Week 3 Action Research Plan

Goal: To analyze research and data to determine which techniques would best motivate students who are categorized as Economically Disadvantaged. We also want to influence their perspectives on academic subjects and the school environment to create a positive learning atmosphere through motivation techniques

The following are the steps of my action research plan:

#1
Outcome: To determine what motivates students on my campus to do well in school.

Activity: Online surveys and interviews with randomly selected students. Five boys and five girls will be selected from each grade level and the survey will ask students to describe what motives them to do well.

Resources: Computers with internet connections. The survey will be placed online for students to complete. The survey will be online because the students on my campus show more interest in technology, which will lead to better results than traditional paper and pencil surveys.

Responsible parties: The technology liaison on campus and me will be responsible for this activity. I will create the survey online, but I will need him to allow the students to take the survey in his classroom and assist with any technical issues that may arise.

Timeline: This activity will be completed at the beginning of the school year, no later than the end of September 2010. This needs to be completed early so that the results can be analyzed. Another survey may be administered toward the end of the school year to see if the responses are different.

Bnchmark or Assessment: The results of the survey will be the benchmark. We want to have 100% participation from the randomly selected students.

PIP/SIP: Based on the results of the surveys, teachers can create new motivation techniques to apply in the classroom.

#2

Outcome: To analyze motivational techniques that teachers who are successful have used in the classroom.

Activity: I will analyze data from benchmark exams and AEIS data to determine which teachers have seen the most success with students in the classroom. These teachers will be asked to complete a survey about motivational techniques that they use in the classroom.

Resources: Benchmark data from the past three school years, AEIS data from the past three school years, paper and pencils for the surveys, computer with internet for emailing, classroom and time to meet for those who do not wish to email me.

Responsible Parties: I will be responsible for creating and administering the survey, analyzing the data, and analyzing the results of the surveys. The teachers I will most likely contact for the survey are: Ms. Lois Turner, Mrs. Doris Wilson, Mr. Earl Walker, Mrs. Petula Whitfield, and Ms. Angelia Joseph. These teachers have had consistently high academic scores and performances from students.

Timeline: This activity will also be completed at the beginning of the school year. This activity should be completed early so that teachers can be presented with ideas on how to motivate students in the classroom.

Benchmark/Assessment: Benchmark exams will be analyzed to determine if students are showing improvement in the teacher’s classes who are using the motivation techniques. If a student is doing poorly in a class with no motivation, and excelling in a class that does use motivation, then this can be an example of success with motivation. Also, AEIS data and discipline referrals or attendance records may be analyzed for additional assessment.

SIP/PIP: Student performance can be increased by finding motivation techniques that have been proven successful on our own campus.

#3

Outcome: To discover new techniques that can be used to motivate students on campus.

Activity: This activity will involve reviewing literature to determine some methods of motivation that have been successful on campuses similar to mine. I will read journals, articles, other action research plans, and other literature sources that may give me insight into what encourages Economically Disadvantaged students to do well in school.

Resources: The resources I will need will come from a variety of sources. I will use the internet, the Lamar library, online references, ASCD magazines and website articles, and readings from other sources. I will have to research in order to locate these sources that I will need. My main tool will be a computer with internet and printer.

Responsible parties: I will be responsible for completing this activity, but I have been referred to other people in the district with who I may talk to gather more data. These people will participate in interviews or email conversations, and will acted as additional sources of information.

Timeline: This activity will take place throughout the 2010-2011 school year, and throughout the duration of my internship program.

Benchmark/Assessment: I will set goals for myself on how much data I need to collect by a certain time. I will pose inquiry questions that I will answer through the use of the literature. Reaching these goals will act as a benchmark for me.

PIP/SIP: Discovering new, unique motivation strategies will help all stakeholders. The stakeholders that will be the most affected are parents, students, and teachers.

#4

Outcome: To determine the role that parents play in motivating students about school, and find out how we can improve that motivation at home.

Activity: This activity will involve me researching this subject using literature and electronic sources. I will also talk to teachers about the performances they see in students with actively involved parents versus students with parents who are not involved.

