Research in action was somewhat of a new concept for me. Upon enrolling in this course, I was under the impression that this would be the usual research based class that only required us to use the standard research methods such as read and find information that you feel may be useful. Instead, this course opened my eyes to the importance of action research and how leaders can use active research to improve issues they face on campus and issues within the community. Action research is a method that allows for leaders to add knowledge to a particular topic and not just use data that has been proven by others.
Action research involves adding something new into existing data. It is a practical approach to professional inquiry in any social situation. Action research inquiry requires a systematic approach to collecting data and solving a problem. (Dana, 2009)
Action research can be viewed as a form of professional development that allows the researcher to transform knowledge into something meaningful, instead of just blindly following what the latest study seems to suggest and provides numerous benefits.
One very important component of action research is reflective writing. Reflective writing is important in active research because the goal is not to focus on what happened, but why it happened. It is to interpret how what happened connects to the past events and ideas and to develop improved practices for the future.
Creating a blog was a first for me. This method of communication allows leaders and educators to actively participate in helping improve each others action research projects. The lectures in this course were very helpful. In week 2 we were able to see interviews of practitioners who were able to use action research to improve their campuses and districts.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Week 3: Action Research Plan Draft
Research Description:
Poor participation and low performance, in mathematics, by low income and minority students has been well documented through-out the nation. Many of the students in these situations are repetitive discipline problems and have parents that are either reluctant to get involved or tend to be guarded against the teaching staff. This action research inquiry will address the question: What are the influential factors for motivating under motivated students to develop intrinsic motivation resulting in increased performance?
¨ What influence does parent involvement have on motivating students?
¨ What influence do positive teacher-student relationships have on motivating students?
¨ What is the correlation between intrinsic motivation, discipline and student performance?
¨ What influences do incorporating real world activities have on building intrinsic motivation?
Goals and objectives/outcomes of the research investigation
Goal:
Educate and Support Math teachers in successfully manipulating the most influential factors for motivating under motivated minority students, in an LMI environment.
Objectives/Outcomes:
1. Increase student achievement for unmotivated students as measured by assessment data.
2. Increase parent involvement.
3. Decrease instructional time spent on discipline issues.
Activities designed to achieve the objectives
1. Make sure that all necessary District Administrators have given formal approval to begin.
2. Train staff on collaborating with parents and the community, using researched, pre-developed materials
3. Show a desire to develop a real connection with students by holding Town Crier Meetings for the first 10 min of class, once a week. These meetings will help to build rapport by allowing students to engage in discussion of issues, of their concern.
4. Engage students in class building activities for 15 minutes, once per week.
5. Engage students in team building activities for 15 minutes, once per week.
6. Establish a reward system exemplary work and on-time.
7. Integrate interactive technology into lessons.
8. Integrate real world scenarios when teaching the TEKs
9. Observe students during group assignments and projects for signs of initiative.
10. Have students participate in daily affirmations.
11. Positive parent contact-good news reports concerning students
12. Use parent-teacher contracts and student-teacher contracts for discipline issues.
13. Have incentives for parent signatures on class work and homework assignments.
14. Include two parent involvement activities per semester.
15. Incorporate parent volunteers in selected classroom activities.
16. Work with PTA to establish a parent involvement reward incentive.
17. Change, update policies, practices and expectations on an as needed basis
18. Provide all stakeholders the opportunity to share their input on the success, weaknesses, limitations, strengths, etc. of the community service projects and the efforts of the partnership.
19. Reviews referrals, attendance rates, assessments and grades to determine the impact of the research.
20. Assess the overall effectiveness of the research on increasing involvement and promoting student achievement.
Resources and research tools needed for data gathering
¨ Kagan Teambuilding Book
¨ Kagan Class building Book
¨ Interactive technology
¨ Professional development on parent collaboration
¨ Current PTA enrollment list
¨ Current parent volunteer list
¨ Affirmations improved for classroom use
¨ Current CIP data
¨ Current student data
¨ Student discipline data
Draft timeline for completion or implementation of activities
August 2010-aquire necessary permission and hold staff professional development for parent collaboration.
