Meghan Muntz

Coaching Session #8 – Reflection on Problem of Practice and Student Progress

Coachee: Meghan Muntz

Date/Time: May 13, 2026 1:00 p.m.

Overarching goal with students: I will work with six students currently in the partial alphabetic stage using manipulatives and hands-on materials from the 95% curriculum specifically for phonemic awareness instruction 20 minutes per day to move them to the full alphabetic stage. By March 15, the students will be 50% toward goal; by April 15, the students will be 75% toward goal; by May 15, the students will achieve full alphabetic stage. The assessment from the 95% curriculum will be utilized to determine student success. Students are progress monitored every six weeks.

Meghan tested her students within the small group today (April 13, 2026). HR, JB, FR, PV all passed skill 5.9 (adding sounds) and are ready for deletion. IV passed skill 5.7 and is ready for 5.8 (application: categorization: number). The students are making great progress toward their goals!

Meghan has set a mini-goal for the beginning of May focusing on student IV to become more fluent and confident in decoding words.

Problem of practice goal: I want to use decodable texts more frequently and incorporate their use into small group instruction by April 15, 2026. I will begin implementation with the students who are working on moving to full alphabetic stage first. Once I see how that is going, I will incorporate decodable texts into other small group instruction times. My goal is to use decodable texts within all groups by the end of the academic year.

Coachee reflections: I have really enjoyed my coaching experience this semester with Dr. Seeger. I have really enjoyed bouncing ideas off her and appreciate her support. I think that my focus group has really worked hard this semester and I am proud of their gains. I do still worry about IV making progress, but I am glad that she does have an IEP in place that can be adjusted to support her needs if beneficial. Seeing my students become readers has been such a magical time as they grow in confidence and become more interested in reading.

Focus questions on problem of practice:

What further reflections do you have on using decodable texts within the small groups? How has this changed students’ reading skills? Reading behaviors? Overall behaviors?  In the future, Meghan would like to send books home more often so that parents understand the importance of reading the books with their children every night. Meghan’s long-term goal is that the students and families develop a life-long habit of reading every day. Students are no longer guessing what the word is based on the first sound. They are reading for meaning more often and making connections between the words and pictures on the pages of the books. The students are definitely more excited to read. This week, the students are laying on beach towels to read, and they are choosing decodable books first even though they have choices in what they read. Overall, students are more engaged. When Meghan projects words on a screen, the students are eager to try to read them. They are noticing environmental print more often and try to read the words.

What is your plan for finishing out the year with decodable texts? Reading as much as possible; going outside to read; sitting on floor to read; using words instead of pictures for instructions on the screen.

Focus questions on students’ phonemic awareness skills?

What skills are the students currently working on? What progress have you seen in those students? Even though the small group instruction has ended, Meghan is still pulling kids to reinforce skills. She is using running records materials with the students. Students have demonstrated increased confidence and are starting to read CVC words fluently.

Thinking specifically about IV, what progress has she made since the video you recorded two weeks ago?  IV has not made as much progress lately. Meghan reached out to parents. They are having difficulty at home, too. An ADHD survey was sent home to parents; the pediatrician is on maternity leave, but an appointment has been scheduled for early June.

What will you be sharing with next year’s teachers about IV? IV’s motivation to read and work ethic will be discussed. Meghan thinks she could benefit from a check-in/check-out system. While she does have an IEP, Meghan wants to make sure she does not fall through the cracks.

Focus question about coaching:

What is your biggest take-away from the coaching sessions this semester? Meghan really liked 1:1 meetings focused on “my kids and me, my teaching”. She felt it was beneficial to have someone outside of the district to process ideas with. This gave her confidence about her own literacy knowledge. She liked having someone to bounce ideas off of during the sessions.