Resources: The resources I will need with be a time and place to meet with teachers, a computer with internet, literature on the topic of parent involvement and encouragement, and questions to ask teachers about parent involvement.

Responsible parties: I will be responsible for the majority of this activity; however I will gather input from teachers on campus. I will try to choose teachers who did not participate in the first survey, but still maintain a positive relationship with parents and students.

Timeline: This activity will also occur throughout the course of the 2010-2011 school year. The interviews with teachers will probably happen before the Mid Winter Break.

Benchmark/Assessment: The assessment will be conducted by pinpointing students with actively involved parents and tracking their success in school. It is expected that students with involved parents will do better in school than those students whose parents are not involved in their education.

PIP/SIP: If it is determined that parents play a large role in a student’s academic success, then this avenue or link should be explored more and expanded.

#5

Outcome: To determine if the motivation strategies and methods that have been gathered will be successful on my campus.

Activity: Once a variety of motivation techniques have been gathered, I will ask two teachers to implement some of the techniques in their classrooms. The teachers will be selected if their students have shown a lack of growth or success on benchmark exams.

Resources: The resources will be the information that has been gathered from the literature reviews, surveys, interviews, and other observations. I will also need time to meet with the two teachers. I will need to meet with them multiple times to analyze their student’s achievement data, go over the motivation techniques and determine which techniques would work best for their students. We also brainstorm ideas on how they can successful implement the strategies in the classroom.

Responsible parties: I will work with the principal to select the two teachers who will help with the project. I will also work with the two teachers that are selected to determine how we can successful utilize the motivation strategies in the classroom. I will then work with the principal to observe the teachers and analyze the data from benchmark exams.

Timeline: The activity will take place in a school year following the 2010-2011 school year. This activity will probably occur over the course of the 2011-2012 school year, beginning after the first district benchmark exam and culminating after the AEIS data has been returned and the final district benchmark exam has been administered.

Benchmark/Assessment: Success will be determined if students who are taught by the two teachers show improvement over the school year. The students will need to have shown improvement from the first benchmark exam to the final benchmark exam. This can be determined not only by their grades, but also if they strengthened skills in objectives in where they needed improvement.

PIP/SIP: This activity will help improve the school because it will determine if motivation techniques are truly effective and what teachers can do to improve student achievement. This activity may also create teacher buy-in when the results are presented.

#6

Outcome: To present teachers with the results of the action research and determine their interest in applying the strategies.

Activity: After the project with the two teachers has been completed and the data has been analyzed, then the results will be presented to the entire staff. These results will be shown using data and other proof that demonstrated student achievement.

Resources: The resources I will need will be presentation equipment, (i.e., data projector, computer, pointer, microphone, etc.), time to meet with the principal and teachers, a place to hold the meeting, and paper for handouts.

Responsible parties: I will be responsible for presenting the information after working with the two teachers and the campus principal. The teachers on campus will be responsible for attending the meeting.

Timeline: This meeting will take place at the end of the 2011-2012 school year of at the beginning of the 2012-2013 school year.

Benchmark/Assessment: The data will be presented to the teachers as evidence of the success. We will determine if the presentation was successful by determining if teachers are using motivation techniques in the classroom and if students are showing improvement on a school-wide scale.

PIP/SIP: This activity and teacher buy-in can create overall success for the school and the student population as well as create stronger teachers and more parent involvement.

Week 2 Action Research Reflection

This week, I learned about nine areas in which major wonderings may occur throughout my career as an administrator. These areas are: social justice or equity issues, school performance, management, leadership, school culture/community, individual students, individual teachers, curriculum development, and staff development. All of these area greatly affect the success of the school and the students who attenda that school. Within each area I had to think of an example of action research that could be conducted for the subject. This was helpful because it allowed me to fully grasp each concept by creating a wondering of my own. I also tried to focus my wonderings on subjects that are relevant to my current campus or district.

The other aspect of the assignment that I felt was very important was the interviews with the three professional administrators. These interviews presented information about real-life action research projects that have taken place and told how the results have helped the campus or district in which the research was conducted. The information and advice given by these men is useful because it helped me to understand how action research can be used to solve problems that may occur at many different levels, from the classroom to the entire district. Understanding that action research is something that is frequently used within school districts also helped me to become full aware of how important the process is to school improvement and student achievement.

