Interview with site supervisor

On August 4, 2010 I met with Mr. Perez my site-supervisor and went over the action research plan. After analyzing the plan, Mr. Perez and I agreed that we were going to be working together through out the implementation of the action research plan. He also said that he was going to try to be in each of our meetings to analyze the data obtained from the benchmarks and was going to try to contribute with ideas or strategies that might be helpful for the students. One thing that Mr. Perez suggested was for us to hold a couple of vertical meetings right after school (3rd and 4th) in order to discuss what we were doing with the students and what needed to be done to improve our scores. This will be one of the things that I will correct in my action research plan to ensure that it is aligned to what is going to be happening during its implementation. I also think that it is very important to receive input from the previous teachers our students had, since this might be very helpful to come up with solutions to problems that might arrive and prevent our students from progressing. I will also include in the plan the intervention of Mr. Perez in some of the meetings as soon as he verifies his calendar.

Action Research Plan

 
ACTION RESEARCH PLAN
Heterogeneous and Homogeneous Grouping
 
Objective:
Evaluate, compare and determine which type of grouping (heterogeneous or homogeneous) has a more positive impact on student learning.

Goals:
1) To obtain data that will give me enough information to identify the best student grouping.
2) Analyze data from the two different groups and compare it.
3) Give students same instruction and activities to ensure they have same opportunities.
4) Compare results of benchmarks to find gaps in the grouping.
5) Decide which grouping is best to make the appropriate changes and ensure that are students succeed.
 

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

Analyze student TAKS scores and other data to form groups according to academic level.
Katia Y. Garza and Colleen Adams
Summer 2010-December 2011.
TAKS reports, benchmark results, access to aware program, computer.
Complete roster of the two different groups that will be observed in 4th grade, and two groups in 3rd gd.

Ensure that all teachers have student information, including TAKS scores and any special needs.
Katia Y. Garza
August 19, 2010
Computer, Microsoft Excel, internet access, email, printer, paper, copier
Complete the forms with student information, and divide them in groups.

Meet with teachers to decide when the 1st formal day of instruction will start, and to ensure that they all have the materials needed.
Katia Y. Garza and Colleen Adams
August 20, 2010
All subject timelines, C-Scope binder, paper, pens.
Lesson Plan Template, objectives to be targeted written down.

Meet with teachers to give them testing dates, and tutoring schedules.
Katia Garza
Grade level chair.
September 1st, 2010
Document with specific testing dates for benchmark, and TAKS.
Teacher will answer questions, about testing dates and times.

Observations of students and teacher.
Katia Garza
September 13-17, 2010
Paper, pencil, computer.
Teacher will record observations on the computer, to gather data.

1st Benchmark will be implemented
Classroom Teachers
October 2010
Test booklets, dividers, sharpened pencils, student roster, quiet sign, etc., computer, printer.
Score and print results using the AWARE system.

Teachers will meet to analyze benchmark results and compare them to last years. Identify areas of difficulty.
Katia Garza, 3rd and 4th grade teachers
October, 2010
Benchmark results, paper, pencil, AWARE program, and computer.
Develop a plan to target the areas of need.

Conduct interviews with administrators and teachers.
Katia Garza
October, 2010
Paper, pencil, computer, questionnaire.
Record findings in computer.

Conduct observations of students and teachers
Katia Garza
November, 2010
Paper, pencil, computer
Share observations with site supervisor.

2nd benchmark implementation
3rd and 4th grade teachers.
December 6-10, 2010
Test booklets, dividers, sharpened pencils, student roster, quiet sign, etc., computer, printer.
Benchmark results.

Analyze benchmark scores.
Katia Garza and Colleen Adams
December 13, 2010
Benchmark results, paper, pencil, AWARE program, computer
Record findings, patterns, and observations.

Come up with a plan to resolve situation
Katia Garza and administrators
December, 2010
Information obtained through action research project.
Completion of action research study

 
Assessment Instrument for the effectiveness of the action research: I will use the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 benchmark scores. Analyze patterns, gaps, and all other findings on the observations. I will also have research based information from articles. The review and disaggregation of the teachers’ collected benchmark scores and the AEIS report along with the TAKS scores from the previous school year, will help us determine the areas in need of improvement with the purpose of implementing instructional strategies, remediation tools and professional development to close the academic gaps and improve the 2010-2011 scores. We will also have information to determine if the grouping of the students was having a negative impact on student learning and improvement.

Reflection on week 2

This week has been very interesting for me, it is amazing all the topics we can research on and how every single one of them has an impact on students at the end. This week I learned a lot from the lectures and the interviews. I liked a lot what Dr. Kirk Lewis said about doing an action research on something that is going to be or that is practical for students and how it is important to understand that we must work on things that are useful for students and that are going to have an impact on their learning rather than focusing on researching something to look good. I also learned that he seemed to be a very good leader not thinking that he knows it all but rather saying that you can always look to see if something that is being used by other school districts might work for you.
There is so much space for doing action research in our schools that probably if we were all involved in different areas our schools would be performing much better.

Katia's Action Research!

For me action research is having the opportunity to reflect on what is being done and analyze if it's working or if it is in need of modifications. After reading the lesson "Administrator Inquiry Defined" I realized that even though action research is extremely useful for administrators it is also useful for teachers and other persons.
Action research is actually based on events that are happening at the moment of the inquiry, while other methods of research are usually of events of the past. When I say that action research is having the opportunity to reflect on what is being done, I mean that during the process of a certain practice, the administrator can stop, reflect on what is actually happening and the outcomes, and with the help of the information obtained as results of the inquiry he/she can decide on what action to take to better that practice.

As Elliot (1988) describes, action research is a continual set of spirals consisting of reflection and action. For example I think that my campus needs some action research to find out if the grouping of the students is working at its maximal potential.

The steps that need to be taken are:

• Reflect on what is being done.
• Collect data.
• Analyze room for improvement.
• Take action.

Action research is a very useful tool, since it can definitely be used by educational leaders, how? I think that administrators have a very powerful tool in their hands, they can use action research to analyze if the programs used in school are working, if the grouping of the students are being beneficial for the students, to see what changes need to be made to get parents more involved, and of course they can reflect to see how can they improve the school culture.

Action research can be used in many areas, always with the support of good data, positive persons involved, and with the enthusiasm that change is always good.

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