Action Research Plan

Goal: To determine the ways that the Acton Elementary Mentor Program improves student achievement.

Action Step(s):
Person(s) Responsible:
Timeline: Start/End
Needed Resources:
Evaluation:

1. Analyze and record academic growth and attendance during the 2009-2010 school year of each student new to the program.
A. Roe, K. Condit
August 2010
DMAC
Data Collected

2. Survey each participating student’s teacher from the 2009-2010 school year on attitude and performance in school.
A.Roe
August 2010
Survey
Survey Data

3. After the first six weeks, survey the current year teacher on attitude and performance of student in school.
A.Roe
September 2010
Survey
Survey Data

4. After first three mentor meetings, meet with mentor to discuss the first interactions with student. Minutes of meeting will be recorded for data.
A.Roe
October 2010
Interview, Time
Interview Data

5. Visit and/or contact coordinators of similar mentor programs in elementary schools.
A.Roe
September 2010/November 2010
Time
Collect data of interviews and findings from other programs. Seek out strategies that make programs successful.

6. Current Year Teachers and Mentors complete end of year surveys on students.
A.Roe
May 2010
Surveys
Survey Data Collected

7. Disaggregate and Analyze growth for each student from the 2010-2011 school year. A.Roe, K. Condit
May 2010
DMAC
Data Collected

8. Combine data collected. Analyze, evaluate, and average growth of the students compared with the growth from the previous year.
Analyze beginning of the year and end of the year surveys and combine results of surveys of attitudes and performance to show growth of students in the program over the school year.
A.Roe
May 2010
Surveys, Time, DMAC
Survey Data and DMAC data

9. Present the findings to the administrators.
A.Roe
June 2010
PowerPoint, Time
Administrators response to results.

Reflection on Action Research

Action research is a tool that educators should definitely use. I enjoyed meeting with my site supervisor this week as well as listening to the scholars' interviews. I definitely learned so much; each had a special piece of advice or suggestion that I have kept for use. Action research is a tool that should be relevant to you, your students and/or your school. Your research topic should be interesting and beneficial to you so that you get the most out of it. The outcome of action research should influence student learning. These are just a few of the lessons I learned from my studies this week. I look forward to becoming more skilled in research and to increase my effectiveness in the classroom.

Blogging as an Administrator

Blogging is an awesome tool that I love to use in the classroom. There are many ways to integrate blogging into learning. Likewise, using a blog as an administrator can have many benefits. Principals can use blogs to post upcoming activities, special events, news from the school, and many other praises and fun things around the campus. Blogging as a principal can build a rapport with all stakeholders. Administrators can also blog with their teachers creating a community of support and learning. Principals can keep faculty and staff up to date on the latest happenings, use blogs for follow-up on professional development and many other ideas! Blogging is a useful tool that can be beneficial in education.

Action Research

Action research is a valuable tool that can lead to positive change. This type of research is a reflective, systematic inquiry of an issue or problem that is relevant for specific campuses or districts. Action research is all about investigating how we can change, how we can do things better, and how we can improve. Action research is performed by those right in the middle of the action, therefore providing analytical and critical thinking of the very setbacks we are dealing with firsthand. It allows us to look at our own teaching and leading, providing the opportunity to grow and become more effective and confident in our work. Action research works as professional development determining ways we can continually improve.
Educators and administrators can use action research in a plethora of ways. Action research can be extremely beneficial in the classroom. Finding out what strategies work best, what effect I am having on students, and how to reach specific children are just a few of the ways action research can guide me in becoming a better teacher. Action research can also be helpful in the bettering of the school. Providing teachers with more planning time, how to more effectively manage time, and how communication affects student performance are examples of ways administrators can perform action research to bring change. Action research results in continuous learning, something we should all strive for throughout our time in education.