Course Name and Instructor’s Name: EDUC-601 and EDUC 602 Research I and II. Todd Braun During my action research project I matched movement with abstract high frequency words and its effect on vocabulary and comprehension. This method seemed to improve vocabulary retention and comprehension for some students. One student was doing a quick read during the morning routine and used the movement while she read. It became automatic for her. Another student was doing a quick check with the teacher and recognized the word but could not read it. He stood back and made a movement, then he went back to the word and read it. Since my project, I have applied movement to all the grades I work with and multiple content areas. The project not only improved my own teaching, but is rubbing off on the teachers I work with. One kindergarten teacher has started using movement when she is teaching her mentor text in reading and writing. Another teacher has worked with me and we have designed social studies units using movements to help students with vocabulary.…show more content… According to Shaha and Ellsworth (2013) schools in which teachers were actively engaged in “on-demand professional development (p.19)” closed the achievement gap in reading and mathematics and scored significantly higher than schools not actively engaged in professional development (p.22-23). By allowing teachers access to professional development and research, teachers are able to apply their new knowledge to their
