Action Research Project Update

I have already begun the process of implementing my action research plan on my campus. My area of research is regarding the Title Math Program offered to the students on my campus. For the past 8 years, we have implemented the inclusion form of Title Math services to our students, and for the first time in such a long time, we are executing a pull-out program where the Title teacher is the teacher-of-record for her students. The first action step in my action research project is for me to meet with my principals and to identify the students that are eligible for Title Math services. This has already been completed and the students have been chosen based on their state assessment scores from the last school year. I have four small group classes of students – two fourth grade classes and two fifth grade classes. There is no more than 10 students in each class which makes instruction more personal for the student and allows me to differentiate more easily for each student’s learning style. The second action step in my action research project is to interview the 5^th grade Math teachers on my campus to discuss their opinions of the Title Math program services – both the strengths and weaknesses of what they have experienced so far. This was done if the form of a survey sent to each 5^th grade teacher as well as the principal of the campus. The third step in my action research project was to interview the 5^th grade Math teachers at our sister school to acquire their opinions of the Title Math program services their students have experienced – both pros and cons. My next step will be to compile this information into a reflection of my co-workers’ opinions of the inclusion and pull-out versions of Title Math services offered in our district to the 5^th grade students. So far, I have logged about 5 hours in my action research project – a couple in the initial meeting of selecting students to participate and another couple in the survey process of both school campuses. I have enjoyed getting my co-workers’ feedback so far and am very interested to dive further into this subject matter as the school year progresses.

Week 5 - Action Research Course Reflection

     I have found the Action Research Plan class both informative as well as beneficial for me as a future educator. We as teachers as well as administrators are life-long learners and should always be looking for ways to improve ourselves as leaders, our campus, as well as our student performance. I have found this class challenging in the aspect of realizing the difference between an administrator inquiry and a research paper like we did in high school and college. It is not proving our point or finding a theme throughout a piece of literature. This inquiry is finding a concern on our campus, researching all available areas around that concern, and coming up with an unbiased recommendation for improvement based on our results. It is the “process of a principal engaging in systematic, intentional study of his/her own administrative practice and taking action for change based on what he/she learns as a result of the inquiry” (Dana, 2009, p.2). I have found several areas that I considered for my action research plan to be on and narrowed it down to the topic of my choice with the help of my site supervisor. I also enjoyed and found beneficial the use of our blogs to get insight from our colleagues as they undergo the same process of action research on their own campuses.

     As I began this class, I had several areas that were of concern to me about my campus. One of these was the dismissal process our campus uses. It seems to be chaos as our students leave to get into their cars – not necessarily because of our process in place, but the parents that do not follow directions and double and triple-park on the street in front of our school. This also bottle-necks the buses that are trying to get their routes started. Another area I debated using for my research plan was the area of our Response to Intervention program. I do not feel that we are utilizing this to the best of our abilities and resources. Some students come to us from the earlier elementary school already on tier 2 or 3. They then need another six weeks’ worth of data collection and intervention before anything is done to help them. Surely there is a better way to do this to these kids do not fall farther and farther behind in their curriculum. A third area of concern that came to me was that of the effectiveness of the Title Math program on our campus. This directly involves me because I have recently been moved to the position of campus Title Math teacher. We have had an inclusion program for the last several years. I do not think having the title teacher come into the regular classroom and monitor the students as the regular teacher goes through the lesson is benefitting the struggling students at all. Of course, peer study and peer pressure can sometimes benefit these students into trying harder. We will be trying the pull-out program of Title Math for this upcoming year, and I am interested to see if this leads to better understanding and student success both academically as well as on the state assessment. We will have a group of no more than ten students as well as an hour and fifteen minutes for instruction. Hopefully all of these implementation together will help prepare our students better. I am looking forward to gathering data from other districts and other resources as I put together this action research plan and see which program is more effective: inclusion versus pull-out.

     I also enjoyed the use of the blogs to get feedback and opinions from our colleagues that are undergoing the same pressures of this class. I was very interested when reading the areas that will be covered by the other master’s students. I am intrigued to see how their results come about. It is also beneficial to use these blogs to help us as we conduct our research. We can share with each other and give suggestions of better ways to gather data and help our projects along.

     The Action Research Plan class, 5301, was very informative and advantageous to us as we begin our time as future administrators. Hopefully the knowledge we gain during this process will be useful as we become the leaders on our campuses. Teachers as well as administrators are life-long learners and the action research process will keep us looking for ways to better ourselves and our campuses.

 

Citation: Dana, N.F. (2009). Leading with passion and knowledge: The principal as action researcher. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. 

Week 4 - Action Research Plan Revisions

The comments made on my Action Research Plan blog were very positive and that made me more excited to get started! Most of the reactions given were how much they agree with the fact that it is always a struggle to determine which method is more effective: inclusion or pull-out. One comment was concern about the discipline that might come about by having all students that struggle put together, but being a strong disciplinarian in my classroom, I’m hope to keep this possible situation under control. If you keep the students engaged and keep them on task, the discipline problems should be minimal. Another commenter suggested the possibility of creating more parent involvement after the survey is given. I might actually add something along these lines to the survey I send out. I would like to see if any parents are willing to come and tutor or work with the students one-on-one. The more help these students receive, the better off they will be. Overall, the suggestions were great feedback for me and I appreciate them!

