Week 4 Review

After meeting with my site supervisor, my action research plan will remain the same. I was also told to be prepared for time line changes because scheduling may interfere with school events and testing. My site supervisor also agreed that my research plan was one that is needed in our school in order to see growth and increased student achievement in our ELL students.

Action Research Plan - SIP/PIP

SCHOOL VISION: Through building a team atmosphere, Travis students, parents, staff, and community will involve themselves in the promotions of academic achievements, development of leadership, and the building of self-esteem among all its members. Our end results are having our students become better educated, responsible, productive citizens; thus, building an improved quality of life for everyone.

GOAL: To find the best methods of teaching to increase student achievement in the area of reading for English language learners (ELLs) at Travis Elementary School.

OUTCOMES	ACTIVITIES	RESOURCES/ RESEARCH TOOLS NEEDED	RESPONSIBILITY TO ADDRESS ACTIVITIES	TIME LINE	Benchmarks/ ASSESSMENT	Revisions to SIP/PIP based on monitoring and assessments
Identify English learners who need additional instructional support and monitoring.	Conduct formative assessments that measure phonological processing, letter knowledge, and word and text reading. These measurements must be conducted in English.	Kindergarten to 1st Grade: OLPT 2nd to 5th Grade: TPRI	Classroom Teachers	August 2010 – November 2010	Reading/ELA CBA (Curriculum Based Assessment) Data from 1st – 2nd 6 Weeks	TBD based on student achievement – Review Report Cards, CBA Data, Mock Testing, TPRI Data, TAKS Data, ITBS Data, Star Testing, and Accelerated Reader Data
Train teachers on how to use formative assessment data to guide instruction.	With the reading coach, Reading teachers on each grade level will research/review reading interventions to help these students.	Instructional Coach – Ms. Harris, Effective Literacy and English Language Instruction for English Learners in the Elementary Grades: PDF File provided by Dr. Garza	Ms. Harris – Instructional Coach, Monica Ramirez – Bilingual Representative	September 2010	Review findings from teachers with struggling ELL students.	TBD based on student achievement – Review Report Cards, CBA Data, Mock Testing, TPRI Data, TAKS Data, ITBS Data, Star Testing, and Accelerated Reader Data. Qualitative factors will also be reviewed.
Teachers of struggling ELL students will use intensive small group reading interventions.	Teachers will use small groups reading intervention to explicitly teach/re-teach phonological awareness, phonics, reading fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.	Instructional Coach – Ms. Harris, Effective Literacy and English Language Instruction for English Learners in the Elementary Grades: PDF File provided by Dr. Garza	Classroom Teachers	September 2010 – May 2010	Review data from CBA's and Mock Tests, Look at data from STAR testing, and A.R.	TBD based on student achievement – Review Report Cards, CBA Data, Mock Testing, TPRI Data, TAKS Data, ITBS Data, Star Testing, and Accelerated Reader Data. Qualitative factors will also be reviewed.
Teachers will provide extensive and varied vocabulary instruction.	Teachers will consistently use student-friendly definitions, pictures, and vocabulary lists to help ELLs develop a broader vocabulary.	Google Images, Foldable workshops, Effective Literacy and English Language Instruction for English Learners in the Elementary Grades: PDF File provided by Dr. Garza	Ms. Harris – Instructional Coach, Monica Ramirez – Bilingual Representative, Classroom Teachers	September 2010 – May 2010	Review data from CBA's and Mock Tests, Look at data from STAR testing, and A.R.	TBD based on student achievement – Review Report Cards, CBA Data, Mock Testing, TPRI Data, TAKS Data, ITBS Data, Star Testing, and Accelerated Reader Data. Qualitative factors will also be reviewed.
Teachers will help ELLs develop academic English.	Teachers will teach academic English on a daily basis in the subjects of Math, Science, and Social Studies. Students should be able to know that words like force and power take on a different meaning when talking about Science.	Textbooks, Google, Effective Literacy and English Language Instruction for English Learners in the Elementary Grades: PDF File provided by Dr. Garza	Classroom Teachers	September 2010 – May 2010	Review data from CBA's and Mock Tests, Look at data from STAR testing, and A.R.	TBD based on student achievement – Review Report Cards, CBA Data, Mock Testing, TPRI Data, TAKS Data, ITBS Data, Star Testing, and Accelerated Reader Data. Qualitative factors will also be reviewed.
Teachers will schedule regular peer-assisted learning opportunities.	Teachers should devote approximately 90 minutes a week to instructional activities in which pairs of students at different ability levels or different English language proficiencies work together on academic tasks in a structured fashion. These activities should practice and extend material already taught.	Classroom objectives, text, Effective Literacy and English Language Instruction for English Learners in the Elementary Grades: PDF File provided by Dr. Garza	Classroom Teachers	September 2010 – May 2010	Pre-test and Post-test on material to determine whether this strategy is effective for students. Informal assessment will include monitoring of groups by classroom teacher.	TBD based on student achievement – Review Report Cards, CBA Data, Mock Testing, TPRI Data, TAKS Data, ITBS Data, Star Testing, and Accelerated Reader Data. Qualitative factors will also be reviewed.
Teachers will evaluate each method and make suggestions for any needed changes.	Teachers will evaluate each method and make suggestions for any needed changes. Evaluations and suggestions will be carefully examined and any necessary changes will be made for the following school year.	PAISD Evaluation Form	Classroom Teachers	September 2010 – May 2010	This is the final evaluation.	TBD based on student achievement – Review Report Cards, CBA Data, Mock Testing, TPRI Data, TAKS Data, ITBS Data, Star Testing, and Accelerated Reader Data. Qualitative factors will also be reviewed.

