Week 3 Posting

Action Plan

Goal: to Improve ELL Denials Student Performance in the Classroom and on State Assessments on our campus

Action Step(s):

1. Review student data (TAKS Current and Pastm TELPAS, AMAO, and campus data)
2. Interview/Survey teachers of ELL and Bilingual students
3. Interview/Survey ELL students and Bilingual students
4. Read current research and articles concerning ELL and best practices for student success
5. Review AMAO criteria and guidelines and see if our denial students are meeting this criteria
6. Brainstorm strategies/best practices that promote student achievement as it pertains to ELL
7. Review what professional development or support is in place for teachers of ELL students: If this area is lacking provide that support in the way of workshops and resources
8. Share finding with all stakeholders(students, teachers, administration, parents, and community)

Person(s) Responsible:
(Corresponding to list above)
1. Myself and Site Supervisor(Assisstant Principal)
2. Myself and Teachers of ELL and Bilingual students
3. Myself and ELL and Bilingual students
4. Myself
5. Myself and Site Supervisor
6. Myself and Site Supervisor
7. Myself
8. Myself

Timeline:
Start/End
I will immediately begin with looking at our data that is available (noted above). Throughought the school year I will be conducting interviews, surveys and reading journals and articles. I will also be researching on the Internet about my topic. My project will culminate with the result fo the 2010-2011 TAKS data and End of Year assessments. This information will let me know if our interventions were effective based on the success of our ELL denials on our campus. According to this information, I will be able to evaluate my project and make necessary changes, if needed.

Needed Resources:
1. Time (to meet with teachers,students,read articles,etc.)
2. Money (to provide teachers with training on how to teach ELL students and also resources that are needed in the classroom.
3. Support (from teachers, students, parents, and administration as I begin to inquire of this topic.

Evaluation:
I will be able to evaluate the effectiveness of this research topic and interventions by the data that will be provided at the end of the school year. This data will be in the form of test scores, interviews, and field notes.

Week 2 Reflections

During this week I learned a great deal about Action Research. From the lectures I learned that Action Research must be relevant and based on data. We must get to know our students and how they learn best. Keeping current by reading on the topics that interest you and by attending workshops is essential. Try to not reinvent the wheel and use what is already available, as long as it fits in your situation.
In my readings I learned about the 9 passions of wondering, according to Dana(2009). These passions helped me to break down important issues or topics that affect my campus and it also gave me great ideas on how to address those specific topics. The exercises at the end of the passions helped me by giving me exercises that can be completed by myself or my coworkers in our inquiry into the different passions. It is exciting to see my action research project idea develop and I am interested in our next steps in the process of inquiring in my topic and learning as much as I can about my project idea. Good Luck to all as you are all going thru the same process.

Action Research Project Purpose and Significance

What will I research?

I will research school climate on my campus and how it affects student performance and behavior. I would also like to research relationship building techniques student-teacher, parent-teacher, and administrator-teacher. I hope to make a connection between a positive school climate and strong relationships and improved student performance.


Who will benefit from some in some way(s) from the information of my action research?

The stakeholders that will benefit from this research are our students, parents, teachers, administrators and even our community. This is important to our campus because many of our students are are classified "at risk" or "economically disadvataged" and I believe that some of our teachers have difficulties forming relationships with these students. I would like to offer our campus techniques and information so that we form those relationships with our students and in turn increase their student achievement. This will also benefit the teachers by creating a trusting, positive school climate in which optimal learning can be achieved.

Action Research Post Week 1

1. This week in my reading of the texts, Examing What We Do To Improve Our Schools(Harris,Edmondson,Combs2010), and Leading with Passion and Knowledge(Dana,2009) I have learned a great deal about Action Research. Both texts give great insight about what Action Research is and isn't. As stated by Dana, "...administrator inquiry (action research) refers to the process of a principal engaging in systematic, intentional study of his/her own administrative practice and taking action for change based on what he/she learns as a result of the inquiry".(Dana, 2009) It is the principal, in conjunction with their stakeholders, taking responsibility for the issues that are affecting their school. The principal becomes the "head learner" and becomes an active problem solver. This process calls for collaboration and communication. One way that the principal and stakeholders can communicate to each other is with the use of blogs. Blogging can help principals communicate and share ideas, offer and request support, and can also be used for reflection. Blogging can help a principal connect to his/her stakeholders and those outside of his/her campus. Blogging can be a very useful and effective tool for all administrators to incorporate into their action research process and into their daily schedules.