Coming to a Close....

As EDLD 5301 is coming to an end, I can say that I have learned valuable information over the past 5 weeks.  What an insightful course this has been.  Dr. Abshire and Dr. Ashford could not have been any more helpful and full of knowledge when it comes to the action research process. 

One of my favorite weeks within this class was Week 2.  I thought it was beneficial viewing the three scholar practitioner videos.  The one that stuck out to me was Principal Johnny Briseno.  He touched on so many important and vital points related to the action research process.  One main point that he stressed was that we can’t only focus on the data at-hand, but we have to take a deeper look into the low performing students’ home environments, parental support or lack thereof,  and the fact the “kids will be kids”.  I agree with Mr. Briseno that as educators we have to make the time to get to know our kids on a personal level.  Data will be data, but what if we took one more step and dug into the lives of our students.  Who knows what the data would look like? 

Digging deeper into our students' lives will not only be beneficial for the student, but as teachers, make us stronger and more compassionate teachers!

My Revised Action Research Plan~

Hello! 

Well Week 4 has nearly come to an end....  Whew!  I noticed that I had made some minor mistakes on my Action Research Plan last week when I posted it. 

Well - you are in luck!  Here is my new and improved Action Research Plan:

Action Planning Template
Goal:  To close the academic gap in the content area of Reading with 5th grade at risk students.
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
·   Data Analysis/Breakdown ·   Disaggregation of data showing strengths and weaknesses ·   Identifying if weaknesses are from readiness standards or supporting standards.	·     Teacher ·     Site Supervisor ·     PLC team ·     Grade level team	·    Sept. 2012-June 2013	·   4th grade STAAR results ·   Beginning of the yr. assessments (taken 9/3 through 9/7), ·   Six weeks common assessments ·   ACP (done once a semester) ·   5th grade ITBS scores (taken in spring) ·   5th grade STAAR results (spring) ·   Track academic progress, attendance, test scores, and mastery of skills from previous grades.	·    Anecdotal records from tutoring ·    Finding results of assessments ·    Recording classwork scores ·    Recording in class participation; “What can I do as a teacher to encourage classroom participation that may positively affect data?  How will higher classwork scores influence assessment and tutoring scores?”  Are the at risk students weak in processing?” ·    Develop a program to address areas of concern.
·      Building relationships with at-risk students and parents ·      Strengthening and enhancing communication using strategies from book study; Teaching with Poverty in Mind by Eric Jensen	·    Teacher ·    Student ·    Parents ·    Site supervisor (for support and to answer any wonderings/questions)	·  Sept. 2012 – June 2013	·  Interest inventory for students ·  Get to know you activities ·  Board games aligned with the state objectives and standards ·  Face-to-face conferences with parents; along with phone calls, emails, texts, home visits ·  Looking at relevant educational literature that relates to students from low-socioeconomic backgrounds. ·  Internet searches for other ways to promote parental communication with at risk students.	·   Tracking student attendance ·   Tracking parental involvement – “Has it increased or decreased since the start of tutoring?  What parents are not involved and find out their reasoning behind the lack of involvement?” ·   Monitor homework – “Are students completing?”
·   Small group tutoring which includes; multiple response strategies, vocabulary strategies, differentiated instruction, progress monitoring.	·      Teacher ·    Students ·      Site supervisor	·    Sept. 2012 – June 2013	·  Break down of tutoring groups due to STAAR objectives ·  Make sure all students are engaged ·  Weekly fluency practice ·  Use of games, ELA/R manipulatives, think pair/share, use of white boards to illustrate and brainstorm. ·  Computer generated literacy games.	·   Tracking what strategies have been successful and what strategies need to be adjusted in some way – “What strategies have been successful and what strategies need to be re-vamped?  Why are some of the strategies not working?  Have classroom grades improved due to the before school tutoring sessions? “ ·   Students track assessment progress.
·   Celebrating successes and  academic gains	·   Teacher ·   Students ·   Site supervisor	·  Sept. 2012 – June 2013	·     Every week, celebrate academic successes and gains with snacks, prizes, lunch with the principal or teacher, extra recess time, extra library time. ·     Send a positive note to parents to motivate at risk students to keep excelling and improving. ·     Find a specific area that they have had a growth in.	·    Have students fill out a survey that answers; “What have you liked about tutoring?  What have you enjoyed about the celebrations?  What changes would you make to improve the celebrations?”

