My Action Research in Context

A description of the context or setting of your study:Prior to the study I have to set up the website with as much information for new teachers as is humanly possible. I will continue to gather more information as the study itself begins and progresses. I will introduce the website to new teachers during their professional development week prior to veteran teachers returning to work. Subsequently, the study will take place on the district intranet which will house a site for my topic which I named "New Teacher Resources". That site will have pages for announcements, resources and links, and a discussion board. An operational definition of your target population:New teachers - any teacher that has just been hired into the district, including teachers who have taught previously in other districts. (The definition is being expanded to include 2nd year teachers.)How you will select your sample:That will be determined for me and will include all new hires. A brief rationale for your sample size:I believe that my mentors want every new hire to participate, especially since they want everyone to begin using the intranet. However, I have not gotten any information from the curriculum director who is in charge of the mentoring program and I do not know if participation will be mandatory. I am somewhat at the mercy of the mentoring program. My sample size will include new hires from this year as well as next year. I happened to see the curriculum director this morning and that is what she told me. She does not expect many new hires in the upcoming year but we all think it will benefit the teachers already here in the district. With new hires from this year and next she estimates about 40 teachers who will participate.A brief description of how you will conduct your research:My research will be conducted through pre, mid, and post surveys, and through monitoring the discussion board and the ways that the teachers use the information provided, or whether or not they use the site at all.

My Action Planning Template

Action Planning Template Goal: Provide new teachers and their mentors with resources and extra support for acclimation and to enable greater technology use and integration in the classroom. Action  Steps(s): Person(s) Responsible: Timeline: Start/End Needed Resources Evaluation Search for literature  on research topic Petrella 4/13/2012 Internet access Relevance to topic Set up site on  district intranet. Site will include: Web links Tutorials Discussion board Petrella Beeson 4/18/2012 8/1/ 2012 Any existing tutorials for technology used  by the district.  If a tutorial does  not exist, I need  access to the  technology in order to create the tutorial or find existing tutorial on the web. Various web links Check list Search intranet and internet for existing tutorials Petrella 4/20/2012 District intranet and internet Check list Review websites for relevance and quality Petrella 4/20/2012 Internet Relevant, current, reliable Review existing literature on research topic. Petrella 4/20/2012 websites and articles Relevance to topic Create presentation for new teachers Petrella 6/?/2012 Computer, MS Office Teacher evaluations Present to new teachers/mentors and have them answer survey or show them where to find survey if using survey monkey Petrella Pepukayi Panchisin 8/?/2012 A scheduled time for presenting, computer. LCD projector, names of new teachers and their mentors with email addresses. Teacher evaluations  and surveys Host discussion board for data gathering Petrella 8/27/2012 12/1/2012 District intranet Teacher comments on the discussion board Survey teachers/mentors Petrella 12/1/2012 Internet Data Analyze data Petrella 12/?/2012  Klein Data results Implement improvements in the process if necessary Petrella 12/?/2012 Depends upon data Teacher surveys Host discussion board for more data Petrella 12/1/2012 5/31/2013 District intranet Teacher comments on the discussion board Survey teachers/mentors Petrella 5/31/2013 Internet Data Analyze new data Petrella 6/?/2013 Klein Data results Conclusions and recommendations Petrella 6/?/2013 Computer, MS Office Written report and discussion Format based on Tool 7.1 from Examining What We Do to Improve Our Schools (Harris, Edmonson, and Combs, 2010)

Week Two

This week has been interesting but I have been finding it a bit difficult to articulate my thoughts in the assignment for the week.  I have enjoyed listening to the ideas presented in the video interviews.  It is obvious that everything in education from now on will be data driven.  That is what I learned from reading my school district's technology plan in EDLD 5311ET, and that is what all of the scholars talked about in the interviews.  We will be riding the data wave until we finally achieve the success of all students.  Is that possible?  I suppose that depends upon the definition of success.  I have worked with extremely diverse student populations and I do know that success is different for everyone.

I also had email communication with my mentors.  We discussed research ideas and my research project.  I think my plan has been narrowed enough at this point in time.  I began setting up the intranet site which will house information for new teachers and a discussion board.  The plan is becoming much clearer to me.

My Action Research - Purpose and Significance

The purpose of my action research is to provide extra support for new teachers and their mentors, by gathering and providing information/tutorials about tasks and topics related to performance in the teaching profession. Topics will include but not be limited to: using eschool/electronic grade books, implementing the use of various technologies in the classroom, how to access, and use epay and benefits, using the district intranet, etc. 

I will look at data from pre and post interviews and questionnaires, as well as receive feed back in the form of questions or comments about how the teachers are using the website and information, and what they need that is not already there.

The significance is that mentors will be able to help their new teachers more easily, new teachers will be able to quickly and easily find answers to many of their questions and be able to focus more energy on teaching, and subsequently, students will benefit. 

Action Research

Prior to this course, I had never heard of action research.  I was interested to learn that it has been around for a while and has been a form of professional development for teachers for some time now.

