Update on Action Research Plan

My action research is based on a new after school program that my campus is in the process of implementing this school year. Getting all types of students involved in after school activities that keeps their interests and keep them out of trouble is the basis for the 21^st Century Community Learning Centers Federal After School Initiative (21^st CCLC). Because we do not have a high rate of parent involvement, I feel this program will be very beneficial to students from AP to resource. My main focus for my action research is students who struggle in the classroom and haven’t passed the STAAR test. I am intrigued to find out if the 21^st CCLC will inspire and/or support and increase in grade scores and STAAR test results. I created a questionnaire for all students on my campus, and I asked what activities they would be interested in learning about. I am now sorting through those results in order to compile a list. Once I have compiled a list, I will begin the process of finding volunteers who would want to come and teach their craft in the afternoons to students who are interested.  Once we have the volunteers in place, we can begin the after school program. I will compile a list of students to focus on once the program is up and running. These students will complete an additional survey, I will look up their STAAR results, and I will look up their grades in their classes. I will continue to monitor these students throughout the school year and compile my action research by determining whether the 21^st CCLC has a positive effect on student success in the classroom and on standardizes test.

Week 5 Action Research Reflection

This course has been an eye opening experience for me in that I am, I guess, what you call an “old schooler” when it comes to research . My initial thoughts when I heard the word action research was find a topic, find information on that topic, write a paper, etc. NOW, I know that action research is NOTHING like my “old school” way of thinking about research, and it involves personally coming up with an important issue/problem within the educational/professional setting as an administrator and finding a solution to that issue/problem through the ongoing action research process. I am VERY motivated with my topic for my action research, and for once, I am EXCITED about the upcoming school year because I will have the chance to personally be involved in a program and ARP that will, hopefully, make a positive impact on the administrators, teachers, and students on my campus.

Week 4 Action Research Update

After talking to my site supervisor, we have to decided not to make any changes to my action research plan at this time. Because the newness of the program, I have to approve any changes through the site supervisor who is heading up the implementation. I am meeting with my site supervisor again next week and she will discuss with me any possible additions that could be added to my ARP based on the blog comments.

Week 3 Draft Action Research Plan

Goal:  “How can we utilize the 21st Century Community Learning Centers Federal After School Initiative (21st CCLC) for overall student success?”  Action                    Person(s)              Timeline:              Needed                      Step(s)                   Responsible         Start/End              Resources            Evaluation 1.   Research 21st CCLC at other schools and decide best method of implementation. I will research methods and present to campus principal for final decision. Start research at beginning of August 2013 and present findings at end of June 2014. Internet, professional education journals (if applicable) and other schools who have implemented the 21st CCLC program will be the main investigatory resources. Ultimate success will be determined by an overall increase in the grades, behavior and EOC test scores of students involved in the program. 2.  Develop and implement an assessment for students’ progress throughout their experience in the 21st CCLC. I will develop the assessment and present to the head of the 21st CCLC program and the campus principal for final decision. Start collaboration at beginning of August 2013 and end at end of June 2014. Internet, professional education journals (if applicable) and other schools who have implemented the 21st CCLC program will be the main resources. Ultimate success will be determined by an overall increase in the grades, behavior and EOC test scores of students involved in the program. 3.  Full implementation and running of the 21st CCLC after school program to positively benefit students involved in the program. Head of the 21st CCLC program, campus principal and I will work together to implement and run the program. Start research at beginning of August 2013 and end at end of June 2014. Internet, professional education journals (if applicable) and other schools who have implemented the 21st CCLC program will be the main resources. Ultimate success will be determined by an overall increase in the grades, behavior and EOC test scores of students involved in the program.

Week 2 Action Research Thoughts

This week, I took the nine areas that are essential for a successful action research project and look at them in a more detailed light. I really like how Dana (2009) referred to the 9 areas as “passions.”  Watching and listening to the interviews of the school administrators was very educational pertaining especially to action research. Their suggestions to research being data driven and basing your action research project on the needs of your school and students will come in handy throughout my project. Through narrowing down my possible topics for action research, I learned to really look at the needs of my school and students to come up with the best possible action research project.

How can leaders use blogs???

I think blogging is already being used as a valuable tool for educators and will only be used more in the future. Blogging is a way to share thoughts and ideas with others in the profession without having to meet face to face or by some other less effective medium. It can be an instant link to new and effective ideas on education. Blogging can also eliminate any professional isolation if relevant.

What I learned about action research...

I learned so much about action research this week. I learned about the nine areas that are key for action research projects. I found out that it is vital to make sure that all action research is relevant to specific district/campus issues that will directly impact student learning. When conducting action research, there has to be multiple data collection strategies used to be well rounded in all aspects. It is definitely our jobs as educational leaders to strongly suggest for our teachers take a look at their approach and technique to teaching and make sure that they are doing all they can in order for their students to be successful in the classroom. An educational leader conducting action research can help them find the best approaches and techniques! Dana (2009) stated that action research is “one tool that can be used by principals to untangle the web of demands in which they become entangled each day, take charge of their own professional development, and become the “head learner” of their school” (p. 2). Finally, the most important thing I took from this week is the need to be able to focus in on specifics in an action research project and not be too broad.