Updates to Action Research Plan - Week 4

I received various suggestions from my classmates and my site supervisor.  

Changes implemented on my plan include:

• I will use yearly technology benchmark data that 5^th graders are required to take.
• I will include students in my surveys.
• There will not be a controlled group, only the experimental group.  However, I will be taking a sample group of 5-6 students from each class to participate in surveys.  I decided on adding this, and not entire classes, to avoid disruption of their daily activities. 
• I have added measuring student achievement by reviewing our students’ technology benchmark data.

Following is the updated Action Research Plan:
 

Technology in Lessons
Goal:  How can we get 4th and 5th grade teachers to implement technology in their lessons?
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Research other campuses and districts with similar action research projects in existence.  Research correlation between the use of technology in lessons and student achievement.	Leroy Barriga	July 2013	Internet access Survey Monkey	Research and surveys will determine if there is any other research project that answers my questions.
Research district data that has been gathered from the required end of the year technology benchmark assessments for 5th graders.	Leroy Barriga	July 2013	Internet Access District Data Campus Data Learning.com	This data will be reviewed to see how 5th grade students have historically done on technology benchmarks.  It will also be used as a baseline for on-going comparisons throughout the years.
Design a survey for administrators and teachers in 4th and 5th grade to complete before school begins.  The survey will determine how teachers feel about using technology in their lessons and how much is actually used at the present.	Leroy Barriga	July 2013	Internet Access Survey Monkey Email	Survey results will determine some of the use of technology in the classroom or the lack of technology in the class, or both.  Will this ultimately lead to increased student performance?  How can we measure that?
Design a survey for a sample of 4th and 5th grade students that will measure the students viewpoint of technology in the classroom.	Leroy Barriga	September 2013	Internet Access Survey Monkey	Survey results will show the culture that exists in the campus regarding how students feel about the use of technology in their lessons.
Meet with individual teachers and administrators to discuss my action research project and get clarification from the survey results.	Leroy Barriga 4th and 5th Grade Teachers Administrators	September 2013	Survey Results Survey Summary Develop guiding questions to stimulate conversation and discuss trends or changes needed	This meeting will determine if the teachers involved have an interest on my action research project and getting buy-in from them for my continued plan.
Repeat the beginning of the year survey to 4th and 5th grade teachers.	Leroy Barriga 4th and 5th Grade Teachers	March 2014	Internet Survey Monkey One-on-One interviews	Completed surveys and interviews.
Complete data analysis and research.	Leroy Barriga	April 2014	Survey Results Research	Visual displays of data results; graphs, spreadsheets, illustrations.
Present the results of my action research project to 4th and 5th grade teachers and administrators.	Leroy Barriga	May 2014	Finished Project/Final Report	Participants will complete an evaluation questionnaire to determine the success of presentation. (Limit it to 5 or fewer questions)

Leroy's Action Research Project

Technology in Lessons
Goal:  How can we get our 4th and 5th grade teachers to implement technology in their lessons?
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Research other campuses and districts to similar action research projects in existence.  Research correlation between the use of technology in lessons and student achievement.	Leroy Barriga	July 2013	Internet access Survey Monkey	Research and surveys will determine if there is any other research project that answers my questions.
Survey elementary administrators.	Leroy Barriga	July 2013	Internet access Survey Monkey	Research and surveys will determine if there is any other research project that answers my questions.
Design a survey for teachers in 4th and 5th grade to complete before school begins.	Leroy Barriga	July 2013	Internet Access Survey Monkey Email	Survey results will determine some of the use of technology in the classroom or the lack of technology in the class, or both.  Will this ultimately lead to increased student performance?  How can we measure that?
Design a survey and administer to administrators for their input.	Leroy Barriga	July 2013	Internet Access Survey Monkey Email	Survey responses will give the administrators views on why technology is lacking in the teachers’ lessons.  Will this ultimately lead to increased student performance?  How can we measure that?
Meet with individual teachers and administrators to discuss my action research project and get clarification from the survey results.	Leroy Barriga 4th and 5th Grade Teachers Administrators	September 2013	Survey Results Survey Summary	This meeting will determine if the teachers involved have an interest on my action research project and getting buy-in from them for my continued plan.
Repeat the beginning of the year survey to 4th and 5th grade teachers.	Leroy Barriga 4th and 5th Grade Teachers	March 2014	Internet Survey Monkey One-on-One interviews	Completed surveys and interviews.
Complete data analysis and research.	Leroy Barriga	April 2014	Survey Results Research	Visual displays of data results; graphs, spreadsheets, illustrations.
Present the results of my action research project to 4th and 5th grade teachers and administrators.	Leroy Barriga	May 2014	Finished Project/Final Report

Week Two - Action Research Project

--> In the Dana (2012) text,  the 9 major wonderings or areas of interest were introduced.  

They are:
1.  Staff development
2   Curriculum development
3.  Individual teacher(s)
4.  Individual student(s)
5.  School culture/community
6.  Leadership
7.  Management
8.  School performance
9.  Social Justice.

Each of these gave good examples of possible action research projects.  I found each to be important topics and found myself starting with “This is the most important…” because I thought they each were.   I had a difficult time narrowing down my research project until after I read this chapter.  I’m finding that keeping it simple will get me the best results in an action research project.  If I make it too involved, or unrealistic, my project will be less than par.

So far, I have narrowed down my action research project to:

How can we get veteran teachers to use technology in the delivery of their lessons. 

What I have learned about action research & Blogs.

Write a description of what you have learned about action research and how you might be able to use it.   

Administrative Inquiry or Action Research is about an individual (Principal/Teacher) trying to improve their practice.  It involves the methodical, intentional study of his own administrative/teaching practice and takes action for change based on what is learned from the inquiry.  

Reflection is an important aspect of action research because it is one of its key components.  These include:  inquiries, data collection, examine and analyze, take action and then reflect, and adjust if necessary.  

There are many benefits to conducting action research.  The main benefit is it allows the principal to look at his own practice and campus to see if there is effective change that needs to be made.  It provides a framework for systematic inquiry into one’s own practice.  The research is local and the researcher (principal) is an insider that is focused on a specific issue that is being inquired.  It allows administrators to make their reflection purposeful and visible.  This will help with buy-in from others.  Everyone involved in the process learns from each other.  

I will be able to use it as a teacher and as administrator.  It can be used with anything from simple issues to more complex situations.  I feel that the biggest component is always looking at my practice and getting input from my learning community.

Write an analysis of how educational leaders might use blogs.

There has been an increase in the use of blogs in many professions and personal lives in the recent past.  Educational leaders can use blogs in a variety of ways.  Teachers can use it as their classroom website and disseminate information to the students and parents on a daily basis, or on a do as you can basis.  Administrators can use blogs to keep teachers informed of school on-goings.  Parents can also be kept in the loop. 

Blogs make it easier for people to communicate because you can just post something you are thinking about on ‘the fly’ and not have to worry about composing a formal memo or email, or wait until the next faculty meeting to get the information out.  Another positive aspect of blogs is that they are interactive, which allows members to post ideas or responses to your initial entry.