Overhaul

After my meeting with my Principal yesterday, my plan has changed, and I have implemented an over haul.  Apparently, I was making things too hard  (for those who know me- imagine that!)  She helped me simplify my plan, and I will be posting soon.  Also, rather than looking at 3rd graders, I will be looking strictly at 4th grade because they will not be implemetning CHAMPS until 2nd semester, unlike other grade levels.  Some of her thought processess have changed over the summer, too!

Amendenments & Comments

I am trying to wrap my thoughts around the revisions to my ARP.  I have recieved comments from classmates, and looked at other's ARP for ideas.  I look foward to my meeting with my Principal tomorrow to discuss some things.  Below are a few of the comments I have recieved thus far, and my plan for implemention.

I think that this will be an interesting topic for research and I believe that it will provide opportunities to look at not just math scores but all subjects. I am not familiar with the CHAMPS behavior program but I do know that student miss valuable instructional time when teachers have to spend a majority of their time dealing with discipline issues. I look forward to learning more about your discipline program as we follow your research.

This comment does not change or amend my ARP draft plan, but I am reasssured knowing that this is a common topic on other campuses as well.

Great student group to focus on! Having knowledge of CHAMPS and working with behavior students, I think you have a project with good documentation possibilities. I think you will find that the CHAMPS verbage used with students and their responses can easily document the frequency of redirect, the success of redirect and the response

Until this comment, I had not thought about looking into the positive behaviors teachers experience and their correltion to test scores. This may be something I add to my plan. 

Will you also correlate their attendance in math to the grand scheme of things? One year I had extreme behavior issues with 4 students and implemented a behavior modification program.Due to their attendance being so poor, I felt that the program did not honestly affect them in the way it could do to the inconsistent lessons they received. If attendance is an issue for some of your students, how will you address that aspect to make the CHAMPS implementation consistent?

After reading this comment, I realized what an important aspect I was leaving out of my ARP!  I absolutely need to look at attendence.  This could be a major contributing factor to some of the students acadmic gaps, thus creating behavioral weaknesses. I have already amended my plan to look at the attendence for the students who have below average test scores, as well as excessive office referrals or behavioral consequences.

I am very thankful for the feedback I have recieved thus far. I am also glad that I am recieving honest feedback- I am always looking for ways to improve.

Action Research Project Plan

Action Planning Template – REVISIONS

Research Question: Behavior molds us into the person we are, and the person we are to be become. When looking at behavior of 3rd graders, their academics are rightly affected; whether it be positively or negatively. During the 2011-2012 school year, an increase in office referrals and a decrease in test scores was evident by our campus administrators. Will the implementation of a new behavioral management program, during the 2012-2013 school year, result in an increase in the district and state math test scores of 3rd graders at Story Elementary. Will the implementation also affect the math scores of the 2012- 2013 4th graders, who were 3rd graders in 2011-2012 when the program was not in place?  Will research show an increase in the math test scores of students from 3rd grade to 4th grade with the implementation of the new program?

Goal/Outcome: If a correlation between the new behavior management program and test scores proves to be positive, administrators will look into training all staff members on the CHAMPS training.  I will assist the administration with staff development on the trainings and aide in the implementation of the program school wide.

Notes: During my research, I will be looking at test scores from our 3rd and 4th graders at Story Elementary. During my investigation, I hope to discover if a behavior intervention program, specifically named CHAMPS, will affect the math district and state test scores of our students positively. I am hoping to show a positive correlation between the two sets of data. I will look at the number of office referrals, as well as testing data to compile my results. In researching, I will evaluate the effects of the behavior intervention program, CHAMPS, on the 4th graders, who were last year’s 3rd graders. The research will show if there was a positive impact on their test scores, as well as a decrease in the number of office referrals during a set period of time. The dates were chosen to correspond with our district and state testing dates and evaluations.

To Disseminate the findings: In order to disseminate the findings, I will begin with my site supervisor, my principal. When initially discussing my action research project, this was something she herself was interested in researching. She wants to use my research to prove to the staff that the behavior intervention program, CHAMPS, that she wants to implement campus wide, is truly beneficial to our students. Once she and I have reviewed the findings, I will present the findings to the staff during a staff development meeting.  My research will lay the ground work for the principal to begin her training on CHAMPS.

