My Action Research Plan...

Goal One: To build a willing and supportive team through the process of implementing a new reading instruction program.

Action Steps	Person(s) Responsible	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Establish meeting schedule with grade level team	Grade-Level Chairperson and First Grade Team	August (schedule meetings) August – May/June (monthly meetings)	Schedule template Documentation strategy for meeting minutes	Reflection on meetings through meeting minutes and reflective journals
Identify assessment and reading strategies introduced by the new reading program	Grade level Chairperson and First Grade Team	August – September (initial planning) September - May (evaluation of strategies used through student work and teacher reflections)	Reading program teaching and assessment documents	Reading strategies will be evaluated using teacher journaling, the grade level blog, and classroom work and assessments of students
Introduction of journaling strategies and the discussion of a grade level blog site to be created	Grade level Chairperson and First Grade Team	August – April/May	Journals for teachers Blog site	Teacher interviews or surveys to determine the effectiveness of meetings, journaling, and blog site

Goal Two: Determine what strategies were most effective in reaching struggling first grade reading students and evaluate the effectiveness of the new reading program through investigation of the reading achievement of first grade students on the District Reading Assessment (DRA).

Action Steps	Person(s) Responsible	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Identify assessment and reading strategies introduced by the new reading program	Grade Level Chairperson and First Grade Team Assistance of textbook support team Reading Specialist for first grade	August – September (initial planning) September – May (evaluation of strategies used through student work and teacher reflections)	Reading program assessment and teaching documents	Reading strategies will be evaluated using teacher journaling, the grade level blog, and classroom work and assessments of students
Explore effective reading strategy research through internet sites such as Google	Grade Level Team Reading Specialist	August – September (initial search) September – April/May (frequent searches for upcoming research to support further applications of strategies	Relevant websites Research tied to effective reading strategies used for first grade intervention	Reflection on research found and comparison of the strategies introduced in the new reading series
Evaluate students and organize target groups for intervention Beginning of the Year District Reading Assessment (DRA)	First Grade Teachers Reading Specialist District Representatives (obtaining beginning of the year results)	August - September	DRA assessment materials Comparable assessments from the reading series	Target groups will be tracked using teacher journaling and field notes as well as classroom assessments
Meet and discuss strategies to implement with target groups of first grade students Set targets for student groups to reach based on reading series and DRA Reflect on research findings and discuss implementation times for those strategies that match with the new reading program Journaling	Grade Level Chairperson and First Grade Team Reading Specialist for first grade	September (strategies and target setting) September – April/May (reflection on research findings will take place throughout the year)	Reading program assessment and teaching documents Target Groups Journals Research articles Websites to explore	Teacher journals will be used to track students as well as field notes and student work Relevant research and its findings when implemented in the classroom can be recorded in teacher’s journals and field notes and shared at monthly meetings
Introduction of grade level blog to record observations and insights into strategies and assessments used	Grade Level Chairperson and First Grade Team Reading Specialist	Late September - October	Blog site Assessment and teaching documents	Blogs should be posted weekly or as new insights or observations are made. Team members will be encouraged to check the blog weekly
Monthly meetings to discuss implementation of strategies and assessments on target student groups and their various impact on student achievement Making modifications to groups based on achievement	Principal/Assistant Principal Grade Level Chairperson and First Grade Team Reading Specialist	September – April/May	Journals, field notes, and blog site for reflection and analysis Student work and/or assessments New strategies to implement Old strategies to modify or dispose of	Students will be evaluated based on teacher observations from their journals, field notes, or blog site as well as samples of student work or assessments
Middle of the Year District Reading Assessment (DRA) Classroom based assessments from the reading series	First Grade Teachers Reading Specialist District Representatives (obtaining and comparing first grade results)	Late December – Early January	DRA assessment materials Assessment materials from the reading series Results of assessments District results	Students will be evaluated using the two forms of assessments to see if intervention strategies are having an effect
Evaluation of student work, group performance Reflections on teacher journals, field notes, and the blog site during implementation and during monthly meetings with the grade level team	First Grade Teachers Grade Level Chairperson and First Grade Team Reading Specialist Principal/Assistant Principal	September – April/May	Student work and/or assessments Journals, field notes, and blog site for reflection and analysis New strategies to implement Old strategies to modify or dispose of	Students will be evaluated based on teacher observations from their journals, field notes, or blog site as well as samples of student work or assessments