In my 12 years of teaching it has always been expected that teachers in my district would be reflective of their practices.  However, reflection for me has always has meant that I would analyze my own practices and then make adjustments based upon instincts, what had been taught in methods classes, or asking colleagues for suggestions.  Maybe the way I reflect has not been that far from action research but it has always felt a bit scattered to me and I certainly have never felt that I ever had the time to look for any literature on the subject/problem I was facing.  That would be especially true of recent years where there is little or no collegiality between administrators and teachers.

I have learned that action research is a systematic and sometimes cyclical approach to problem solving for improvement in teaching and learning.  It means taking time to look for any research and literature on a particular issue that an individual teacher or the school as a whole might be experiencing in order to be able to develop a plan of action that is based on solid scientific practices.

Instead of just guessing and feeling scattered and hurried to find a solution, it requires taking time to gather and review literature, according to the inquiry, developing a plan, putting the plan into action with viable ways of collecting data, analyzing the data, and finally evaluating the successes and short comings.  It then begins a new cycle with changes in the plan based on the data analysis from the first cycle, and the collection of more data and so on.  The process continues until the desired results have been achieved.  It could only take one cycle but it is not a failure if the process goes on for longer than that.

This process brings greater value to the act of reflection because there is measurable data to guide decisions.  If all teachers and administrators were allowed the time to follow this process there would be less stress and scattered thinking because of the immediate need for solutions.  It seems that taking the time for action research might actually yield better solutions faster than scattered thoughts and ideas masquerading as solutions.

 This is a process that is valuable for a teacher working alone to solve a problem specific to a single classroom and for groups of teachers and administrators working together for the greater good of the whole school.  Whether working alone or in groups it is empowering and instead of placing blame it allows for an open approach to problem solving.

I probably could have used action research to solve some issues I was having with some very stubborn 7th grade students.  However, for the time being, I have found that reverse psychology is working quite nicely.  Should I ever need another plan, I would do some inquiry for that.

I can see using this for our PLCs.  The team of related arts teachers in my building have PLC meetings, but we don't get to use them properly because our PLCs are not data driven. We are a diverse group so there isn't any data that we can work from.  However, we might be able to think about things differently and use inquiry to solve some issues with students that we all teach.

In the near future secondary art teachers will be having distance PLC meetings via Blackboard.  We can use inquiry to solve problems that are specific to teaching art.  Since we rarely meet with each other I can't give any examples on what that might be like.  However, it seems likely that things will become evident as we get to learn more about each other and the issues that we face in our classrooms.

Blogs for Educational Leaders

It seems to me that an important aspect of blogging for administrators is to be able to communicate with other administrators on a regular basis.  It enables them to discuss important and sometimes not so important ideas with other administrators.  I think the ability to blog/talk with other administrators might be a good way to help relieve stress.

Another way that administrators can use blogs would be for an open forum for parent communication.  I think it much end up being a good way for parents to help each other as well as communicate ideas, questions, and concerns to the principal.

I was thinking about blogging with staff, under the right circumstances it could be a really great thing.  There might be some challenges that go along with that, for various reasons.

Another thought is for administrators to set up a blog for any special events at the school.  That might be a good way to answer questions about the event or events that could save on a lot of phone calls.

My Action Research Plan

This is what I have so far.  I plan to make some changes by trimming this project down a bit so I can accomplish my goals in a shorter period of time.  However, I or someone else can still follow up after years 2 and 3 to see how this plan might have an effect in the long term.

Action research questions:

Can the use of technology resources help new teachers in PK through 12 environments to acclimatize, by providing them with important resources for teaching and other functions related to their job?  Will this be useful support for new teachers in years 2 and 3, after the initial mentoring phase has ended?  Will this also enable mentors to support new teachers more easily during the first year?

This important because face-to-face mentoring stops after the first year of teaching and often teachers in the district are left to figure things out on their own, even if other people and their mentors are still available for questions.  Based on what I have heard from new teachers, they do feel this way. My assistant superintendent has also expressed that this is an area that needs attention  This action research is meant to find ways of helping new teachers to help themselves in finding answers to their questions and having a quick and easy way to ask questions if they are not able to find what they need.  Hopefully this will relieve some stress and enable them to focus more time on teaching.

The object of my action research plan is to provide extra support for both new teachers and mentors in the first year and to continue to provide support to new teachers in their 2^nd and 3^rd years of teaching.  Beyond that the information will still be on the intranet for anyone who needs it.

After some careful consideration, I believe the place to begin is in the development of tutorials for the use of various web sites such as DEEDS, using IMS, accessing and using the district intranet, accessing and using epay and benefits, eschool, etc., including creating a section for FAQs

Beyond that, and secondary to the tutorials, will be gathering the various resources the district already has along with new resources and putting them all in one easy to access location.  Once enough has been gathered then I plan to place them in categories and finally cross reference them.

In order to gain data on the effectiveness of my plan/project, I will ask new teachers to provide feedback periodically throughout my internship.  I will also begin a blog (in Blackboard?) on our intranet for teachers to contact me with specific questions.  Once I have created the tutorial or have another type of answer to their query, I will answer their blog post with the relevant information and post it in an appropriate place on the intranet.