Sharing Your Action Research Plan

The tentative way that I will share the progress and process of my action research project with my campus will be to keep them informed during weekly departmental meetings held during the elective teacher planning period.  This period will give the Spanish teacher and the CATE department a chance to debrief with the campus principal and the AYP coordinator about their individual progress for each student they are assisting.  The outcome will be monitored and progress will be tracked and shared with the tutors and the core teachers during the weekly campus meetings held on Tuesday.  The background of my research will be shared this week to inform all teachers of the students that I will be assisting and how I would like a copy of their lesson plans so that I can implement the same objectives in my lessons as well.  Any exit level student that did not successfully pass TAKS and are assigned to a Spanish I, II, III or Business Information Management or Touch Systems Data Entry Course will hopefully be working simultaneously with all of their teachers to pass the test.   Teachers will receive a list of all exit level students that is applicable for assistance from Eduphoria.  Each teacher will be reminded that they too have access to this data and should work diligently to get our test scores up.  Any recommendations will be discussed with the AYP Coordinator, the Campus Principal, the SBDM (Site Based Decision Making) Committee, the OHI (Organizational Health Inventory) Committee, the PBMAS/LEA (Performance Based Monitoring Analysis) Committee, or the NCLB (No Child Left Behind/SIRC Restructuring Committee for further review.  In addition, the tentative way that I will share the progress with my EDLD classmates is via blog posting and through future discussion question postings during class.

What I have learned this week is that action research is not supposed to be easy.  The research will reveal that we need to continue more research (evolve).  Most research conducted during this study will take majority of our school year to resolve because there are no quick-fixes in education.  Action research requires time, patience, and dedication toward the end result.  In this case, my end result is why I teach; to get my students across that stage! 

Reflection of Week 2 - Action Research Leaders

My reflection of week two has brought about a new found understanding for Action Research.  Having the opportunity to review video footage from three school Leaders from Lamar University was extremely enlightening.  Dr. Brisneo, the principal of Rancho Isabella Elementary  at Angleton ISD had great ideas of qualitative data yet realizing that data is not always enough.  We as educators must get more involved with our students to "know" when data is not accurate.  Dr. Timothy Chargois, the Director of Research, Planning and Development in Beaumont ISD had great expressions of what effective and ineffective teachers should do.  When he said, "you never stop growing, be action research oriented," that was extremely motivating.  Dr. Kirk Lewis, the Superintendent, Pasadena ISD had an intriguing concept for Freshmen. The theme of "Expectation Graduation" was pure genius.  His concept of doing what was practical for your environment not what is theoretical is possibly one of the most realistic statements acknowledged in education. I'm looking forward to following thorough with my action research for TAKS Testing preparation for exit level re testers and I intend to use some of the knowledge I gained from these three leaders.

How Educational Leaders Might use Blogs

Educational leaders should blog for various reasons such as peer teaching, how to be effective with SPED students (across the curriculum), and to confirm if accommodations for ESL students is working or should be revised.  Teachers are required to meet certain criteria inside and outside of the classroom but blogging would give them the give peer feedback needed in order to make the essential adjustments that the students need for success.

What I learned about Action Research....

I learned that action research has several angles.  The old saying, “in the eyes of the beholder” comes to mind because action research is the inquiry, the unsure, or the indecisiveness that one feels prior to thorough probing and scrutiny in order to unveil or reveal when certain concerns in question are either valid, invalid, or impartial.

 I can recall a time where one would say “what you see is what you get”.  There weren’t many questions asked because people based their input/feedback on trust, anticipated realistic outcomes, and the delivery of the information received.  With action research, systematic questioning and reasonable doubt comes in.  There are always two sides of one story and it’s apparent that having an opinion would increase more than enough reasonable doubt and allow for circumstantial outcomes that were not originally considered.

I learned that the difference between action research and the traditional educational research primarily differs based on interactive activities within the classroom versus the behind the scenes” do as I say, not as I do” concept.  It’s so easy for someone else to stand on the sidelines and make unrealistic suggestions about how they may appeal to a classroom setting.  With the type of students that we serve today, education has changed and our students have changed along with it; some for the worse.  This new generation of principals must be prepared for the unexpected.  Use the past as a past reference but never be afraid or timid about making the necessary changes needed to what “use to work” especially by asking questions.