Action Planning
Template
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Goal: To
assess the benefits of block scheduling versus traditional scheduling in the
areas of student academic success and discipline.
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Action Steps(s):
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Person(s) Responsible:
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Timeline: Start/End
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Needed Resources
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Evaluation
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Identify
two similarly leveled classrooms with equally qualified teachers from the 2nd-4th
grade levels to participate in the action research project. One class from each grade level will use
traditional scheduling and the other class block scheduling.
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Mrs.
Morrison
Mrs.
Pfeifer
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August
2012
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Class
Matrices, Classroom Schedules
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Mrs.
Pfeifer will verify student data and class placement with registrar. Mrs. Pfeifer will verify classroom
schedules with grade level teachers.
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I
will keep records of students’ progress and achievements through campus and
district based assessments and STAAR testing results.
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Mrs.
Pfeifer
Mrs.
Rodriguez
Mrs.
Vannett
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August
2012 – June 2013
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Class
Matrices, Eduphoria Data
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Mrs.
Pfeifer will analyze classroom testing data in Eduphoria program.
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I
will keep records of student discipline infractions through office referrals
and weekly discipline charts.
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Mrs.
Pfeifer
Mr.
Wiggins
Classroom
Teacher
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August
2012-June 2013
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Class
Discipline Chart, Office Referral Data
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Mrs.
Pfeifer will analyze classroom discipline data through discipline charts and
office referral data.
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I
will survey the six classroom teachers involved to assess their personal
feelings as to the effectiveness of their scheduling type in relation to
achieving in depth instruction to meet the rigor of the STAAR testing.
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Mrs.
Pfeifer
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May
2013
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Survey
created by Mrs. Pfeifer
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Teachers
will complete a survey of their personal feelings in reference to scheduling
and rigorous instruction.
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I
will survey the students to assess their feelings as to classroom activities,
preparedness, learning capacity, and interest in subject matter in relation
to class schedule.
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Mrs.
Pfeifer
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May
2013
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Survey
created by Mrs. Pfeifer
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Students
will complete a survey of their personal feelings in reference to classroom
activities, preparedness, learning capacity, and interest in subject matter
in relation to class schedule.
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Thursday, June 21, 2012
Action Research Plan
Saturday, June 16, 2012
Research Reflection
Through this week’s assignment I realize
the importance of looking at what other campuses similar to mine are doing to
deal with issues that are occurring at my campus. I will consider information gathered from
other teachers and campuses and use it as a tool when completing my own
research. I also want to be sure that I
protect the identity of all students and complete my research in an ethical
manner.
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Blog Sharing for Leaders
There are a multitude of ways that blogging can be
beneficial in the educational setting.
This is especially important because blogging is a form of reflection that
is important to the action research process.
While administrators may use blogging as an open forum for communication
between teachers and themselves, it is also becoming a useful tool in the
classroom.
This year I had the opportunity to use the educational
blogging site, Edmodo, as a classroom tool.
We used it weekly to answer questions and reflect on a novel we were
reading in class. I also used it at the
end of the year as an open forum for students to discuss and reflect on their
experience in my class. I was able to
get valuable student feedback that will be helpful in creating lessons for student-centered
learning.
I will also be using Edmodo this summer as part of a book
study at my campus. We are reading
chapters weekly and reflecting on our reading through the blog. This is very beneficial as it is always
difficult to get teachers together during the summer due to schedules. With Edmodo we can blog to communicate at our
leisure and it can be done from anywhere.
I feel that blogging will continue to be a valuable resource
for administrators, teachers and students.
It will be exciting to see new ways it will be used in the future as an
educational resource.
Friday, June 8, 2012
Action Research Ideas
When
reflecting on the idea of action research, it just makes good common sense.
What better way to reflect and improve on your teaching than by examining
student progress and comparing data. Why wouldn't a teacher want to evaluate
student data and share their finding so that students will be more successful?
Action research, as defined by Nancy Fichtman Dana (2009), is a step by step
process of identifying a situation or need, reading literature reviews and
researching the topic, collecting data in the school with real children and
real problems, and identifying changes that can be implemented to help students
and teachers.
Teachers who believe in a student-centered teaching philosophy use this process every day. It might be on a smaller scale, but when a teacher takes the time to develop a lesson and solicit ideas and insights from others, delivers the lesson and reflects on the students' learning accomplishments and identifies areas that can be improved, action research has taken place. If the teacher determines from the learning outcomes that the students did not master the lesson objectives, it is the teacher's responsibility to redesign the lesson to ensure success and mastery for all students.
As a classroom teacher and grade level team leader I would use action research to inquire about many topics. One that is a significant area for inquiry and action research are the benefits of traditional scheduling versus block scheduling. This topic has been researched and debated over by many, and it is a key component to student success. With the increasing standards of state testing and diminishing school budgets, we must work efficiently with our time and personnel resources. Which type of scheduling would allow maximum benefits of these? We also need to ask ourselves which type of scheduling allows us to build relationships with our students while at the same time gives us the ability to present lessons that increase the rigor of classroom content for student success.
Teachers who believe in a student-centered teaching philosophy use this process every day. It might be on a smaller scale, but when a teacher takes the time to develop a lesson and solicit ideas and insights from others, delivers the lesson and reflects on the students' learning accomplishments and identifies areas that can be improved, action research has taken place. If the teacher determines from the learning outcomes that the students did not master the lesson objectives, it is the teacher's responsibility to redesign the lesson to ensure success and mastery for all students.
As a classroom teacher and grade level team leader I would use action research to inquire about many topics. One that is a significant area for inquiry and action research are the benefits of traditional scheduling versus block scheduling. This topic has been researched and debated over by many, and it is a key component to student success. With the increasing standards of state testing and diminishing school budgets, we must work efficiently with our time and personnel resources. Which type of scheduling would allow maximum benefits of these? We also need to ask ourselves which type of scheduling allows us to build relationships with our students while at the same time gives us the ability to present lessons that increase the rigor of classroom content for student success.
I
would also like to begin an inquiry, using action research, into the benefits
of having a special education co-teacher in a core curriculum classroom. I think that all of the children in the
classroom should be evaluated to address the success and failures of this type
of special education programming. Is the classroom a true co-teaching
environment with two teachers teaching, or is it one teacher teaching while the
other is keeping students on task? This is important to understand before
evaluating the results of any data collection.
This again is an important issue to address considering the increasing
standards of state testing and the changes of special education testing
requirements and eligibility. Providing
for the needs of all students, both mainstream and special education, is a top
priority in education, but how to do this is an area of great debate.
Both
of these issues are of great importance to me because they affect not only my
students, but students throughout classrooms every day. My goal as a teacher and future administrator
is to provide students and colleagues with the utmost opportunity for success. I believe the use of action research is
beneficial to achieve this goal.
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