Action Research Development

Action Planning
Goal: To increase scores in all areas of the state assessment by incorporating a tutorial session during the regular school hours, which would improve tutorial attendance and concentration levels of both teacher and student.
ACTION
STEP(S) PERSON(S)RESPONSIBLE TIMELINE:START/END NEEDED RESOURCES EVALUATION

INFORMAL INTERVIEWS WITH STAFF
DEPARTMENT HEADS DURING ALLOCATED DEPARTMENT CONFERENCE PERIODS. (THE WEEK AFTER TAKS TESTING IS COMPLETED) VERBAL QUESTIONING OF TUTORIAL SESSIONS HOW DO THE TEACHERS FEEL TUTORIALS WERE CARRIED OUT? PREPARE A BRIEF PRESENTATION ON THEIR FINDINGS.

STUDENT/PARENT SURVEYS
(HARD COPY MAILED HOME AND POSTED INTERACTIVE POSTING ONLINE.) ALL TEACHERS, STUDENTS AND PARENTS. TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT FOR WEB POSTING THE WEEK AFTER TAKS TESTING IS COMPLETED. SURVEY QUESTIONS AND TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT HAVE TEAMS EVALUATE DATA TAKEN FROM SURVEYS AND PREPARE A BRIEF PRESENTATION OF THEIR FINDINGS.

MEETING WITH DEPARTMENT LEADERS ALL PRINCIPALS AND DEPARTMENT HEADS UPON ARRIVAL OF TAKS SCORES TUTORIAL ATTENDANCE DATA, TAKS DATA COMPILE A LIST OF STUDENTS WHO SCORED IN THE LOWEST 25%

FACULTY MEETING ALL STAFF 4-5 PM PRESENTATIONS FROM DEPARTMENTS (INTERVIEW DATA), TEAMS (SURVERYS), COPIES OF PULLED RESEARCH DATA FROM THE NATIONAL COMMISSION ON EXCELLENCE IN EDUCATION, 1983, A NATION AT RISK, AND FROM THE NATIONAL COMMISSION ON TIME AND LEARNING, 1994, PRISONERS OF TIME. OPEN DISCUSSION ON FINDINGS AND RESEARCHED DATA. INTRODUCTION TO DRAFT SCHEDULE FOR FOLLOWING SCHOOL YEAR TO INCORPORATE TUTORIALS DURING THE SCHOOL DAY INSTEAD OF AFTER SCHOOL.

WEEKLY QUIZ TEACHERS DURING TUTORIAL PERIOD (ONGOING FIRST AND SECOND SEMESTERS) AUTHENTIC ASSESSMENTS COVERING OBJECTIVE(S) TAUGHT DURING THAT WEEK.
CHECK FOR PERCENTAGE MASTERY. RETEACH OR MOVE TO NEXT OBJECTIVE.

OPEN BLOG ADMINISTRATION AND STAFF AT EVERY THREE WEEK PERIOD (ONGOING FIRST AND SECOND SEMESTERS) INTERNET ACCESS AND DETAILED DIRECTIVES MONITOR VIEWS FROM TEACHERS ON CHANGE REGARDING TUTORIALS

TEAM/DEPARTMENT MEETINGS WITH ADMINISTRATION ADMINISTRATION AND TEACHERS END OF EACH SIX WEEKS, TEACHER INSERVICE DAY PASS/FAIL PERCENTAGE FOR ALL STUDENTS EVALUATE IF STUDENTS CLASSROOM GRADES ARE IMPROVING

DISTRICT BENCHMARKS ALL STAFF, STUDENTS AND PARENTS END OF FIRST SEMESTER-DECEMBER COPY OF RELEASED TAKS TESTS STUDENT SCORES, NOTING VAST IMPROVEMENTS

DISTRICT BENCHMARKS ALL STAFF, STUDENTS AND PARENTS MARCH COPY OF RELEASED TAKS TESTS STUDENT SCORES NOTING VAST IMPROVEMENTS

TAKS TESTING ALL STAFF, STUDENTS AND PARENTS APRIL WILLINGNESS FROM ALL PARTIES TO DO THEIR BEST EXEMPLARY STATE STANDING!!!!

FACULTY MEETING ALL STAFF 4-4:30 PM REVIEW OF DATA DISCUSSED IN PREVIOUS FACULTY MEETING COMPARE CURRENT YEAR TAKS SCORES TO PREVIOUS YEARS!!!

Week 2 Reflections

The most important lesson that I learned from Week 2 is that for action research to be successful, it must be realistic, meaningful and beneficial to all. Personally, I would not want to research a topic that I do not find interesting or of any worth.

Blogging can be very informative if used correctly. As an educational leader, blogs can be used for multiple purposes. Administrators could post information or a question and see what kind of responses he/she receives. This becomes an interactive format for ongoing conversations and personal views on a topic. Links from other related topics, whether supportive or opposing, can also be posted to provide different view points.

Blogs may also be used as refernce points. Updates can always be posted, evaluations made and growth depicted.

Action research is a strategy used to find the underlying cause to a problem. It is a systematic process that involves initially asking a question about a concern that needs to be corrected in the best possible way. Once the inquiry is made, research must take place. Available data, from personal experience to published research has to be considered. The next step would be to make a diagnosis or a decision based on knowledge gained and to incorporate the steps needed to correct the initial inquiry. Before sharing the results of the research, multiple evaluations should be taken to see if the corrective actions taken are productive or if they need to be altered.

Action research is very time consuming, but beneficial. This type of research would lead to improved classroom instruction and improved student learning because the teacher would be able to evaluate his teaching methods by taking into account student achievement or lack of achievement on a specific objective. By evaluating early and making changes based on the research and actions taken, students would have improved test scores. The more this type of research is put into action, the easier it will become. In order to work correctly, teachers have to be given adequate training on the steps as well as provided time to work on their research. I believe that as a beginner to this technique, collaborating with a teammate would be beneficial.