Week 5

The practitioner research course was very time consuming, but had an enormous amount of information that is useful to both principals and teachers.  The most important aspect I took from the course is the need for constant reflection.  This is referenced many times in the Dana text and was an ongoing process throughout the course.  In the first course of the program, we had to read a leadership book and I choose the book, Monday Morning Leadership, written by David Cottrell.  The book had two of the eight chapters dedicated to reflecting in a leadership position.  I only bring up the previous course to further illustrate the emphasis put on reflection for the leader of an organization.  In the remaining parts of this reflection, I will discuss three examples of reflecting we did in the class.

The first example of reflection is the assignments that required us to look at our research and the research of others to find areas that might encounter trouble.  We were required to complete this task in week three.  The reflection on this topic did not just occur in week three, but also occurred when we looked at our research plan with our site supervisor in week four.  This type of reflection forces the researcher to think through their research process and attempt to minimize problems that are foreseen.  Each step of a research plan should be reflected upon and looked at by numerous people to ensure that potential problems are negated.

The second example of reflection was the week two assignment “common action research.”  In this assignment we had to read several pages about different areas of research for education.  The second part of this assignment had us discuss a wondering from the reading or our school that pertains to that area.  This assignment involved a great deal of reflection to determine need within the school or district.  This type of reflection is a process that all leaders should work through at least once a year if not twice a year to find new wonderings.  The more reflection a leader does, the more prepared and informed they potentially will be.

The third example of reflection comes from the week five reading in the Dana text, “what are some quality indicators for practitioner research?”  For the assignment we were asked to reflect on our research to determine how we can use the indicators while writing our design.  The reflection does not stop there, because the questions for each indicator help a researcher find problems within each section of the research problem to ensure that you have a purposeful and needed wondering and design.  This reflection should be done throughout the implementation of each project being completed.

        Anyone can be put in a leadership role, but not everyone is a leader and not all leaders are in a leadership role.  As I have gone through the first two courses I am finding that the most key attribute a leader has is the ability to properly reflect on their situation and know what to do with those reflections.

Week 4

This week was interesting.  I met with my site supervisor and we discussed the beginning stages of my action research plan.  I have full aproval from the campus administration and I have already started recruiting teachers to aid in my research and my next step is to develop the survey that will be given to students at the end of the semester.  My site supervisor did not have any major suggestions for changing my plan but did make recommendations on teachers who might be interested in assisting my research.

Study Hall in the Morning Research Inquiry

 

SIP or PIP (SCHOOL or PROFESSIONAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECT) PLAN OF ACTION

 

 

 

 

SCHOOL VISION: "We envision schools where students and staff are enthusiastically engaged in learning within local and virtual environments. We see schools that encourage collaboration and cultivate a sense of belonging. We see learning standards that are rigorous and relevant. We see learning standards that inspire creativity and problem solving. Ultimately, we see schools that prepare students for many paths and that empower them with skills to successfully live in a rapidly changing world."

 

GOAL: The goal of this action research program is to increase the reading fluency and comprehension, writing skills, and test taking skills of students at Ross Sterling middle school. There will also be an emphasis on community and service and how they can impact the community in small ways. The research is aimed at being a pilot for a school wide program starting in the 2013-2014 school year.

 

 

 

OUTCOMES	ACTIVITIES	RESOURCES/ RESEARCH TOOLS NEEDED	RESPONSIBILITY TO ADDRESS ACTIVITIES	TIME LINE	Benchmarks/ ASSESSMENT	Revisions to SIP/PIP based on monitoring and assessments
Increase time spent studying outside of class.	Students receive tips and training on best practice study habits and strategies. Students will demonstrate these tips and strategies throughout the program.	Survey of student habits and portfolio.	Six teachers and the building principal.	August 2012-March 2013	Students will be required to show proof of completion of strategies and keep a study log in their portfolio. Interview parents about student's study behaviors. Teacher reflections on student performance in the program and recommendations for improvement.	Interview parents about student's study behaviors. Teacher reflections on student performance in the program and recommendations for improvement.
Increase reading levels and stamina.	Students use reading strategies to increase reading levels and build stamina by reading primary source academic material.	Readings and fluency/comprehension assessments.	Six teachers and the building principal.	August 2012-March 2013	Students will be given a pre/post reading fluency comprehension test. Teacher reflections on student performance in the program and recommendations for improvement.	Teacher reflections on student performance in the program and recommendations for improvement.
Increase student writing levels.	Students will write in a multiple formats to increase writing skills. Students will be required to keep a portfolio for their writing samples and journal entries.	Student portfolio and writing assessments.	Six teachers and the building principal.	August 2012-March 2013	Writings by students will be assessed on a regular basis and log for improvement. The students will keep all writing samples in their portfolio and monitor their own progress. At the end of the program students will have an exit meeting where they will discuss their writing strengths and weaknesses. This data should be kept up with by the student through weekly reflections. Teacher reflections on student performance in the program and recommendations for improvement.	Teacher reflections on student performance in the program and recommendations for improvement.
Increase use of test taking strategies.	Students will answer practice questions using testing strategies.	Practice questions and test taking strategies.	Six teachers and the building principal.	August 2012-March 2013	Students will be assessed each time we have a test strategies day to measure use of testing strategies. Teacher reflections on student performance in the program and recommendations for improvement.	Teacher reflections on student performance in the program and recommendations for improvement.
Increase student word knowledge and retention of vocabulary words.	Students will build their lexicon by learning four new academic non-content vocabulary words per week through different strategies. Students also will be required to learn a new word part each week.	Vocabulary words, word parts, and vocabulary assessments.	Six teachers and the building principal.	August 2012-March 2013	Student will be quizzed every three weeks for retention of vocabulary. Each quiz will include words from previous weeks as well. Teacher reflections on student performance in the program and recommendations for improvement.	Teacher reflections on student performance in the program and recommendations for improvement.
Decrease tardiness of students to all class.	Students will discuss with each other what it means to be principled and the reasons why it is important to be principled. They will draft a "Principles Contract" for each individual program class.	Attendance audits.	Six teachers and the building principal. Attendance specialist.	August 2012-March 2013	I will collect tardiness data every three weeks and discuss will other program teachers. This data will be used to remind students of the importance of being focused on getting to class and being prepared. Teacher reflections on student performance in the program and recommendations for improvement.	Teacher reflections on student performance in the program and recommendations for improvement.
Increase student awareness of community and service.	Students will participate in a school wide initiative to recycle and read about the importance of serving your community. Students will also read about different ways they can help out. They will each be required to write out a plan to benefit the community.	Recycling program.	Six teachers and the building principal.	August 2012-March 2013	Student work will be assessed on how well they develop a plan of action. Teacher reflections on student performance in the program and recommendations for improvement.	Teacher reflections on student performance in the program and recommendations for improvement.

Week 2

Week two's assignment was a beast!   The interviews were revealing in that they have an emphasis on data and reflection.  I feel like their viewpoints are in line with my own.  In my class we take a quiz each week to assess where our progress is and then after the quiz the students get their grade immediately and reflect in their journal ways they can improve their score and the areas they need to work on moving forward.  The Dana text was beneficial in assisting me on my decisions for completing an action research project.  I was relieved to have had the nine sections with different interests to help organize my thoughts.  That coupled with the site supervisor meeting helped me narrow a focus.  Great news for me this week is that the building principal offered to have me sit in on meetings when the principals are doing master scheduling for next year!!!  The idea I am taking away most this week is from Dr. Kirk Lewis when he said, "research must be practical."  It really is pointless to do research if you are not reflecting about the needs that pertain to your situation.  Essentially, research should not be done just to do research.