Action Research Plan

My Question:

  The days of the Walkman are over. Today it's mp3s, ipods, cell phones, and itunes. Almost every student has a personal music device (PMDs). PMDs can be found in almost every backpack and every classroom today. Can these PMD devices provide a useful tool in the teacher's toolbox, or are PMDs simply distracting to the student and to others?

Goals and objectives/outcomes of the research investigation:

To establish viable data, not just opinions, of the effects of PMDs on student learning and the learning environment. 

Activities designed to achieve the objectives:

Survey 240 6^th grade students and 50+ teachers on the effects of student learning with PMDs. Teacher survey will include opinions on uses of PMDs in the classroom.

Perform experiment on student classwork and test assessments with PMDs and gather data from this. 

  Performance indicator of a student making a 90 or above on certain classwork.

Resources and research tools needed for data gathering:

Student version of survey (240)

Teacher version of survey (50+)

One partner teacher (Mr. Kesler)

Classwork (writing sample) with one control and another with access to PMDs

Assessments using PMDs over time 

  Gather and collect other data, testscores, grades for a long-term view of student performance

Draft timeline for completion or implementation of activities: 

The procedures and research in the classroom will begin at the beginning of the 2012-13 school year.

The background research and brainstorming will be completed from April 2012 through the summer months of 2012. 

  Set aside time to analyze data using Staff Development days.

Persons responsible for implementation of the action research plan: 

Nathaniel Stockberger (me), Chris Kesler (6^th grade science team teacher), Mr. Meldahl (Principal and School Supervisor) 

Process for monitoring the achievement of goals and objectives: 

Self monitoring along with feedback from the site supervisor following the experiments and fieldwork. Accountability from discussion board and dissemination on personal blog. 

Analyze personal thinking and understand any biases I may have.

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

Data will be collected and results will be distributed to faculty and students on graphs and charts. Charts that demonstrate the results from the student and teacher surveys. The results from the surveys and experiments will be presented to the faculty of Waller Junior High. The entire research project will be available to the public for recommendations on this blog.

Week 2 Reflection

After watching the videos of educators being interviewed concerning action research, I had a few thoughts about the overall importance of research and really what we are going to be doing here....

Dr. Chargois said something that struck me, “You never stop learning. If you are green, you're learning, if you're brown you're dying.” In other words, as a teacher or administrator you are a life-long learner, and it is evident in your classroom or school how much of a learner you are. We need to use data to drive our decisions in teacher learning and student learning. Ultimately, research helps provide this data for the decision making process that will be process we use for the rest of our careers.

It is important to be able to interpret research data done from other districts and apply the suggestions to our own situations. I thought it was an important tip to remember that although every district is different, there are still some characteristics that are similar between them. Research performed at others can by utilized by similar campuses- if the data is available for viewing and reflection. We need to keep our research practical and appropriate to our environment.

An Effective Venue

Just a note about the use of blogs for leaders in education:  As I was reading the Ringler text, I was struck by how the reflection section emphasized having an "effective venue" for sharing thoughts and results of action research.  This could of course be staff development, team meetings, anything that can encourage discussion among colleagues, but I believe the blogging world is an excellent venue.  The ability to click and read another's thoughts instantly is very intriguing and simply easy to do.  The access to reflection is quick and immediate and you can begin to ponder solutions, differences, and agreements instantly.  It's not quite as good as talking to your colleague personally, but the accessibility can't be beat.  It's a modern venue that we should all take advantage of.

Action Research in my own words

Action research is the type of research that most of us are more familiar with. We use research to write papers, study data, and to find our more information on a topic, but in contrast to traditional research, action research is more introspective and local. It is introspective because the leader looks into his/her own circumstances or problems using the the advice or wisdom from those closest to them. A principal might poll the teaching staff asking what are the current critical issues at the school and develop his focus from there. This introspective process of action research is beneficial because it allows for a more accurate and personal assessment of needs or improvements. Its also introspective because the leader will look into his/her own data and see where things to need to change, maybe in regard to their leadership style or every day interactions. From that point, the leader can take action and implement solutions unlike traditional research where studies are for more academic purposes and the audience cannot easily implement the solutions.

Action research is also local, and I highlight this for two reasons. The first is that assessment of the problem will come from those who are being affected by it. For a simple illustration, a teacher might realize that their 7^th period class is performing poorly on their benchmarks or CBAs. When looking into the problem, the teacher discovered that most of the students had the same teacher the year before and it was a teacher who had been out often because of health issues. There were crucial lessons the students had never been exposed to and were behind because they couldn't build on a foundation that wasn't there. The problem was discovered by the teacher and the students- those who were being effected by it, not by a distant researcher. Another reason that action research is local is because the solution to the problem is determined by those who are being affected. By including the students in the research and explaining that they can help discover the problem, the students and the teacher have the responsibility to be reflective and determine where teaching and learning is falling short and why. They will have ownership over the problem, and because they helped determine the solution, they will be motivated to see it through.

Greetings

Welcome world, Stock's Spot is dedicated to the advancement of education both in my life and in yours.  Please check in periodically to see updates about my experiences in Educational Leadership.