Revised Teacher Survey

After carefully reading assignment 5 directions, I realized I missed the part about having various questions (open ended, scale rating, short answer, etc).  I revised my survey in order to make some improvements, however, I still wanted to keep similar questions and have it remain short and simple.

I will say that I did like the variety of questions in the revised survey much more than my original yes/no survey.  Even though the content/questions remained much the same, the variety in ways I asked them seemed to have provided much more information.

I definitely see the benefit in asking a variety of question types over the traditional yes/no survey.

Revised Teacher Survey

1.     What grade do you teach?

Kindergarten ___

Grade 1 ____

Grade 2 ____

Grade 3 ____

Other (ESL, DLT) ____

2.    Do you use WiggleWorks in your classroom?  (Resources, on the SMARTboard, etc.)

No ___

Yes ___

If answered yes, please check what best describes your use:

Sometimes _____

On a weekly basis _____

On a daily basis _____

As much as we can _____

3.    Do your students use WiggleWorks in the computer lab?

Yes ___       No ___

If yes, what is their comfort level when using the program on their own?

Confident ____

Work with a friend ____

Need some guidance at first _____

Unable to use WiggleWorks on their own _____

4.    Do you think there was enough PD provided for WiggleWorks?

Yes ___          No ___       Would like some more PD ____

5.    Do you find the resource box helpful?  If so, what do you use?

No ___

Yes ___  If yes, what do you use?

Books ___

Audio Books ___

Teacher Plan/Resource binder ___

6.    Is there a reason you are not using WiggleWorks in your classroom or in the computer lab?

7.    If you have been using WiggleWorks, what part do you use most?

Read ___

Read Aloud ___

Write ___

My Book ___

Magnet Board ___

8.     What part of WiggleWorks have your students been using most?

Read ___

Read Aloud ___

Write ___

My Book ___

Magnet Board ___

9.     Do you think WiggleWorks provided student engagement?

No ___

Yes ___ If yes, rate using the below scale, 1 being mildly engaged, 5 being thoroughly engaged.

1 ___  2 ___ 3 ___ 4 ___ 5 ____

10. Do you agree with the following statement:

"WiggleWorks combines powerful technology with leveled books and instructional materials to develop reading, writing, and language skills necessary for future reading success. This proven effective program helps teachers scaffold instruction and advance all primary students toward reading independence."

Not at all       Somewhat         Agree       Strongly Agree

11.   If you have been using WiggleWorks, will you continue to use it in the future?

N/A ___

Yes ___

No ___

12.  Additional comments/feedback.

Teacher Survey

Well, the experience I had with the teacher survey was a good one.  I initially thought no one would complete it, or maybe just a few.  I was surprised how many people completed the survey and how it created some great dialogue.  I had several teachers approach me to tell me they completed the survey, and then proceeded to provide more feedback about the program in person.

I know the PD that I provided, and the handful of teachers that I have worked closely with implementing the program, but you never know for sure who will use it while you are away.  I work at 3 schools and often have team meetings, so I am not always around.  It was great to see that many teachers are using the program and are very happy with the results.  It was also interesting to see how teachers that were provided the same PD used the program in different ways.

I decided to use Survey Monkey to stay consistent with what I have been using for the last two years.  Any time that I needed to collect data or use a small survey I have used Survey Monkey.  I knew teachers would be familiar with the style and format.  I also didn’t want to go over ten questions as I thought the more questions, the less answers I would receive.

My original survey was sent out as a link in an e-mail.  I explained that I just wanted some feedback about the WiggleWorks program, successes and roadblocks, that all answers would be anonymous; their participation/time/feedback would be greatly appreciated.

I know how I usually feel about surveys, well at least up until our last 809 class J  I have learned that communication is very important when administering a survey.  If participants have a better understanding why the information is being collected, they may take more time or be more honest when completing them. 

Here is a copy of the survey; again, the one I passed out to teachers was via e-mail, using Survey Monkey.

1.     Do you use WiggleWorks in your classroom?  (Resources, on the SMARTboard, etc.)

Yes ___       No ___

2.    Do your students use WiggleWorks in the computer lab?

Yes ___       No ___

3.    Do you think there was enough PD provided for WiggleWorks?

Yes ___       No ___

4.    Do you find the resource box helpful?  If so, what do you use?

No ___

Yes ___

Books ___

Audio Books ___

Teacher Plan/Resource binder ___

5.    Is there a reason you are not using WiggleWorks in your classroom or in the computer lab?

6.    If you have been using WiggleWorks, what part do you use most?

Read ___

Read Aloud ___

Write ___

My Book ___

Magnet Board ___

7.     What part of WiggleWorks have your student been using most?

Read ___

Read Aloud ___

Write ___

My Book ___

Magnet Board ___

8.     Do you think WiggleWorks provided student engagement?

Yes ___

No ___

9.     Do you agree with the following statement:

"WiggleWorks combines powerful technology with leveled books and instructional materials to develop reading, writing, and language skills necessary for future reading success. This proven effective program helps teachers scaffold instruction and advance all primary students toward reading independence."

Yes ___

No ___

10.  If you have been using WiggleWorks, will you continue to use it in the future?

N/A ___

Yes ___

No ___

Other than feedback about the program, I was also able to find out that most teachers (or at least the ones who came to talk to me) found the survey ‘short and sweet.’  They said that if it was any longer they may not have completed it, just because time is always an issue.  I also thought it was interesting that most teachers said they would rather explain their problems (especially dealing with technology) to a person and not to have to write it out on a survey.

I know I have gained some valuable knowledge regarding the WiggleWorks program and surveys by doing this assignment.  I also know that even though my initial survey had about 20 questions (almost double!), these 10 questions gave me the information I needed.

Student Survey

I wanted to include this survey because I wasn't able to create one survey that both students and teachers could answer.  I created a short survey for students (see below) and a short survey for teachers that will be posted next.

I used this survey with grade 1 and 2 students. It is a very simple and short survey, but I just wanted some feedback. 

The feedback was all positive and I assume some of that has to do with the fact that WiggleWorks is a new program.  I find sometimes the ‘newness’ (I may have just created a word!) alone engages students.  I am very interested to see if students feel the same way in June, and then again next school year.

I do think WiggleWorks is an engaging program and it is designed to help improve students reading and writing levels.  In saying that, it is a complimentary program and not a core resource.  Teachers are using the program in a variety of ways with students at this point.

I also think that it is too early to determine if the WiggleWorks program is actually improving students reading and writing levels.

I will post the teacher survey as well.

WIGGLEWORKS SURVEY

J - YES

L - NO

Do you use WiggleWorks in the computer lab?

J ____

L ____

Do you like using WiggleWorks in the computer lab?

J ____

L ____

Do you like when your teacher uses WiggleWorks on the SMARTboard?

J ____

L ____

Do you like reading with WiggleWorks?

J ____

L ____

Do you like writing with WiggleWorks?

J ____

L ____

Does WiggleWorks help you with reading and writing?

J ____

L ____

Does WiggleWorks make reading and writing fun?

J ____

L ____

Draw a star by your favorite sections. 

Students did have help completing this survey. The questions were read aloud so that young readers would understand what was being asked.