Reflections

As I reflect on the past five weeks and the design of my action research plan, it is almost humorous when I think about what I was originally considering doing for my research. I was selecting topics too broad and almost impossible to measure. It wasn’t until after talking with my site supervisor and an educational specialist in research in planning that I was able to look at action research with a different lens. These ongoing conversations with research and planning in addition to the readings in class and dialogue with classmates have helped me to keep my topic narrow and measurable. After learning more about action research and capturing meaningful data, it was very difficult to look at my classmates’ plans without wanting to jump in and say “Wait! Stop! How in the world are you going to measure that ____ was the one variable that impacted standardized test scores?” or “How can you prove that school start times impacted test scores?” I started looking at research topics and all of the variables that would be impossible to measure. I definitely  have a much better understanding of the difference between traditional research and inquiry action research and the purpose of conducting action research. It makes me wonder how many administrators actually make action research (or some form of action research) a part of their ongoing practices. It seems to be a powerful and invaluable research when wanting to be an agent of change or even when determining if a change needs to be made. 

It was helpful having access to classmates’ blogs and to be able to have continuous dialogue with others about their research and my own research. We also have a class Facebook page which has proven to be a helpful  and effective means of communication. We share resources, blog addresses, feedback, troubleshooting tips etc. When blackboard is down, the Facebook page allows us to still communicate. We also use this page to encourage each other  to not give up and to persevere when the workload is sometimes overwhelming.

My site supervisor is also the Director of School Improvement. It is the first time our district has had this department so my site supervisor is developing a lot of training and resources for school leaders. In this first year her focus is supposed to be on the training and development of the principals. It has been helpful to have both textbooks Examining What We Do To Improve Our Schools and Leading with Passion and Knowledge and to share this information with her and help her in the designing of some of her presentations and trainings for principals.

I feel like I have not only expanded my knowledge of action research but I have adjusted the lens in which I look at schools and possible topics or inquiry that could possibly lend itself to future action research. I am excited to work through all of the steps of my action research plan.

Revisions to Action Research Plan:

After meeting with my site supervisor and a specialist in research and planning, a few revisions have been made to ensure the focus remains narrow and measurable.

Action Planning Template
Goal: To determine if district planned professional development can change teacher perception. Question: Will teacher perception of Quality Questioning techniques in the classroom change after a three-hour district-wide professional development? Does the experience level of the teacher impact teacher perception?
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
1. Study literature regarding Quality Questioning, how teacher experience impacts perception of PD and willingness to change practice.	Judy Christopher	Sept./Oct. 2013	Quality Questioning: Research-Based Practice to Engage Every Learner by Jackie Acree The Heart of Change (Kotter) Online research articles	Identify effective techniques of Quality Questioning to include into presentation Summarize research findings on teacher experience level and it’s impact on teacher perception
2.Design Pre-Survey to question teachers about their current knowledge and perception of Quality Questioning techniques (Probing questions, higher level questioning, Wait Time I and II, etc.)	Judy Christopher, Joe Koontz, Principal	Sept./Oct. 2013	Google Form survey	Analyze results to understand experience level and teacher knowledge of Quality Questioning before the PD is delivered.
3. Assess information gained from readings and collaborate as a team to create engaging, interactive professional development with embedded cross curricular activities.	Judy Christopher, elementary core content Educational Specialists, Director of Instructional Technology	Sept./Oct. 2013	District-Wide Professional Development: “Increasing Rigor, Relevance and Relationships through Quality Questioning” powerpoint including workshop facilitator’s guide and activity script	Perception survey and professional development evaluation
4 Facilitate the 3 hour professional development on site at the elementary school	Judy Christopher	Oct. 2013	“R3 Q2 Rigor, Relevance and Relationships through Quality Questioning” powerpoint, workshop facilitator’s guide and activity script	Presenter will determine success of PD through a self-evaluation
5. Create google form to be used during the wrap up portion of the professional development to capture how teachers used knowledge gained during the PD to create a lesson.	Judy Christopher	Oct. 2013	Google form link embedded into the PD presentation	Use this data to see if it is consistent with the post survey results. If teachers were able to create the lesson with effective quality questioning techniques, yet indicate their perception of quality questioning did not change then we have to question the effectiveness of the PD.
6. Create a post survey to measure the perception and understanding of Quality Questioning techniques. Number of years teaching experience level	Judy Christopher	Oct. 2013	post survey in google forms (Judy creates)	Compare and contrast pre and post surveys, in addition to lessons shared, to identify whether or not  the PD had a positive or negative impact on teachers’ perception of quality questioning Look for
7.Compare results and information gathered on google form and report findings based on pre and post surveys.	Judy Christopher Ingrid Grant, site-supervisor, Joe Koontz, Principal, Research and Planning Specialist	Nov./Dec. 2013	Pre and post survey results, lessons shared through google forms at wrap up session of PD	After preparing the report of my Action Research, share with Principal and site supervisor. Based on findings, additional support may be provided to teachers to help them better understand the effectiveness of using Quality Questioning strategies in the classroom; this includes having student generate questions.

