Action Research Plan Template

Action Planning Template
Goal: How does using interactive notebooks affect student performance* compared to students who do not use interactive notebooks in Geometry K? *Defining performance as discipline issues, attendance, missing assignments, ect.
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
-Determine Geometry K teachers not using interactive notebooks	-Jeremy Tallon -Nydia Ledesma -Other Geometry K Teachers -Marshall Caplan	August 19, 2013 – August 23, 2013	-Email	-Spreadsheet of teachers names and categories being addressed in Action Research Plan (ARP)
-Introduce Interactive Notebooks to my students -3 individual Geometry K classes will be involved -Classes will not be told of the data being collected	-Jeremy Tallon	August 26, 2013 – June 5, 2014	-Notebooks -Copy paper -Pencils -Scissors -Glue -Ruler -Extra materials on a needed basis	-Progress through course like normal taking data as weeks progress
-Meet with involved teachers to address any questions on data collection	-Jeremy Tallon -Nydia Ledesma -Other Geometry K Teachers -Marshall Caplan	August 26, 2013 – August 30, 2013	-Email -Referrals -Attendance -Missing Assignments -Grades -Etc.	Collect Week 1 Data on spreadsheet
-Meet with involved teachers to address any further questions on data collection	-Jeremy Tallon -Nydia Ledesma -Other Geometry K Teachers -Marshall Caplan	September 2, 2013 – September 6, 2013	-Email -Referrals -Attendance -Missing Assignments -Grades -Etc.	Collect Week 2 Data on spreadsheet
-Meet with involved teachers to address any last questions on data collection	-Jeremy Tallon -Nydia Ledesma -Other Geometry K Teachers -Marshall Caplan	September 9, 2013 – September 13, 2013	-Email -Referrals -Attendance -Missing Assignments -Grades -Etc.	Collect Week 3 Data on spreadsheet
-Gather 1st  Six Week Data: Referrals, Attendance, Missing Assignments, Grades, Etc.	-Jeremy Tallon -Nydia Ledesma -Other Geometry K Teachers -Marshall Caplan	October 7, 2013 – October 11, 2013	-Email -Referrals -Attendance -Missing Assignments -Grades -Etc.	Record Spreadsheet Data on 6 week periods rather than the first 3 weeks to see if a pattern arose.
-Gather 2nd Six Week Data: Referrals, Attendance, Missing Assignments, Grades, Etc.	-Jeremy Tallon -Nydia Ledesma -Other Geometry K Teachers -Marshall Caplan	November 11, 2013 – November 15, 2013	-Email -Referrals -Attendance -Missing Assignments -Grades -Etc.	Record Spreadsheet Data
-Gather 3rd Six Week Data: Referrals, Attendance, Missing Assignments, Grades, Etc.	-Jeremy Tallon -Nydia Ledesma -Other Geometry K Teachers -Marshall Caplan	January 7, 2014 – January 11, 2014	-Email -Referrals -Attendance -Missing Assignments -Grades -Etc.	Record Spreadsheet Data
-Gather 4th  Six Week Data: Referrals, Attendance, Missing Assignments, Grades, Etc.	-Jeremy Tallon -Nydia Ledesma -Other Geometry K Teachers -Marshall Caplan	February 24, 2014 – February 28, 2014	-Email -Referrals -Attendance -Missing Assignments -Grades -Etc.	Record Spreadsheet Data
-Gather 5th  Six Week Data: Referrals, Attendance, Missing Assignments, Grades, Etc.	-Jeremy Tallon -Nydia Ledesma -Other Geometry K Teachers -Marshall Caplan	April 14, 2014 – April 18, 2014	-Email -Referrals -Attendance -Missing Assignments -Grades -Etc.	Record Spreadsheet Data
-Gather 6th  Six Week Data: Referrals, Attendance, Missing Assignments, Grades, Etc.	-Jeremy Tallon -Nydia Ledesma -Other Geometry K Teachers -Marshall Caplan	June 5, 2014 – June 6, 2014	-Email -Referrals -Attendance -Missing Assignments -Grades -Etc.	Record Spreadsheet Data
-Analyze and Interpret Data	-Jeremy Tallon	June 6, 2014 – June 13, 2014	-Spreadsheet	-Record noticeable trends and correlations according to data
-Share results with administration and make modifications and recommendations	-Jeremy Tallon -Marshall Caplan -Heather Bergman	June 16, 2014 – June 20, 2014	-Email -Spreadsheet	-Handouts of data to administration are made

Week 2 Reflection

After this week I have gotten a better understanding on action research. I still have some questions regarding how to interpret some data since there are lots of variables to take into account and I don't think we can clearly say this was or was not the thing that made the change. I'm sure I will gain more information into this in the weeks to come. I also feel like action research is a lot like other teaching practices where we "steal" each others ideas and use that to help progress on our own action research topics. Lastly, I learned that working in a collaborative group of teachers and administrators might be the most effective to solve action research topics. With lots of data the people can work together and branch off later in individual action research topics. Having all that data is very important to help create a better teaching environment.

Educational Leaders Using Blogs

Educational leaders have many benefits of using blogs. First off they could share upcoming ideas or events for the parents or community. Another benefit of having a blog is to share ideas or issues that other leaders can comment on. Having the support and ideas of many other people in the same boat can open up many new possibilities. Although staffs have a school email, the educational leaders may choose to have a blog that also shares information regarding school or something completely different. The blog may best be used to share information relating to school but once again it could just as well be used to share a multitude of ideas.

Action Research Description

I have learned that action research is a process that helps a person reflect on one’s own practices and develop better methods that are more efficient. Traditional research does not include the person doing the research therefore the person cannot provide insight into their own practices. The benefit of this is not only does it provide principals more powerful information into the questions being asked but it gives the staff and school a great role model to follow and practice their own action research. Another benefit to action research is the fact that it can be used on a wide range of topic and from as little as one person to a campus issue. Some of these issues include school performance, professional development, or even the material being focus on in a classroom. This process is cyclical so that once a person has reviewed the research and made adjustments it is still possible to reevaluate the question and reflect on the new adjustments and make even more improvements. Action research is not always an easy process and does require the person to take time and make the commitment to review and reflect. Since they are reflecting their own processes it should also be stated that one must be honest in their review of their processes as not to make unnecessary or biased adjustments.

As an upcoming second year teacher I feel I can use action research to analyze many of the staff development training's I have attended over the summer. After having my data from last year and making the transition to interactive notebooks this coming year I can use action research to see how this differentiation is affecting overall student performance. I could also use action research to see how discipline issues are changing by using the new style of teaching with interactive notebooks. There may be little to no change in discipline but it’s always something to look at and the results may be surprising. Without action research I would have no data to support any of these claims.