End of the Year District Reading Assessment (DRA) Classroom based assessments from the reading series Culmination of results and conclusions of the inquiry Sharing of results with school-wide grade level teams or district-wide professional learning communities

First Grade Teachers Reading Specialist District Representatives (to provide district level analysis of data) Principal/Assistant Principal

April/May June or beginning of next school year (sharing of results)

DRA assessment materials Assessment materials from the reading series Results of assessments District results Compilation of the most effective strategies used with each target group

Students will be evaluated using the two forms of assessments to see if intervention strategies had their desired effect

Well, there it is! I welcome any comments or suggestions. I look forward to seeing your plans of action. Good luck to all!

Lessons From Week Two...

Well, here we are in week two and our action research is in the beginning phases. We have been wondering and wondering and here we are ready to dive into our most prominent question. This week, I really enjoyed listening to the three scholars interviews. Each one had their own ways of going about action research, but they all shared a common thread. Each scholar said to basically make action research your own; your question must be something of interest to you and something that you feel is important to student achievement. They all stated in some way that if you are not emotionally connected to your wondering that it will not produce meaningful results to your situation in the end. Dr. Kirk Lewis specifically said that people will know how driven you are by the actions you take and the emotions you portray. You must take what you learn through the inquiry process and make comparisons to your situation and translate the knowledge into actions that are practical to your situation. You must take on 'active research' not necessarily just 'action research' , saying that you must be involved for it to be meaningful. I am really excited to dive into my inquiry this upcoming year because it has to do with my grade-level team and the students I will be working with. I have made my action research part of my situation and hopefully it will be successful and I will find the answers I am looking for. Good luck to all in the next week...looks challenging!

My Passions to Date!

Okay, here are my passions to date, my wonderings of wonderings! Oh which one should I choose...

The first involves the impact of implementing a student code of dress on the success of students, if it has one at all. I would also like to discover why such codes have been put in place in most Title I or economically disadvantaged classified schools versus why it has not been put in place in more affluent schools. I am sure that it is to provide a level playing field for all students in the economically disadvantaged schools, but this leads to the question of why are the parents of these students now expected to purchase two sets of dress for their children (school and not school clothes) when they are economically disadvantaged? The school that I work in has a dress code and has had one since I started working there, and it has never been explained to me why exactly the code of dress was initially implemented and what the reason for keeping it is. Many parents complain about having to purchase two sets of clothes for their children, but I have never been witness as to how our district or school explains the reasoning to our parents. Our school has received an exemplary rating for the past eleven years and we are a Title I school and I am wondering if the dress code has any correlation to maybe the students feeling more confident to succeed? I would be interested to approach my district or school administration to get their views on this subject. I believe action research on this topic may benefit the parents and students in the long run because it may finally shine a light as to why a dress code was enacted and what research backs up the reasoning for its place in our district. It may also benefit the teachers at our school because many are frustrated with enforcing the dress code, and I feel this is because they do not have an accurate explanation as to why it is such a big deal to have and why it is enforced.