Assessment: In order to assess the findings, I will look at several areas. I will look at correlations between data without the CHAMPS program, and data with the implementation of the CHAMPS program. To begin, I will look at office referral data. For a positive correlation, the number of office referrals will need to show a decrease across all areas from the previous year. A negative correlation will show an increase or no change in the number office referrals.  When looking at the math testing data, I will be looking at an increase or decrease in percentages from 2011-2012 school year compared to 2012-2013 school year. An increase in scores will represent a positive correlation, with a decrease representing a negative correlation.

Action Steps(s):	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Compile a list of the number of office referrals by 3rd grade from Aug - Dec 2011	Aug 2012 – Dec 2012	Access to number of office referrals by 3rd grade teachers in 2011	Code students in an excel sheet to see how many students were referred to the office, as well as look at those students who had more than one referral
Compile a list of the number of office referrals by 3rd grade from Jan – May 2012	Aug 2012 – Dec 2012	Access to number of office referrals by 3rd grade teachers from Jan – May 2012	Code students in an excel sheet to see how many students were referred to the office, as well as look at those students who had more than one referral
Compile a list of the number of office referrals by 3rd grade from Aug – Dec 2012	Aug 2012 – Jan 2013	Access to number of office referrals by 3rd grade teachers from Aug – Dec 2012	Code students in an excel sheet to see how many students were referred to the office, as well as look at those students who had more than one referral
Compile a list of the number of office referrals by 3rd grade from Jan – May 2013	Jan – June 2013	Access to number of office referrals by 3rd grade teachers from Jan – June 2013	Code students in an excel sheet to see how many students were referred to the office, as well as look at those students who had more than one referral
Compile a list of the number of office referrals by 4th grade from Aug – Dec 2012	Aug 2012 – Jan 2013	Access to number of office referrals by 4th grade teachers from Aug – Dec 2012	Code students in an excel sheet to see how many students were referred to the office, as well as look at those students who had more than one referral
Compile a list of the number of office referrals by 4th grade from Jan – May 2013	Jan – June 2013	Access to number of office referrals by 4th  grade teachers from Jan – June 2013
Analyze decrease/increase in office referrals from each time period from year to year -       Aug – Dec 2011 vs Aug - Dec 2012 -       Jan – May 2012 vs Jan – May 2013 -       3rd grade to 3rd grade -       3rd grade to 4th grade	Aug 2012 – June 2013	Excel, data found from office referrals	Create a chart or graph to evaluate my findings
Gather and interpret math test scores from 2011 benchmark scores -       How many did not meet expectations -       Break down by percentages -       3rd grade -       4th grade	Aug 2012 – Dec 2012	Excel, AWARE testing data	Create a graphic representation of data
Gather and interpret math test scores from 2012 simulation scores -       How many did not meet expectations -       Break down by percentages -       3rd grade -       4th grade	Dec 2012 – March 2013	Excel, AWARE testing data	Create a graphic representation of data
Gather and interpret math test scores from 2012 STAAR scores -       How many did not meet expectations -       Break down by percentages -       3rd grade -       4th grade	Oct 2012 – Dec 2012	Excel, STAAR data from the state	Create a graphic representation of data
Gather and interpret math test scores from 2012 benchmark scores -       How many did not meet expectations -       Break down by percentages -       3rd grade -       4th grade	Oct 2012 – Dec 2012	Excel, AWARE testing data	Create a graphic representation of data
Gather and interpret math test scores from 2013 simulation scores -       How many did not meet expectations -       Break down by percentages -       3rd grade -       4th grade	Jan 2013 – March 2013	Excel, AWARE testing data	Create a graphic representation of data
Gather and interpret math test scores from 2013 STAAR scores -       How many did not meet expectations -       Break down by percentages	March 2013 – June 2013	Excel, STAAR testing data from the state	Create a graphic representation of data
Show an increase/decrease in math benchmark scores from 2011 to 2012	Sept 2012 – Dec 2013	Excel, AWARE testing data	Create a graphic representation of data
Show an increase/decrease in math simulation scores from 2012 to 2013	Feb 2013 – June 2013	Excel, AWARE testing data	Create a graphic representation of data
Show an increase/decrease in math STAAR scores from 2012 to 2013	March 2013 – June 2013	Excel, STAAR testing data from the state	Create a graphic representation of data
Compare the number of office referrals to the math testing data	Aug 2011 – June 2013	EXCEL, testing data, office referral data from previous assessments	Use the data collected to create a graphic representation of all the data collected. Find a correlation between testing data and behavior, if any

