Reveiw of my Action Research Plan with the boss

I met with my principal today to discuss my action research plan. He said he liked the plan that I had laid out. He said he did not see any major problems with it but recommended that I include some use of vocabulary into it. He felt that a reasonable reading program could be developed with in the state required TEKS while also grabbing the students interest.

When I posed my research questions he said he felt they were on task for the problems that we have in the alternative high school environment. He said he liked the question: Will improving reading comprehension prepare students for college?

I have learned from working in an alternative high school environment that most students that graduate from this type of school will not try to attain an education past the high school level. The boss agreed with me on this and asked if I thought it could be because of their lack of motivation or college readiness. I told him I thought it was from both. He encouraged me to examine the reading comprehension for college readiness.

Action Research Plan

Action Planning
Goal:
Action Step(s)	Person(s) Responsible	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
1.Discuss the possible topics for action research with my site supervisors	J Cypert G Campbell R Sims	October 3, 2011/ October 17, 2011	-Internship plan -Principal -English Depart    Chair -school data  (TAKS and  Benchmark  results) -school internet -English Depart  faculty	Decide topic issue
2. Interview principal and English department faculty	J Cypert G Campbell R Sims C Rippy D Dean	October 17, 2011/ October 21, 2011	-TAKS data  results for high  school for  2009-2010 and  2010-2011 -TEKS for  reading	Evaluate data -TAKS scores 2009-2010,  2010-2011, and TEKS
3. Conduct survey of student body in regards to reading comprehension	J Cypert	October 24, 2011	-Microsoft Word	Evaluate responses from survey. Correlate data from survey with TAKS/benchmark results of years listed.
4. Meet with campus principal and discuss results of survey.	J Cypert G Campbell	October 27, 2011	Data from analysis of TAKS/benchmark and survey	Use data from survey and TAKS results to determine if any improvements or changes can be made to improve reading comprehension.
5. Meet with English depart faculty	J Cypert R Sims C Rippy D Dean	October 31, 2011	Data from survey	Use data from survey and TAKS results to determine if any improvements or changes can be made to improve reading comprehension.
6. Implement any necessary improvements to existing English classes or the adoption of reading comprehension class for the 2012-2013 school year.	J Cypert G Campbell R Sims	November 1, 2011 through June 1, 2012 Possible extending to the 2012-13 school year	Principals and Faculty	Principal and faculty evaluation of TAKS results.
Examining What We Do to Improve Our Schools Sandra Harris, Stacey Edmonson, Julie Combs © Eye On Education

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Is all this preparation really necessary to get action research going? How long must one reflect before they see the problem? Aren't we as teachers suppose to recognize problems immediately? Should I be writing a blueprint for everything?
I have included my blueprint for tomorrows lunch just in case.

Action Step-Lunch
Person Responsible- me
Timeline Start/End - 11:50 thru 12:20
Needed Resources - my lunch (specifics to follow if needed)

Evaluation - 500 word essay about the quality, content, consistency.

In case you could not tell, I am a little frustrated with research courses. I think this is because my B.A. is in Sociology. And if you don't know about sociology, I will tell you, we researched everything. For two solid years I did nothing but research. I researched everthing from monkey addicted to drugs to prison lifestyle in the 1800's.

I understand the need for the research course and I understand the difference in the research that I have performed and the type of research they are asking me to perform. What I have done in the past is traditional academic research. The leadership program is wanting me to conduct research that can be implemented. There is not much difference in them except action research will be actually used where as traditional research is mostly just read. A good example of academic research is the drug addicted monkeys, there would be no benefit to have drug crazied monkeys running the local school campuses. In this case, I can see where action research would not be benefical.

Traditional research and action research both require a question that needs to be answered. Both require some sort of data, traditional usually requires somebody to get that data through a survey or observation while action research data is usually available in the educational profession through standardized test. I know, I will have somebody say "well there is no data available when it comes to students being tardy or the buses running late." That is why I said usually available. Next comes the correlation of the data from the surveys, observation, and existing research. Does the data answer the question that has been asked? Is the data supported by the observation? If it is, start writing. 

Reading Comprehension

I had to pick a topic for my action research project. I chose to look at the addition of a reading class in current curriculum to improve reading comprehension. I chose this because I teach at an alternative high school with low student success.
The majority of our students usually rank in the last quartile of their class this is because most do not have good reading skills. I feel that research and implementation of a reading class can improve the students comprehension in all subjects and allow for greater student success.

How educational leaders could use blogs

Blogs came be a great way to get information out to the community about their school system. A stakeholder whose child attends school has information readily available to them but what about the individual that is active in the community that has no children. Can a person get accurate information from the many available media sources? Why not hear it from the man/woman themselves. Educational leaders can uses blogs to inform the general public about the goings on at the school, whether it is at the district or campus level. Blogs can be a great asset in the educational system.

What I have learned about action research.

I have learned that action research is a fancy name for educational research that is classroom/campus based. Action research is used to identify problems or areas that need attention.  It starts by engaging in an intentional study of a practice, this is done by wondering or asking a question. You then collect and analyze data to gain an insight into the problem. The last thing that is required to conclude an action research is collaboration with peers and subordinates.

There is a difference between action research and traditional research. Action research is site based, site analyzed, and site resolved, meaning it occurs at the location where the research will be implemented. Where as traditional research is mostly conducted in an academic environment.

After reading information on action research, I believe it can be a powerful tool for improving a school.

One thing that is required for action research is reflection by the leader. The leader can be the district leader, the campus leader, or the teacher in class. Reflection is important because it allows the individual to identify a problem or things that did not work. It allows a leader to stress the positives and gain knowledge from the negatives and it helps to acquire needed skills to become a more experienced leader. When reflection is used experience is gained.