DIBELS

I never got the chance to actually conduct the DIBELS session on my own, but I was able to sit in on it at different times. At this particular school that I observed at, they did DIBELS on their own individual pom pilot. They never used the paper and pencil method at any time. They would find the student’s name and then it would show what level they are on and which story to read. She would read them the directions and then would tell them to start. As that child read, she would touch the words that they had trouble with or just could not pronounce. After three seconds, she would say the word correctly to them and then they would continue to read. Once the time had ended, she would take that story away and ask them retell her everything they remembered from that particular story. Some of the children did really well with this concept, however; others did poorly. What I found interesting was that even some of the on-level and above level readers had a hard time comprehending their story. In contrast, some of the lower level readers could retell word for word what they read. This did not happen often, but it did on some occasions. Since this school used an electronic method of DIBELS, I do not have a written out form of the progress of a certain child. In their electronic devices, it would calculate their progress and either move them to another level or keep that child at the same level they were originally on. I found watching DIBELS was very interesting. I especially liked how it was done electronically rather than using pencil and paper. I think that is it less distracting to the child reading using the pom pilot.
 * DIBELS **