizeClassroom and ExamTime
-Ninth grade teachers meet to discuss progress

-2nd meeting
-Topic: Time Management
-Develop timeline plan
-Students conference with teachers to review timeline plans

-3rd Meeting
-Topic: Goal-Setting
-Teacher check-in: Teachers meet to share out the progress, discuss strengths
and any concerns thus far

-4th Meeting
-Topic: Note-taking strategies

-5th Meeting
-Topic: Using graphic organizers/memory tools

Mid-way check in
-Teachers assess student calendars and plans
-Check to see who is making the goals
-6th Topic: Collaboration/study groups

-7th Meeting
-Topic: Collaboration

-8th Meeting
-Topic: Collaboration

Sitson Phase III

10

-9th Meeting
-Goals: Sharing of presentations

11

Analysis and Reflection (10th meeting)

-Students share reflection; what have they taken from the program?
-Teachers analyze student data. Look at homework completion grade averages,
amount of work/time spent on the online tools

Team Members
It is essential that this initiative is a collaborative effort in order for it to be a success. A team of
ninth grade teachers met to discuss student data and decided which students would best
benefit from this after school program. Letters were sent home to parents sharing the purpose
and asking for permission for their child to be a part of the program. This initiative is led by one
general education and one special education teachers. Both teachers have met to plan a
timeline as well as the weekly topics.
A parent volunteer will attend afterschool sessions to support students, but will not know who
students with IEPs are; neither will she have access to confidential special education
documents due to student privacy. However, the parent volunteer does know that this program
will have a variety of learners. Therefore, a training session prior to the first after school
meeting will occur in order to discuss the objectives, introduce the technology tools and
provide instructional strategies to be used with the students.
The special education teacher and general education teacher have developed the plans for
each week. They will co-teach each weekly lesson to the group of students. As students work
on their assignments, the teachers and parent volunteer will provide support and engage
students in active discussion/collaboration. Rather than a lecture-setting, the adults will act
more as facilitators as students work with each other, and provide technology support when
students use the online tools.
Right after week four (after the third after school session), the teachers will share out current
progress to the rest of the ninth grade teachers. During this meeting, teachers will be able to
know what skills and ideas have been discussed, and will be sure to reinforce these skills in
the classroom. That way, consistent reinforcement is provided, and students know that their
teachers have the same expectations. Furthermore, this team meeting allows teachers to
collaborate on additional ideas that could be implemented.
At the end of this initiative, the ninth grade team will meet again to reflect and analyze the new
data. Teachers will review how well the students improved. Plans for the next steps and any
modifications will be discussed as well.
Assessment and Student Success

Sitson Phase III

Through multiple means, the lead teachers of this initiative will assess student progress.
Teachers will monitor student homework completion rates. During the mid-way check in,
teachers will check for current homework progress. This could be done by meeting with other
ninth grade teachers to see if homework was turned in on days that the afterschool sessions
were not meeting. Teachers can also check for homework completion based on homework
grades posted on the schools online grading tool through Edline. Each student has his or her
own account that shows their assignment grades from each class. The lead teachers have
access to each students profile. By reviewing Edline, teachers will check to see if students are
completing homework assignments independently. This is one indicator to determine the
impact of the initiative- whether or not students are improving their homework grades.
Academic progress will also be tracked to see if the study habits taught in this initiative had a
direct impact inside the classroom as well. Again through Edline, the teachers can see student
overall grades for each class.
The second objective is for students to apply time-management skills. In order to asses this,
the lead teachers will also assess the amount of work students spend on the online tools. Lead
teachers are able to check and monitor online activity from the two sites. Informal conferences
between the lead teachers and students will take place throughout the weeks so that students
will have constant feedback. When looking at student productivity, criteria of success rubric will
be used to assess its effect. The criteria for success include:

Updating online planner on a weekly basis

Using the online planner to complete and turn-in assignments based on due dates
Using collaborative sites to ask for help and to work with classmates

Lastly, student attitudes at the beginning of the initiative and towards the end of the initiative
will show whether or not the initiative was a success. Through a refection survey, teachers will
question how students attitudes towards homework and study habits have changed since
being a part of this initiative. Hopefully, students will have gained independence and improved
their self-motivation when it comes to school assignments.
Summary
The goal for this initiative is to improve student homework and academic progress. The first
piece in creating this initiative was to look at the problem areas from the student data. In this
case, the lack of homework completion and overall academic progress showed need for some
type of additional support. As a team, teachers developed a plan to improve in those areas.
During the implementation steps, constant assessment of student learning will take place in
order to monitor student progress. By exposing students to technology tools, and through
feedback discussions, students have the opportunity to self-reflect and ask themselves; what
skills have I learned? And am I applying these skills in school?
Conclusion
The following diagram (Image 1) depicts the Action Learning Cycle schools use when aiming
for student progress (Educational Leaders, 2014). This is a perfect example of how this

Sitson Phase III

initiative is taking action. This cycle shows the process teachers follow when implementing this
program. The take-away from this image shows that this initiative does not have an end. As
long as students show a need in instructional support, teachers continuously plan, assess,
reflect, and make changes. At the end of this initiative, teachers go back to step one to discuss
future implications.

Image 1

For students to improve academically, little steps are needed just to begin. This initiative is the
first step to support students in learning skills that will take them through not only the rest of
their academic years, but into their years as they enter the work force. Teachers were able to
notice where the needs are, and by providing the afterschool support, students will be able to
achieve. After this initiative is completed, both students and teachers will reflect on the
outcomes. Were the objective met? Did my students find self-motivation? How will they take
these skills into the classrooms? What else do the students need to know?
References
Boling, E. C., Holan, E., Horbatt, B., Hough, M., Jean, Louis, J., Kurhana, C., Krinsky, H.,
Spiezio, C. (2011). Using online tools for communication and collaboration: Understanding
educators experiences in an online course. Paper presented at the 61st Annual Meeting of the
Literacy Research Association (LRA). Retrieved March 28, 2014 from http://eric.ed.gov/?
id=ED527148
Bryan, T., & Burstein, K. (2004). Improving homework completion and academic performance:
Lessons from special education. Theory Into Practice, 43(3), 213-219. Retrieved March 23,
2014, from http://www.ebscohost.com/academic/business-source-complete

Sitson Phase III

Collaborize Classroom (2014). Features. Retrieved March 28, 2014 from

http://www.collaborizeclassroom.com/features
Educational Leaders (2014). [Online Image] Retrieved April 13, 2014from
http://www.educationalleaders.govt.nz/Leadership-development/Leadership-programmes/Firsttime-principals-modules/Module-1-Ongoing-school-self-review/The-review-process
ExamTime. (2014). Online Study. Retrieved March 28, 2014 from
https://www.examtime.com/online-study/
Maryland Technology Literacy Consortium. (2008). Maryland Technology Literacy Standards
for Students Grades 9 through 12. In Draft Standards for Grades 9 through 12. Retrieved
February 14, 2014, from http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/techlit/docs/Draft
%20High%20School%20Standards.pdf
Wolfe, A. (2009). Student attitudes towards study skills. Retrieved March 15, 2014 from
http://alisonwolfe.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/Student_Attitudes_Study_Skills1.pdf

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