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.