Action Research: Course 3 Check Up

My action research project is focusing on how a school-wide after school dismissal system can reduce stress levels of students, teachers, and school administrators. I began my action research project in August, a few weeks before school began. I worked with my principal, and a fellow co worker to create a system that would dismiss the 900 students in my school safely, in a matter of 7 minutes. Through many hours of planning, discussing, and revising; we developed a new system that achieved our goal. I met with several teachers across the grade levels at my school to gather input, and presented the new system to the entire faculty during staff development week.  We began the new system the first day of school, and though it was rocky in the first few weeks, it has proven to be an effective system in the more recent weeks. I have conducted one survey to address teacher concerns about the previous system (or lack there of) and will soon administer the second survey to see how teachers and administrators feel about the system. Upon seeing the concerns and needs of this survey, we will revisit the process and make necessary changes. This semester, I will begin my research and find some professional literature on the topic of dismissal systems, and how end of the day procedures relate to the next morning. To complete this project I still need to conduct literary research, survey the faculty at specific checkpoints, and review data to reflect on any changes. Though I still have a long way to go in this action research project, I feel confident and proud of what has been accomplished up to this point in the process.

12 Documented hours up to this point.

Thinking Through Course Two

Wow! What an interesting course this has been. I, like many of my classmates instantly made judgments on this course just because of the name, Research. But like the saying says, you can’t judge a book by its cover. This class has taught me that research is not just sitting amongst stacks of books and resources. Learning about Action research has been eye opening to me. There are several situations and times in my educational career that I have thought, “this could be done better” or “what if we did this a different way?” What I have been doing all along is action research without the paperwork. As teachers we come up with improvements to our school, and experiment to find the best solution to our problem. After completing Course 5 I now understand how to make these improvements effectively, and research based.

Three tools helped me to develop a better sense of action research throughout Course 5. The first tool that I found beneficial is the assigned readings from the Dana text, Leading with Passion and Knowledge. I found this book to be a key resource during my action research journey because it defined action research. It showed me that action research has a purpose because “inquiring professionals seek out change and reflect on their practice by posing questions or wonderings” (Dana, 2009, p.2). This was something that was an obvious point for me, I knew that school leaders and teachers alike both have to seek out change in order to be effective educators. I understand that changes are made, but I had no rationale for how or why certain areas are addressed. This resource taught me about how to identify topics for research, and how to outline my research in order to gain momentum and make a change.

Another element of this class that I found beneficial during this course was the discussion board. I loved reading other people’s thoughts and ideas, and what topics they were addressing through their research. I found that many teachers across grade levels fight the same battles no matter the age or personalities they teach. This was important. I also benefitted from the suggestions and words of encouragement from my peers about my action research project. At first, I worried that my area of concern was not deep enough, and focused on academics. The more my peers shared though, I felt validated that my topic was necessary and I was not alone in my hope for change in this matter. Each week the discussion board was my favorite area to explore and learn.

Along with the discussion board, I also found the action research blog to be helpful in this course. Like the discussion board, I liked that the blog allowed for collaboration between classmates. I loved the interaction, compliments, and suggestions that were given as a result of the blog. The advantage of the blog was that it allowed us to gain insight from more peers than just those in our assigned section, although at times it felt overwhelming to have so many blogs and people to follow.

To sum it all up, this class turned out to be useful to me as a teacher, and as a future administrator. I hope that as I continue my action research project that I am able to incorporate what I learned in this class, and work to initiate positive change on my campus and in my classroom.

Reference:

Dana, N.F. (2009). Leading with passion and knowledge: The principal as action researcher. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

The BIG Plan

Action Planning Template
Goal: Reduce stress levels of students and teachers by implementing a structured school wide dismissal process
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Design an organized dismissal system	-Administrators -Co-Worker -Myself	Start: August 1, 2013 End: August 18, 2013	Schedule, School Map, Number of Students/Classes, Faculty Roster	Administrator Approval
Survey participating teachers on their opinions and reflections of previous system	Myself	August 19, 2013	-Survey Monkey -Survey Participants (sample)	-Teacher Responses -Discipline Records
Introduce and model new dismissal system to faculty, by clearly laying out expectations and policies	-Administrators -Co-Worker -Myself	August 20, 2012 Standard Operating Procedures Staff Development Day	-Written expectations of plan -Detailed map of school and dismissal route -Prepared presentation	-Teacher Feedback
Survey participating teachers and Students on their opinions of the new dismissal system. Whether or not it is effective and if stress levels have been reduced.	-Myself -Sample Audience (students/teachers)	-End of 1st Six weeks -End of Semester -End of school Year 2013-2014	-Survey Monkey -Brief meeting/discussion with sample audience	-Teacher Responses -Discipline Records
Research different studies on the correlation between end of the day stress to the next morning’s atmosphere	-Myself	2013-2014 School Year	-Library -Internet Access	-Research
Final Evaluative Meeting with School Administrators	-Myself -Co-Worker -Administrators	May 2014	-Findings -Evidence of Change	Administrator Feedback

Action Research: The Beginning

We have all heard the dreaded term…RESEARCH. It has haunted us since grade school, filling our minds with nightmares of index cards covered with scribbles, stacks of books, and endless papers. Needless to say, coming into this project, I was a little apprehensive. Luckily though, the more I read, the more my mind is at ease. Action research is not “long hours in the library or crunching numbers” (Dana, 2009, p.6), it is a process of positive change. Administrative inquiry requires a school leader to reflect on their performance, and identify areas of concern. After these areas have been identified, a plan is made. Research and experiences are compiled to create a functioning plan, in an attempt to improve these areas. Educators then use their findings to either try another plan, or to use and share the change that works. How awesome is that? Real educators, real problems, real answers, and real change….What’s not to love? Action research is such a powerful tool. It helps the entire school keep up with the ever changing world of education. I am excited to continue my exploration of action research, and to conduct my own action research project on my campus to improve my school and my teaching.

Reference:

Dana, N.F. (2009). Leading with passion and knowledge: The principal as action researcher. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Blog All About it

Welcome to my Action Research Blog! I am excited about beginning this journey, and documenting insights as I go. Blogs are great tools, and such great communication devices for educators. I will use this as a graduate student, but blogs are such powerful tools for many audiences. In particular, school leaders can really benefit from the use of a blog. It can be used for staff motivation, where principals recognize and brag on accomplishments and actions of their teachers. Also, a school leader can use a blog to share educational experiences and leanings with their staff to help build quality teaching in their school.