ARP Update

My research project is progressing just as I had planned.  We have implemented Stem Scopes, an approved instructional resource, and teachers are beginning to use it in their classrooms.  I’m getting both positive and negative feedback from teachers who have implemented this  resource in their classroom.  I plan to introduce this resource this week and will see how my students and parents view the the usefulness of it.  I will be sending a survey home soon to get  a better picture of how this resource is being used outside of school.  The real challenge I’ll face is the availability of internet in the homes of the students I teach. I would guess that 90% of the students I teach have access to the internet at home. My challenge is to get those students to choose to access my website regularly in order to be up to speed in my class.  The problem comes when I think about my minority students.  Some of my lower income students have no access to the internet once they leave the school.  Our computer lab is open before and after school, but for many students, their bus routes don’t accommodate for this tutorial schedule.  My challenge rests in this fact.  I will have to effectively communicate with all parents to see how they are utilizing the instructional resource we are currently using.  I plan to address the deficiencies revealed by the parent, student, teacher surveys.  This data will allow our curriculum committee to make informed suggestions on how to implement our current curriculum and will give us good guidance when we view the state adopted materials in October.

5301 Reflections

Looking back over the past five weeks has made me realize I got way more than I bargained for from EDLD 5301. I had an idea of what a class titled “research” would consist of, but I found my ideas were far from what I ended up learning. Overall, the class provided me with a very clear definition of action research and what I feel is a wealth of information on implementing action research in my professional career. Through lectures, readings, discussion boards, and blogs, I’ve developed a deep understanding of a tool I’ll be sure to use immediately.

The assignments in this course really allowed me to review and reflect on the valuable information found in both the lectures and readings. Although I sometimes found myself spending hours wrapping my brain around a specific writing assignment, I always ended up with a deep understanding of the topic being addressed. Aside from the usual writing assignments I had each week, the action research plan (ARP) template I had to fill out in week three was extremely helpful. Filling out the ARP template really gave me a vision for the scope of my research. It allowed me to take a step back and see my plan as a whole and made it easy for me to see gaps that needed to be filled in, specifically in the area of data collection and analysis. This template was also crucial in allowing others in my class to provide comments and thoughts.

Everything this course offered me really helped me to understand action research. I know I will be promoting action research within my school this year as we face old and new issues. I’m thankful I have plenty of great resources from this course to offer anyone interested in the topic, and I look forward to developing an even deeper understanding of the power of action research.

ARP Revisions

As a science teacher (I feel pompous saying scientist), I'm quite familiar with the scientific method.  A unique aspect of action research, to me, is how closely it follows the method scientists use to find clear results.  This week's assignment to review peer comments reminds me of the all-to-often forgotten "publish for review" step of the method.  I've always taught this step as a side note by simply saying something like, "And if you think you have significant results, then you can publish your work and let others criticize it!"  For years I'd always roll my eyes (in my mind) as I thought, "Who's gonna take the time to get a publisher and do that?!"  Welcome to the 21st century where you can publish via a blog!  Long story short, I'm very thankful for the feedback I've received from my peers on my ARP.  This feedback has led me to make a few key changes to the ARP itself and to one particular survey I'll be giving.

In reading a comment from a peer, I noticed they used the wrong acronym for State Board of Education.  This made me wonder why.  I went back to look at my ARP and noticed I was the culprit! I’ve since changed my error.  Another comment of interest was one of concern for the delivery of chosen materials.  I’d simply placed wordage from the SBOE in my ARP concerning the timeline of the materials being delivered, but two people made comments they were worried our campus would get materials too late.  These comments led me to abandon the SBOE wordage and make a deadline of my own.  This deadline will be easily attained if I follow the timeline of the rest of my ARP.  A final comment resonated with me because it came from a fellow MS science teacher who could relate.  She mentioned her district would continue to use the supplemental approach that most schools in TX have been using since 2009 and not put all their eggs in one basket.  This topic was discussed amongst teachers in my district two weeks ago.  We all felt like we could move forward without a designated instructional material too.  Although this comment won’t show up as a revision in my ARP, it has led me to change one of the surveys for teachers that I’ll be giving during the year.  