What I have learned about action research

Through the lecture and the assigned readings, I have learned exactly what action research is and the benefits of using this inquiry process. Action research is a process used to make improvements in the school system to benefit student accomplishment. Action research is very useful because it allows school personnel to solve a problem that is specific to their students or campus. I have been to several professional development sessions where I have thought, "These strategies will never work for my students." Action research avoids this pitfall by allowing school personnel to work together to find strategies that will improve student achievement for their specific group of students. The school community works together to improve their educational environment.
Action research is also useful in forming and utilizing PLCs and encouraging collegial relationships. The administrator works with teachers on campus or other administrators to help in the process of solving the problem or developing the improvement plan. This builds relationships among the staff and creates a positive school culture. Collaboration through action research may also lead to collaboration during other activities.
Action research and administrator inquiry will also lead to the development of stronger educational leaders. This is because the educational leader takes time to reflect on what they are doing to improve the school and which strategies are working and which ones are not. Personal reflection will help improve the skills of the educational leader because they are taking time to determine which of their professional skill areas are weak and formulate plans to improve those skills. Taking the time to reflect on which areas need to be improved and then researching ways to improve these areas is vital to continued school and personal improvement.

How educational leaders might use blogs

Educational leaders can use blogs to network with other educational leaders. In the text by Dana, she mentions that principals do not have time or opportunities to communicate with other principals who share their same responsiblities and concerns. (p.12) Using blogs to post these concerns and questions to a network of other professionals can help remedy this problem. Also, blogs can be used to communicate with teachers and other staff members on campus. The principal may post a journal entry or question on the blog and staff members can then gain insight into what the principal is thinking or give suggestions to the question that has been posed. This can cut down on meetings and allow for discussions to occur which can be more useful.
Educational leaders may read the blogs of other educational experts to help develop their skills as educational leaders. These blogs can serve as a type of ongoing professional development that can be accessed at a time that is convenient for the educational leader. Also, the wide variety of subjects that are addressed in the blogs will allow educational leaders to be exposed to a vast wealth of knowledge that they may not receive in district or campus professional developments.

Bibliography

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

Week 5 Assignment

What outcomes had you envisioned for this course? Did you achieve those outcomes? Did the actual course outcomes align with those that you envisioned?

From the course title and syllabus, I was under the impression that we would be learning how to integrate technology on campus. I felt that I learned a little about this, but not as much as I needed to. Learning how to use the Web 2.0 tools and what they could be used for was interesting and fun, but I need to know how to integrate them on campus. This is especially important, not to mention difficult, for me because my campus is not open minded about technology. The tools we learned about are very useful, but I need to know how to utilize them on a campus that is in the Early Tech stages of technology use. The action plan helped me to brainstorm ways that we could remedy a lot of the problems we are currently facing, and I hope that some day these technology problems will be solved. I did learn about new technologies and was able to experience digital technology in a way I never had before, which was a great outcome of this course. If everyone were able to experience these technology tools, then I believe schools would have more enthusiasm about technology. I wish we had a way to make that experience happen.


To the extent that you achieved the outcomes, are they still relevant to the work that you do in your school? Why or why not?

Learning how to use the Web 2.0 tools will help to advance my communication with staff, students and parents as an administrator. Blogs can be used to send out data, bulletins and announcements. In addition, teacher trainings and meetings can be held online through the use of podcasts and video clips within blogs. Students can use these tools at home to improve their homework completion and understanding. Podcasts and blogs can be used by teachers to reinforce and reteach lessons. Teachers can also use these tools to collaborate with each other on campus and district, state or even nationwide. This would be great for administrators too. Whenever they wanted another person's insight on a subject, they could blog, podcast or video conference with them and have almost instant feedback. These tools are very applicable to schools and should be used as often as possible. Student exposure to these tools is absolutely necessary in order for students to succeed. With today’s students we can’t expect to teach in the same old ways and get new and better results, if we want to improve student learning we have to change the way we teach these students. Currently in my role as a teacher, I am not able to use these tools because we do not have the technology available to utilize them. Many students do not have computers or Internet access at home and many staff members are not comfortable with technology use.


