IT'S ALMOST OVER

The past five weeks have been exciting and stressful.  From the moment I read the Dana text and encountered the processes for inquiry, I have been intrigued.  While there is so much in the book that helped me, one quote that Dana notes which continues to come back to me is “that engagement in this process can help best practices to flourish at your school,” (p.13).  Most administrators come into this profession to make a difference in the lives of young people.  This difference is most evident when administrators create and/or maintain a successful, healthy, and rigorous learning environment for their students.  This type of environment can only exist where best practices are the norm.  So it is not wonder that the idea of inquiry excites me, because I now know where engaging in inquiry can take a faculty and school.

     One of the tools that have assisted me in my action research journey has been the blog.  I have created a blog in the past, but really did not see the benefit in doing so.  However, over the course of this class, the blog and its comments have been the point of several significant points of clarity in my project.  One comment asked about the criteria that I would use to place students in tutoring.  In the comment it was noted that benchmark data might be a good source to use to target students for tutoring.  While I did intend to target students based on test scores, I was planning to use 8^th grade ELA STAAR test data.  However, I recognize the value of using benchmark data as it will represent the latest student achievement data.

     The assignments have really helped to cement the information in the texts and have been key in completing the action research plan.  The assignment from week 1 which actually had students analyze exactly what action research is, as well as citing specific examples of types of action research.  This process guided me into a deeper understanding of the process.  In addition, it helped me to see the type of action research that I am capable of producing.  Also, the assignment from week 3 which required me to produce my action research plan was difficult and time consuming.  However, once I completed it, the big picture really took shape for me.  I could see the intricacies of the project that I could not visualize prior to actually writing the project.   Finally, this week’s assignment which culminates with the reflection of the overall class continues to enhance my understanding by requiring me closely examine and analyze the activities of the last five weeks.

     While the assignment board is a tool that should be helpful, more often than not, I find it lacking true substance.  I sometimes wonder if we all fear leaving commentary that is less than positive, even when it is warranted.  There are so many comments that are not helpful, that I am grateful to see a comment that truly reflects some depth of thought.  Clearly, students don’t feel as free to express a true depiction on the discussion board.

     Overall, this has been one of the most challenging classes that I have ever taken.  Yet, I am still excited about the actual project and the findings.  I look forward to continuing to explore my topic in the coming year.

Changes to my action plan

After reviewing my comments and meeting with my site mentor, I made the following changes to my action research plan.

1.  In addition to using 8th grade STAAR data to target students for tutoring, I will also used scores from the Writing Benchmark to target students.

2.  I will also create a clear criteria for exiting students from the program.  Furthermore, I will create a monitoring process to continue to follow the progress of exited students. 

Because these changes are not significant, I am not reposting the entire plan with changes.

Action Research Plan

Goal:  To improve student mastery on traditionally low performing skills on English I Writing EOC by 40%  during the 2013-2014 school year by targeting students to attend structured tutoring sessions.

 