Action Research Plan

Instructional Materials Research Plan
Goal:  Determine the best choice of instructional materials to be offered by the State Board of Education (SBOC) in school year 2014-2015 for 6th-8th grade science at Argyle Middle School.
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Review current materials from publishers who have placed bids to the SBOC.	John Baker, Barbara Hayden, Misty Whitworth, Brenda Williams, Natalie Coonrod, Bobby Morse, Scott Gibson, Chris Daniel	7/19/2013 8/1/2013	TEA Document: “Proclamation 2014 Publishing Companies with Materials Under Consideration for Adoption”	Meet to discuss front runners and favorites among listed publishers.
Research instructional materials favored by 6th-8th grade science staff.	John Baker	8/1/2013 8/5/2013	Google search for reviews of favored materials, email and phone conversations with teachers currently using favored materials and publishers of the materials.	Reflection on data gathered from searches and contacts.
Choose instructional materials for the 2013-2014 school year.	John Baker, Barbara Hayden, Misty Whitworth, Brenda Williams, Natalie Coonrod, Bobby Morse, Scott Gibson, Chris Daniel	8/6/2013 8/8/2013	Meeting room, sample materials from selected publishers. Information from research done by Baker.	Based on data, come to an agreement on materials to be used.
Selection of grade-level-focus groups.	John Baker, Barbara Hayden, Misty Whitworth, Brenda Williams, Natalie Coonrod, Bobby Morse	8/21/2013 8/22/2013	2013 class schedules and rosters for 6th-8th grades.	Survey #1.
Instructional materials survey creation.	John Baker, Barbara Hayden, Misty Whitworth, Brenda Williams	8/23/2013 8/23/2013	Google docs.	Survey #1 reflection.
Implement selected instructional materials.	6th-8th grade science staff.	8/26/2013 6/6/2014	Selected instructional materials (most likely Stemscopes).	Survey data from teachers, students, and parents.
Teacher, student, parent survey of selected materials #1.	John Baker (lead), 6th-8th grade teachers, students, and parents	9/23/2013 10/4/2013	Instructional materials online evaluation form.	Analyze form data.  Meet with 6th-8th grade teachers.
Reflection on data from survey #1.	John Baker (lead), 6th-8th grade teachers.	10/7/2013 10/7/2013	Data from survey #1.	Survey #2.
Instructional materials evaluation form creation.	John Baker, Barbara Hayden, Misty Whitworth, Brenda Williams	10/7/2013 10/7/2013	Data from survey #1, teacher input on instructional material needs.	Adopted materials preview debriefing.
Region XI SBOC adopted materials preview.	John Baker, Barbara Hayden, Misty Whitworth, Brenda Williams	10/25/2013 10/25/2013	Adopted materials evaluation form.	Discuss evaluation forms with those in attendance.
Teacher, student, parent survey of selected materials #2.	John Baker (lead), 6th-8th grade teachers, students, and parents	12/9/2013 12/14/2013	Instructional materials online evaluation form.	Analyze form data.  Meet with 6th-8th grade teachers.
Reflection on data from survey #2.	John Baker (lead), 6th-8th grade teachers.	12/19/2013 12/20/2013	Data from survey #2.	Survey #3.
Review of current materials and impressions of materials from SBOC preview.	John Baker, Barbara Hayden, Misty Whitworth, Brenda Williams, Natalie Coonrod, Bobby Morse	1/6/2014 1/6/2014	Survey #1 & #2 data, evaluation forms from SBOC materials preview.	Debrief at the conclusion of the meeting. Determine if further discussion is needed.
Teacher, student, parent survey of selected materials #3.	John Baker (lead), 6th-8th grade teachers, students, and parents	3/3/2014 3/7/2014	Instructional materials online evaluation form.	Analyze form data.  Meet with 6th-8th grade teachers.
Reflection on data from survey #3.	John Baker (lead), 6th-8th grade teachers.	3/17/2014 3/17/2014	Data from survey #3.	Selection meeting on 3/24/2014.
Selection of SBOC adopted instructional materials for 2014-2015 school year.	John Baker, Barbara Hayden, Misty Whitworth, Brenda Williams, Natalie Coonrod, Bobby Morse, Scott Gibson, Chris Daniel	3/24/2014 3/24/2014	Data from 1/6/2014 meeting, data from survey #3, SBOC adopted instructional materials samples.	Reflection on current instructional materials.  Evaluation form for selected instructional materials.
Submit order for 2014-2015 instructional materials.	Chris Daniel	4/1/2014 4/30/2014	EMAT	Ensure order was placed.
Receive instructional materials from publisher.	Scott Gibson	6/1/2014 8/1/2014	N/A	Ensure materials were delivered no less than 10 days before the start of the school year.
Implement selected adopted materials.	6th-8th grade science staff.	8/26/2013 6/6/2014	Selected instructional materials.	Survey data from teachers, students, and parents.

