Week 5 - Overview and Reflection of Course

It is evident that there is research constantly going on around us on a daily basis.  The question is: are we using it to our advantage and are we playing an active role in that research?  I have found through this course that in order to take on a problem you must dive in feet first, dive into research that is.  Taking part in action research allows for us as educators to use the knowledge and skill we are constantly encouraging our students to use in order to help them become more successful.  I went into this course thinking it was going to be about research, in the traditional sense.  I imagined being assigned a boring topic, looking up journals, reading, reading, and reading some more. However, my misconceptions were quickly corrected. 

I will admit that I was skeptical at first.  I always considered “bloggers” to be very presumptuous to think that their life was SO important and interesting that others would want to constantly read their witty remarks.  I had not considered its powerful impacts in communication and educational settings.  It is a quick and easy way to share information, ideas and to receive input on ways to improve your own work.  It is much more useful than I anticipated and this course has opened my eyes to it.  I hope I continue to use it in ways that will benefit my Action Research Plan.

Week 4 Overview and ARP Adjustments

I will be asking Teachers to take a survey for my Action Research Plan. I was concerned about what would be the best way to go about conducting this survey without adding to the already busy schedules of teacher but I received some useful feedback from my peers.

This will be my first attempt at creating a survey and I was not sure where to start. One peer suggested a website that helps create simple and easy surveys.

Another peer suggested making the survey electronically through the system Eduphoria, which our campus already uses; I was relieved to find this out. I would have never known this was possible without the feedback from my classmate. 

I was also glad to hear that most teachers are willing to help in most cases when it comes to improving the success of students. I know first-hand how valuable the time of a teacher is and the last thing I want to do is waste any ones time.

Also, thanks to Brit. I will be looking into other's research on my topic of extra-curricular students and their academics/attendance. 

Action Research Template

I am going to do my research during  6 weeks increments in accordance with my schools grading periods. Action Planning Template
Goal: Research the effect of extra-curricular students vs. non extra-curricular students on grades, testing, and attendance.
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Discuss Possible topics with site supervisor.	N. Williams K. Bodine	July 18, 2013 July 31, 2013	Internship plan Principal School data Internet Testing Scores Attendance info 6 Weeks Reports	Decide topic issue and monitor grades and attendance for extra-curricular students
Meet with attendance supervisor	N. Williams A. Kidd	Aug. 26th 2013 Aug 30th 2013	List of students in extra-curricular activities	Identify  the students who are apart of school activities
Meet with attendance supervisor and councilor for grades	N. Williams A. Kidd  E. Owens	Oct 7th 2013 Oct 11th 2013  End of 1st 6 Weeks	Attendance list Activities list  Grade reports	Evaluate absences and 1st 6 weeks grades of all students
Meet with attendance supervisor	N. Williams A. Kidd	Nov. 11th 2013 Nov. 15th 2013 End of 2nd 6 weeks	Attendance list Activities list  Grade reports	Evaluate absences and 2nd  6 weeks grades of all students
Meet with attendance supervisor	N. Williams A. Kidd	Dec. 20th 2013 Jan 6th 2014  End of 3rd 6 weeks	Attendance list Activities list  Grade reports	Evaluate absences and 3rd 6 weeks grades of all students
Meet with attendance supervisor	N. Williams A. Kidd	Feb 25th 2013 Feb. 28th 2013 End of 4th 6 weeks	Attendance list Activities list  Grade reports	Evaluate absences and 4th 6 weeks grades of all students
Meet with attendance supervisor	N. Williams A. Kidd	Apr. 21st 2013 Apr 24th 2013 End of 5th 6 weeks	Attendance list Activities list  Grade reports	Evaluate absences and 5th  6 weeks grades of all students
Meet with attendance supervisor	N. Williams A. Kidd  M. Hallmark	May 19th 2013 May 23rd 2013 EOC Test results	Attendance list Activities list  EOC Test results	Evaluate absences, grades, and EOC scores
Meet with site supervisor to discuss results	N. Williams  K. Bodine	Jun. 5th 2013 June 6th 2013 End of the Year results	Data from results over the school year by 6 weeks	Evaluate data to determine ideas for overall  improvement.

New Idea on Action Research Plan

After several discussion with my principle and peers. I think I am going to look into researching students who are apart of Extra-Curricular Activities vs. students who are not apart Extra-Curricular Activities. I want to look into the students testing scores, classroom grades, and attendance. I want to really focus on the grades and attendance to see how many days the students miss and for what purpose they miss. How many days does the average athlete, band, choir, ROTC student miss vs. the students who are not associated with school activities. How do the absences affect the students, if at all? I want to compare grades as well, due to the fact that the common misconception is that athletes are dumb jocks. Through out my career I have noticed a very different trend. In fact, I have seen that the majority of a school's student body, who are actively participating in extra-curricular activities, are actually at the top of their class academically.  I want to see how accurate that is in the HS level. I am sure there are already studies of some sort out there, I know there are for colleges. But I am looking forward to this due to the fact that I want to be an athletic director someday.

Action Research

Administrative inquiry, stated by our prescribed authors, is the process of a principle engaging in systematic, intentional study of his/ her own administrative practice and taking action for a change based on what he/ she learns as a result of the inquiry.  Inquiring professionals seek out change and reflect on their practice by posing questions or “wonderings,” collecting data to gain insight into their wonderings, analyzing the data along with reading relevant literature, making changes in practice based on new understandings developed during inquiry, and sharing findings with others.  (Dana, 2009)

The need for inquiry is the essential component in order to establish a firm foundation for school improvement.  Inquiry is investigating in a systematic way.  It is examining data, asking questions, and requesting more information.  The inquiry process, based on logical reasoning, requires the collection of information in a systematic way. (Harris, 2010)

The steps in an Inquiry are a lot like those of problem solving.  You identify the problem, brainstorm possible solutions and pick the best one.  You apply it and see if the results solve the problem. 

Action research in general is where the practitioner inquiry movement focuses on the concerns of the practitioner (not outside researchers) and engages practitioners in the design, data collection, and interpretation of data around their question. (Dana, 2009)  Teachers and administrators that are involved with the everyday happenings have better insight to what will work or what the problem is.  Outsiders from Universities are not at the school in a day to day setting and their analysis of the situation may sometimes be delusional.

It appears to me that Action Research is an idea, which you can apply to improve your own administrative practice, as well as other areas of academic work.  By being the one that brings up the research subject, you can examine it and modify it to fit your needs a little better.  Traditional education research is trying to fit someone else’s ideas and solutions to your problems when in fact they are not the same thing.  No one knows more about your class than you do and you should be the one to implement new ideas and they should come from your research.