What caught my interest in the Action Research Course is the idea of action research itself. I was pleasantly surprised at how straight forward it is. Being built around a question that is currently important to my school was much easier for me to grasp and run with than a hypothesis that may or may not directly apply to me. I am actually looking forward to following through with my action research plan and seeing how it turns out in the end.
In the 2nd week of the course, something that stood out to me is the interview with Dr. Timothy Chargois. First of all, I was amazed at how much action research seems to be conducted in his district with the many different projects that he mentioned. He, also, caught my attention when he talked about how it is not about touching that one child anymore. It is about how much your students improved in the end. I learned from him that as students grow and change then so should we. Research is what will help us, as teachers, move in a growing direction and stay life-long learners.
The next big revelation in action research that happened for me was putting together the Action Plan in week 3. At this point, I began to understand the process of researching, reflecting, and putting the different steps of my action research plan into the Tool 7.1 Template. (Harris, 2010) Actually seeing my plan on paper turned the process into a reality. It also made the research not appear as overwhelming as research once presented itself to be.
I enjoyed the discussion boards in this course more than just about any other course I have had so far and this is my tenth class. Some of the other action research plans are in areas that I have had experience and it was fun to share my experiences with my colleagues. I hope I helped. I have an interest in following their research on their blogs because much of their research can apply to my school as well as their own. I know their input for me was very positive and enlightening. It was definitely a boost to my confidence about advancing my own plan.
I will continue to follow the 8 Action Steps of the Harris book as I follow through with my action research plan. The 8 steps certainly simplify the process. Moving from one step to the next is also a convenient way to stay on track. I have also learned a lot from the Dana book and will continue to use it as reference. The Dana book helped me narrow my original wondering to an understandable question and then to an achievable goal. The Dana book helped me decide what to do and the Harris is helping me decide how to do it.
Dana, N.F. (2009). Leading with passion and knowledge: the principal as action researcher. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Harris, S., Edmonson, S., & Combs, J. (2010). Examining what we do to improve our schools: 8 steps from analysis to action. Larchmont, NY: Eye On Education.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Action Research Plan - "A Need For Improvement"
The following is my Action Research Plan. It originated from my inquiry question "What actions can our high school faculty take to close the math achievement gap for our economically disadvantaged students?". Please feel free to review. I am most interested in your comments and/or suggestions. :)
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Action Research - "What actions can our high school faculty take to close the math achievement gap for our economically disadvantaged students?"
1.SETTING THE FOUNDATION –
•A need for improvement: The advancement of the economically disadvantaged (ED) students of my school in the area of math.
2.ANALYZING DATA – (Quantitative)
•Variety of data gathering: List of economically disadvantaged students, AEIS report, TAKS data, electronic searches through the internet, knowledge of Principal and Associate Principal
•Likely findings:
There are solutions that require a change in teaching strategies.
There are solutions that require a mentoring program.
There are solutions that require both.
3.DEVELOPING DEEPER UNDERSTANDING – (Qualitative)
•Survey ED students that are at risk of failing their class and/or their TAKS test.
•Interview a random sample of ED students for deeper understanding of the survey.
4.ENGAGE IN SELF-REFLECTION -
•What actions can our high school faculty take to close the math achievement gap for our economically disadvantaged students?
•Are we not doing what is needed to build the student’s confidence and thus their abilities to learn math at a higher cognitive level?
• Do I have the ability to convince 20 other math teachers to individualize instruction for these students if needed?
• Will the solution require more than we can do as a school? Can we intervene at home?
• Have I adequately addressed the issue?
• Do I have a reasonable plan?
• Is this bigger than me?
5. EXPLORING PROGRAMMATIC PATTERNS - The achievement gap between ED students and non-ED has existed for a long time across the nation. Some believe that the gap is due to the large amount of minority students that are also economically disadvantaged. I realize that my inquiry is in the heart of the NCLB movement. I am attempting to see if I can make a difference to the few students that are at my school in one subject area. Maybe it will help them in other areas by raising their confidence level. Helping the students at the same time will help the school. I, also, see in my school some bias toward these students. Some are labeled as “beyond help”. Some teachers prefer to concentrate on the students that are “in reach” of success. Unfortunately, some student’s low academic performance is due to circumstances in their home life and beyond the school’s or the student’s control. What can we do as a staff that we are not already doing to help these students see that there is hope for success for them in math?
6.DETERMINING DIRECTION –
• I need to stay focused on my original action research question: “What actions can our high school faculty take to close the math achievement gap for our economically disadvantaged students?”
• I understand where my resources will come from at my school. Some of the needed resources have been obtained or made available to me in the past.
• I will establish a collaborative team with math teachers, counselor, and principal as soon as we return to school.
• I believe my timelines are realistic. If they prove not to be I will adjust them.
• The monitoring of the plan will come at the completion of each step in the action plan with the assessment instrument.
• Success will come with improvement with the ED student’s math class passing rate and TAKS scores for math. We won’t be able to determine the success until at least the end of the 2010-2011 school year and possibly the 2011-2012 school year.
