REVISED SECTION:

Our three lessons were a part of a larger unit for all freshmen. The first lesson focuses on helping students understand the role of the school counselor, learning about school resources, and understanding how to calculate grade point average.This lesson was given to students individually or in small groups in each counselor’s office. The second lesson was about teaching students about different learning styles, identify their own learning style, and understand how their learning style impacts their way of learning. This lesson was given through a push-in model through freshman physical education classes. The third lesson focused on goal setting and identifying career interests. This lesson was given through a push-in model through freshman English classes. The 3 lessons were given to 375 freshman during the 2017-2018 school year. A pre/post test was used to collect perception data at the beginning of the first lesson and the end of the third lesson since it was part of one single unit. Students’ attendance and earned credits at the end of each semester were used for outcome data.

For perception data, we asked 10 questions connected to the identified mindsets and behaviors for the lessons. For 8 of the 10 questions, there was growth from the pretest to posttest. The 2 questions that did not have growth were: I can identify how I learn best (changed by -1.62%) I can organize my time (changed by -3.13%). Based on this, we will reexamine which mindsets and behaviors we are targeting with these lessons and how the content aligns with identifying how students learn and manage their time. The largest growth in student perceptions came from: I know how many credits I need to graduate (changed by 41.43%) and I am aware of the 16 career clusters (51.07%). We were least effective based on perception data with our learning style lesson. We need to revamp the learning styles lesson and spend more time on connecting the content to each individual student’s learning style and how that relates for them to a classroom setting. Knowing that students had different learning styles, we could have differentiated the lesson to them based on their own needs. We were most effective by teaching students how many credits they needed to graduate and awareness to 16 career clusters.

For outcome data, we took the average number of days absent for 1st and 2nd semester. 1st semester, students’ averaged 4.24 days absent, while 2nd semester, they averaged 5.44 days. We also looked at average credits earned each semester. 1st semester, freshmen students earned an average of 2.78 credits and 2nd semester they earned an average of 3.24 credits. We believe that the lessons on how to earn credits and calculate GPA had an impact on students knowing the connection between grades and credits. While number of absences increased in a negative way, earned credits increased in a positive way. Regarding absences, we believe that they increased for a few reasons: 2nd semester has a few more days than 1st semester, and school-wide, we see more absences for sicknesses during 2nd semester with the colder winter months and fluctuation in spring temperatures.

Mindsets and behaviors were identified for each area, but our pre/post test did not cover each mindset and behavior. For next year, we need to update the pre/post test to target specific questions geared towards each mindset and behavior.

For other future planning, we will keep these lessons in place with a few modifications. Our perception data was inconsistent and led us to changing our lesson plans for the following year. Students perception data about “I can organize my time” went down slightly from the pretest to the post test. This topic was covered in lessons 1 and 3. Our plan is to create a separate lesson focused on executive functioning for next year. Perception data regarding students understanding “how they learn” also decreased slightly. This topic was covered in lesson 2. For next year, we plan to revamp this lesson and spend more time on defining the different learning styles and helping students identify different ways they learn in different settings. For goal setting, which was covered in lesson 3, we would have liked to see more students who understand and can set a SMART goal. For next year, we will introduce this topic in lesson 1, so by the time we get to lesson 3, it will not be a new concept.

Grade Level: 9th Grade

Lesson Topic: Role of a school counselor, getting involved, awareness of school resources, graduation requirements and importance of GPA

Lesson was Presented in Which Class/Subject:

ASCA Domain, Mindsets & Behaviors Standard(s): Domains: Academic and Career: M-3 M-4 B-SS 8

Start/End: 10/2/17--10/6/17

Process Data (Number of students affected): 375 Freshmen Students. Length of class was 45 minutes.

