Web Conference Reflection - School Community Relations Class

I was able to attend one web conference during this course. I enjoyed being able to attend. It allowed me to be able to get questions answered and hear what others were thinking. It was also beneficial to hear other information that was presented regarding requirements of the masters program. Many of which I still need to complete. When I can't attend the web conferences I try to read the conversations on-line. Thanks for having them.

New Action Research Topic

Due to changes with administration and needs of the district my supervisor has decided it would be best to change the action research topic. She has asked me to help her with this action research study on the reliability and validity of universal screeners in math and reading. We currently have a universal screener we have used in the past but have the opportunity to use a couple of other screeners at no or little cost. We are currently looking at using three screeners with a possibility of a fourth. We are going to set up a study at the elementary level to determine which screener is best for our district. We are looking at two key aspects. First, we are going to look at the relationship between a universal screener and the accompanying intervention on student performance as measured by the state assessment. Secondly, we are going to look at the validity and reliability of screeners from various vendors in determining appropriate interventions. We will determine the results by looking at how the students performed on the state test last year in comparison to performance this year. We also realize there are several factors that we cannot control: absolute fidelity to the program, teacher variability, technical support, and student motivation. We have spent time researching and picking the screeners, writing and editing the proposal, and dividing the schools with each screener. We have also had several meetings with key members of the research team. At this time schools have received their assignments and are currently screening or waiting for more information.

Action Research Plan

The Purpose Of My Action Research

The purpose of my action research study is to determine what teaching strategies make the biggest impact on state writing scores.  I am interested in researching this area because the state writing scores were the lowest content scores in our district.  This is a real need to investigate and research.  First I will study the research regarding best practices to teach writing.  I also plan to look at teaching strategies from teachers who scored high as well as the teachers who did not.  I will also take into consideration the student data, student demographics, teacher data, teacher surveys, and any other factors that could impact the data. 

How Educational Leaders Might Use Blogs

There are numerous ways that educational leaders could use blogs.  Leaders could use blogs to monitor and share information regarding any action research studies they are facilitating or participating in.  They could also encourage other committees and/or PLC’s throughout the school to use blogs to record any reflections or ideas they are investigating. This would be a great tool to share minutes or main ideas from staff, curriculum, department, and grade-level meetings.  Since the main purpose of a blog is to reflect on current issues, happenings, and concerns; a blog is a fantastic tool leaders could use to engage with their staff, district and community. 

Action Research and Uses

Administrative action research is the systematic process of looking at a problem, concern or issue in an administrator’s practice or school.  Through action research he/she is able to self evaluate issues and develop a plan to change the outcome.  The process of action research includes addressing the problem, collecting and analyzing data, collaborating with colleagues, exploring patterns and developing a plan.  When a plan is in place implementation can begin.  Throughout implementation it is very important to evaluate and monitor progress with regularly planned checkpoints.  The final step of sustaining the plan will begin once the desired results are met.  Throughout this entire process the administrator will monitor and evaluate progress to make sure the process is still on track to reach the final goal.  Action research is a process that can be utilized anytime depending on the issue at hand.  Becoming a leader who uses action research regularly will discover a better awareness of his/her personal daily activities and school wide concerns.  This process of administrative action research allows professional growth as a leader, school, district and community.  Continuing this practice of action research will allow constant growth and awareness of problems or concerns before they become huge issues.  The overall idea is to continually look into how you are performing and what outcomes you are getting. 

 

Action research can be used on a number of different issues or concerns. My supervisor used action research this past school year to evaluate the efficacy of an instructional resource.  I could see administrators using it to look at programs geared toward raising academic performance, examine interventions for discipline issues, investigate improving student motivation, improve parent involvement by gathering data on strategies implemented, and increase school morale through strategic goals, to name a few.