7.TAKING ACTION FOR SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT – In reference to the “Action Plan” template:
• I will assemble a team of math teachers to implement the results of the action research project on our campus. Since many of the ED students will be spread among many math teachers, it will take the help of those teachers to work with the students.
• If non math teachers are needed outside the department for mentoring purposes, I will assess that at the appropriate time.
• I hope to have some sort of implementation in place by the spring of 2011.
8.SUSTAIN IMPROVEMENT – To be determined:
• Should this project prove successful, I will then determine the best method for sustaining it. At this point, I prefer the “Force Field Analysis” strategy.
• I will be happy to share it with other schools in my district and on my blog.
Harris, S., Edmonson, S., & Combs, J. (2010). Examining what we do to improve our schools: 8 steps from analysis to action. Larchmont, NY: Eye On Education.
•A need for improvement: The advancement of the economically disadvantaged (ED) students of my school in the area of math.
2.ANALYZING DATA – (Quantitative)
•Variety of data gathering: List of economically disadvantaged students, AEIS report, TAKS data, electronic searches through the internet, knowledge of Principal and Associate Principal
•Likely findings:
There are solutions that require a change in teaching strategies.
There are solutions that require a mentoring program.
There are solutions that require both.
3.DEVELOPING DEEPER UNDERSTANDING – (Qualitative)
•Survey ED students that are at risk of failing their class and/or their TAKS test.
•Interview a random sample of ED students for deeper understanding of the survey.
4.ENGAGE IN SELF-REFLECTION -
•What actions can our high school faculty take to close the math achievement gap for our economically disadvantaged students?
•Are we not doing what is needed to build the student’s confidence and thus their abilities to learn math at a higher cognitive level?
• Do I have the ability to convince 20 other math teachers to individualize instruction for these students if needed?
• Will the solution require more than we can do as a school? Can we intervene at home?
• Have I adequately addressed the issue?
• Do I have a reasonable plan?
• Is this bigger than me?
5. EXPLORING PROGRAMMATIC PATTERNS - The achievement gap between ED students and non-ED has existed for a long time across the nation. Some believe that the gap is due to the large amount of minority students that are also economically disadvantaged. I realize that my inquiry is in the heart of the NCLB movement. I am attempting to see if I can make a difference to the few students that are at my school in one subject area. Maybe it will help them in other areas by raising their confidence level. Helping the students at the same time will help the school. I, also, see in my school some bias toward these students. Some are labeled as “beyond help”. Some teachers prefer to concentrate on the students that are “in reach” of success. Unfortunately, some student’s low academic performance is due to circumstances in their home life and beyond the school’s or the student’s control. What can we do as a staff that we are not already doing to help these students see that there is hope for success for them in math?
6.DETERMINING DIRECTION –
• I need to stay focused on my original action research question: “What actions can our high school faculty take to close the math achievement gap for our economically disadvantaged students?”
• I understand where my resources will come from at my school. Some of the needed resources have been obtained or made available to me in the past.
• I will establish a collaborative team with math teachers, counselor, and principal as soon as we return to school.
• I believe my timelines are realistic. If they prove not to be I will adjust them.
• The monitoring of the plan will come at the completion of each step in the action plan with the assessment instrument.
• Success will come with improvement with the ED student’s math class passing rate and TAKS scores for math. We won’t be able to determine the success until at least the end of the 2010-2011 school year and possibly the 2011-2012 school year.
7.TAKING ACTION FOR SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT – In reference to the “Action Plan” template:
• I will assemble a team of math teachers to implement the results of the action research project on our campus. Since many of the ED students will be spread among many math teachers, it will take the help of those teachers to work with the students.
• If non math teachers are needed outside the department for mentoring purposes, I will assess that at the appropriate time.
• I hope to have some sort of implementation in place by the spring of 2011.
8.SUSTAIN IMPROVEMENT – To be determined:
• Should this project prove successful, I will then determine the best method for sustaining it. At this point, I prefer the “Force Field Analysis” strategy.
• I will be happy to share it with other schools in my district and on my blog.
Harris, S., Edmonson, S., & Combs, J. (2010). Examining what we do to improve our schools: 8 steps from analysis to action. Larchmont, NY: Eye On Education.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Reflections Of The Scholars
Dr. Chargois: I hope I can keep up with the action research projects that Dr. Chargois is conducting in his district. Both of them are very interesting and beneficial topics to any teacher and administrator. I inherited several pieces of advice from his video. Some of the advice was action research oriented and some was just good advice for any teacher but advice in which we all need to be continually reminded. He reminded us that we should never stop learning. Teachers of today have to be action research oriented. He said “If you are green, you are growing. If you are brown, you are dying.” I think I will ask the teachers in my department at our first meeting this summer if they are green or brown. It will be interesting to see how they answer. Today’s teachers have to produce results. They have to increase performance. It is all about accountability. We can all still feel good about touching a child but the question at the end of the school year is did that student improve?
