Web Conference #2 (December 11) - EDLD 5363

        I found this Web Conference to be one of the most beneficial ones of this semester.  Not only did it answer questions about the assignment pending, the PSA, but it answered questions about the process for the Masters at Lamar University.
        I understood that Weeks 4 & 5 were combined to make one grade and all the work from the PSA would be the assignment for those 2 weeks.  In addition, the Final Exam Reflection was cut out due to EPIC difficulties.
        Along with understanding the assignments, Dr. Abernathy answered questions about the Lamar program.  Questions answered varied from reasons for not worrying about the GRE to ways and reasons to receive the Principal Certification.  For example, there is a student that scored high on the GRE, yet is still pursuing a Master’s degree.  Also, the Principal Certification is beneficial when pursuing a higher position, whether it is as a Principal or in an Administrator role in the offices for a district.

Collaboration

      I found our team to work well together.  We were on the same page as to keeping the PSA amusing while having some truths to it.  We had our Google Documents that we used to brainstorm and share, and we also held a couple of web conferences with each other to be able to put faces with all of our names.  I found the collaboration and deadlines we set for each other realistic in our time settings and found that everyone played important roles in the PSA. 
      When it comes to improvement for the PSA, I think it could use some imrpovement with the video segments.  Some are too dark, but all together I think the editing came together well creating an interesting and amusing PSA.

Collaboartion Efforts for PSA

PSA Collaboration

Collaboration Emails

Week 3 Collaboration

PSA Announcement

EDLD 5363 Web Conference

I found the Web Conference that I attended beneficial.  It answered questions I had about the Assignments for this course.  I learned the reason why I was looking for a group to join.  It also helped me to understand why this class is important for the degree I am seeking.  Video editing and multimedia use is crucial in today’s multimedia age in the classroom and school settings.  As a leader, it will be important for me to know about these tools and use them to teach other teachers and to inform the community about the school.

Creation of Photo Story

Creating this Photo Story helped me to realize how easy this can be incorporated into an elementary classroom.  Students could easily create their background, import photos, record narration, select music, and press create video.  I think this could be a fun and innovative way for students to show their knowledge.  This would definitely beat creating a paper and pencil test and having students just choose a multiple choice answer.

EDLD 5363 Photo Story

EDLD 5301 Reflection

      This course has helped me to understand the purpose of an Action Research Plan and how to implement it properly.  I felt the discussion boards were extremely beneficial during this class because of its topic.  Having to come up with a topic to research within your school and implement a plan of action based on needs for improvement seemed overwhelming to me.  Having the support of fellow classmates and the suggestions that they provided during discussion boards was beneficial for me in the design of my plan.

      Having a site mentor that is in my school setting and knows the needs of our faculty and instructions as well as I do also aided in the creation of the Action Research Plan.  My site mentor as well as my administration have been supporting and have allowed me to use my creativity and knowledge to help make improvements at our school.   This has also given me a boost of confidence, which I feel is needed when conducting a research plan that involves peers as well as yourself.

       In addition to the support of classmates through the discussion board and site mentors, some of the readings “opened” my eyes to the process and benefits of the Action Research Plan.  The reading for Week 2, The Passions that Drive Your Journey: Finding a Wondering (Dana, 2009, 29 – 68), provided me with the background needed to feel positive in the development of my Research Plan.  According to Dana (2009, 30), I needed to look at the following areas to determine a question to ask: staff development, curriculum development, individual teachers, individual students, school culture / community, leadership, management, school performance, and social justice.  I looked at each of these areas, in particular staff development, curriculum development, individual teachers, and school performance.  Each of those areas fits into my question or wondering of, “What are the math teaching practices within the school and what are some professional development activities that would help to improve the instruction provided to our students to help improve their math comprehension?”   Another beneficial article to read was In Week 3, Action Research an Effective Educational Leadership Skill for Future Public School Leaders (Ringler, 2007, 27 – 36).  This article outline the steps needed to conduct a meaningful Action Research Plan either in the classroom setting as an educator or in the school setting as an administrator.  It states the four phases to an Action Research Plan as:

I.              Define an issue to study.

II.            Review of Professional Literature

III.           Take Action

IV.          Use and Share Results

Within these four phases are little phases that must be done to make that step valuable.  Before an issue can be defined, I had to use my readings from Week 2 in the Dana text to determine a useful issue.  Before I can take action, I had to outline my plan to take action.  I had to determine what steps would be necessary to be able to take the action needed to improve the issue being studied.  When it comes to using and sharing the results, I have to compile all the results and present it in a manner that would be beneficial to all persons involved in the study.

           In conclusion, I have found this class very interesting and useful in developing my Action Research Plan and in preparing myself for roles as an administrator.  Having the support of fellow classmates and site mentors at my school level and the availability to the various articles provided during this course has helped in broadening my knowledge on Action Research Plans and their benefits.