My Action Research Plan

Well, here is a copy of my Action Research plan. I am excited to see this implemented during the upcoming school year, mostly because it involves the new position I have taken as Title Math teacher on my campus. Let me know what you think...

Action Planning Template
Goal: What type of Title Math Program is more effective: inclusion or a pull-out class?
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Identify students eligible for Title Math services.	Amy Gil, Principal   Meredith Brawner, Title Math Teacher	August, 2013	STAAR 2013 Assessment results, 2012-2013 school year grades	After meeting with the principal and looking over the required documentation, we will create a list of students in need of Title Math services.
Interview Port Neches Elementary 5th Grade Math Teachers and Principal and discuss their opinions and experiences on inclusion Title services.	Meredith Brawner	August, 2013 – October, 2013	PNE 5th Grade Math Teachers, Principal, interview questions	After interviewing the 5th Grade Math Teachers and Principal, write a summary of their professional opinions and experiences of an inclusion Title Math program.
Interview Groves Elementary 5th Grade Math Teachers and Principal, and discuss their opinions and experiences on pull-out Title services.	Meredith Brawner	August, 2013 – October, 2013	Groves Elem. 5th Grade Math Teachers, Principal, interview questions	After interviewing the 5th Grade Math Teachers and Principal, write a summary of their professional opinions and experiences of a pull-out Title Math program.
Create a comparison of the two interviews noting strengths and weaknesses of both inclusion and pull-out programs.	Meredith Brawner	August, 2013 – October, 2013	Interview results from both Port Neches and Groves Elementary 5th Grade Math teachers.	After performing the interviews necessary, create a comparison of the strengths and weaknesses of both inclusion and pull-out programs.
Collect data of 5th Grade Title Math student performance on the state assessment from the last 3 school years for both campuses. Compare to see if inclusion or pull-out was more effective.	Meredith Brawner	October, 2013 – December 2013	State test results for all 5th Grade Title Math students from the last three school years	Collect and compare data of the 5th grade Title Math students state assessment performance from both campuses for the last three school years, noting if inclusion or pull-out students had better scores.
Give a mid-year survey to the parents of the students in the pull-out Title program for this school year.	Meredith Brawner	December, 2013	Survey, list of parents of Title students	Create and perform a survey of the parents of the students in the Title Math program. Note their opinions of student success, strengths, and weaknesses of the program.
Research data from online resources and other school districts regarding Title programs and their effectiveness.	Meredith Brawner	August, 2013 – May, 2014	Online websites and documents regarding Title Math programs	Use the world wide web to access data regarding the Title Math program and how it is utilized on other campuses noting successes and weaknesses of their usage.
Gather data results from 1st administration of STAAR Test and analyze results of Title student performance.	Meredith Brawner	May, 2014	STAAR 2014 Test Results	Analyze the STAAR test results for the 5th Grade Title Math students and note performance increase or decrease in these students compared to their 4th Grade test scores.
Analyze all acquired information and summarize my findings.	Meredith Brawner	June, 2014 – July, 2014	All action research findings and documentation	Create a summary of all findings regarding this action research plan.
Meet with administration and give results and recommendations.	Meredith Brawner	July, 2014	Administrators for my district	Plan and perform a meeting with any available administrators for my district and show them my findings regarding this action research and give recommendations I feel necessary to help with student success regarding Title Math services.

EDLD 5301 - Action Research - Week 2

I have really learned a lot about the different areas that action research can be used to help a principal and his or her campus. The nine areas covered in the Dana text were very helpful for me to see all of the vast things that can be researched and examined for successfulness in a principal position. I especially liked the examples given by actual principals from districts that encountered these problems or concerns on their campuses. Being given examples that are abstract or made-up are not near as effective and relatable as real-world examples. Covering these nine area also helped me narrow down my possible topics for action research.

I narrowed down my choices to three possibilities: our campus Response to Intervention program, the motivation of students and teachers, and the benefits of a pull-out Title program versus an inclusion program. After speaking with my site supervisor, I have decided to inquire and research about the Title program possibilities for our campus. We have always been an inclusion title school, but this upcoming school year we are trying a pull-out program. I am interested to see how other schools do this, and their success rates. I am also interested in seeing how this change affects our students’ overall performance on the state assessment given.

Let the exploration begin…

Action Research - EDLD 5301 - Week 1

Action research, or administrator inquiry, is when a school leader takes a deeper look at a question they have about their campus, forms a plan to make changes, implements those changes, and then reevaluates the question to see if improvements have been made. To me, “action” is the key word to the phrase, “action research”. When pulling information from outside resources, you are comparing apples to oranges. Their situation may or may not be the same as yours. Their campus demographic may be completely opposite of yours. It is not just researching the perspectives or programs of other people outside of your school, but taking an intrinsic look at your own self, your own personal position, and your own personal campus to see what concerns are apparent, and to create a plan to try to remedy that situation. The creation of the plan is done through researching the data of outside sources as well as analyzing the data you can get from your campus. After implementing changes, the leader should make sure the changes positively affected the original concern that was addressed.

 

A blog can be an excellent way for educational leaders to share ideas with other leaders in their area or from across the country. The internet is world-wide, so you can gain insight from anywhere. It can almost be used as a journal for personal reflection as you experience different obstacles in the leadership position. A blog can also be used to share your ideas for strategies or programs that may be helpful in the classroom for your faculty or staff.