Reflections of EDLD 5301

EDLD 5301 has been a pleasant surprise.  Before starting this course, I worried over having to complete some monotonous research over something that had little to do with my circumstances or me.  With the first lecture, I realized this was going to be different.  The first week introduced the concept of action research.  The steps of action research were related and tips were provided with each step.  Dr. Arterbury (2012) suggested we meet with our site supervisors to discuss issues on our campuses that could be researched and resolutions found to improve the student-learning environment.  When presenting my site mentor with my ideas, she nixed two of the three and said she wanted me out of my comfort zone because that is where the real learning takes place.  Week two brought learning on the criteria used when selecting our action research topic.  Dr. Jenkins (2012) discussed the purpose and significance of the research.  By putting it in “English” and giving us the “will do” or “what we will look at” for the purpose and “so what?” question for the significance (Arterbury & Jenkins, 2012), I was better able to devise my topic of concern relatively stress-free.  The tools presented here, provided an easy way to devise a good quality topic. Steps to follow in our action plan were the focus of week three.  More information was given about the 8 steps as outlined in the text Examining what we do to improve our schools:  8 steps from analysis to action by Harris, Edmonson, and Combs.  Each step was explained and examples were given which served as a practical resource to the book.  The fourth week lecture brought a clarity that we were not expected to be experts yet, which relieved my anxiety of the need for the research to be perfect.  The topic of challenges was addressed with helpful examples of some of the challenges we might face.  I learned that through my challenges, others would benefit as well. The focus for our last week’s lecture was the importance of meeting with our site supervisors to discuss our research plan.  The connection between the research and internship was made and the expectation to immerse one’s self in as many leadership roles as possible to gain valuable experience was related as well.   In meeting with my site mentor again, she posed several very good questions about my data collection tools dealing with student engagement and student success.  I was prompted to go back to literature for similar research on the topics.  The assigned readings were given from two texts, which were extremely helpful in this process.    Leading with Passion and Knowledge: The Principal as Action Researcher by Nancy Dana Fichman fondly termed The Dana Text contained a wealth of information.   For example, the data that I will collect for student engagement will be through observations.  I was planning to look at the video and divide the class into 15-minute intervals.  Fichman (2010) suggests when this type of data is being collected, individual activities should be looked at every 2-3 minutes.  This does make more sense to me and endorses a reasonable method of collection.  Another paradigm comes from Examining What We Do to Improve Our Schools: 8 Steps from Analysis to Action.  This text gives us tools to get us through the steps of research.  A trust inventory is a tool provided in step 1.  Leaders are able to reproduce this to ensure their environment is barrier free when preparing to implement change (Harris, Edmonson, Combs, 2010).  This would be a useful tool for our school since a majority of the staff is suspicious of any new reform the administration wishes to execute.  Once the teachers are open to inquiry and change, the subsequent chapters provide further tools to guide leaders to create the culture of inquiry on the campus and to set the environment for success. The weekly discussion boards gave me a chance to cogitate about specific topics that pertained to my action research.  Normally, when not required to do so, the thinking process seems to be the last thing that occurs; consequently, products come out substandard.  Due to specific topics given each week that pertain to the weekly assignment, I am allowed the time needed to think things through, express my thoughts and ideas, and get feedback from my colleagues.  For example, the first discussion board question required me to think about and discuss why my topic for research is beneficial to my school.  Even though I thought I had my plan complete, each successive week made me think about new avenues and forced me to make some adjustments.  Overall, the discussion boards are a valuable activity to students. Another asset to us is the blogs.  The more I use them, the more familiar I become with how useful they can be in many aspects of my job and life.   In EDLD 5306, we used them to reflect on the new things we were learning; however, in EDLD 5301 we actually are using them as a tool for our research.  It is a minute difference between the two, but when I am using a tool to help me reach a goal as I am with my inquiry, then it becomes more meaningful.  In Leading with Passion and Knowledge: The Principal as Action Researcher, Fichman (2010) discusses the usefulness of blogs and compares it to the pensieve used by Professor Dumbledore to revisit memories, thoughts, and to seek new ways of thinking.  After reading this and making that connection, I created a blog for each one of the teachers I am coaching as our own “pensieve” of knowledge.  I also went back to mine and made it more usable to my research goals. The assignments are appropriate to the objective for each week.   By assigning specific readings from the text and then having us reflect on uses of the material in our own practices, served to reinforce the importance of the information being given.  My frustrations concerning time constraints were eliminated because the activities were doable in a week’s time in addition to working a full time job.  I feel like I have gained a deeper understanding of the content being presented through the presentation methods (web conferences, assignments, and blogs), discussion boards, readings, and lectures.   The curriculum for this course scaffolded and completed the overall goals. Overall, the assignments, texts, blogs, lectures, and discussion boards served as a guide through the material and ingrained new information into my leadership repertoire.  By designing each piece to support the other, I feel I have achieved success. Arterbury, E. & Jenkins, S. (2012). Week 1 introduction (PDF file).  Retrieved from    https://lamar.epiclms.net/Learn/Player.aspx?enrollmentid=2408928 Arterbury, E. & Jenkins, S. (2012). Week 2 introduction (PDF file).  Retrieved from   https://lamar.epiclms.net/Learn/Player.aspx?enrollmentid=2408928 Fichman, Nancy Dana.  (2010).  Leading with passion and knowledge: The principal as     action researcher.  Thousand Oaks, CA:  Corwin Press. Harris, S., Edmonson, S., and Combs, J. (2010). Examining what we do to improve our    schools:  8 steps from analysis to action.  Larchmont, NY: Eye on Education.

