Planning My Action Research Plan

My title sounds a bit redundant (LOL), but this week proved to be rather taxing.  Considering that since July 25 I have been on the run, I am happy to blog that I have completed Week 3 assignments as required by the course syllabus and getting ready to start on Week 4 homework.  You may wonder "on the run"?  Well, my son graduated from Army Basic Training on July 27th in Ft. Benning, Georgia.  My youngest son, daughter-in-law (married to my soldier) and I drove from Spring, TX, all the way to Phenix City, AL, (yes, I spelled Phenix correctly), to see my son graduate.  We drove through Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama and drove across the Chattahoochie River to Ft. Benning.  It was only a 15 minute drive.  We visited Orange Beach, AL, but stayed in Pensacola, FL.  We drove back to Spring, TX, making a brunch stop in New Orleans to eat at the Camellia Grille in the Garden District.  My son and daughter-in-law decided to head out Wednesday, August 1, to Virginia so that my son could report to his next post early.  This gave me hives.  On Monday, July 30, my youngest had orientation at Sam Houston State in Huntsville.  Orientation lasted til Tuesday afternoon.  Then, the kids left to Virginia Wednesday morning while I attended a 2 day staff development, my stomach in knots.  They arrived safely and went apartment hunting Friday morning, my one day of relief and I had to do some paperwork in order for them to move in Friday afternoon.  Then, my next question was, "When do you want me to come to Virginia?" to which my daughter-in-law responded, "Tomorrow".  LOL.  So, all that to tell you that I am now in Alexandria, Virginia, getting them settled into their apartment.  I packed my netbook and books first.

I have learned that I am a master at multi-tasking.  I had already been thinking about my action research plan WAY before this class started, only I didn't term it "action research".  My administrators and I had decided this well in advance.  My principal personally requested that I transfer to her campus so that I would be her 5th grade bilingual language arts instructor.  She told me that I would be the one to change the bilingual program at her campus.  I'm thinking that she may have lost her mind, but I know her well enough to know that she has complete confidence in my capabilities as a teacher.  Her reason in requesting me was because she KNEW that I could exit many more students from the bilingual program than in previous years.  I am nervous about this project, but excited about it as well.  I cannot wait to get into the thick of things with my new students!!  Stuff I learned this week from the readings really set my path in the right direction.  I am glad to have read the assigned readings because I managed to narrow down my focus for my action research plan.  I have taught bilingual students for 17 years.  I have never really encountered a situation such as the one I am entering this coming school year.  I have seen students as young as first grade exit the bilingual program and move on into the gifted and talented program at my former campus.  If that can happen to a student as young as a first grader, then what's to say it can't happen to a 5th grader?  The only exception to this rule will be if I get a recent arrival, that is a student who is entering and enrolling in a US school for the first time.  Wish me luck!

Action Research Plan

Here is my Action Research Plan......I hope you enjoy!

Action Planning Template
Goal:  Exit 80% or more fifth grade students from the bilingual program by the end of the fifth grade school year 2012 - 2013.
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Gather previous years data on each bilingual student on my rosters	Teacher – Raquel Longoria	August 16, 2012 – August 31, 2012	Assessment Data – Available through district site Eduphoria	STAAR Reading and Writing reports, TAKS Reading and Writing reports, TELPAS scores, DCAs, Benchmarks
Create a reading interest inventory to create a Spanish and English reading library in the classroom to plan reading instruction and promote leisure reading in the classroom.	Teacher – Raquel Longoria	August 27, 2012 – September 7, 2012	Teacher Created Reading Inventory	Interest inventory results
Creating a writing interest inventory to plan writing instruction for both narrative and expository writing.	Teacher – Raquel Longoria	August 27, 2012 – September 7, 2012	Teacher Created Writing Inventory	Inventory results
Reading Running Records to determine reading levels in both languages (English and Spanish)	Reading Teacher – Raquel Longoria	Every 3 – 6 weeks, as deemed by district guidelines	Running Records inventory assessments – provided by reading specialist/testing coordinator	Running Records score (words per minute with numerical grade) every assessment period, as deemed by district guidelines
District Common Assessments and/or Benchmarks	Teacher – Raquel Longoria and Testing Coordinator for the campus	End of every grading period and/or as deemed by district guidelines	DCAs and/or Benchmarks	Monitor progress of reading and writing objectives mastery for both languages (English and Spanish) to review language acquisition
Composition Writing samples	Teacher – Raquel Longoria and Testing Coordinator for the campus	Every grading period	Writing Prompt	Monitor progress of writing objectives mastery for both languages (English and Spanish) to review language acquisition
TELPAS Assessment	Teacher – Raquel Longoria and/or any other teachers directly involved in the instruction of my sample group, Testing Coordinator for the campus	Spring 2013	TELPAS Assessment Documents – Listening, Speaking, Reading (IPT),Writing	Assessment results by the end of the school year to determine TELPAS level for annual progress (one level ahead from the previous school year)
Teacher Observations – Elementary Schools	Raquel Longoria (with approval from principals at my campus and visiting campuses)	2-4 times a month, beginning September 2012 through May 2013	Teacher Observation tool (Evaluation template, Classroom Walk Through template)	To review and improve on what/how elementary teachers deliver English instruction and provide feedback and use this information to provide staff development opportunities in the future.
Incorporate the use of journals and  Interactive Notebooks into the classroom and homework routines daily	Teacher – Raquel Longoria Students	Daily, 2012 – 2013 school year	Journals, Interactive Notebooks, writing supplies and utensils	Teacher – monitor progress for reading response journals, writing journals, Interactive Notebook activities as assigned Students:  Self-monitor progress, ability to privately ask for assistance, questions, comments, etc., use of anchor charts for class/home assignments, etc.
IPT Assessment	Testing Coordinator for the campus	Spring 2013	IPT exams	Assessment results will determine English proficiency level for program exit if student scores FES (Fluent English Speaker)

