Action
Research Report Components
Directions:
·
Using the following
eight outline elements, write your paper at the end of this assignment document
in the space entitled Draft Action Research Project Report.
a.
Title – Provide a clear,
brief title that describes your Action Research Project. This title should
describe what you are trying to find out, not what you think you will
find. (5 points)
TITLE
– Is an Elective Worth the Grade?
b.
Needs Assessment – Indicate how the need
for an improvement was determined. Note the data collected to support the need.
Present the data in a disaggregated manner in terms of ethnicity, and gender.
(5 points)
I
have recently switched districts/campuses.
Until about two days ago I planned on sticking with the same action
research topic I had decided on months ago.
On Thursday afternoon my campus principal finally persuaded me to change
topics. We have a small population on
our campus that seems to report low raw scores on their state assessments in
recent years. Due to the budget cuts and
the lack of volunteers we’re are unable to provide quality tutoring sessions
afterschool like we used to. In the past
my district had implemented a program where 30-50 struggling students would
staff afterschool for “9th period”.
This program provided tutorials, transportation, & snacks for those
students. Since this is now unavailable
we had to think of a way to get this same quality of differentiated instruction
to our students. After coming to my new
campus and looking at the data we have a small percentage of students that
scored a raw score range of 2-14 on their math STAAR exam and a 5-17 on their
English STAAR exam. We need to do
something about this.
c.
Objectives and Vision
of the action research project. (ELCC 1.1) – After completing the needs assessment,
develop a vision relating to the improvement needed and develop an action
research project that includes measureable objectives in terms of expected
results. (5 points)
Our
campus vision is to take these students and provide the tier 2 & 3
instruction they need. They will have
weekly measurable check points in math and English. For those tier 3 students, we have a number
of teachers that will work with them one-on-one weekly and work on the areas of
need for those particular students. The
objective for this year is to get these students out of our Learning Power
classroom and improve their upcoming test scores. The goal for this year is to have at least
75% of these students meet the state expectations on the exam that they had
trouble with in previous years (English or math).
d.
Review of the
Literature and Action Research Strategy – Apply Best Practice to Student Learning
(LCC 2.3) – Review recent literature related to the topic of your research
project. The research should support why your action research plan would be
described as a best practice or possible solution to improving achievement or
culture. The review of the literature should be written in APA style with a
reference page listing the sources. Explain the decision making process for
implementing the action research project. Who was involved? What was
considered? What decisions were made? (5 points)
Since
I have changed my campus/district, I’ve changed my action research topic. I have been unable to find the appropriate
research to back my topic since this officially because my topic yesterday
morning after a long discussion with my site-supervisor. He has informed me that he is extremely
interested in the results and plans on doing some of his own research. We plan to collaborate and compare the
sources we find. I expect by early to
late November I will have had time to look through a number of sources and find
the appropriate ones for this assignment.
e.
Articulate the Vision
(ELCC 1.2) – Describe
how you communicated the vision of the action research project to staff,
parents, students, and community members. (5 points)
Students
and parents are all aware of the steps we are taking to improve our students
understanding, along with their scores.
In lieu of an elective, students were placed in a Learning Power
classroom. This class is designed so
that the students take charge of their learning and understand their strengths
and focus on the skills that they may be lacking. Our main focus of study is math, science
& English. Parents are in constant
contact with the teachers and given updates every three weeks on the progress
of their children. Students do have the
opportunity to place out of Learning Power and be placed back in to an elective
of their choice if they show significant improvement.
f.
Manage the
organization (ELCC 3.1) – Describe the strategy used for organizing the
implementation of the project noting responsibilities given to self and others
and how you managed any monies, time, materials, and people. Give examples of
how you put a priority on student learning and safety. (5 points)
The
management part of this project comes fairly easy to me. When I moved to this campus they decided to
start this program. This program doesn’t
cost the school any extra money since the students are participating in it
during the school hours. After getting
rid of the block schedule two years ago for math and English, teachers now have
less time to spend with the students in the classroom. In lieu of an elective, students are placed
in a Learning Power classroom to focus on their specific needs. The course is designed around each individual
student. As teachers of these classes we
have organized a separate folder for each student and this helps us and the
student see what they’re at and what skills they’ve mastered. In other words, it enables the students to
take charge of their own learning. I am
straightforward with my students and I tell them how it is and where they
stand. When the students receive the
truth and realize they can do better there is a surge of motivation that runs
through them. So I guess you could say
that the students help me manage this program.
g.
Manage Operations
(ELCC 3.2) – Describe
the strategy used to lead the operations of the project and set priorities.
Include a brief description of how you used the needs assessment, data, group
process skills, built consensus, communicated, and resolved conflict. (5
points)
Before
the year began all of the teachers associated with the Learning Power classes
got together and tore through an enormous amount of data. We looked at each individual student, each
subject, and each level of mastery for each TEK. Without the communication between grade level
and department teachers this program could not be possible. I am in constant contact with the core
subject teachers to ensure that my students are steadily progressing and
reaching their weekly goals. I also make
it a point to communicate to the students that this class isn’t a permanent
solution. They all know that they could
easily be placed back into an elective if they show continuous improvement and
prove to me that they can be organized while taking charge of their own
learning.
h.
Respond to Community
Interest and Needs (ELCC 4.2) – Describe how the action research project will serve
the needs of students with special and exceptional needs and students with
diverse backgrounds (cultural, ethnic, economic, or special interest groups)
Elaborate on methods used to address any specific needs of the school or
community. (5 points)
This last school year our campus was given Acceptable
status. This is unacceptable to us,
because we know we’re better than that.
As a district we need to improve in the areas of math and SPED. So, these learning power classes have mixture
of general education students along with SPED students. While focusing on the subjects of math,
English, and science we’re also improving/focusing on our SPED population. The Learning Power classes that have been
constructed have a blend of cultural, ethnic, economic and special needs
students. There parents/guardians are
kept up to date with through emails and three week progress reports. We’re a very open campus and encourage the
parents to contact us on a regular basis.
This is a program that will take care of multiple birds with one stone
if you will. I’m extremely proud of what
we have accomplished in just a few short weeks and can’t wait to see how the
rest of the school year goes.
No comments:
Post a Comment