"In the Hands of Students" Action Research

Jacqueline A. Casey

Action Research

“In the Hands of Students”

 

School Vision

Hutto High School is committed to advance student achievement beyond state and national standards and to prepare students for post-secondary opportunities.  Each member of our school community will utilize twenty-first century skills and best practices.  

 

Our shared values include:

·      Multiple opportunities for students to be successful and demonstrate their accomplishments

·      Engaging and rigorous instructional practices

·      Timely, accurate, and pertinent data to drive instruction

·      Trusting and collegial professional learning communities

Goal

It is the goal of this researcher to determine the relationship between the use of Mimio Pads in the biology classrooms to student engagement and student achievement.

 

QUESTION

Does the use of the Mimio Pads by students promote or inhibit student engagement and achievement in a secondary biology classroom?

 

Outcome

It is expected that the use of the technology by students will increase student engagement substantially and will improve student achievement notably as indicated by student class grades, common assessments, and verbal evaluations.

Evaluation Tools:

à      Researcher Observations

à      Student Learning Surveys

à      3 week Common Assessments

à      Daily evaluation of success tool

à      Student Engagement Tool

à      Verbal Evaluations

Questions to Answer:

1.     What does student engagement look like to you?

2.     What are those characteristics that prove engagement?

3.     How will you know if a student is successful each day?

4.     What will you use to gage that success?

5.     Does success look different for each student?  If so why?  How?

6.     How will the students use the technology?  Individually, paired, or grouped?

7.     What type of activities will need to be created in order to effectively integrate the technology to ensure learning takes place in all students?

 

 

Activities	Person(s) Responsible	Timeline	Resources/ Tools	Evaluation
1.  Principal and I discuss ideas for action research.  Narrow it down to one that will focus on our at-risk discipline and sub-groups.	J. Casey, researcher   B. Baker, Site Mentor (Principal)	January 24, 2012 @ 2:30 pm.	Presentation of Research Plan	Site Mentor Approval of Plan
2.  Discuss plan with teacher and co-teacher to determine which classes would be most benefited by this study. Answer important Questions	B. Hutchinson, Teacher   D. Raynor, Co-teacher   J. Casey, Researcher	January 25, 2012 February 7, 2012	Class demographics   Common Assessment scores from past 5 CBAs	Diverse classes/sampling of target groups   Gaps between target groups and non-target groups
3.  Literature: Seek previously conducted research with focus on Mimio pad technology.	J. Casey, Researcher	January 27, 2012- January 29, 2012	Internet   Technology publications	Chart findings of others as reference
4.  Observations: Observe classes 1, 3, and 5 Focus: Engagement Successful Day	J. Casey, Researcher	February 8, 2012-February 16, 2012	Student engagement tool   Student success tool   Student Rosters	Chart observation data
5.   Student Survey: Administer student learning survey	Teacher & Co-teacher   J. Casey, Researcher	February 17, 2012	Student Learning Survey	Chart activities students chose as effective learning methods
6.  Using charts from Literature research, observation data, and learning surveys, discuss ways of integrating and implementing new learning strategies within the biology instruction.	J. Casey, Researcher   Teacher & Co-teacher	Begin February 23, 2012 – ongoing with each new objective.	Charts from observations, literature, and learning surveys   Upcoming objectives	Lesson/Unit Plans
7.  Implementation of new instructional strategies	Teacher & Co-Teacher   Campus Instructional Technologist   J. Casey, Researcher	March 5, 2012- June 5, 2012	Technology   Engagement tool   Success Measure Tool	Observations of engagement Student Success measure Common Assessments Daily Grades Unit exams Verbal communication
8.  Reflect on Data with biology teacher, co-teacher and Site Mentor to determine future actions for incoming students	J. Casey, Researcher   B. Baker, Site Mentor (Principal)   B. Hutchinson, Teacher   D. Raynor, Co-teacher	June 6, 2012	Common Assessments data August-May   Grades each 6 weeks   STAAR test results   Engagement Data   Student Achievement Data	Chart data from beginning to end to show trends
9.  Reflect on methods used  (What worked? What didn’t? What was useful?   What wasn’t?  How might I change the process?)  for incoming biology students?	J. Casey, Researcher   B. Baker, Site Mentor (Principal)	June 11, 2012- June 22, 2012	All student data   All charts, graphs, spreadsheets   Observation notes   Collection tools	Revise plan before August start
10.  Publish findings of preliminary year for campus teachers	J. Casey, researcher	Completed preliminary report by August 15, 2012	District Blog   Presentation to colleagues   Video posted on website   Brochure	Colleague Feedback