My next area of wondering is very close to my situation and one that has perplexed me for several years now. It is the topic of grade-level representatives or chairpersons and their appointment and retention. I have been appointed grade level chairperson for four out of the eight years I have been teaching at my campus. I am interested to know if there is a written rule or guidelines as to how grade level representatives are chosen and whether it is through choice or reinstatement that they are kept from year to year. I would also like to know the research behind the effect that grade level chairpersons may have on their colleagues and if they know the responsibilities that must be carried out by the representatives. From reading some of the comments of my fellow colleagues on previous discussion boards, I have found that grade level representative appointment and retention is handled in many ways different from my situation. If I am chosen to be grade level chairperson again in this upcoming year, I would really like to approach my administration with some of these strategies because I am really uncomfortable with my situation. I feel that the team that I work with sometimes feels threatened or resentful by my reappointment and our team does not work as comfortably together as I think we should. I think that action research on this topic may have a definitive impact on my team situation in the upcoming year and I hope it will lead to a more cohesive team atmosphere. We have some changes in personnel on my team this year, so maybe this is my chance to be the leader that I want to be.

Using Blogs in Action...

I was never into this blogging thing from the beginning, but I have to tell you as soon as I logged into my own blog and saw what I created I became very excited and enthusiastic about making my next post! The use of technology is increasing as every day passes and we as educators need to become more aware of how beneficial it can be to our practice and the students we reach out to. From a teacher's standpoint, I feel that blogs could be used for many different purposes to stimulate reflection and discussion from our students. For educational leaders, blogs could be used for much the same purpose, generating thoughts and reflections from colleagues, committee members, community stakeholders, parents, and again students on different issues facing the school community. Blogs may also serve to keep all important stakeholders informed of current research and best practices that are being put to use within the school community. Blogging provides a means of collaboration and allows feedback to occur (Dana, 2009, p. 88). Given the time and the motivation to reflect on one's own practice will bring out the best solutions to the issues we face. Learning and implementing the steps of action research will allow us this time and give us the motivation to make decisions based on what works for us, not what we have been told is the 'right' solution. Blogging can assist those diving into the practice of action research to access many forms of data for use in the inquiry process.

What I Learned About Action Research...

Hello Fellow Bloggers!

This experience is definitely a new one for me, but I am excited to try it out! I decided to refer to this blog as 'acting in research' because it seemed to be what the term action research was telling me. It is no longer just boring research that we learned how to study and learn from in college, it is our own means of learning by using our own experiences and training, therefore 'acting' for our own best interest and for the things we feel are important to us and the context we are using it for. Action research allows teachers and principals to become the initiating and driving force behind the movement to make change, rather than just blindly following the advice of outside experts as to what they believe would be conducive to an educational environment. Traditional educational research has not included the voices of people working within the schools, these would be the people who best understand the school environment, and therefore would make change conducive to the educational experiences for all members of the schoolhouse (Dana, 2009, p.5). Action research gives the stakeholders the ability to take an active role in all processes of the inquiry process, whereas traditional methods had them hiding behind the notion that what the 'experts' say must be true, making the changes less meaningful to the context. Leaders are faced with a multitude of tasks to complete within specified time constraints and need a way to systematically organize their thoughts and actions to complete the tasks they are assigned and expected to accomplish. Action research gives the leader an excuse to slow down the harried daily pace and organize their tasks into smaller more manageable chunks. Then, in collaboration with others, they are able to arrive at the best possible course of action to take in each situation. The repeated use of action research gives the leader the ability to learn from their experiences, and acquire new skills (Martin et al. , 2005, p.105). The idea of being able to collaborate with others really makes me excited to use this process in the future. I have had the opportunity to use and see some of this process during my years of teaching, but I believe carrying it out when I am in a leadership position will be a much better learning opportunity and I will be better equipped through my past and future experiences to bond with my colleagues and make the appropriate decisions for my school community. I will take the time in the coming year to experiment with action research now that I have been given the opportunity to learn more about it.

References

Dana, N.F. (2009). Leading with passion and knowledge: The principal as action researcher. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin A SAGE Company.

Martin, G.E. et al. (2005). School leader internship: developing, monitoring, and evaluating your leadership experience. Larchmont, NY: Eye on Education, Inc.