Action Research Plan

ACTION RESEARCH PROJECT

PROCESS OVERVIEW

Reading Program: success rate and future strategies

1. SETTING THE FOUNDATION –

After collaborating with the site supervisor, a wondering arose concerning the success rate of the current reading program and how it can be strengthened to ensure that each student who reads below grade level on the high school campus can increase his or her lexile level.

2. ANALYZING DATA –

Data will be collected from SRI, SFA, TAKS, informal, and formal assessments to monitor student progress throughout an academic school year in the content area of Reading. The entire student population of one Reading teacher will be used to provide data, statistics, and percentages.  

3. DEVELOPING DEEPER UNDERSTANDING –

After initial data is gathered, further monitoring is required. As this process unfolds, research on past reading strategies that have been proven to work will be conducted. Once these strategies have been identified, the school stakeholders will be contacted to discuss which teaching practices should be implemented to ensure student success. A list of pros and cons, along with a final decision will be documented.

4. ENGAGE IN SELF-REFLECTION –

Self-reflection will be utilized to look at the action research plan objectively. Certain reflection questions will be asked in order to understand consequences of the implemented strategies concerning the reading program. The following questions will help achieve this goal.

• Do I possess the skills and resources needed to conduct a successful action research project that reflects my selected solutions?

• If I like the idea of using more technology in the classroom, do I have the skills or the resources needed to monitor student success?

• If I like the idea of using more differentiated instruction, do I have a viable approach and the skills needed to implement it?

• Do I possess the necessary means to collect data?

• Is the data reliable and does it reflect the statistics needed to evaluate the reading program and teaching strategies that influence student success?

5. EXPLORING PROGRAMMATIC PATTERNS –

After talking with the site supervisor and other administrative staff, it became evident that there are pros and cons of the solutions used to solve the problem of below grade level readers. The pros of the action research plan are reliable assessments and data, and good teaching strategies. The con is that it might be hard to evaluate the success of differentiated instruction.  An increase in formal and informal assessments may or may not be correlated with differentiated instruction; other factors might influence the results. The site supervisor believes that the SRIs, SFAs, TAKS tests, and other assessments are essential in collecting reliable data. She also believes that the good teaching practices are crucial for student success.   

6. DETERMINING DIRECTION –

After reviewing the action research draft and discussing it with the site supervisor and appropriate administrative staff, it has become evident that the topic is clear and will produce reliable data.

The skills and resources have been adequately addressed.

A collaborative approach has been established.  

The time lines are realistic and feasible to complete.

There is a reasonable plan to monitor the project.

There is also a reasonable plan to determine the level of success.

Revision and improvement of the plan will be based on constant and consistent assessments. Revisions will be made by implementing or taking away teaching strategies that influence student learning.

7. TAKING ACTION FOR SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT

A committee will be created to assist with the action research project.  A written plan of action will be given to the members of the committee. Also, data will be shared with committee members. The data will summarize the progress of the action research project; it will reflect the success rate of the current reading program and teaching strategies that have increased the lexile scores of students who read below grade level.

8. SUSTAIN IMPROVEMENT

Positive results will be utilized to improve the learning and culture of the Reading classroom. The results will also be shared with teachers on campus, within the school district, and online. The action research process will strengthen my teaching skills and be applied to my overall professional development.

Action Research

During week two, I have learned many different aspects of action research. According to Dana (2009), there are nine major wonderings of many school leaders: staff development, curriculum development, individual teacher(s), individual student(s), school culture/community, leadership, management, school performance, and social justice or equity issues. In order to run a school in excellence, these nine major areas need to be researched and reviewed so that strengths and weakness are exposed. As an administrator, I will allow teachers to preform action research; this will allow reliable and campus specific data to be collected.  As a result of teachers conducting action research, real problems and solutions will be revealed. 

Resource:
Dana, N.F. (2009). Leading with passion and knowledge: The principal as action researcher.
Thousand Oaks, CA: Crowin Press.

Action Research

Action research is a process of wondering; it allows an administrator to become an active participant in a problem solving environment. Administrative inquiry longs for change; therefore, it will find out what the current problems on a campus are and seek out to solve these problems. This takes a set of steps: wonder, collection of data, insight, analyzing of data with readings that are relevant, changes, and a sharing of data (Dana, 2009).

I have learned that action research requires reflection. It forces an administrator to take the time to take the time to evaluate past decisions. This requires the administrator to find out if and why certain decisions had positive or negative outcomes. Secondly, it allows for change to occur on a need to need basis. Sometimes, a new idea, procedure, or policy will work for a time, but then needs to be tweaked or removed based on the changing needs of students. Also, reflection reveals strengths and weaknesses of a leader. This helps the administrator sharpen his or her leadership skills. 

There are many ways I could use action research as an administrator. First of all, I could participate in district meetings that gather input from principals to find out current problems and strategies on how to solve them. Second, I could create a leadership team that would share the responsibility of finding out the needs of the campus and make good decisions based on data and input. Lastly, I could implement a professional learning community on campus. This would help create an atmosphere that encourages collaboration and creative ways to implement best teaching practices.

Educational leaders might use blogs to promote a learning community on campus. Faculty and staff could link their blogs to stay in constant communication about problems and issues that arise on campus. This would allow a collection of data to occur. Then, strategies and solutions could be formulated.

Resource:

Dana, Nancy Fichtman (2009). Leading with passion and knowledge: The principal as action researcher.     Thousand Oaks, CA: Cowin Press.