Format based on Tool 7.1 from Examining What We Do to Improve Our Schools

(Harris, Edmonson, and Combs, 2010)

This has been quite a week  - creating benchmark assessments for all of our elementary schools and trying to wrap my brain around all things Action Research. After completing all of the readings and having numerous conversations with my site-supervisor and an educational specialist and former principal in our Research and Planning Department, I decided upon the action research plan below. As content specialists for the district, we are often tasked with having to design and sometimes facilitate professional development for our teachers and administrators. Often this event turns out to be a "sit and get" with little return on our investment. In other words, for the monumental amount of work that goes into creating district wide PD, it would be most beneficial if the PD actually had an impact on teacher perception. I would like to capture data from one school and try to measure whether or not teacher perception of Quality Questioning techniques in the classroom will change after the district wide PD. Careful attention will be paid, when creating the PD, to add a high level of engagement for the participants.

Action Research Week 2

It has been eye opening this week learning about all of the different types of action research. I also enjoyed the videos of the scholars discussing the important of action research in addition to some actual action research that has been done in their district. I liked when Kirk Lewis, Superintendent of Passadena ISD, reminded viewers to conduct research that is practical. By doing so, it will increase interest level, help you to focus on the outcome and most importantly, students will benefit more from practical research versus something just theoretical. These words have helped me to refine my action research topics a bit. I have several areas that I am interested in. One possible research topic is focused on teacher collaboration and it's impact on a particular content area (science) and test scores. This one is difficult since it would be hard to tell if the actual teacher collaboration increased/impacted the scores or other variables in the classroom i.e. different students this year versus last, etc.  After discussing several options with my site-supervisor, I'm thinking it would be beneficial to the Department of School Improvement if I do action research around a program called Interactive Achievement.  Several of our Tier I schools are using this program in an effort to improve student learning thus positively impacting test scores. Our district is wanting data on whether or not this program is beneficial to student learning lending itself to greater student achievement gains versus schools not using this program.

Action Research and Blog Ideas for Educational Leaders

Action Research:

Over the years, I have heard educators discuss action research. I always thought action research was more similar to traditional research. The readings associated with this course have given me a better grasp and understanding of action research and inquiry. I did not realize that reflection could be an important component in action research. As an educational leader, I can envision using action research in a variety of ways. Since I currently work at a district level supporting 47 schools, I am always seeking ways to be more effective and efficient. Delivering professional development plays an important role in my position. I would like to possibly do action research surrounding the effectiveness of professional development. I would like to design our upcoming quality questioning professional development to not only be engaging and exciting but to meet teachers where they are in both skill and understanding.  To allow them enough practice and experience with the content to help them put the questioning techniques into practice immediately. I will work with several of our school improvement schools to try and capture the sustainability of this professional development.  I am also interested in whether or not close collaboration between 2^nd grade teachers across the district can improve science scores. Several teachers have requested the need to work with other teachers in the district teaching similar populations with better test results to compare teaching strategies. I would like to put together a group this year, facilitate meetings and ongoing communications about best practices around science instruction then examine the impact, if any, on science scores.

Ideas for using blogs:
Educational leaders can use blogs to effectively update faculty/staff and the community/parents about school happenings, special notices or policy changes, upcoming fieldtrips assemblies, parent meetings, etc. They can also use blogs to highlight and praise good things happening in classrooms, in the school and in the community.

District Leaders can also use blogs to minimize the amount of emails principals are receiving. In our district, principals were inundated with emails. The district leaders put a ban on emails being sent to the "all elementary principal" group. Individual principals can be emailed but if information needs to be disbursed to all principals, it has to be sent to a director for approval. Upon approval, the communication is posted on the blog for elementary principals which is updated twice weekly. This allows the directors to vet the emails and post only pertinent information for elementary principals.

Educational Leaders can also use blogs to share results from Inquiry/Action research with faculty. They can seek input from teachers or other school leaders. They can also post artifacts and reflections based on the inquiry.

Leaders can also use blogs to engage teachers and students by posing big idea questions and questions that promote and encourage high lever thinking and conversations between teachers and students.