Reflecting on Research

This course has introduced me to a new world of research!  My district had actually implemented a ‘strategic plan’ a few years back, but in the middle of implementation our Superintendent retired and the direction of the plan fell apart. After learning more about action research, I realize the leaders were trying to implement action research. I believe it would have been much better received with a bit more background and buy-in to the process, or with some understanding such as what we have learned in this course.

In the first week of this course, we used Blogger to create our own blogs. This was a new format of social media or communication for me.  I have developed a Weebly and worked with Wikis, but using Blogger has been a whole new experience, and sometimes a challenge, for me. I plan to continue building knowledge in blogging through more practice and searching the Internet for tips.  I believe I will gain a better understanding as I work through it. I will also reach out to a co-work who loves to blog. She will be an outstanding resource for me.

The video interviews of educational leaders also helped me develop a better understanding of action research. The explanation Dr. Chargois gave for various ideas of research made me realize it can happen at a campus level, or come from an outside source.

The Dana text, Leading with Passion and Knowledge, was a very helpful resource for me. Chapter two gave explanations and examples of the nine areas of major wonderings, which pushed me to start thinking of examples from my campus that would fit into these categories. It seemed that several areas that came to mind addressed the need to improve student achievement. This led to my initial idea for action research.

The action research planning models eased a lot of my tension. When I developed my question, I felt lost and wasn’t sure how to work through the process, but the SIP/PIP Plan and Tool 7.1 Template helped me develop a very workable outline plan for my research.  This helped me feel much more confident in what I was preparing.

I would like to learn more about the procedures for quality literature review. I will discuss this further with my site supervisor and also research more articles similar to the one we read in our first week to gain insight into this topic.

I had never heard of Force Field Analysis, the Delphi Method, or Nominal Group Technique. It was fairly clear for me to understand how Force Field and Delphi Method could benefit a researcher. It took a little more for me to understand the process of the Nominal Group Technique. After first reading about it, I had a negative perception of this technique, but as I thought more about implementation, I felt it would actually be a great way to develop and increase staff buy-in. 

I was very nervous about taking this course initially, but it has actually been a very engaging and informative class that helped me build more confidence in myself as a leader and an educational researcher.

A Plea for Comments

I was a bit discouraged over this past week at the lack of comments I received. I tried to comment on several blogs this week and added my blog to my discussion posts and posted it on the web conference. It sure made part three of this week's assignment tough! If you notice that my settings are not conducive to commenting or if I am doing something to make it more difficult, please feel free to let me know! Share my blog with some of your followers, as well!

More Reflection

This week brought some beneficial changes to my research plan. I had an excellent meeting with my site supervisor and received some very helpful suggestions. She recommended that I not give monthly DRA for my tutoring groups since I will have the standardized data from the comprehension probes. I also had a great comment from one of the blog followers that encouraged me to add a survey of student perception to the end of the research plan. I began tutoring this week, which means I also began collecting data! I have also worked with my site supervisor to begin pulling the reports from last year's testing to get some initial data analysis underway.

Effective Tutoring Action Research

Tool 7.1 Action Planning Template (Harris, Edmonson, Combs,  2010)

Goal: Determine the most effective time of day for reading tutoring/intervention
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Action Steps	Person Responsible	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
1. Review data from 2012 Reading STAAR	C. Bice	November 2012- December 2012	STAAR report, tutor list from 2012	This data will be used to compare to current needs and findings.
2. Analyze MAP data from Fall administration	C. Bice	November 2012- December 2012	MAP Dynamic reports with RIT score	I will analyze this data to determine greatest needs for striving learners.
3. Analyze quarter one District Assessments	C. Bice	November 2012-December 2012	Schoolnet report on reading scores	I will compare this data with the MAP data to determine the students with the greatest need for intervention.
4. Collaborate with colleagues to discuss findings and determine tutoring schedule	C. Bice C. Busby H. Chavez	December 2012	MAP report, Schoolnet report, student intervention list	We will discuss classroom observations of students to ensure the students with the greatest needs are being serviced. We will also determine our tutoring schedules.
5. Give initial DRA and comprehension probe	C. Bice	December 13, 2012	DRA kit, comprehension probe	Assess student for baseline evaluation
6. Begin tutoring before winter break	C. Bice C. Busby H. Chavez	December 13-21, 2012	Istation lessons, guided reading lessons	Students will receive rigorous instruction either before school, at lunch, or after school.
7. Resume tutoring after the break	C. Bice C. Busby H. Chavez	January 8-31, 2013	Istation lessons, guided reading lessons	Students will receive rigorous instruction either before school, at lunch, or after school.
8. Give follow up comprehension probe	C. Bice	January 17, 2013	comprehension probe	Compare with baseline data to determine progress
9. Give follow comprehension probe	C. Bice	January 31, 2013	Comprehension probe	Compare with previous data to determine growth
10. Give follow comprehension probes	C. Bice	February 12 and 28, 2013	Comprehension probe	Compare with previous data to determine growth
11. Add student survey at the end of process	C. Bice	May ?	Survey	Compare student satisfaction to test scores.

 

Week two has given me a boost of confidence as I enter into the beginning stages of action research. I reviewed each of the videos and gathered useful information from each.  I appreciated the fact that Dr. Chargois acknowledged the pressures of accountability on teachers and connected that to the importance of producing results and seeing improvements in student performance. As I was contemplating various research ideas, I kept thinking back to the video of Dr. Lewis. One piece of advice he gave was to focus on research that is practical. He said to ask what the data can provide  that will help the situation. I referenced this during my discussion with my assistant principal, and we thought the most practical topic for our campus right now was the effective use of tutoring.
Reading the text for the week also had my mind going. It seemed that for each passion referenced by Dana (2009), I was able to make a connection to my campus. The examples from the text created more 'wonderings' of my own. In all, this week has been beneficial in leading me in the direction of choosing an action research topic.

Blogging for Leaders

The importance of educational leaders modeling the use of technology is only one example of how blogs could be utilized by leaders. A blog is also a beneficial tool in allowing principals to collaborate without having to take time away from their campuses. Through a blog, principals can share ideas and suggestions with other administrators from within their own district or on campuses that are states away.  It is this form of sharing that can spark a new idea or give the support needed to attempt a change in policy that a principal may have had reservations in trying.

Action Research Understanding

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         The whole concept of action research is new to me. After reading more about it, I feel that our district has conducted research in this manner, but with no training or discussion about the actual research model.  I have learned that for me, action research makes much more sense than traditional research models. By empowering teachers and/or administrators to determine their own needs and design a plan to move toward change, you give a form of ownership that encourages self-improvement. Through the reflection of your own practice, you can determine what change needs to be made and how to make it. My understanding of the basic process of action research begins with determining an issue or problem, researching the topic and possible strategies, analyzing your data, and finally determining the need for change or improvement.

I would like to use action research to help me determine best practices in reading tutoring. I would like to see if after school tutoring has a positive impact on student achievement in reading. Many of my lower performing students have parents that are unable to give them the academic support or assistance they need, and I feel that tutoring could fill in that gap. I would like to conduct action research to see how reading tutoring impacts the students’ reading behaviors, attitude, and performance.