Perception Data (Surveys or assessments used): Pre/Post Test Results:
1. I understand the role of a school counselor
Pre: 90.68%
Post: 96.27%
(Change + 5.59%)

2. I know how my grades impact my GPA
Pre: 79.5%
Post: 97.07%
(Change + 17.57 %)

3. I know how many credits I need to graduate
Pre: 55.9%
Post: 97.33%
(Change + 41.43%)

4. I know how many years of math, English, and science I need to take
Pre: 67.7%
Post: 98.67%
(Change + 30.97%)

5. I know the difference between the three learning styles
Pre: 31.68%
Post: 73.07%
(Change +
41.39%)

6. I can identify how I learn best
Pre: 92.55%
Post: 90.93%
(Change -1.62%)

7. I can identify electives related to my career
Pre: 65.84%
Post: 84%
(Change + 18.6%)

8. I am aware of the 16 career clusters
Pre: 23.6%
Post: 74.67%
(Change + 51.07%)

9. I know how to set a smart goal
Pre: 81.99%
Post: 93.33%
(Change + 11.34%)

10. I can organize my time
Pre: 90.06%
Post: 86.93%
(Change - 3.13%)

Outcome Data (Achievement, attendance, and/or behavior data): There were 375 freshmen students who had an average of 4.24 absences during 1st semester and an average of 5.44 absences during 2nd semester. (Change: -1.2 absences from S1 to S2) There were 375 freshmen students who had an average of 2.78 credits by the end of 1st semester and an average of 3.24 credits by the end of 2nd semester. The average total credits by the end of the 2017-2018 school year was 6.02. (Change +0.46 credits from S1 to S2)

Implications: REVISED SECTION: Because all three lessons were part of a single unit, the data we collected for the pre-test was at the beginning of lesson 1 and the post test was at the end of lesson 3. Below, we will describe some implications from the lessons. Perception data for question 10: “I can organize my time” actually went down from the pre-test to the post-test. This topic was covered in lessons 1 and 3. As a result, we plan to spend more time on executive functioning skills for incoming freshman. Based on the perception data, we realized, that there was certain content that students learned effectively and some that they did not completely understand. One example of this is from lesson 2 which was about learning styles. The students’ awareness of “how they learned” went down slightly from the pre-test to the post-test. There was a high percentage of students that said they know how they learn for both pre and post, but we think we did not spend enough time on this portion of the lesson to help students dive deeper into this area. While there was growth in the knowledge of learning styles and career clusters, this was an area that we did not cover as effectively based on the posttest data. As a result, we decided to update the lesson for the next time around to spend more time on teaching how to identify how students learn. One new instructional strategy idea that we will try for our learning styles lessons (#2) will be to break students into group based on their learning style assessment results and have specific activities for each group to help them identify examples of how their learning style can be helpful and areas in school where it will be a challenge to learn in that way. For outcome data, the absences rose slightly for 2nd semester, but were within an acceptable range. For credits, freshman, as a group, earned slightly more credits for 2nd semester than 1st. This is a positive sign for us, even if the average change was .46 credits. We would want to spend more time first semester focusing on strategies that would help raise that credit number closer to 3.0 for an average. For questioning, I think our perception questions were fairly strong, but for the next time we do the lesson, we decided to include some “I believe” statements that would help us measure if students are meeting identified mindsets and behaviors. We decided to also add perception questions such as “The knowledge I learned in these lessons has a positive impact on my attendance and grades.” For the mindsets and behaviors, there were a wide number identified with each lesson. As noted earlier, we need to continue to ask more mindset/belief type questions for the lesson where we identified mindsets to cover. Finally, for our decisions for next year, we plan to incorporate this content in our freshman lessons, but we will look at revamping how we cover learning styles and career clusters in order to ensure that more students understand what those are, how they impact learning, and how those are incorporated into our high school curriculum. In addition, because perception data went down for the student ability to manage time, we are planning a brand new lesson focused solely on executive functioning skills for freshman.

Attachments

Grade Level: 9th Grade

Lesson Topic: Learning Styles

Lesson was Presented in Which Class/Subject:

ASCA Domain, Mindsets & Behaviors Standard(s): Domains: Academic and Social/Emotional M-6 B-LS 3 B-LS 7

Start/End: 11/16/17 - 11/17/17

Process Data (Number of students affected): 375 Freshmen Students Length of class was 45 minutes.