Dr. Lewis: I learned from Dr. Lewis that I don’t have to reinvent the wheel. There is most likely research that already exists that applies to my action research project. I need to make sure that it comes from districts that are similar to mine. What he said about research needing to be practical makes so much sense. That is some of the same advice that Dr. Jenkins had already given us. It caused me to change my topic from week one to week two so that it applies more directly to me.
Dr. Lewis: I learned from Dr. Lewis that I don’t have to reinvent the wheel. There is most likely research that already exists that applies to my action research project. I need to make sure that it comes from districts that are similar to mine. What he said about research needing to be practical makes so much sense. That is some of the same advice that Dr. Jenkins had already given us. It caused me to change my topic from week one to week two so that it applies more directly to me.
Proposed Action Research
After listening to this week’s videos, I changed my original topic from last week. I took Dr. Jenkin’s advice that our research should be reasonable, something that we could accomplish, possibly something related to our jobs and in which we have a passion. Since my topic last week would require me to change a basic procedure of the Texas Education Agency, I thought I better go for something a little closer to home.
The purpose of my action research is to investigate teaching strategies used in secondary schools to close the math achievement gap between minority (specifically African American and low socio economic) and white students. I have seen many studies that talk about the fact that the gap exists and I agree that it exists in my school. I’m looking for specific educational methods that may have been used in other schools to help close that gap.
The significance of my action research is primarily for the advancement of the students. After learning new teaching strategies, the students will benefit with higher math grades, greater confidence in their math skills, and therefore being able to enroll in higher level math classes. Higher level math classes could lead to more career opportunities than they may have otherwise had. The school and teachers will benefit from higher standardized test scores and possibly a higher school rating.
The purpose of my action research is to investigate teaching strategies used in secondary schools to close the math achievement gap between minority (specifically African American and low socio economic) and white students. I have seen many studies that talk about the fact that the gap exists and I agree that it exists in my school. I’m looking for specific educational methods that may have been used in other schools to help close that gap.
The significance of my action research is primarily for the advancement of the students. After learning new teaching strategies, the students will benefit with higher math grades, greater confidence in their math skills, and therefore being able to enroll in higher level math classes. Higher level math classes could lead to more career opportunities than they may have otherwise had. The school and teachers will benefit from higher standardized test scores and possibly a higher school rating.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
How Education Leaders Might Use Blogs….
There are many ways that educational leaders might use blogs. They can use them for their own personal journaling use. Blogs are a great way to put thoughts and reflections in writing and have the entries arranged in reverse chronological order. Educational leaders can use blogs as an “online diary” where they can post news about any research in which they are currently engaged. (Dana, 2009) They can choose to share their blogging with other members of the school to receive ideas and feedback.
Dana, N.F. (2009). Leading with passion and knowledge: the principal as action researcher. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Dana, N.F. (2009). Leading with passion and knowledge: the principal as action researcher. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
What I Have Learned About Administrator Inquiry….
Administrator inquiry is the process of a principal engaging in a collection of information from a systematic study of an issue on their campus. It may be an issue in need of improvement that requires action for change based on the results of the study. (Dana, 2009) The principal uses a mixture of data sources in order to provide a more accurate picture of the issue in question and, therefore, leads to a better decision and successful solution. (Harris, Edmonson, & Combs, 2010) Traditional research is relying on someone else’s information, someone that may or may not have experience as a principal, an “outsider”. Administrator inquiry focuses on the concerns of the principal and engages the principal in the design, data collection, and interpretation of any needed solutions. Administrator inquiry has the goal of the principal examining a practice and better understanding it in an effort to improve it. The principal takes ownership in the new knowledge and is able to play a critical role in their own professional growth. (Dana, 2009)
Dana, N.F. (2009). Leading with passion and knowledge: the principal as action researcher. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Harris, S., Edmonson, S., & Combs, J. (2010). Examining what we do to improve our schools: 8 steps from analysis to action. Larchmont, NY: Eye On Education.
How I Might Be Able To Use It….
I see myself primarily using administrator inquiry as a reflection tool. I spend a lot of time, especially in the summer, reflecting the previous school year and how to use those reflections to improve the new school year. Sometimes I get back to school and try new things by strictly trial and error. I feel as I learn more about administrator inquiry and experience the process through our new course that I will have found a tool to more substantiate my reflections rather than trying new ideas with no previous indication as to how they may turn out.
Dana, N.F. (2009). Leading with passion and knowledge: the principal as action researcher. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Harris, S., Edmonson, S., & Combs, J. (2010). Examining what we do to improve our schools: 8 steps from analysis to action. Larchmont, NY: Eye On Education.
How I Might Be Able To Use It….
I see myself primarily using administrator inquiry as a reflection tool. I spend a lot of time, especially in the summer, reflecting the previous school year and how to use those reflections to improve the new school year. Sometimes I get back to school and try new things by strictly trial and error. I feel as I learn more about administrator inquiry and experience the process through our new course that I will have found a tool to more substantiate my reflections rather than trying new ideas with no previous indication as to how they may turn out.
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