Framework of Action Research Project

GOAL: Improve third grade Math scores on Benchmarks and Standardized testing through knowledge of when full-potential learning takes place.

Action Step: Speak to administrator to gauge interest in this action research study.

Person Responsible: Teacher

Timeline Start/ End: Beginning of school year

Needed Resources: Need to make an appointment to meet with Principal.

Evaluation: Completion of appointment and approval of study pending SBDM committee go ahead.

Action Step: Go before the SBDM committee and lay out the plans for the study as well as why it is beneficial to the school and the students.

Person Responsible: Teacher

Timeline Start/ End: SBDM meeting (August)

Needed Resources: Teacher made plan for the action research study as well as any information that could be helpful in showing benefits to school.

Evaluation: Approval by the SBDM team.

Action Step: Do a beginning indicator benchmark on both groups of students to gauge prior knowledge.

Person Responsible: Teacher

Timeline Start/ End: End of Aug. through mid Sept.

Needed Resources: Teacher made test including concepts that will be taught throughout the year.

Evaluation: This goes into data. It is filed and possibly logged into a excel sheet. It will be evaluated against each new benchmark taken to see possible short term gains or losses.

Action Step: Teach both sets of students using the same lesson plans and questioning strategies.

Person Responsible: Teacher

Timeline Start/ End: Aug. through May

Needed Resources: Lesson plan materials and resources for both classes.

Evaluation: Continuously go through lessons and make sure that they are covering the same objective in the same way.

Action Step: Periodically give benchmark exams and log data so that it can be compared with the other data that has been collected.

Person Responsible: Teacher, campus testing coordinator

Timeline Start/ End: Once per month starting in October

Needed Resources: District benchmark exam

Evaluation: These results are held up against the prior results to look for patterns in student performance.

Action Step: TAKS testing

Person Responsible: Teacher, Principal, TAKS coordinator, any one else involved in giving the TAKS test on the campus

Timeline Start/ End: April

Needed Resources: TAKS exam

Evaluation: These results will be provided to the school and the teacher. We will be looking at these scores in order to compare the two groups performances.

Action Step: End of the year benchmark exam to be compared to others and measure student growth. (Possibly same exam given at the beginning of the year)

Person Responsible: Teacher

Timeline Start/ End: May

Needed Resources: Benchmark exam written by teacher.

Evaluation: These results will be compiled with all of the other exams and benchmarks and used to identify which group of students made the most gains. This will be used to provide the information needed to answer the action research question of “How does time of day affect third grade student learning of Math Objectives?”

Action Step: End of the year examination of data and comparison of student gains for each section of students.

Person Responsible: Teacher, instructional coach, administrator

Timeline Start/ End: May

Needed Resources: All data collected throughout the school year.

Evaluation: A conclusion will be drawn regarding the action research question to decide which section of students, morning or afternoon, made the greatest gains in learning through the year.

Action Step: Presentation of findings to SBDM team and administration.

Person Responsible: Teacher

Timeline Start/ End: May

Needed Resources: Findings made by teacher and coaches.

Evaluation: Possible schedule re-evaluation for the next year based on which students seem to progress further.

Action Research Topic

My proposed action research topic is: Do third grade students perform higher in Math when taught in the morning or the afternoon?
The purpose of my study will be to determine which time slot is most beneficial to students so that administrators and educators on campus will be able to tailor instruction and the master schedule to work with the needs of the students.
The significance of this study will be to increase student learning in Math by teaching at a time when students are most receptive.

Educational Leaders Use of Blogs

Educational leaders can use blogs in many ways. These are a few:
On a school website for stakeholders
For teachers as a way of communication
To connect with other educational leaders and converse with them
For students to read and feel more connected to the Principal

These would all be professional blogs, although the content would differ drastically.

Action Research

I have learned in my first week of class that action research is not about what I thought research was. It is about finding a unique question or problem that affects your school directly and doing on-site research to find an answer or a solution. This is for the benefit of the students at your school and is tailored to them. It can be used as a tool in school improvement and as a way for an administrator to grow professionally. The research can involve all staff or may just include a few. I think one of the best ways to do an action research study is in the school PLC's. There is something meaningful for the staff to examine for the benefit of the students in the school. If an administrator never looks over issues at the school and decisions that are made, she runs the risk of becoming complacent. An administrator can use information that was found in other research studies and this is all well and good, but when it is studied and made exclusive to that school in particular it becomes so much more meaningful and the people involved feel a sense of ownership and buy-in. When there is buy-in from the stake-holders, the students will benefit and that is the goal of all good action research.