Research Insight

During these past five weeks the Research course gave me new insight regarding the importance of performing action research studies and the impact of such in the education field. In the past, I believed that campus decisions that would alter a campus could be made efficiently by discussing it with the site based decision committee and involving stakeholders. Now, my point of view has changed. I now believe that important decisions should be backed up with research with the purpose of not only reaching consensus with a committee but by making informed decisions that lead a campus toward a successful path. I would like to learn more about the different types of sampling and statistic strategies that are available for action research studies. I plan on learning some more about these topics on my own by researching and reading research books on this matter.

Here's my updated Action Research Plan.
Please feel free to review and make comments/suggestions.
Thank you in advance,
Clara

https://docs.google.com/document/edit?id=1Pgf5iY5VA7JhJUELY2xNFm5ZDny8q3bNyDqroLNfFMs&hl=en&authkey=CPvb3YkG

Sharing my Action Research Plan

Here's the link to my Action Research Plan. Please feel free to make any suggestions to implement its content.

http://docs.google.com/document/edit?id=1HAJlqzYo10GAZRmtYHnW_9fMfpAqzVP2IMj_t5qzsE8&hl=en

Note: If you can't open the link by clicking on it, then you will have to copy and paste the link to your browser in order to open it.

Thank you for reading my blog and action research plan. I really appreciate your comments.

Active Research Challenges

Since my action research will study the special education students’ TAKS scores and their achievement gaps, I will need the active participation of all the third, fourth and fifth grade teachers, along with the special education staff. The most important challenge that I foresee is that throughout the school year, teachers will need to complete specific forms to report their students’ benchmark scores and note their performance on each of the TAKS objectives. This activity will require the teachers to analyze data and submit the completed forms at the beginning of the school year and after the administration of each benchmark that their students take. Since this practice is not required by the district, I will need to convince them of the importance of the study by explaining that the results that we get will benefit the entire campus. Also, since I will be analyzing and evaluating the results of each class, I plan on informing them about my evaluation during grade level meetings. This will make their job easier and their teaching more effective, because they will know the areas that they need to focus, utilizing new strategies, applying remediation tools, resulting on the reduction of the achievement gap and the improvement their scores. With the support of the administration, and my active monitoring and assistance to the teachers, I believe that the challenges will be minimized.

New Action Research Plan

As I mentioned on my previous post, I had planned on performing action research about the teachers' attitude toward inclusion students. After discussing my action research proposal, it was decided that a study about the special education TAKS scores would have a dramatic impact on the campus accountability status.
My study will take place at an elementary school, and I will be studying the campus TAKS scores, targeting the special education population from third, fourth and fifth grade. Upper elementary grade levels were selected because they are the ones that take the TAKS test. This sample size will allow me to analyze and disaggregate data thoroughly and effectively, and it will provide me with enough information to develop a complete study of the special education student population. For my research, I will evaluate and analyze the special education TAKS scores in order to identify the areas of strength and the areas in need of improvement. By evaluating and disaggregating the testing data, I will recognize the areas of growth compared to the ones that require development, so as to develop a strategic plan with the purpose of improving the special education students’ academic success.

My Action Research Topic

My Action Research topic is to study the teachers' attitude towards Inclusion.
I’ve been an Inclusion teacher for almost eight years now, and I’ve noticed that teachers have a diverse attitude toward this service. Many favor the implementation of Inclusion, while others don’t support it at all. These attitudes reflect on how students’ perceive the Inclusion service. Special education students are the Inclusion teachers’ focus, but they don’t have to be targeted in a classroom. Some students appreciate the assistance that they receive, but others feel embarrassed. Many teachers like having a co-teacher in the classroom, while others feel threatened. The general education teachers’ attitude has a lot to do with how the classroom reacts to the Inclusion teacher. On the other hand, the special education teachers’ attitude impacts greatly how this service is perceived by the teachers and their students as well. If the Inclusion teacher believes in the service, she will try to inform the general education teachers about the service to better assist the students. If the special education teacher is not well informed or if the is not welcomed in a classroom, the attitude will reflect on the students as well.
I believe that conducting a research targeting the teacher’s attitude toward Inclusion will benefit the overall campus academic success, impacting student achievement as well as their teachers’ performance. Recognizing their points of view toward this service will help any campus improve the benefits of this service by creating a positive attitude which in turn will impact the many benefits that Inclusion provides.

Week 1: Action Research and Leadership Blogging

Action research is a insightful process that allows for inquiry and discussion as components of the investigation. Action research is an activity that is shared among colleagues searching for solutions to everyday problems experienced in campuses and districts, and enables the search for strategies to improve academic instruction, increase student achievement, and campus success. The process of action research assists campus leaders and educators in assessing needs, documenting the steps of inquiry, analyzing data, and making informed decisions that can lead to making informed decisions in order to generate successful outcomes. Action research allows leaders and their staff to address concerns and solve problems that are part of their daily worries, enabling them to influence actions appropriately and create a positive change.

Blogging is a great instrument that leaders can utilize to promote their leadership vision and mission. Blogs give the followers insight, information, and pointers to resources so they can do a better job and lead a campus to overall success. Leaders can also use blogs as a communication tool to inform their staff about updates, upgrades, campus expectations, instructions, and even serve as a catalyst for change. By reading a leaders blog, staff can better understand where he/she is coming from in order to deliver and improve their performance.