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.