What outcomes did you not achieve? What prevented you from achieving them?

My district and school do not currently have technology plans in place that apply to the integration of technology in schools. Because of this, I was unable to analyze a district plan to determine what is positive or negative about the plan. I had hoped to do this so that I would be able to build upon and improve the plan. Also, I was unable to find out how technology is truly used to form the Campus Improvement Plan. When I asked my interviewees, they all mentioned Item Analysis, but no one seemed to mention anything else. Technology has to be used for more than simply Item Analysis when creating the Campus Improvement Plan. I would like to visit and observe a campus that is optimaly integrating technology because I have never been able to do that. It would be interesting to know how the teachers, students and administrators are utilizing technology each day. Comparing student achievement data from a technology-driven school and a traditional school would also be interesting so that the effects of technology on student learning could be seen.


Were you successful in carrying out the course assignments? If not, what prevented or discouraged you?

I successfully completed the course assignments although some of them proved to be more frustrating and challenging than others. When the assignments only depended on my technology ability, I completed these assignments with ease because I am very familiar with many forms of technology. I experienced no problems analyzing the Texas Long Range Plan and Technology Applications TEKS. Creating a blog and PowerPoint presentation also came easy to me because I have previously received trainings and have used these tools on many occasions. The other assignments that involved my campus technology plans and campus usage proved to be more difficult. Technology is not readily available on my campus and my administrator does not see much value in technology. This made information gathering very difficult and I usually had to rely on my own observations and conclusions to fill in the areas that were left blank by the lack of administrator knowledge. Creating an action plan was also complicated because there is no existing technology plan on my campus, so I had to start from scratch. This action plan had to be developed without help from administration because they are unfamiliar with many of the aspects of technology and technology requirements.


What did you learn from this course…about yourself, your technology and leadership skills, and your attitudes?

I learned that while I am skilled in a lot of technology areas, there are still a lot of things I have to learn. I had no idea the Texas Long Range Plan existed and was not familiar with the NETS, ITSE or Technology Applications TEKS. Continual learning of technology tools and Web 2.0 tools will be vital to my success as an administrator. I can’t rest on what I know now and expect that to carry me through, I have to stay up-to-date on current trends and the ever-changing world of digital technology. My attitudes about technology have changed because now I feel more positive about technology use. I have always felt negative towards technology because my campus does not utilize technology in the classroom. When I found out this class was about technology, I was immediately discouraged because I knew I lacked experience with classroom technology integration. To find out that many schools nationwide are implementing technology in the classroom was refreshing and has changed my view. I hope that when I am an administrator, I can make positive changes for the integration of technology on my campus. I want to be the leader who is innovation and encourages teachers to experiment with technology to improve student learning.


What is the educational value of blogs and blogging to the 21st century learner?

Blogs can be very valuable communication tools for students and teachers. Teachers can post assignments, lessons and instructions for students who can then view these at home or anywhere they have access to the Internet. This will help students to accomplish more on their homework assignments if they get confused or forget what they are supposed to do. If they run into obstacles, they can check the blog to overcome these challenges.
Students can also create blogs to express themselves and publish their work. Web 2.0 tools are something that students need to be familiar with today, and blogging could be the first step to opening many digital technology avenues. Through blogging, students can communicate with others who live outside of their communities and in different cultures. Students can be exposed to many different opinions and viewpoints by reading blogs written by others. These diverse viewpoints can also be evaluated by the student through comments left on the student’s blog. Students who do not like to read novels or textbooks may enjoy reading what people have written in their blogs which will give them a more wordly view which is needed to be productive citizens in today’s society.


What are the concerns of blogs and blogging in education?

