Draft Action Research Project Progress Report

My district is a Title-1district. Many campuses in my district are struggling because of low
reading scores. My district used to hire tutors to work with Tier-2 students
but this year because of budget cuts, we could
not afford to hire any personnel. The district and my department are
working to put together recommendations for emerging reading scores. This
action research is going to impact student learning.
Based on formal and informal assessments, students have been divided into 3
Tiers. With the implementation of the Tier-3 reading model, my focuses are
students who are not performing on their grade level or students who are 1 or 2
grade levels behind. They get small group interventions outside their
class-rooms. My action research project began by selecting
particular grade levels in my campus in my district. I narrowed this project
down to the primary grade levels, especially first, second, and third grade. I
selected these grade levels and students because 40% of our total primary
population is struggling with reading and a slightly in mathematics. They are 1
or 2 grade levels behind in both Reading as well as Math. We assessed this
through TPRI, 6 weeks CBA (Content Based Assessment), and Stanford-10, assessments. I started monitoring them closely through progress monitoring every two weeks. Through this action research project, I have implemented different strategies to improve the reading scores.
My particular focus is our non-readers. I am also trying to gain some insight
into different stepping stones that teachers and students are dealing with
inside the classrooms. Through the media of Family Night, PTA, and Parent
Teacher Conferences, I communicated with the parents and community and
explained to them about the importance of support that students need from home.
I distributed some flyers and handouts to teach parents on how to help their
kids at home. I meet with my teachers through grade level meetings and discuss
the progress of each child. I am delighted to see out of 38 students which I am
serving right now, 16 have shown tremendous improvements. 14 have shown little
progress, but I am still struggling with the rest of the 8 students. I am
continuously communicating with their parents/guardians of those 8. I found
that these 8 students are going through psychological and emotional phase, so I
am working with my site supervisor and counselor to help these students to the
best. Teachers are happy as these students progress in their reading skills.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mrv5l6mtb2zGXALc-VALp-ZmySPqf6rJHXHJjo3n0do/edit?pli=1

Course Reflection

At the beginning of this class, I thought I would be researching an assigned topic just for the sake of researching. Through the lectures of Dr. Jenkins and Dr. Arterbury I began to learn what an action research project would involve. The information I gained from the text, the videos, and the discussion boards helped me formulate my project. I discovered that this action research was simply, “systematic, intentional study of one’s own professional practice.” (Dana, 2009, p. 9) I have posed questions and had wonderings that led to collecting and analyzing data while making decisions that would lead to change in my classroom and my school. As a professional development provider, I have been involved in the more traditional approaches to staff development. This plan was to be birthed from something we were passionate about and one that our advisor would approve as a project. In chapter 2 of The Passions that Drive Your Journey, Dana explained in depth the nine passions that drive researchers. Before reading this chapter, I had not realized that these nine areas would lead to the “wonderings and questions” that one would have in their profession. In the EDLD 5306 class, we began the journey of reflective processing with the creation of a blog. This made it easy to continue into this class. Dana’s text in chapter 5 supports the significance of a blog. Dr. Abshire required each of us to keep up with our postings and to comment on each other’s action plans that were posted. As we read each other’s action plans, it reinforced the importance of sharing information with others. As a result, we each became more open with each other and our thoughts. Each week as we collaborated with each other, I found myself feeling responsible for analyzing my cohort’s action plan just as they had analyzed mine. Each week we would post our reflections to questions on the discussion board. Now, it is the end of the fifth week, I am excited about implementing the action research project plan. My hopes are that the teachers and the students at Shadydale Elementary School will benefit from my research and that other schools will be able to transfer the findings to their schools.

Dana, N.F. (2009). Leading with passion and knowledge: The principal as action researcher. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Harris, S, Edmonson, A., Combs, J. (2010). Examining what we do to improve our schools, Larchmont, NY: Eye on Education

Action Research Plan

Action Research Plan

Background information on action research project: My district is a Title-1district. Many campuses in my district are struggling because of low reading scores. My district used to hire tutors to work with Tier-2 students but this year because of budget cuts, we couldn’t afford to hire any personnel. The district and my department are working to put together recommendations for emerging reading scores. This action research is going to impact student learning.

Design of the action research project (must include procedures, data collection and data analysis): The action research project will begin by selecting particular grade levels in my campus in my district. I will then narrow this project down to the primary grade levels, especially first, second, and third grade. I have selected these grade levels and students because 30% of this population is struggling with reading. They are 1 or 2 grade levels behind in both Reading and Math portions of the TPRI and Stanford-10 assessments. I will closely monitor the progress of these students in a timely manner.

Describes what is being learned from the action research project: Through this action research project, I hope to learn what different strategies can be used to improve the reading scores. My particular focus will be our non-readers. I also hope to gain some insight into different stepping stones teachers and students are dealing with inside the classrooms.

Week 2 Reflection

Week two had me examining and reviewing several knowledge scholars regarding action research. Dr. Kirk Lewis from Pasadena ISD really caught my attention. He said that if you are going to do research to make sure that it is going to help. That statement seems obvious, but so often we complete projects just because someone thinks that they need to be completed. I also found the readings from this week to be very interesting. We also looked at the 9 areas in which we could base our action research. Many of them appealed to me but the one that stood out the most was for the individual teacher. Initially I didn’t choose my topic in this area but on the other hand I did when I spoke with my site supervisor. He is the one who pursued this plan of action research. Action research is a great tool to provide supporting data for many of these leaders' decisions.

Action Research

When they signed me up for this course all I could think about was the amount of time and work I would have to do. I was pleasurably surprised to find that the research in this class came from me, an inquiry of my choosing. In this course, I enjoyed learning concrete steps to take to conduct an action research project. With the help of the readings from the Dana text (2009), videos, site supervisor’s suggestions and the discussion board interactions, I was able to focus my plan and begin my journey of action research. I learned that action research is a professional development approach for administrators to deliberately study, gain insight, collect data and analyze best practices in order to implement changes and take action to benefit their school community. The key concepts of inquiry research that make it so valuable are it is practical and it has immediate application. Another great thing about action research is that you get to pick the topic to suit your needs and interests. Each district and school has their own requirements, so those that live in that environment have a grasp on what needs to be reflected upon. Initially, the process starts with to discover what “wondering” or “inquiry” you would like to pursue. The first step in this process is to “Wonderings materialize at the nexuses of the real-world observations, dilemmas, felt difficulties, and passions that you develop in your work as an administrator.” (Dana, 2009, pg. 30) These wonderings can be in one of nine categories: staff development, curriculum development, individual teachers, individual students, school culture/community, leadership, management, school performance, and social justice.
The tools and resources provided in this course will be useful in implementing my Action Research plan. My new understanding and knowledge will guide me as I follow through with my current plan in hopes to improve student achievement on my campus. I also found the comments on the discussion board to be very helpful.

How Educational Leaders Might Use Blogs

Administrator and school officials should use blogs as their professional journals. By using blogs, educational leaders would bring a great resource for inquiry and reflection of their actions. As a superintendent, blogs could be useful to communicate with the district stakeholders. A blog could be one way to connect with the community while also allowing them to submit questions and concerns for the district leadership to consider. Blogs allows stakeholders to provide input without having a meeting in person which saves a lot of time and energy. It encourages teachers to utilize them in an effort to keep up with the learning styles of today's student.