Action Steps	Responsible Person	Timeline	Needed Resources	Evaluation
1.  Review the data for last year's assessment.   Compile a list of the skills that most students failed on the test.	Anita Montgomery Pod Team	August 12-Aug 20, 2013	School EOC data Student 8th grade data	The list of target skills
2.  Review the literature to get information on tutoring programs and logistics for running a successful tutoring program.  From the review list four main strategies to be used in the tutoring program.	Anita Montgomery	Ongoing	Online database and books Planning time	The four targeted strategies
3. Review my list of students to target particular students to start the tutoring program.	Anita Montgomery Master Teacher Pod Team Site Mentor	August 26-Sept 15	Student list, student data, and criteria Planning time	The list of students who will start the tutoring program.
4.  Organize the tutoring program to include which days and times certain students attend, which skills are addressed and how those skills will be addressed for all student groups (ELL, Sped, low SES).   Determine the length of time students will stay in tutoring and how they exit the program.  In addition, create letters to be sent home to parents to let them know about the program and its purpose.	Anita Montgomery Master Teacher Site Mentor Pod Team	August 1-September 30, 2013	Tutoring list, Master activities calendar Planning time	The finished tutoring plan with all specific details, parent letter, criteria for entering and exiting tutoring, and weekly tutoring assessments
5.  Implement the tutoring plan.  Each day monitor attendance of students and make contact with students that are not making the plan.	Anita Montgomery Master Teacher Pod Team	October 8-April 12, 2014	Co-Teacher (Sped Inclusion Teacher) Spirals	Attendance logs-Are student attending on assigned days?  Progress monitoring-Are students mastering the skills?
6.  Target additional struggling students to enter the tutoring program after each major assessment once the program starts.	Anita Montgomery Inclusion Teacher	Ongoing after October 8, 2013	Test Data Student data	How will new students be weaved into the program?  What is the process for this?
7.  Review the data to make determinations about the progress of the students in the tutoring program.  (Place students who still are not mastering skills in one on one tutorials with the inclusion teacher.)	Anita Montgomery Master Teacher	January 15, 2014	Tutoring Assessments Tutoring Logs Test Data Tutoring Planning time	After the first major test following the onset of tutoring-Are students mastering the tutored skills?  If significant improvement is seen, are there other deficiencies that need to be addressed?
8.  Review and disaggregate student End of Course Data with student tutoring data.  Break down mastery per skill.	Anita Montgomery, Master Teacher, Department Head, Site Mentor	(1 week after EOC results are released from the state)	End of Course Data, Tutoring Lists, Tutoring Logs Planning time	What does the data show?  Did the number of students passing the test improve? Compare mastery of tutored skills with the same skills from the previous year.
9.  Collaborate with all 9th grade English teacher to create an action plan to roll out the tutoring plan to all classes.	Anita Montgomery 9th grade English teachers Dept Head Freshman Administrator	June-July 2014	Planning time Student Lists	How can the entire 9th grade benefit from this structured tutoring?

Ah ha!!!!!!

I truly had an aha moment this week.  I was looking for action research topics in all the wrong places and really just wanted to come up with something feasible.  I was desperate and had no clue what I was doing.  Then, in one small part of the lesson, I began to see a path.  In his interview, Dr. Kirk Lewis talked about being practical and finding topics that are useful on the campus (Lewis, n.d).  From that moment, my ideas started to flow. 

 

The idea of action research seems tedious still.  Yet, I can see that there are so many benefits to this practice.  I find myself wishing I could engage in inquiry on every idea that comes in my head.  I know that this is impossible, but in a perfect world it would be beneficial to spend time really addressing all of the wondering that we have. 

 

I am starting to look for literature that relate to my ideas and can’t wait to get back on campus to really start the process.  I envision many long days and sleepless nights ahead.

Educational Leaders and Blogging

Blogging is the newest fad in technology that is being utilized by people in every profession imaginable for a multitude of reasons.  Blogging can be used to share information with a group of peers to get fresh opinions and ideas from people who may have experienced something similar.  In addition, blogging can be used as a means of daily, weekly, quarterly and yearly reflection.  Finally, blogging can be used to build a community of professionals in any arena who are able to communicate through comments.

 

 

Action Research: A PROCESS

Action research involves a process of reflection on practices, studying similar routines, and performing “action” that will result in a positive change as a result of the initial reflection.  In other words, administrators see an area of need in their own performance or building and undertake a period of reflection, review of the literature and analysis of the issues to improve the area of need by taking action.  This process can seem tedious and overwhelming; however, when performed correctly the process can help administrators find viable working solutions to everyday problems that otherwise would consume valuable time and resources. 

Obviously, action research can serve as a vitally important part of the professional development of an education leader.  Administrators need a means of reflection as an ongoing process of improvement and development.  Action research or “administrator inquiry” can serve as a vehicle for both.  Personally, I plan to use action research in this manner to continue to improve practices in the building where I am employed.  I think that this process of reflection, review, analysis, and action will become my primary means of improving systems and teacher processes in my building.

I am excited to engage in an action research project that involves studying teacher practices to increase the academic achievement of certain student groups.