My Action Research Plan~

Action Planning Template
Goal:  To close the academic gap in the content area of Reading with at risk students.
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Data Analysis/Breakdown, disaggregation of data showing strengths and weaknesses, identifying if weaknesses are from readiness standards or supporting standards.	Teacher, Site Supervisor, PLC team, grade level team	September 2012 – June 2014	4th grade STAAR results, beginning of the yr. assessments (taken 9/3 through 9/7), six weeks common assessments, ACP (done once a semester), 5th grade ITBS scores (taken in spring), 5th grade STAAR results (spring)	Anecdotal records from tutoring, finding results of assessments, recording classwork scores, recording in class participation; “What can I do as a teacher to encourage classroom participation that may positively affect data?  How will higher classwork scores influence assessment and tutoring scores?”  Are the at risk students weak in processing?” To develop a program to address areas of concern.
Building relationships with at-risk students and parents, strengthening and enhancing communication using strategies from book study; Teaching with Poverty in Mind by Eric Jensen	Teacher, student, parents, site supervisor (for support and to answer any wonderings/questions)	September 2012 – June 2014	Interest inventory for students, get to know you activities, board games aligned with the state objectives and standards, Face-to-face conferences with parents; along with phone calls, emails, texts?, home visits, looking at relevant educational literature that relates to students from low-socioeconomic backgrounds.  Internet searches for other ways to promote parental communication with at risk students.	Tracking student attendance, tracking parental involvement – “Has it increased or decreased since the start of tutoring?  What parents are not involved and find out their reasoning behind the lack of involvement?”
Small group tutoring which includes; multiple response strategies, vocabulary strategies, differentiated instruction, progress monitoring	Teacher, students, (site supervisor)	September 2012 – June 2014	Break down of tutoring groups due to STAAR objectives, make sure all students are engaged, weekly fluency practice, use of games, ELA/R manipulatives, think pair/share, use of white boards to illustrate and brainstorm, computer generated literacy games.	Tracking what strategies have been successful and what strategies need to be adjusted in some way – “What strategies have been successful and what strategies need to be re-vamped?  Why are some of the strategies not working?  Have classroom grades improved due to the before school tutoring sessions? “
Celebrating successes and an academic gains	Teacher, students, (site supervisor)	September 2012 – June 2014	Every week, celebrate academic successes and gains with snacks, prizes, lunch with the principal or teacher, extra recess time, extra library time, a positive note to parents… to motivate at risk students to keep excelling and improving.  Find a specific area that they have had a growth in.	Have students fill out a survey that answers; “What have you liked about tutoring?  What have you enjoyed about the celebrations?  What changes would you make to improve the celebrations?”

Week #2 Reflection...

What an informative week this was in EDLD 5301...  I particularly enjoyed the three interviews that we were required to watch.  It was very engaging and interesting to hear the different educational views from administrators that graduated from Lamar University.  Each interviewee had valid points and effective suggestions about action research. 

Researching different action research projects for each of the nine areas from Leading with Passion and Knowledge:  The Principal as Action Researcher by Nancy Fichtman Dana, was an insightful and beneficial assignment.  Each of the nine areas I read about, all form the crux of a school/campus setting.  From looking at qualitative data of underachieving students to exploring school moral, the nine concept areas must be in place for a school to run smoothly and be successful.

I did finally choose my action research topic: 

Closing the achievement gap (reading and math) between the Anglo and Hispanic students on my campus. 

This is always a yearly issue on my campus, and I think with the proper steps of the action research process, I can devise a plan to close the gap between these two populations at my elementary school.

Looking forward to Week Three!