August 2010 – May 2011 Implement teacher-student relationship building activities.
September 2010, November 2010, January 2011, and April 2011 – Hold parent involvement activities.
September 2010-Gather current referral data and CIP data.
October 2010 – Analyze current referral data and CIP data. Gather information on student-teacher relationships
May 2011 – Individual interviews with teachers, students and parents regarding the effectiveness of the research; Conduct exit surveys
June 2011 – Conclude research and determine results; Share/Disseminate findings
Persons responsible for implementation of the action research plan
Myself
I am the primary researcher; therefore, the person responsible for the implementing this action research plan. I will illicit the support of other stakeholders as needed
Process for monitoring the achievement of goals and objectives
I will analyze the changes in both the discipline referrals to administration and the conferences in teams. I will analyze student assessment data, paying particular attention to the targeted students. I will analyze PTA enrollment data and family night attendance data. I will also develop a survey system that solicited input from all stakeholders, on the effectiveness of the research.
Assessment instrument(s) to evaluate the effectiveness of the action research study
¨ Improvement in class attendance rates.
¨ Improvement on CBA’s, benchmarks, and other curriculum based assessments.
¨ Reduction in semester failures.
¨ Increase in two-way communication with parents.
¨ Increase in parent involvement as measured through family night attendance, PTA enrollment, and other campus activities.
¨ Favorable responses from all stakeholders on survey.
Poor participation and low performance, in mathematics, by low income and minority students has been well documented through-out the nation. Many of the students in these situations are repetitive discipline problems and have parents that are either reluctant to get involved or tend to be guarded against the teaching staff. This action research inquiry will address the question: What are the influential factors for motivating under motivated students to develop intrinsic motivation resulting in increased performance?
¨ What influence does parent involvement have on motivating students?
¨ What influence do positive teacher-student relationships have on motivating students?
¨ What is the correlation between intrinsic motivation, discipline and student performance?
¨ What influences do incorporating real world activities have on building intrinsic motivation?
Goals and objectives/outcomes of the research investigation
Goal:
Educate and Support Math teachers in successfully manipulating the most influential factors for motivating under motivated minority students, in an LMI environment.
Objectives/Outcomes:
1. Increase student achievement for unmotivated students as measured by assessment data.
2. Increase parent involvement.
3. Decrease instructional time spent on discipline issues.
Activities designed to achieve the objectives
1. Make sure that all necessary District Administrators have given formal approval to begin.
2. Train staff on collaborating with parents and the community, using researched, pre-developed materials
3. Show a desire to develop a real connection with students by holding Town Crier Meetings for the first 10 min of class, once a week. These meetings will help to build rapport by allowing students to engage in discussion of issues, of their concern.
4. Engage students in class building activities for 15 minutes, once per week.
5. Engage students in team building activities for 15 minutes, once per week.
6. Establish a reward system exemplary work and on-time.
7. Integrate interactive technology into lessons.
8. Integrate real world scenarios when teaching the TEKs
9. Observe students during group assignments and projects for signs of initiative.
10. Have students participate in daily affirmations.
11. Positive parent contact-good news reports concerning students
12. Use parent-teacher contracts and student-teacher contracts for discipline issues.
13. Have incentives for parent signatures on class work and homework assignments.
14. Include two parent involvement activities per semester.
15. Incorporate parent volunteers in selected classroom activities.
16. Work with PTA to establish a parent involvement reward incentive.
17. Change, update policies, practices and expectations on an as needed basis
18. Provide all stakeholders the opportunity to share their input on the success, weaknesses, limitations, strengths, etc. of the community service projects and the efforts of the partnership.