As with everything, blogs can be abused when used by the wrong people. Adults, teachers included, can make inappropriate comments about a students blog. Or the student may make improper comments about another person’s blog. Students, teachers or administrators may post blogs about subjects that are inappropriate for someone in the education field to discuss publically. This is why blog users must be taught what is ethical and unethical, and use their better judgement to determine if something would be deemed unsuitable for reading by other users and especially stakeholder.
Another concern is determining what is truthful and what is fraudulent when evaluating information in blogs. Some blogs provide factual information for readers, while others are meant to express opinions. Readers have to analyze these blogs and determine if the information is accurate or biased in some way. A lot of blogs are not meant to be used as factual resources because they are used to express the opinion of the writer. However, new blog users, especially students, may not fully understand this and mistake an opinion for a fact.


How can you use blogging to communicate with school stakeholders?

Blogging can be an effective form of communication when trying to keep stakeholders up-to-date on assignments, changes in policy or schedules or school bulletins. Teachers can post the course syllabus, six weeks lesson plans and assignment names with due dates online for parents and students to read at home. This will allow parents to take an active role in their child’s education and help the student to make certain they have completed all of their assignments. Other teachers and administrators can also read the blogs to assess what the teacher is planning to accomplish. Changes or updates in school rules and regulations can also be posted in the blog so that stakeholder can receive that information in a timely manner. To achieve this, the blog must be updated by the school and monitored by stakeholders on a regular basis. When the school needs to send home a note or bulletin to the parents, they can post this information in the blog as well. This prevents the communication line from being broken if the note is misplaced and is not received by the parents. Parents can read the information online which would still allow them to stay informed if they don’t received the notice.

Week 4 Assignment Part 3

Objective: Evaluation to measure professional development
Complete by August 2010


Responsible Parties: Instructional Technology Supervisor, Campus Technologist, Campus Administrators, Teachers, Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent, Department Supervisors (Central Office), Department Heads (Campus), Curriculum Coordinators

Resources: Development of evaluations, surveys, computers with Internet access, funds for professional developments, access to the PIEMS system

Monitoring and Evaluation

• 
  Evaluations must go beyond the Level 1 phase of measuring participant satisfaction.
  Set up goals for each professional development session and use evaluations to determine if those goals have been reached. For instance, if the goal is for teachers to create a personal website, then each teacher must demonstrate that they can complete this task before the session can be seen as successful.
• 
  Survey teachers and administrators about their areas of concern focusing on organization support and change and use of technology, using questionnaires, interviews or personal reflections to gather data. (Guskey, 40)
• 
  Evaluate the outcomes of previously held technology based professional development by examining the trends and changes in student achievement data before and after these sessions were held.
• 
  Campus and central office administrators must conduct walk-through evaluations and formal observations to determine if the new skills are being used properly. This will also help to determine which professional development sessions were the most effective and improve the value of upcoming sessions.
• 
  Evaluate the effectiveness of the professional developments by analyzing student benchmark data through the Item Analysis program. Look at your control group (before the sessions) and your variable group (after the sessions) to verify if these sessions have had the intended results. Also, be aware of “unintended outcomes” as well. (Guskey, 40)

• Analyze “affective and psychomotor outcomes” (Guskey, 41) of students before and after professional developments and technology integration. We will use PIEMS to monitor these trends.

Objective: Evaluations to improve decision making in the integration of technology

Complete by August 2010

Responsible Parties: Instructional Technology Supervisor, Campus Technologist, Campus Administrators, Assistant Superintendent, Department Supervisors (Central Office), Department Heads (Campus), Curriculum Coordinators, Teachers, Superintendent

Resources: Access to the STaR chart data for the past years, access to the statewide STaR chart data from past years, Item Analysis data, AEIS data, computers with Internet access, time and location to conduct analysis research, time to conduct campus visits and walk-thru evaluations

Monitoring and Evaluation

• 
  Analyze Campus Improvement Plans and technology plans to determine the needs of each campus.
• 
  Analyze STaR Chart data to determine the skill level of each campus to plan appropriate campus-based professional developments. (From research conducted using the website data, many campuses in my district did not complete their charts, which must also be addressed.)
  Compare state-wide technology integration data (STaR Chart website) with the district technology integration data to determine areas that need improvement.
• 
  Analyze data from technology driven districts to compare with district data to determine how technology can improve student achievement.
• 
  Survey stakeholders (teachers, students, parents) about their areas of concern and use of technology, using questionnaires, interviews or personal reflections to gather data. (Guskey, 40)
• 
  Evaluate the outcomes of previously held technology based professional development by examining the trends and changes in student achievement data before and after these sessions were held.
• 
  Campus and central office administrators must conduct walk-through evaluations and formal observations to determine if the new skills are being used properly. This will also help to determine which professional development sessions were the most effective.
• 
  Factors from ineffective sessions must be considered to decide why those sessions did not have the desired effect. Improvements should be made to professional development sessions based on the information and data.

