Action Research Plan

• Goals and objectives/outcomes of the research investigation
The goal of this action research is to determine if an afterschool mentoring program will help 5th grade at-risk boys be successful with high-stakes tests.

• Activities designed to achieve the objectives
In conjunction with the PTO president, I will develop and implement an after school program to give 5th grade boys a meaningful relationship with a mentor.
Recruit local community members, preferably men, as mentors for the 5th grade at-risk students.
I will set up a schedule of activities, including science experiments, working in the school garden, snacks, and a discussion/journaling/illustration activity.
Schedule an administrator to be on campus for each session.
Review TAKS and at-risk data to determine eligibility of students.
Send permission slips home asking for parental permission.

• Resources and research tools needed for data gathering
TAKS data from the previous year testing.
A 5th grade boys at-risk list will be created at the beginning of the school year and monitored throughout the year.

• Draft timeline for completion or implementation of activities
Beginning of school:
Research will begin as soon as school has started. The at-risk list will be compiled. Previous TAKS scores will be reviewed.
Recruit mentors and complete district training.
Send permission slips home.
Set up groups and schedule.
Prepare activities.

Throughout the school year:
Purchase snacks and any supplies needed for the science experiments, garden, or journaling activities.
Mentors will begin meeting with students after they have completed the district mentoring class. A schedule will be set up so that mentors and students can meet every other week of the school year, excluding holidays and breaks.

• Persons responsible for implementation of the action research plan
I will be responsible for implementation of the action research. I will work in conjunction with the PTO president for the 2010-2011 school year, Tami Lorch. My research will be periodically reviewed by my site-supervisor, Ms. Susan Blowey, Assistant Principal of Farney Elementary. An administrator will also have to be on campus during the mentoring sessions.

• Process for monitoring the achievement of goals and objectives
Benchmarks and unit tests will be monitored throughout the year. The data will be recorded on a spreadsheet so that it can be reviewed after each testing situation.

• Assessment instrument(s) to evaluate the effectiveness of the action research study
The effectiveness of the research will be evaluated after TAKS data is available for the current school year. If students are not successful after the first administration, TAKS data for the second administration will be used. If students are required to participate in the third administration, that data will be used to determine the effectiveness of the research. The action research results will be presented to the principal, the administrative team, and the PTO. If successful, I will present to the faculty at a staff meeting using both charts and data.

Week Two Reflection

I really liked the comment by Dr. Chargoi, "If you are green then you are growing, if are brown you are dying." That is such an interesting way to articulate the need for action research. The challenge, of course, is to stay green.

This week I also thought that reviewing the nine areas of potential action research from Leading With Passion and Knowledge was very eye opening. This made me realize that there are endless areas for research. It also made me realize that we sometimes do action research without even realizing that is what we are doing. Often it is just a process that we go through to make sure that we are doing the best things we can for both staff and students alike.

How Educational Leaders Might Use Blogs

Educational leaders can use blogs in several ways. I think of blogs as another form of communication but the difference in this form is that readers can comment on the blogs in a way that makes their opinion or thoughts equal to others opinions. This format of communication allows people who are shy or unwilling to speak out at a meeting, able to get their comments out for others to read. Since this is done in a non-confrontational way, it gives readers/participants time to digest these thoughts and time to formulate a response. Wait time is possible. I also think that educations leaders who are skillful communicators can use blogs as a way to bounce ideas around with people who are interested. Reading a blog can be done at anytime, day or night so participants can utilize blogs on their schedule. Blogging can open up discussion. Discussion is often a very good thing.

Action Research and How I Might Use It

Action research is a great tool to begin to answer questions or "wonderings" that I might have about how to make my school more successful. It is a systematic approach to begin the process of taking action on a subject of interest that is possible in need of some rethinking. This process begins by defining the question that you have about whether the most effective methods are being used in a particular area. Deciding what data would need to be collected and what the best way to collect that data would be is the next step. The data that is collected is what will then need to be analyzed to determine what the answer to your question will be. After the data is analyzed, you would need to determine if any changes need too be made and what the best way to make those changes would be. Lastly, the findings of the action research must be shared so that effective changes can be made, or so that other methods can be tried if that is in fact what the data showed. The data may show that your methods are sound and there may not need to be any change.

I can think of many ways that I might use action research. Helping students become more successful would be the first thing that comes to mind. That one area could give me enough action research to last for years. Using building data and targeting sub populations of students who have not been successful brings to mind many questions of how that could be changed and what method of change would be the most successful. Would after school, before school, or during the school day tutoring help? What about mentoring? Action research does not have to be used only to students success, it could also be used to analyze the success of professional development in my building. What is the best delivery method to get information to teachers? Are staff meetings more effective or would email be a good method? It seems the possibilities for action research are endless.