Week 5

     This course has introduced me to the power and authentic value of research in the field of education.  From the various tasks performed throughout this course, I have the understanding that through action research, administrators can: identify campus needs, craft a plan to address the concern, engage in collecting qualitative and quantitative data, and use the data gathered to implement, support and foster change for their campus. The lectures, readings, discussion board posts, and blog postings that made up this class, have added depth and breadth to my understanding of action research.  I truly look forward to putting "paper into practice" and bringing my action plan to life.  I believe that this course has guided me through the process of understanding, questioning, revising my action research plan and leaves me ready to implement and analyze the data.

Reflection on Week 4

Reflection on Week 4

Action research is thought provoking, time consuming, wildly powerful and can lead to great things!  This statement sums up what I have discovered in my weeks of study thus far.  I have worked from my initial wonderings, outlined a rough draft, engaged authentically in the editing and revision process.  Reflection is critical to the development, revision and execution of action research.  As I read comments from my peers, dive into additional literature and meet with site supervisor I reflect on the comments and new understandings and apply them to my action research plan. This cyclical process of draft, edit, revise, draft, edit... feels empowering and works to ensure I have a complete, well thought out plan in place for my campus and the students I hope will benefit from it.


On a side note...
It has been refreshing to be engaged in this process of completing an action research plan, as it allows for me to bring my questions, understandings and frustrations into the classroom. As a result of sharing my learning experiences, my fourth grade students have started to ask thought provoking, reflective and perspective  questions about my studies and experiences in class.  I can see a sense of satisfaction and determination when they hear me acknowledge that my work is hard, takes time, and that even I have to edit, revise and ask for clarification on my assignments.  This particular class has served as an unexpected outlet for my students to engage in their own inquiry about college and higher education, an rewarding learning experience that they connect to their real world.

Action Research Plan...draft

School VISION: Build a shared vision for the implementation of the IB Primary Years Program on our campus. 

GOAL/Guiding Question:  Will a student organization grounded in the principals of the IB Action Cycle that promotes service learning, show an increased student connectedness to campus and a higher attendance and lower office referral rate?

OUTCOMES	ACTIVITIES	RESOURCES/ RESEARCH TOOLS NEEDED	RESPONSIBILITY TO ADDRESS ACTIVITIES	TIME LINE	Benchmarks/ ASSESSMENT	Revisions to SIP/PIP based on monitoring and assessments
Permission granted to conduct survey	Email site supervisor with reasons for a survey to be utilized	Email	Myself Campus Principal	February 2012	N/A	N/A
Student data to support guiding question	Survey students in grades 3-5	Free online survey program- Survey Monkey Survey results	Myself	February 2012 Ongoing as new wonderings emerge	Compiled notes from survey	Does data support interest in the development of a campus organization?
Teacher data on willingness to assist in creating student organization	Survey teachers grades 3-5	Free online survey program- Survey Monkey Survey results	Myself	February 2012 May 2012 Early 2012-2013 school year	Compiled notes from survey	Are teachers willing to support this organization on campus?
Receive attendance data from 2011-2012	Meet with campus registrar	Interview campus registrar on attendance patterns and collect quantitative data for attendance during the 2011-2012 school year	Myself Registrar	March 2012 EOY 2012-to review over the summer	Data extracted and put into a table for later comparison Notes taken on patterns noticed in attendance data	Will review after data is collected
Data on office referrals made during the 2011-2012 school year	Meet with assistant principal	Interview assistant principal to gain her perspective on how a student organization will impact student behavior –collect quantitative data on referrals made	Myself Assistant Principal	March-April 2012 EOY 2012-to review over summer	Data collected and graphed for later comparison Notes taken on patterns for referrals	Will review after data is collected
Framework for establishing a student organization obtained	Email and video chat with IB Coordinator whose campus has a successful student organization	Email Video Chat notes to guide discussion based on data from previous survey	Myself IB Coordinator-Canadian School	April 2012 Ongoing as we work from our plan and develop new questions	Data from interview look for Strengths a student action organization has had on student attendance, discipline and connectedness to campus	Use notes from interview to revisit action research guiding question-rewrite if needed
Guidelines established for selecting grade level representatives campus meetings and how will entire student body be included	Meeting held for teacher leaders interested in facilitating the student organization	Field Notes	Myself Interested campus teacher leaders	May 2012	Student grades Completion of work on time Behavior	N/A
Framework developed to facilitate first meeting with students	Meetings held for grade level representatives at recess for grades 3-5	Field Notes Video	Myself Teacher Representative Student Representative	September 2013	Norms for meeting developed by group members and posted	Will revise original action plan based on the student input given at this time
Service action learning	Meetings with student	Field Notes Video meetings and post online	Students Representatives Teacher Representatives	2012-2013 school year	Action projects initiated and carried out by students	Will revise original plan to accommodate new understandings Field notes taken during this time
Attendance data	Gather attendance data each 9 weeks	Gather quantitative data	Myself Registrar	Once each 9 weeks beginning the 2012-2013 school year	Compare attendance data for each 9 weeks to that of the previous year	Look to data acquired to determine a connection between attendance and the development of a student organization
Referral data	Gather referral data each 9 weeks	Gather quantitative data	Myself Assistant Principal	Once each 9 weeks beginning the 2012-2013 school year	Compare referral data for each 9 weeks to that of the previous year	Look to data acquired to determine a connection between referrals and the development of a student organization