Action Research Plan - The Outline

Action Research Plan


Goal: To determine if technology in the mathematics classroom is effectively improving student performance and creating higher level thinking.


Action Step(s)

Person(s) Responsible

Timeline

Needed Resources

Evaluation


1. Recruit a Geometry teacher to participate in the project. 
Myself (Charles Butler).
Between 08/10/10 and 09/30/10.
One Geometry teacher and myself. 
Participant must teach Geometry at least 5 classes a day and I teach Algebra II at least 5 classes.

2. Meet to discuss the team purpose, goals and action steps for the project. 
Myself, Geometry teacher, and math AP (team).
Between 08/10/10 and 09/30/10.
Purpose Question, Goal, Action Research Overview, and expectations of each member. 
Determining technology available to both of us for the goal, objectives, and expectations?

3. Randomly select classes that technology will be the instructional focus.
Team members.
 Beginning of a semester.
 Teachers & master schedule of assigned classes.
Was consensus reached and technology available for selected classes?

4. Teach class using the appropriate methods.
Team members.
One semester.
Smart board, Elmo, response clickers, and computer. 
Compare student results at the end of each six weeks.

5. Team meeting with AP to look at data collected. 
Team members.
End of each 6 weeks.
 Data from student performance. 
Compare grading procedures.

6. Formulate an improvement plan that meets district and campus goals. 
Team members.
 End of each 6 weeks.
 Data accumulated from each 6 weeks of student performance. 
Does plan meet the needs of the students and the district/campus, is there agreement among members, and is it in a format that will be acceptable at the district level.

7. Present plan to principal and SBDM committee.
Team members.
 First meeting in the fall semester.
 Technology research plan.
 Do the principal and SBDM committee understand the plan, objectives behind the plan, and the benefits?

8. Based on meetings with the Principal and SBDM, determine if adjustments need to be made to plan.
Team members.
 Immediately following the meeting. 
Plan and notes from meeting. 
Did we make the adjustments needed for approval?

9. Present Plan to principal for approval.
Team members.
When adjustments, if any, have been made. 
Plan and presentation materials.
Approval to continue.

10. Work with technology staff for input and help with equipment and implementation. Team members.
Start: When plan is in place.
Technology department. 
Is technology in place and working properly?

11. Research outside sources to support actual findings on campus.
 Myself.
Start: When plan is approved. 
Blogs and other internet sites and published articles and journals.
Surveys and conversations with staff, both informal and formal.

12. Present all research and collected data to the principal and on my blog for others to have access to.
 Myself.
 Within 30 days of the projects semester end. 
Data collected and blog site.
 How the principal uses the information to improve instruction and professional development.

The Action Research Plan

This week's lesson was a very long but interesting. It is important to realize and appreciate the time an action research project can take when done right. Laying the ground work necessary to get started on the project is no simple task. It requires a degree of research in itself if a project is going to be meaningful. Of course this week was daunting as we try to eliminate possible project topics in our journey to select an interesting and practical topic. From Dr. Kirk Lewis we learned the importance of making a research project practical. By this he means, from the plethora of data available today, you must learn to take what applies to your situation so that it is relevant and practical to implement. Dr. Lewis intended to help teachers and administrators learn to use data and research together to make their findings more applicable and/or practical for their school. Translating research to make it practical makes it more interesting to you and therefore more beneficial to the students for which your findings apply. Dr. Chargois mentions the importance of using data to influence instruction of students. With the technology available today, data is available more readily and teachers should use this data to better their instruction and increase the success of all students they meet. Dr. Chargois places increasing student performance at the top of his criteria for evaluating all projects or programs presented to him. Before starting, you must have a goal in mind and a method to evaluate any plan formulated when performing an action research project. Remember, the focus must always be geared toward producing positive results in the classroom that improves student achievement.

Leaders as Bloggers

When leaders post their inquiry to a blog they enlist free response from many other persons, some principals and some not. It allows unbiased feedback that may prevent pitfalls or just strengthen an idea. It opens collaborative communication that can be utilized or dismissed without repercussions. Most importantly it gives leaders a place to reflect in writing and continuously work to develop their ideas.

Action Research

Perception is sometimes very deceiving, which is the case as one first endeavors into the topic of action research. The connotation of research brings back memories of spending time in the library or on the internet gathering information on a topic where others have written and documented their findings. From this, as the researcher, decisions are made based on what others outside the environment for which it is to be applied suggest as best practice. But, this could not be further from the intentions for action research. Action research is more about collecting information to be used to identify what is not working in day to day practice and developing a plan to improve. But it does not stop there; it also requires a plan or method/strategy for evaluating the changes and time to reflect on the new outcomes in order to continuously improve implementation and results.
Although some outside information can be useful, most comes from data pertinent to the environment for which action will be taken. Collaboration with colleagues, standardized test results along with daily interactions are all factors to be considered. Time, available resources and financial need always play a big role. Action research is about addressing a need or particular problem that is relevant right now in a non perfect environment and usually with limited resources. The time for reflection must be planned and allotted for, otherwise it will affect or even breakdown the process as it is intended. With consideration for each aspect of the action research process good work can be improved rather than starting over each time some component of a practice is not being as effective as desired.