Post Research Reflections-Session 7 EDU 790

After completing my action research study, “Parent-Led Literacy Interventions Enhanced by School-to-Home Communication Technology,” here are some reflections about what I have learned.

-How well did it answer your research question?
-What further research is suggested?
-What do results indicate about changes to the instruction and learning process?

Although I had several questions to explore during my project, the main question I had was, “What is the relationship between adherence to the program and outcomes?”  In other words, could this parent program be effective at helping students improve their letter-sound fluency? After looking at my data and running it through the correlation coefficient calculator, the answer is: Quite possibly, yes!  Students who reported higher numbers of sessions definitely had higher scores on the posttest, with one exception. The one student with the highest number of sessions only grew four points on the posttest. This student was also identified as receiving special education services for speech.  This was important information to note, and could lead to many more research questions about early literacy and speech.

Another important thing I learned is that our Spanish speaking only families reported much fewer sessions, and did not respond to our online logs or end of program survey. According to our ParentSquare app, these families did receive the texts and emails, but then did not choose to use the app to respond to logs or the survey. In addition, they did not submit paper logs or surveys, either.  In my paper, I reflect upon the fact that our parent liaison was not always available or able to make calls to these families to make sure they understood the program, as they also did not attend the parent dinner meeting (even though translation was provided).  This information could lead to further questions regarding needs for better communication for these families, or even cultural considerations.

Implications for instruction and learning process are that parents and teachers can work together to make a difference for their children.  It was a lot of work to create the activities, hold the parent dinner meeting, keep track of logs, etc… However, the results show promise that might suggest this is all worth it to our little kindergarteners who enter school already behind.  Parents can utilize very specific instruction on what kinds of activities could help their children most to become stronger readers. As with any population, some parents participate more than others, but it is worth the effort to examine ways to increase participation and effectiveness of all parent involvement.