Action Research Plan

Action Planning Template
Goal:  To improve math instruction to provide students with better success in math comprehension
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Conduct a survey among teachers of mathematics at the school level to have a better understanding of teacher’s thoughts and own comprehension of mathematics.	Jessica Rivero	October 20 – 27, 2011	Teachers of Mathematics Survey	Analyze Results and Produce A Needs Report
Align GLEs to each grade level and provide teachers with a graphic source to show how each grade level’s GLEs impact the next level.	Jessica Rivero	Will be delivered and discussed by November 18, 2011	Math GLEs for each grade level, including elementary and middle school	Understanding of importance of alignment across the school level.
Provide teachers with professional development opportunities to provide students with a differentiated approach to learning mathematics.	Jessica Rivero, Laura Landry, Mike Juneau, Nicole Adaway	Differentiation in the math classroom – centers, tiered assignments, choice assignments – Delivered by December 16, 2011	Research on differentiated instruction.  Examples of center management and tiered assignments.  Examples of choice assignments for students.	Observations of teachers and assignments being given to students.
Provide teachers with professional development opportunities on various ways to teach math understanding to students.	Jessica Rivero, Laura Landry, Mike Juneau, Nicole Adaway	Strategies in the math classroom – Delivered by January 20, 2011	Research on the Hands – On Approach to mathematics, Singapore math strategies, and Mental Math	Observations of teachers and lesson plans.

Action Research Plan

Action Planning Template
Goal:  To improve math instruction to provide students with better success in math comprehension
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Conduct a survey among teachers of mathematics at the school level to have a better understanding of teacher’s thoughts and own comprehension of mathematics.	Jessica Rivero	October 20 – 27, 2011	Teachers of Mathematics Survey	Analyze Results and Produce A Needs Report
Align GLEs to each grade level and provide teachers with a graphic source to show how each grade level’s GLEs impact the next level.	Jessica Rivero	Will be delivered and discussed by November 18, 2011­	Math GLEs for each grade level, including elementary and middle school	Understanding of importance of alignment across the school level.  Focus groups with the grade level before and after each grade to discuss thoughts and observations on student’s math comprehension.
Provide teachers with professional development opportunities to provide students with a differentiated approach to learning mathematics.	Jessica Rivero, Laura Landry, Mike Juneau, Nicole Adaway	Differentiation in the math classroom – centers, tiered assignments, choice assignments – Delivered by December 16, 2011	Research on differentiated instruction.  Examples of center management and tiered assignments.  Examples of choice assignments for students.	Observations of teachers and assignments being given to students.  Discussion in PLCs (Professional Learning Communities) and Focus Groups (Blogs) with teachers of various levels about how differentiation is improving their student’s math comprehension and ways for more improvement.
Provide teachers with professional development opportunities on various ways to teach math understanding to students.	Jessica Rivero, Laura Landry, Mike Juneau, Nicole Adaway	Strategies in the math classroom – Delivered by January 20, 2011	Research on the Hands – On Approach to mathematics, Singapore math strategies, and Mental Math	Observations of teachers and lesson plans.  Discussions in PLCs and with Focus Groups (Blogs) about new strategies that are being found to teach a skill and ways to improve teaching skills to provide better understanding for the students.

Week 2 Reflection

After completing week 2's assignment, I feel more confident in completing my action research plan. Some of the examples I read helped me to feel that I could apply the same thinking and processes in my own research to be able to provide a practical, productive, and beneficial research plan. In addition, some of the examples from assignment 2, part 2 were eye-opening as to things that I need to think of anyway even though it is not a topic for my action research plan. I am now excited to start and ready to see the difference I can make at my school on the instruction of math and the students' understanding of math.

Administrators & Blogs

Blogging can be a very powerful tool if used correctly. Administrators can use blogs to keep parents and the community up to date with information about the school. In addition, blogs can be used as a tool for communication between administrators and teachers. The administrators could post new findings from data driven decision making and teachers would have the opportunity to communicate through comments. Then, the comments could be read, and through PLCs, the topic can be discussed and a decision can made on the best way to help the situation.

Action Research

When I first saw that this class was based on action research, the first thought in my head was, "AHHHH!! What have I gotten myself into? I don't have time for research!"
After researching more about action research, I realized that I do this on a weekly, even daily basis. I am a math teacher and I am continuously evaluating my students and changing and/or verifying the strategies I use in the classroom.
Now that I know more about what all action research entails: define an issue to study, review of professional literature, take action, and use and share results, I feel that I can effectively integrate action research into my weekly and/or daily practices. I can do more with what I discover from my informal and formal assessments. Not only do I need to continue my teaching method or reteach to some students in different ways, but I need to remember to research through professional literature to find more proven strategies to teach the skill. When finished with my research and collecting my data, I need to share with other colleagues so they may benefit from my research.