Reflection

Based on the results from this study, students showed more positive growth than negative growth in their understanding of phonological awareness skills that were taught in small reading groups.

Successes

From this study, I was able to see growth from every student in the class when it comes to phonological awareness strategies such as blending, segmenting, and decoding.

Students have been problem solvers on their own by using the strategies they learned in small groups when decoding unknown words.

Students have gained confidence in their blending, segmenting, and decoding abilities while in kindergarten.

challenges

During this study, some challenges that I faced were finding the sufficient amount of time to meet with each small group. Although I met with each group, I found that sometimes I needed more time with a group of students and lessons felt rushed or cut short.

If I were to implement this study again, I would be sure to continue being flexible in adapting lessons to the diverse learning needs of my students.

Current & Future Teaching

When it comes to my current and future teaching, I am able to take results gained from this study and implement my findings into my instruction. This study showed me that it was necessary to teach phonological awareness skills in small reading groups rather than in a whole group setting. When teaching these skills in small groups, students had a higher engagement level, were more successful in their understanding of their phonological awareness skills, and were more likely to participate.

From this study, I found that students showed more growth from working in small groups than in a whole group setting. Due to the individualized groups and intentional teaching practices, students received tailored instruction that was most beneficial to them.

When teaching in the future, I can keep in mind the positive data collected from this study when beginning small reading groups with my students. Based on the study's results, I will be sure to intentionally plan small reading groups based off of various assessments, not just one. Doing this will help to place students in their best-fit group due to the differentiation of assessments.

Professional Growth

To transform student learning, I consistently connected with internal stakeholders, such as my grade level teammates, building principal, and building reading specialist. These internal stakeholders were key aspects to the decision making process and understanding of student data that was collected. By leaning on these internal stakeholders, I was able to brainstorm ideas to further student learning and form new ideas that all around assist the needs of my students. These internal stakeholders brought multiple, different perspectives to the planning process when thinking about small reading groups. These internal stakeholders had vast knowledge of students at the kindergarten age and children at this developmental level.

External stakeholders that provided added perspectives and insight into my decision making process included my associate, fellow colleagues within the district, the district reading and language arts leader, my fellow peers, and my university professors. By discussing common themes I have found in my data collection and research, I was able to determine best practices and further methods to enhance student understanding of phonological awareness skills. These external stakeholders helped me throughout this study because they were able to answer questions that I had that relied on an experienced educator. These external stakeholders were able to provide me with professional advice based on experiences and best practices they have found.