student achievement and behavior

great article for my action research project - thanks Harry Wong!

2nd post

I am new to blogging, so I am not sure if 2 posts in 1 day is a lot or not, but here it goes....
I have been reviewing classmates blogs and I am amazed at what all everyone else is researching. I am hoping someone reads my blog and gives me some feedback. I hope I am on the right track!

Week 2 of Action Research

I am coming to the close of Week 2. It was a very hectic week! 2 days of technology training in Grapevine, my EC-6/ESL certification test on Thurs, this week's assignments, painting a bathroom, a flat tire, the hubby's birthday, a baby shower, and Father's Day!  Needless to day, I am looking forward to the slow pace for next week! 

This week, after an hour on IM with the librarian at Lamar, I was finally able to access some articles related to my action research topic. I also finally decided on a topic. My principal, some teacher friends and I all went to Grapevine, so with our years of teaching expertise, they helped me decide on a topic. Researching behavior was not my original intention, but the more I research and discuss the topic with colleagues, I realize what an impact it has on education. 

So here's to finding my research topic and to a slow paced week!

Educational Leaders and the use of Blogs

How can an educational leader use a blog?

To begin, an educational leader can build a blog for their campus. My Principal has built a blog for the staff to communicate on a regular basis. We can ask questions, post to her questions, etc. on the blog. I have found that many are willing to post here rather than send responses to “all” thru e-mail systems. I enjoy the convenience of her posting notes from faculty meetings, schedule updates, and updates to daily matters instead of faculty meetings. 

Another way an educational leader can use a blog is with homework. One can post videos, and information for students and parents to use at home.  Many of the students in our school population do not have resources available to help them at home. If they had the ability to watch a video on how to do something, or even review the notes from the teacher, many of the homework questions could be answered.

Next, I will be building a blog this year for our campus book study. In lieu of book study meetings, I will build a blog and post questions for responses. Book studies have not been popular in the past, and most teachers would agree they are a waste of time. However, I feel that if we can get on once a week, blog, discuss, and answer a question or two, that the majority of the staff would feel that their time was utilized wisely.

Action Research 5301

Action Research 5301

Why Action Research?

When I began this course, I have never heard the term “action research”.  After reading the texts, and working a little “Google magic”, I feel I have a better understanding and an educational connection to the term.  I have had an epiphany during this first week of study. I never realized that there was an entire cycle and world of research based education that was used to make decisions. I am very familiar with  Fichtman-Dana’s term “transmissive mode” (2009, p. 4).  Most of the staff development trainings I have attend the last few years have been modeled in this way; this is the way to do it,  it will increase learning, so just do it.  After research Fichtman-Dana’s book, Leading with Passion and Knowledge, I now know there is a research based world of implementing new educational strategies.  Turning educators into problem solvers, just as I teach my students, is the most beneficial to the whole. Allowing yourself to learn from others successes and mistakes, allow you to save time when implementing new programs and strategies. I am also accepting of action research because it takes less time to research others work than to try a new strategy for a year and realize it was not right for your campus. In the little research I have done to begin my own Action Research Project, I am learning that articles list new programs step by step, so I can fully understand if that would be right for my school.  Having to come up the answer is the hardest part of the action research for me.  Once the question or questions are posed, all one needs to do is seek educational articles to aid in answering the questions at hand.  The article, in hand with your research and feedback gives you enough knowledge to make an informed decision for your campus.


references
Dana, Nancy Fichtman (2009). Leading with Passion and Knowledge: The Principal as the Action Researcher. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press