19. Reviews referrals, attendance rates, assessments and grades to determine the impact of the research.
20. Assess the overall effectiveness of the research on increasing involvement and promoting student achievement.
Resources and research tools needed for data gathering
¨ Kagan Teambuilding Book
¨ Kagan Class building Book
¨ Interactive technology
¨ Professional development on parent collaboration
¨ Current PTA enrollment list
¨ Current parent volunteer list
¨ Affirmations improved for classroom use
¨ Current CIP data
¨ Current student data
¨ Student discipline data
Draft timeline for completion or implementation of activities
August 2010-aquire necessary permission and hold staff professional development for parent collaboration.
August 2010 – May 2011 Implement teacher-student relationship building activities.
September 2010, November 2010, January 2011, and April 2011 – Hold parent involvement activities.
September 2010-Gather current referral data and CIP data.
October 2010 – Analyze current referral data and CIP data. Gather information on student-teacher relationships
May 2011 – Individual interviews with teachers, students and parents regarding the effectiveness of the research; Conduct exit surveys
June 2011 – Conclude research and determine results; Share/Disseminate findings
Persons responsible for implementation of the action research plan
Myself
I am the primary researcher; therefore, the person responsible for the implementing this action research plan. I will illicit the support of other stakeholders as needed
Process for monitoring the achievement of goals and objectives
I will analyze the changes in both the discipline referrals to administration and the conferences in teams. I will analyze student assessment data, paying particular attention to the targeted students. I will analyze PTA enrollment data and family night attendance data. I will also develop a survey system that solicited input from all stakeholders, on the effectiveness of the research.
Assessment instrument(s) to evaluate the effectiveness of the action research study
¨ Improvement in class attendance rates.
¨ Improvement on CBA’s, benchmarks, and other curriculum based assessments.
¨ Reduction in semester failures.
¨ Increase in two-way communication with parents.
¨ Increase in parent involvement as measured through family night attendance, PTA enrollment, and other campus activities.
¨ Favorable responses from all stakeholders on survey.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Week 2: Real Life Action Research Examples and Practitioners
This has been a very interesting week. I found there are numerous topics that would benefit greatly from action research. Why are so many administrators and school leaders choosing to ignore this powerful method of improving student achievement? I fell schools will benefit greatly from the knowledge and information gained from actively researching methods to improve student performance! I was impressed with the advise given to me by school leaders that have used action research on their campuses.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Analysis: How Educational Leaders May Use Blogs
Educational leaders may use blogs to communicate and collaborate with fellow bloggers and educators from around the world. Blogs will allow the educational leader to view different perspectives and also share the knowledge and experiences we have gained with others.
Action Research-Week 1 Part 3: Knowledge Gained and Suggestions for Usage
I have gained valuable knowledge of action research and the benefits action research can have in the field of education. There is a distinct difference that separates traditional educational research and action research. Action research focuses on what one is doing personally in order to solve a problem. One who has invested in action research is therefore required to reflect on their own actions regarding how to resolve an issue or solve a problem. Traditional educational research seeks explanation and truth, however the researcher is removed.
Action research is a process that involves reflecting, planning, acting, and observing. I think I will be able to use action research as a method to solve current issues and gain more knowledge of current issues impacting education and to improve leadership skills. This type of research will allow me to seek data by carrying-out carefully planned procedures and will allow me to become a "knowledge-maker" by collecting data to solve a problem.
In order to solve current issues in education and become effective leaders, we must seek to acquire more knowledge and insight into all components of situations that affect the will being of our students. Action research is an avenue that will allow leaders to contribute or add new data to help solve problems.
Action research is a process that involves reflecting, planning, acting, and observing. I think I will be able to use action research as a method to solve current issues and gain more knowledge of current issues impacting education and to improve leadership skills. This type of research will allow me to seek data by carrying-out carefully planned procedures and will allow me to become a "knowledge-maker" by collecting data to solve a problem.
In order to solve current issues in education and become effective leaders, we must seek to acquire more knowledge and insight into all components of situations that affect the will being of our students. Action research is an avenue that will allow leaders to contribute or add new data to help solve problems.
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