Perception Data (Surveys or assessments used): Pre/Post Test Results:
1. I understand the role of a school counselor
Pre: 90.68%
Post: 96.27%
(Change + 5.59%)

2. I know how my grades impact my GPA
Pre: 79.5%
Post: 97.07%
(Change + 17.57 %)

3. I know how many credits I need to graduate
Pre: 55.9%
Post: 97.33%
(Change + 41.43%)

4. I know how many years of math, English, and science I need to take
Pre: 67.7%
Post: 98.67%
(Change + 30.97%)

5. I know the difference between the three learning styles
Pre: 31.68%
Post: 73.07%
(Change +
41.39%)

6. I can identify how I learn best
Pre: 92.55%
Post: 90.93%
(Change -1.62%)

7. I can identify electives related to my career
Pre: 65.84%
Post: 84%
(Change + 18.6%)

8. I am aware of the 16 career clusters
Pre: 23.6%
Post: 74.67%
(Change + 51.07%)

9. I know how to set a smart goal
Pre: 81.99%
Post: 93.33%
(Change + 11.34%)

10. I can organize my time
Pre: 90.06%
Post: 86.93%
(Change - 3.13%)

Outcome Data (Achievement, attendance, and/or behavior data): There were 375 freshmen students who had an average of 4.24 absences during 1st semester and an average of 5.44 absences during 2nd semester. (Change: -1.2 absences from S1 to S2) There were 375 freshmen students who had an average of 2.78 credits by the end of 1st semester and an average of 3.24 credits by the end of 2nd semester. The average total credits by the end of the 2017-2018 school year was 6.02. (Change +0.46 credits from S1 to S2)

Implications: REVISED SECTION: Because all three lessons were part of a single unit, the data we collected for the pre-test was at the beginning of lesson 1 and the post test was at the end of lesson 3. Below, we will describe some implications from the lessons. Perception data for question 10: “I can organize my time” actually went down from the pre-test to the post-test. This topic was covered in lessons 1 and 3. As a result, we plan to spend more time on executive functioning skills for incoming freshman. Based on the perception data, we realized, that there was certain content that students learned effectively and some that they did not completely understand. One example of this is from lesson 2 which was about learning styles. The students’ awareness of “how they learned” went down slightly from the pre-test to the post-test. There was a high percentage of students that said they know how they learn for both pre and post, but we think we did not spend enough time on this portion of the lesson to help students dive deeper into this area. While there was growth in the knowledge of learning styles and career clusters, this was an area that we did not cover as effectively based on the posttest data. As a result, we decided to update the lesson for the next time around to spend more time on teaching how to identify how students learn. One new instructional strategy idea that we will try for our learning styles lessons (#2) will be to break students into group based on their learning style assessment results and have specific activities for each group to help them identify examples of how their learning style can be helpful and areas in school where it will be a challenge to learn in that way. For outcome data, the absences rose slightly for 2nd semester, but were within an acceptable range. For credits, freshman, as a group, earned slightly more credits for 2nd semester than 1st. This is a positive sign for us, even if the average change was .46 credits. We would want to spend more time first semester focusing on strategies that would help raise that credit number closer to 3.0 for an average. For questioning, I think our perception questions were fairly strong, but for the next time we do the lesson, we decided to include some “I believe” statements that would help us measure if students are meeting identified mindsets and behaviors. We decided to also add perception questions such as “The knowledge I learned in these lessons has a positive impact on my attendance and grades.” For the mindsets and behaviors, there were a wide number identified with each lesson. As noted earlier, we need to continue to ask more mindset/belief type questions for the lesson where we identified mindsets to cover. Finally, for our decisions for next year, we plan to incorporate this content in our freshman lessons, but we will look at revamping how we cover learning styles and career clusters in order to ensure that more students understand what those are, how they impact learning, and how those are incorporated into our high school curriculum. In addition, because perception data went down for the student ability to manage time, we are planning a brand new lesson focused solely on executive functioning skills for freshman.

Attachments

Grade Level: 9th Grade

Lesson Topic: Goal Setting

Lesson was Presented in Which Class/Subject:

ASCA Domain, Mindsets & Behaviors Standard(s): Domains: Academic, Career and Social/Emotional: M-4 B-LS 7 B-SMS 4

Start/End: 4/13/18

Process Data (Number of students affected): 375 Freshmen Students Length of class was 45 minutes.

