Keepin' It Real - Really Complete!

After having to change my topic due to relocating to North Carolina, I have finally completed my Action Research Project. I decided to see if increasing students fluency in basic facts, would help increase their scores on benchmark assessments and hopefully their End of Course Exams. 

I saw that as students fact fluency increased there was a slight increase in their benchmark scores. I cannot report whether or not this will translate in to higher EOC scores because we don't test until the end of May. I do feel that the data supports that this will help by preventing the from getting worn out with tedious skills and allow them more energy to focus on more difficult content.

Parts of my Reflective Essay

During this course, I learned about how to effectively conduct Action Research on my campus. During the first week, I will admit that I was very confused on what would be required of me in this course of study. When I heard research, I thought paper, but as I read the material it did not present itself as writing a paper. After watching the first couple video lectures, I began to get a clearer picture of what I would be working on and these videos were very helpful. As a coach and Math teacher, I teach with lots of hands on to reach my visual/tactile learners and this is how I tend to learn best, as well. The videos gave me the visual learning aspect that I needed to fully engage and tied together the readings for me. Along with the readings and videos, I found the discussion boards and weekly overviews very helpful in understanding what was expected in each assignment. The final piece that helped with this course was the ability for my wife and I to discuss the course and figure things out together. We are working toward our Masters degree together and this has proven to be very valuable because what I don’t understand she usual does and vice versa. 

This inquiry further emerged from a need seen on our joint Junior High and High School Campuses. This is a problem that needs to be addressed because we have adopted a new CSCOPE curriculum that involves teaching the students via engaging hands on activities. Their being out of class means that they will miss these valuable lessons. The student’s lack of in class participation has led to decreased scores on benchmark exams, as well as daily assignments and class work. Sending assignments out to In School Suspension does not provide the students with adequate information and when they come out they are behind. The pace of the curriculum does not allow much time for back tracking or re-teaching. 

One thing I am going to have to watch for is my personal biases. I am going to have to be careful to not let the actions of a few detract from the learning of the group. I could see that my concern for the whole group could affect the results that I collect. Those are the two big things that I will have to watch. I will have to watch for biases passed on by hearsay about students from other coworkers. I can’t let their opinion affect my thoughts regarding the student. I learned through this course of study that I will have to do a lot of self reflection to ensure that I am not allowing my biases to push my study one way or the other. This will also help me to learn more about myself and help to illustrate the relevance of my study upon completion. 

Besides bias and teacher buy in, I am concerned about finding time to complete my internship hours, coursework, and research inquiry. As mentioned previously, I am a coach, as well as a teacher. This means that during football and softball season, I work over sixty hours a week. I will have to be very diligent with my time management to ensure that everything gets done and I will have to be certain to get as many internship activities completed in my off season and summer vacation, as possible. I have considered asking if I could take a leave of absence from coaching for a year, but with budget cuts as they are, we are very short on coaches and this is quite unlikely. As much, as I would like to be able to just teach and focus on my Masters, I will most likely not have that as an option in the school district where we currently work. As I like to say, it is what it is. I will do my best to keep ahead of the game so hopefully this will not become an issue.

As my other favorite saying goes and the title of my blog suggests, I will continue to work to keep it real. Learning all that I can. Teaching students and athletes what they need to know to succeed in life and at the end of the day, I will hope that I have made a difference that will last. 

References

Dana, N. (2009). Leading with Passion and Knowledge: The Principal as Action Researcher.

             California: Corwin.

Dewey, C., Gregory, A., Fan, X. & Sheras P. (2009). Practical Findings From the Virginia High School Safety Study: How are suspension rates related to dropout rates?. University of Virginia School of Education. Retrieved from http://youthviolence.edschool.virginia.edu/high_school_safety/pdf/vhss-one-pager-issue-7.pdf

Harris S, Edmonson, S. Combs, J. (2010). Examining What We Do To Improve Our

             Schools: 8 Steps From Analysis to Action. New York: Eye On Education.

Jeffrey, J. (2009). Race, Gender, School Discipline, and Human Capital Effects. Allbusiness.com. Retrieved from http://allbusiness.com/education-training/teaching-teachers-primary/12786638.1.html

Revised Action Research Plan

Goals and objectives/outcomes of the research investigation
Goal 1 – Decrease the Amount of Time At Risk and Low Income Students are removed from class for disciplinary action, including In School Suspension and Alternative Education Placement.
Goal 2 – Find Alternative Disciplinary Consequences to maximize time spent in the classroom by students in Target Population.
Goal 3 – Improve student success in classroom work and on benchmark exams by students in Target Population
Goal 4 – Create a program that encourages Teacher Buy in/Support from 85% of the staff on our campus.

Activities designed to achieve the objectives

Ø  Survey Staff on ideas for need and types of alternative discipline ideas completed in May 2012

Ø  Start of committee to come up with solutions to keeping Target Population kids in the classroom maximum amount of time. (Start in May 2012 –February 2013)

Ø  Disaggregate Data to share with committee to show need for Action Research Plan in this Area (Start February 2012-May 2012)

Ø  Self – Reflection to identify any areas of bias that may affect our results.

Resources and research tools needed for data gathering

Ø  List of At Risk and Economically Disadvantaged Students in 7^th through 10^th Grade

Ø  Quantitative Measures: 6 week Report Cards, Benchmark Scores, and TAKS Scores

Ø  Interview Students in Target Populations with parent permission

Ø  Interview Focus Group of Students not in Target Populations to see how negative student behavior affects their learning in the classroom with parent permission

Ø  Survey Staff and Parents regarding beliefs about school cultures/climate with focus on student behavior and discipline

Draft timeline for completion or implementation of activities

Ø  May 2012 – Select Sample Size of Target Population by disaggregating data of ECD/At Risk Students with multiple Discipline referrals resulting in time spent in ISS or AEP.

Ø  March-May 2012 – Look at data to chart grades throughout year in regards to time spent out of classroom serving disciplinary action in ISS or AEP.

Ø  April-May 2012 – Interview students, Survey staff and parents and form Action Committee to address needs.

Ø  August-December 2012 – Implement Alternative Forms of Discipline with ISS being reserved for severe behavior, as agreed upon by the staff.

Ø  January – February 2013 – Benchmark Data obtained

Ø  February 2013 – Review Data to see if interventions have been successful. Revise Action Plan as necessary or continue if results show progress.

Persons responsible for implementation of the action research plan

Ø  Assigning Discipline – Assistant Principal

Ø  Brainstorming Alternative Discipline – Shawn Adkins, Marquelle Adkins and the Action Committee

Ø  Data Disaggregation – Shawn Adkins and Marquelle Adkins

Process for monitoring the achievement of goals and objectives

Ø  Compare report card grades from previous year

Ø  Compare benchmark scores from previous year.

Ø  Compare number of referrals written to previous year.

Ø  Compare time spent out of classroom to previous year.

Assessment instrument(s) to evaluate the effectiveness of the action research study

Ø  Quantitative – Benchmarks, Report Card Grades, Time Spent in ISS/AEP, and Number of Discipline Referrals

Ø  Qualitative – Teacher survey, Parent Survey, and Student Interviews.

References

Dana, N. (2009). Leading with Passion and Knowledge: The Principal as Action Researcher.

             California: Corwin.