Week 4 Assignment Part 2

Professional Development Need
Teachers need to receive professional developments that they can utilize in the classroom.

• Plan of Action
  Present professional developments in small groups in a classroom setting, as opposed to large groups in a lab. (currently)
• 
  Insure that teachers have the appropriate equipment available to them
• 
  Allow teachers planning time to create a lesson plan with their collaboration team and have them use that plan in the classroom (The principal will have to set up a time to observe this lesson in the teacher’s classroom.)
• 
  Principals will give constructive feedback to teachers after observing their technology lessons

Professional Development Need
Provide trainings on how to analyze data from AEIS, AYP and the district’s Item Analysis. (Standard 4)
Plan of Action

• 
  Make teachers aware of these data gathering sources and teach them how to locate the information on their computers
• 
  Allow teachers to have an opportunity to collaborate with their department in analyzing this data to determine weaknesses and strengths.
• 
  Demonstrate the different uses of the Item Analysis program for teachers and allow them time to become familiar with these tools. Teachers should base their teaching strategies and content on this data. The data shows which areas need to be refocused on and which areas are areas that need more attention, so teachers should analyze and use this data to improve their student achievement.

Professional Development Need

Teach administrators about the Texas Long Range Plan, ITSE, and NETS*A standards. This professional development should be ongoing and will spread to the campus teachers and technology staff. (Very weak area in my district.)

Plan of Action

• 
  Superintendent and Instructional Technology Supervisor will hold sessions with campus administrators and the Assistant Superintendents to inform them of the TLRP, ITSE, and NETS*A standards.
• 
  Fulfilling the duties of these state standards and striving to meet the state goals will become areas that will be evaluated by the designated Superintendent during the campus administrator’s evaluation. The campus administrator must show that they are trying to meet these standards and are familiar with them.
• Campus administrators must provide staff developments for their staff members to educate them on the TLRP, ITSE, NETS*T and NETS*S. It is encouraged that these staff developments be held using a Web 2.0 tool such as Podcast, Wiki, or Blog. (Standard 5)

Professional Development Need

Professional development focusing on the using of NETS*S Standard 5 Problem Solving.

Plan of Action

• 
  Give teachers idea on how to create activities that focus on Standard 5.
• 
  Provide teachers with a sample Standard 5 lesson that they can analyze and study.
• 
  Have teachers create a lesson that they can use in their classrooms that focuses on Standard 5.
• Determine the goals for this lesson.

Professional Development Need

Transforming “digital immigrants” into “digital citizens”.

Plan of Action

• 
  Analyze STaR chart data from previous years to provide teachers with professional developments that are on their ability level.
• 
  Monitor the teacher’s progress throughout the year using observations.
• 
  Hold technology staff development (using Web 2.0 tools) on a regular basis. (Monthly is possible)
  
• Analyze STaR chart data from the present year to determine if progress of that teacher/campus has been made. If the professional development was effective, then improvement should have been made.
• Hire a full-time technologist on each campus to assist teachers in their transformation and help them with any problems they may have. (This is currently in the Campus Improvement Plan, but not being fulfilled.) The technologist will also be in charge of developing the monthly staff developments by using the information he/she has gathered about teacher needs.

Professional Development Need
Align professional developments with the NETS*T standards for teacher technology learning.

Plan of Action

• 
  Teachers must meet these standards to be in compliance with state mandated requirements.
• Use the NETS*T standards to plan professional developments.
• Make sure that each session addresses all 5 standards, especially Standard 1.