EDLD 5301, Week 2: Redundant Research

Hopefully, the title of this post caught your eye.  For those of you enrolled in EDLD 5301, you may relate to the reasons why I chose "redundant research" to hang above this blog entry.  At the beginning of this week (which for me was Wednesday), I felt the workload was relatively easy because I started with the discussion boards.  Initially it seemed I'd be talking about what I'd discussed the previous week:  my action research topic.  Redundant, right?  I thought to myself, "Hey, self, this week will be a breeze!" Enter Friday and Saturday, when I was tasked with investigating nine different wonderings educational leaders should engage in.  This essay, coupled with the essay on what I'd learned from interviews of educational leaders led me to the second redundancy of the week.  While driving home after five hours of reading and writing, I thought to myself, "Man, self, I just spent five hours researching...research!"  As I sit here on a Sunday night with my assignment submitted, my discussion board duties fulfilled, and my blog post completing itself right before my eyes, I can genuinely say I've learned a ton this week about action research.  Not only have I been able to think more precisely about my research topic, I've learned how action research can lead to positive results in other areas.  I've learned the value of taking the initiative in addressing issues and problems through research.  I've learned sharing your findings from research with others can be very rewarding, and I've learned data is the key to assessing your research's progress and accuracy.  I look forward to what may be another week of redundancy as this one, to me, was very rewarding.  I'll say it again.  This week was very rewarding.

Blogs in Education

To me, blogs are the ultimate tool for collaboration.  Today, educators are encouraged to be collaborative not only in their decision making but also in their inquiry into issues affecting their schools.  As a science teacher, I know the importance of publishing it for peer review.  Blogs provide an atmosphere never before seen for this critiquing process.  By simply sharing your findings and thoughts on a blog, you allow others from different situations to weigh in on your research.  As an educator in the 21^st century, I feel I’d be foolish not to utilize blogs if I were to be doing any type of research, large or small.  

Action Research Overview

As I've entered the second month of my eighteen-month journey to obtain my educational-administration-master’s degree, I've been tasked with becoming an action researcher.  Action research (also called inquiry or classroom research) is aptly named in that one does not simply go along with someone else's research and implement it; action researchers do the inquiring themselves based upon issues specific to their situation.  Traditionally, research is done outside of schools in institutions of higher learning or private research facilities.  Although these traditional studies can yield significant results, these results won’t necessarily transfer to all school settings.  Action research is different in that the very people dealing with certain issues are the ones doing the research.  This is why action research is such a good tool for administrators in education.  By making pertinent observations of local issues and personally inquiring about the subject, administrators can be proactive in the continual improvement of their campus and community.   Action research also allows for collaboration with those around you.  Instead of the top-down approach of, “Just do what I say,” action researchers involve the staff around them, encouraging them to become part of the solution to a problem most, if not all of them, face.  I’m very excited to learn more about this contemporary style of research and look forward to putting it to use this year.