Action Research Project Summary

I have already begun the process of professional development with the teachers and have had several conferences with teachers needing guidance in planning for differentiated instruction for this upcoming year. I have begun observations with teachers, and I have provided them with their strengths and weaknesses and helped guide them in ways to improve their areas of weakness. This vision will aid teachers because we are undergoing many changes in our state this year, including a new evaluation system which is expecting teachers to have students do more higher order thinking and for teachers to provide differentiated instruction to their students. As the semester progresses, I will stay in contact with my administration team, which will be conducting evaluations based on the new evaluation system, and discuss with them areas needing improvement in the subject of math for the school. Based on their observations and my observations, we can revise the plan, if needed, to better fit the needs of our staff and students. Teachers will be aware of the plan through communication at PLC meetings and will have access to strategies taught through my website. The community and parents will have many opportunities to be a part of the growth of math instruction through various opportunities being held at the school level. We will have a Math Night where parents can be a part of the math learning process and will be given strategies for incorporating math at their home to help improve their child’s math comprehension. Also, parents will be given the chance to communicate with their children about math through the use of newsletters and math kits which provide additional experiences with math. Lastly, community members will be brought into the school as guest speakers and will be given the chance to share with students the ways they use math in their jobs. Through the use of community members as guest speakers, we, the school, will be able to save some of the budget for more manipulatives and professional development opportunities for the teachers. Math Night resources will be budgeted through the use of donations and the Title I budget. Our school is on a limited budget, so any opportunity for free resources and/or donated resources will be a benefit for us. My goal is to provide teachers with resources and strategies that can be made by the teachers or that do not require a purchase. I will show them ways to use the technology in their classrooms and ways to incorporate the technology in small groups, so all students will have the chance to participate. To have the vision come to life, there were various resources that were needed. At the parish level, we had a consultant of the Elementary Department lead several PLCs on incorporating differentiated instruction into lesson planning. In addition, we and several guest speakers come into our school to share the way they use their learning from elementary school to make it to where they are today. In the school, I conducted several PLC meetings to show teachers various resources out there that will help them with differentiating and with incorporating technology at various levels into their classrooms. My administrators and I met to discuss what resources teachers may need to successfully improve their math instruction and to incorporate differentiated instruction into their plans. We brainstormed manipluatives that will be needed and math literature for the library to purchase for teachers use throughout the year. We are well on our way to a successful year in the area of math instruction, especially with the new curriculum and the new evaluation system being implemented. School culture has improved due to this project because teachers are more aware of the needs of the students and are willing to make a change for improvement. Teachers have begun coming together across grade levels to work collaborate and share their strategies for teaching specific skills and ideas. When I came into the school, teachers worked the way they wanted in their own classrooms without sharing. Now, they go to each other, observe each other, and work together to plan for their lessons, so they may reach more learners. When you have the help and guidance, it makes for an easier transition into the classroom and a more positive culture around the school. That positive attitude of teachers reflects on the students and provides for an overall positive experience. After December’s Scantron testing results, we will have a clearer vision of where this plan has taken us and where we need to go from there. As far as my own instruction, which I implemented differentiated instruction from the beginning of the year last year and various strategies to improve the math comprehension of my students; I was able to see a tremendous growth in math comprehension for my students. For example, there was one student which began the year at with an overall score of 30 in mathematics from 3rd grade, ended the year with an overall score in the 300s in mathematics for 4th grade. We saw this type of growth for the majority of the 4th grade class based on their 3rd grade scores to their 4th grade scores. I am curious to see the growth of the school after a full year of implementation. During this project, I collected quantitative, as well as qualitative data. I used the data from standardized test results, such as Scantron, iLeap, and LEAP, to compare the beginning of the year performance to mid-year performance and end of the year performance. Because this project began in the middle of the year last year, I was not able to have enough data to make an accurate conclusion. After the implementation of last year and this year, I will be able to have more accurate data to make a conclusion on its relevance. In addition, I surveyed the teachers to determine their teaching styles and their thoughts in regards to teaching mathematics and ensuring comprehension among their students. I found that the majority of the teachers were less comfortable teaching mathematics and lacked the wide range of strategies needed for teaching mathematics in the lower elementary classrooms. This was built into the professional development for teaching with various math strategies and using differentiated instruction as a tool to reach all students. I found my administrative staff to be motivating and agreeable in my research and have allowed me to conduct my research in the way I find fit for our teachers and students. In addition, the parish has been influential in my research because of the collaboration I have had with various schools and their mentor teachers which have a vast knowledge of math instruction and strategies. To be able to ensure the quantitative date shows growth among the majority of students in math comprehension, I will need to be sure I keep myself updated in the various strategies which can be used for teaching math instruction by participating in professional development opportunities. With that in mind, I participated in a class over the summer, Math and Science Partnership, which is a college level course designed to provide teachers with math instruction at the college level, so the teacher can instruct students in a better manner. In addition, I will attend the Louisiana Math Conference this year and may present at the conference. Throughout the year, I will share with the teachers my findings and strategies I learn for them to incorporate in their own classrooms. After I provide the teachers with the development of these strategies, I will provide links to the research and strategies on my website for access at any time. I believe the qualitative data will vary by the end of this year as well, because teachers should begin to feel more comfortable with the math instruction after the many opportunities of professional development and learning opportunities.

Draft Action Research Project Report

Draft Report (Google Doc)

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.