Reflections about 5301 Action Research

EDLD 5301 Action Research class has provided me with the necessary tools to becoming a successful administrator and leader. This course is just one step into building my framework and I have found it to be a very valuable course and have learned many effective strategies about research. This class was the first of many things that I’ve never done before like:  blogs, discussion board, web conferences, and many more. I have found these to be very instrumental in my development as a leader.  At the beginning, I was nervous because of the title but as I listened to the lectures and read the material and assignments, I realized the difference in a research paper and an Action Research paper. 

The lectures were very informative and helpful in explaining the processes that were necessary to create a creative concept to make a difference in education. Dr. Artebury suggested several useful and informative tips to help guide us through the action research planning process. I personally enjoyed the 3 lectures from the principals and superintendent during the course of this class. The lectures were nice to see because they provided different perspectives from different districts that performed action researches in order to find solutions to student achievement and to create a positive change from within.

Blogging was a first for me and I have found it to be very informative and a valuable resource. It creates a place to collaborate with peers and a place to bounce new and innovative ideas off of to determine validity. Reading and responding to discussions or reflections have been very enjoyable and a learning tool for me. I have also found that blogs and the discussion board have developed and created an avenue to share ideas and to communicate with others to receive feedback positively or negatively.

The readings of Leading with Passion and Knowledge by Nancy Dana Fichman and Examining what we do to Improve our Schools by S. Harris, S. Edmondson, and J. Combs were interesting and beneficial to my development and creation of my Action Research Plan. These provided an outline that I found useful and effective to creating my research plan. The books explain that administrator inquiry refers to a process that engages in a systematic study of self and strives to reflect and develop solutions based on your data analysis and feedback. The 8 step process was informative because of the outline for developing an Action Research Plan. It was simple and easy to follow when organizing my plan.

This course has also provided me with the vision to develop and overtake an Action Research Plan.  It has provided me with the tools to lead teachers and students to be life-long learners. I look forward to using the wealth of information I have learned in this class and strive to create a creative and innovative learning environment.

Week 4 Part 1 Assignment

Reflection on week 4 part 1 assignment

My reflection on this topic is that I like Force Field Analysis. I believe I use this method the most often and find it to be an effective tool to use in organizing and developing solutions.  The ability to identify the situation, access the situation, and create a plan for change to provide solutions is a major factor of Force Field Analysis. I do like the Delphi Method because it allows collaborative decision making among your peers and promotes creative thinking strategies.

Action Research Plan

Action Planning Template
Goal: What incentives and solutions can we provide in our schools to increase attendance and what are the effects on student achievement?
Action Steps(s):		Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Examining the work: Setting the foundation -Decide on action research plan. We collaborated over the topic of attendance issues and what incentives we could do to increase attendance.		JD Berna Mrs. Carter	March	Attendance officers Site Supervisor	Data collected Interviews with site supervisor
Analyzing data – Identify and interview attendance officers and staff about truancy issues on campus. Use personal notes, interviews, internet, and surveys to collect data. I will continue to collect data and analyze it. Collect data on six week grades and compare it to the number of days they were present at school.		JD Berna Attendance Officers: Barbara Welsh Paige Mungia	March/April	Attendance Records Attendance Policies Attendance officers Internet Students to survey Staff	Attendance percentages and numbers for month of March/April Personal notes and evaluations Data collected through internet, surveys, and interviews. Student achievement data for six week grades
Developing a deeper understanding - Research internet based information and resources on attendance issues in schools. Interviews with staff, principals, and attendance officers. I will take personal notes and observations from these data collecting processes. Interview Asst. Supt. on ways to improve attendance and how it effects student achievement. Surveys with students to find incentives. Research from neighboring school districts.		JD Berna	March/April	Internet Attendance officers Site Supervisor Staff School Districts Students Dr. Bullock Asst. Supt. Curriculum and Instruction Director	Personal notes Data collected through internet, surveys, and interviews
Engaging in self- reflection – Post on my daily blog. Receive feedback from my peers. Conference with site supervisor to help me reflect on my progress. I will reflect on the following: What incentives can we provide to students to encourage them to attend school? Is the current attendance policy effective?		JD Berna Site supervisor	April/ May	Internet Site supervisor	Student achievement scores and comparisons Meeting notes Personal notes Feedback from peers Daily blogs and reflections.
Exploring Programmatic Patterns – Survey students and staff to find motivating factors to attend school. Gather data from survey, interviews, and observations. Identify patterns of attendance issues and find solutions to fix truancy. Examine how it affects student achievement and implement strategies to motivate and find incentives to increase attendance.		JD Berna Students Staff Attendance officers	March /April, May	Students Staff Attendance officers	Personal Notes Survey results Find key motivators for students and parents to encourage attendance and learning.
Determining direction Work collaboratively with site supervisor. Interview personnel for effective data collection and informative information. Create a timeline that is realistic for completion and for acquiring quality data.		JD Berna Barbara Welsh Paige Mungia Kristina Carter	March/ April	School attendance reports Barbara Welsh Paige Mungia Kristina Carter	Percentages and numbers from data collected. Continue to gather data and resources to implement incentives to improve attendance and student achievement.
Taking action for school improvement Work with key personnel (attendance officers, site supervisor, Asst. Supt., and staff) to develop creative incentives and motivating principals to increase attendance. Work collaboratively with all administration to gain support in areas of concern and solutions presented in the action research plan.		JD Berna Dr. Bullock Kristina Carter Attendance officers Dr. Battershell	March/ April/ May	JD Berna Kristina Carter Attendance officers Dr. Bullock Staff Students	Survey notes Personal notes Data collected from neighboring schools on incentives for attendance Summarize findings and solutions to administration for approval. Working closely with all staff to implement plan.
Sustaining improvement – Share the solutions and incentives that are effective with increasing attendance issues with the entire school district and other school districts. Continue to monitor and work collaboratively with administration and attendance officers to stay on top of attendance issues and student achievement. Continue to reflect and be creative in order to grow professionally.		JD Berna Temple ISD	School Year 2012 - ?	School attendance reports Barbara Welsh Paige Mungia Kristina Carter	Share results with school districts. Implement a professional development section on our in-service days to allow teachers access to incentives and motivating and focusing on how important building relationships are to students on attendance and student achievement.

Week 2 Reflection

My reflection for week 2 is about action research and the project I'm going to pursue. I feel strong about attendance and more strongly about students. I believe this to be an issue everywhere and I know everybody has tried just about anything and everything to fix it. I think it is about relationships with students and building trust  with each other in order to motivate and encourage them to go to school.There are many issues that I could research, but this is a current problem at the high school where I am currently teaching. I have built many relationships with the athletes at the high school and we have turned over a new leaf in the areas of discipline and attendance issues. We stress to our athletes to do the right thing and to possess the count-on-me attitude. The athletes have bought into these concepts and we are building relationships everyday. It means a lot to me to see this happening.

Benefits of Educational Blogging

Educational leaders can use blogs as a tool for communicating and sharing effective strategies to influence and introduce new and innovative strategies in the educational setting. Blogging creates collaboration among colleagues and discussion from peers to promote professional growth. I think blogs influence critical thinking, classroom management, and motivation to educational leaders to use in the schools. It is an effective tool in today's world to share ideas and to learn from one another.