Week Two Reflection: Where's the justice?

This week, we looked into the nine areas of passion for developing wonderings and questions related to action research. Those areas include:

1. Staff Development
2. Curriculum Development
3. Individual Teacher(s)
4. Individual Student(s)
5. School culture/community
6. Leadership
7. Management
8. School performance
9. Social justice

While reading about these topics, I realized that teachers and schools use action research every day. Do we refer to these things are action research? Not usually; however, regardless of what we call it, it's still action research. Looking at topics 1 - 8, I'm sure every teacher could easily give you examples of trainings or meetings in which they talked about, shared, or were taught how to improve in these areas.

The area that stood out for me was "social justice." Inquiry about social justice can come by exploring questions of race, class, gender, or ability. Schools everywhere are educating their teachers about racial sensitivities and poverty. We are now more knowledgeable than ever about cultural backgrounds, rituals, and celebrations. Unfortunately, teachers aren't being taught how to help at-risk groups overcome common obstacles or how help them learn to succeed in life. We constantly hear, "School is the only stable environment for these children" but what can be done to help these students maintain and retain this stability outside of school?

My question is, "Where's the justice for these students?" Understanding where they come from isn't enough. As educators, we must find ways to help them beyond the classroom. Any ideas?

How Educational Leaders Might Use Blogs

While we are on the subject of action research, it is important to realize that action research should be performed as a team, rather than as an individual. Educational leaders might use blogs to network and work collaboratively to come up with solutions to common or uncommon problems within a school environment.

What I've Learned about Action Research and How I Might Use It

Action research is a fancy way of saying that you're personally involved in finding a solution to the problem. According to Nancy Fichtman Dana's Book, Leading with Passion and Knowledge, action research refers to the process of a principal engaging in systematic, intentional study of his/her own administrative practice and taking action for change based on what he/she learns as a result of the inquiry (Dana, 2009).

When I read about action research, the idea brought me back to one of my english classes as a college freshman. The class, Composition 1302, required that the students produce a research paper on any chosen story from our text. The catch was that we weren't allowed to write about anything that had already been written. We had to produce our own answers to questions about the story that had not already been critically written. At the time, I found this assignment to be extremely challenging. After all, I figured "professional researchers" had already researched and explained all aspects of the story. I couldn't figure out why our professor had laid such a daunting task upon us. Eventually, I chose O'Connors "A Good Man is Hard to Find" and researched why the author chose the name "June Star" as one of the characters and did an analysis on the meaning of the character's name in relation to her personality. When I completed my research, I had an overwhelming feeling of satisfaction that I had actually researched something meaningful to the story, and that I may have answered someone's question about that story.

Performing action research is similar to the experience I had in my college freshman english class that I endured so many years ago. As an educational professional, I know that every school has room for improvement. Although two schools may have problems with tardiness, the reasons for tardiness may not be the same. Although two schools may have problems implementing technology into the classrooms, it doesn't mean that the reasons for the problem are the same. Neither are the solutions. By researching solutions that other schools have applied toward particular problems, an administrator isn't focusing on the main issue, which is THEIR school.

Using action research is essential to problem solving within a school. If I am an administrator and don't look into all aspects of a problem, my solution to that problem will likely be flawed. For example, if tardiness is an issue I can't assume that the problem lies on parents if buses are what is causing the delays. Likewise, I can't assume that technology isn't being used in classrooms because teachers don't know how to use it. I must ask questions to find out if the technology is working, whether or not the technology provided is beneficial to learning, and whether or not all teachers have access to the same technology.

Overall, action research is an integral part of the education system and should be implemented far more often for the benefit of the teachers, students, and schools as a whole.