Week Three...Research Action Plan

My site supervisor was very excited about my project topic and only had one real concern. She thought my question needed to focus on one of the groups at a time for my research to be successful. I think this is great advice and decided to address them both but as separate inquiries. Making this change is important to maintain focus and improve the quality of the research. Another concern she had was trying to work on four grade levels at once. We decided to keep it as is for now but if it becomes too difficult; we will focus on 9th and 10th grade only.

After narrowing my focus to  students, we reviewed each activity and she suggested I make the following changes: 

Involve the resource teachers more in the process because they are the experts.

Include instructional paraprofessionals who provide english in-class support in the process.

Invite the teachers to participate in reading the literature as a book study and it to my internship plan.

I agree her suggestions will improve my research and applied them to my project.  When I complete this project, we will meet again and make a plan to address the ELL students on our campus and the teaching strategies.

                                  Stephanie Poss’ Action Plan

Goal: To ensure that english language arts instruction meets the educational needs of all students and their abilities increasing STAAR test results. 

Action Steps(s): Person(s) Responsible: Timeline: Start/End Needed Resources Evaluation

1. Meet with the english team and discuss concerns with the current science curriculum.

S. Poss

English Teachers grades 9-10

September 2013

2013 STAAR test results/EOC results

Benchmark Test Data

Student IEPs

2.Collect and analyze data to identify gaps in instruction using assessment data, classroom observations, teacher interviews and/or surveys, and student interviews and/or surveys.

S. Poss

English Teachers grades 9-10

Targeted students groups from grades 9-10

Action Research Week Two Update

One area I am interested in researching for my project is improving the math and science instruction for students who are performing multiple grade levels below their current grade. I feel that action research would identify strategies and give teachers the tools to provide science instruction on the student’s ability level and will help them be successful. What actions can we take to ensure that our resource students receive math and science instruction on their ability level and that will help them be successful?

Another area I would like to research is the effectiveness of homework and how it impacts student progress. Teachers, students, and parents have all had issues with the current homework program used at my campus. What changes can be made to homework that will improve student achievement?

The last area I would like to research, and honestly the one I think my supervisor and I will pick is how we can best change the ELA curriculum and teaching methods to improve the scores for 9th and 10th grade students on the STAAR test.  Right now our school is struggling with the ELA performance scores. 

When I met with my principal, she was very excited about all of the potential action research topics. While she was very interested in learning about and improving the homework program on our campus, she was concerned that I would have to rely on others to gather data. She also thought this project would not fit into my time frame. Next we discussed researching the math and science intervention/tutoring programs. She thought it would be beneficial to look in to improving the programs, but was unsure if the reliable data could be collected because of the time of year. We settled on finding ways to improve the ELA STAAR scores for 9th and 10th grade.  We will look at changes to the curriculum and testing strategies to get the students better prepared to excel on the test. 

The purpose of my action research study is to find ways to provide all students with training and instruction to excel on the ELA portion of the STAAR test. I would like to give teachers on my campus that are responsible for these students some guidance and tools for ensuring their instruction is meeting the needs of all students. I think this research will not only improve student achievement on ELA, it will also help empower teachers to make decisions about instruction for their students. 

Action Research and How it can be Helpful in the School Setting

Time or lack there of is the biggest problem facing educational administration these days.  Administrators daily receive more responsibilities and never receive more hours in the day to get all of their engagements satisfied.  Action research is bringing about change in the school climate via the administrator usually with social justice issues as the focus.  Administrators can have a huge and lasting impact on the school climate as they address problems or weak areas in their particular school.  The problem is with the heavy load administrators are asked to carry they do not have the time to research these problems and solutions.  Often administrators are in their offices, locked away from the rest of the school, and the rest of the district.  Professional learning communities would greatly combat this problem of isolation among principals.
How wonderful would it be if school districts focused as much time and energy on making PLC's a priority for principals just as they do for classroom teachers.  Principals could bounce ideas off of other principals and they could learn from other campus.  Even if principals had to use emerging technology to satisfy this need for collaboration I think it would be beneficial.  If they cant schedule in weekly trips to leave and meet other administrators they could always use Skype or Facetime applications to have a live web conference with other principals.

Another example of how technology might be used for action research is through the use of updated blogs.  Principals could create blogs and write quick updates about their dealings and experiences with situations on their campuses.  They could talk about what strategies worked and did not work and they could also enlist help from other principals on issues they are still trying to manage.  They could then collaborate with principals all over the district, state, even nation!