Week 2 Reflection

In week 2 of my Action Research class, I have learned just how beneficial action research can actually be.  Now, I am not saying this to discount what I have learned or what I thought I knew.  I say this because after so many years of being a classroom teacher, I find that my own action research, though unofficial, has been very informative.  I have learned that many things I already do can be considered action research.  I never knew that what I had been doing was actual action research, but now that I know, I am so proud of myself for taking the initiative all these years to try and make myself a better teacher by learning everything I could about my teaching, myself, my students, my staff development trainings, my own learning on how to be a better teacher.  I have learned quite a bit from taking this class.  I know that all this information will lead to better instruction, not just by me, but also by my colleagues and future teachers that will enter the educational field. 

Reflection is an important skill for anyone and everyone who wants to learn more about themselves, about others, about what you do in your life.  Reflection can increase your knowledge to become a better person, both in your personal life and your professional one.  Every opportunity that you can take, you should take the time to reflect.  Your actions speak louder than words, so if your actions are positive, your changes will be positive.  If your actions are negative, then this is an opportunity to change some things that you are currently doing.  Negative actions are not always profound and sometimes, your positive actions may not be as profound as you'd like them to be. 

I am enjoying this blog.  It is allowing me to read, think and write about what I am learning by participating in this learning path that I have chosen in becoming an administrator.  I am realizing that I have been much better prepared than I initially thought.

Action Research

I have learned quite a bit about action research.  Action research requires active participation in research.  It is ongoing, all the time.  Changes and improvements are made based on findings.  It requires that changes and improvements are made based on need as well.  Action research requires reflection as well.  There are so many things to evaluate at a campus and it is quite impossible to focus your time on just one issue or concern.  In my opinion, it is vital that action research be conducted during the school year.  In order for me to become a more effective instructor/administrator, I would need to constantly evaluate a variety of needs within the campus setting.  I already do this in the classroom setting with testing data.  My former principal was always impressed with my research because I would take the time to evaluate each and every test item, what each student responded whether the answer was correct or incorrect, the objectives tested and checked to see if they matched the objectives that were presented during instruction.  After all that, I would take the time to review my lesson plans to see if maybe I missed something during my planning and instruction.  I would evaluate myself and look for other opportunities to improve my skills and strategies.  This coming school year, I will have the opportunity to do an action research project with my bilingual classes this year.  The purpose will be to evaluate their instruction from previous years to see why they have not yet exited the bilingual program.  In some cases, it will be obvious why students have not yet exited because of the level of their academic language.  For others, it will be a test of wills.  The belief is that the issues lies with former teachers.  I want to see if this is the case.  I plan on conducting some interviews and looking at previous testing data along with any other data to see if there is an educational reason why English has not been acquired to the Advanced High level.  There may be other extenuating factors, but I am looking forward to pursuing this action research.

Educational leaders might use blogs by showing students how valuable it is to reflect on your personal life.  It would also be a great way to model creative writing ideas.  Blogging is a way to journal online and most people already communicate through an online venue.  With so many ways to communicate, blogging is one of the simplest way to journal online and share with others, should one choose to do so.  When other people begin to comment on your blog, constructive criticism kicks in by you allowing someone to react to your writing.  I love blogging and have done so in the past.  I have created so many blogs and I wish I would have kept up with them.  I still can, but I just haven't had the time to keep it up.