Perception Data (Surveys or assessments used): Pre/Post Test Results:
1. I understand the role of a school counselor
Pre: 90.68%
Post: 96.27%
(Change + 5.59%)

2. I know how my grades impact my GPA
Pre: 79.5%
Post: 97.07%
(Change + 17.57 %)

3. I know how many credits I need to graduate
Pre: 55.9%
Post: 97.33%
(Change + 41.43%)

4. I know how many years of math, English, and science I need to take
Pre: 67.7%
Post: 98.67%
(Change + 30.97%)

5. I know the difference between the three learning styles
Pre: 31.68%
Post: 73.07%
(Change +
41.39%)

6. I can identify how I learn best
Pre: 92.55%
Post: 90.93%
(Change -1.62%)

7. I can identify electives related to my career
Pre: 65.84%
Post: 84%
(Change + 18.6%)

8. I am aware of the 16 career clusters
Pre: 23.6%
Post: 74.67%
(Change + 51.07%)

9. I know how to set a smart goal
Pre: 81.99%
Post: 93.33%
(Change + 11.34%)

10. I can organize my time
Pre: 90.06%
Post: 86.93%
(Change - 3.13%)

Outcome Data (Achievement, attendance, and/or behavior data): There were 375 freshmen students who had an average of 4.24 absences during 1st semester and an average of 5.44 absences during 2nd semester. (Change: -1.2 absences from S1 to S2) There were 375 freshmen students who had an average of 2.78 credits by the end of 1st semester and an average of 3.24 credits by the end of 2nd semester. The average total credits by the end of the 2017-2018 school year was 6.02. (Change +0.46 credits from S1 to S2)

Implications: REVISED SECTION: Because all three lessons were part of a single unit, the data we collected for the pre-test was at the beginning of lesson 1 and the post test was at the end of lesson 3. Below, we will describe some implications from the lessons. Perception data for question 10: “I can organize my time” actually went down from the pre-test to the post-test. This topic was covered in lessons 1 and 3. As a result, we plan to spend more time on executive functioning skills for incoming freshman. Based on the perception data, we realized, that there was certain content that students learned effectively and some that they did not completely understand. One example of this is from lesson 2 which was about learning styles. The students’ awareness of “how they learned” went down slightly from the pre-test to the post-test. There was a high percentage of students that said they know how they learn for both pre and post, but we think we did not spend enough time on this portion of the lesson to help students dive deeper into this area. While there was growth in the knowledge of learning styles and career clusters, this was an area that we did not cover as effectively based on the posttest data. As a result, we decided to update the lesson for the next time around to spend more time on teaching how to identify how students learn. One new instructional strategy idea that we will try for our learning styles lessons (#2) will be to break students into group based on their learning style assessment results and have specific activities for each group to help them identify examples of how their learning style can be helpful and areas in school where it will be a challenge to learn in that way. For outcome data, the absences rose slightly for 2nd semester, but were within an acceptable range. For credits, freshman, as a group, earned slightly more credits for 2nd semester than 1st. This is a positive sign for us, even if the average change was .46 credits. We would want to spend more time first semester focusing on strategies that would help raise that credit number closer to 3.0 for an average. For questioning, I think our perception questions were fairly strong, but for the next time we do the lesson, we decided to include some “I believe” statements that would help us measure if students are meeting identified mindsets and behaviors. We decided to also add perception questions such as “The knowledge I learned in these lessons has a positive impact on my attendance and grades.” For the mindsets and behaviors, there were a wide number identified with each lesson. As noted earlier, we need to continue to ask more mindset/belief type questions for the lesson where we identified mindsets to cover. Finally, for our decisions for next year, we plan to incorporate this content in our freshman lessons, but we will look at revamping how we cover learning styles and career clusters in order to ensure that more students understand what those are, how they impact learning, and how those are incorporated into our high school curriculum. In addition, because perception data went down for the student ability to manage time, we are planning a brand new lesson focused solely on executive functioning skills for freshman.

Attachments