Draft Action Research Project Report

 

Title

How We Might Provide Better Instructional Support for Teachers to Effectively Utilize and

Embrace Technology in the Classroom

Needs Assessment

The need for this project was determined in conjunction with my site-supervisor in reviewing our

campus School Technology and Readiness [STaR] chart results for the 2011-2012 school year.

The main objective of this action research project will be to improve our campus School

Technology and Readiness [STaR] chart rating in the area of Instructional Support. The concern

is that teachers are not confident and/or motivated to utilize technology in the delivery of their

lessons. This research will seek ways to understand the qualitative issues as well as demonstrate

quantitatively why technology in the classroom is vital to student and teacher success. According

to our AEIS report, our campus faculty is 99+% White and less than 1% Hispanic.

Objectives and Vision of the Action Research Project

Our campus STaR chart rating for 2011-2012 in the area of Instructional Support was 2. It is the

objective of this project to improve that rating to at least 3 by the end of the 2012-2013 school

year.

Review of the Literature and Action Research Strategy

As the project progressed, it was quickly discovered, in a careful reading of the STaR chart

questions that the teachers answer and score accordingly, that in order to receive a score higher

than 2 in the area of Instructional Support, it would be necessary to implement teacher cadres

that would provide the instructional support in technology. This was discussed with my site-

supervisor and agreed upon. It was discussed with the campus SBDM committee and was

approved.

Articulation of the Vision

The vision of this project was communicated to staff, parents, students, and community members

in SBDM committee meetings, informal discussions, a blog site, and email.

Managing the Organization

The strategy used for organizing the implementation of the project was as follows:

·         Set a foundation by informally discussing my research goals with other teachers and informing them that I will need their help to successfully complete this research.

·         Acquired questions from STaR chart regarding Instructional Support.

·         Analyzed the data on the STaR chart

·         Developed a deeper understanding by listening to teachers describe problems and reasons they are not utilizing technology in their lessons

·         Engaged in self-reflection by documenting how often I utilize technology in my classes and the different kinds of technology I use

·         Explored patterns in the use of technology in the classroom (e.g., older teachers vs. younger teachers, core subjects vs. electives, and department vs. department)

The campus principal and the SBDM committee were responsible for the following:

·         Determined direction for campus based on findings from inquiry

·         Took action by assigning department heads to monitor and encourage implementation of technology by all teachers in each department on a regular basis. Also, planned appropriate technology training as staff development to increase comfort level of teachers

·         Sustained improvement by following up with department heads to ensure compliance of technology utilization and looked for ways to anticipate future technology needs/upgrades

A priority was put on student learning and safety by stressing that improving in instructional

support would have a direct impact on student learning and by emphasizing the Children’s

Internet Protection Act, respectively.

Managing Operations

The strategy used to lead the operations of this project and set priorities was discovered as the

project got underway. Once it was discovered that teacher cadres had to be implemented in order

to improve the score in the area of Instructional Support on the STaR chart, consensus was

attained. There were no conflicts to resolve. Discussions were almost completely informal and,

fortunately, no dissent was encountered.

Responding to Community Interest and Needs

All students will benefit from the improvement of instructional support in technology. Teachers

will be more able to utilize and embrace the technology at their disposal and more seamlessly

integrate its use into their lessons.

References

School technology and readiness [STaR] chart for vidor jr. high school (2012).

This week I will work on a survey that our department heads will be asked to respond to in order to gather data. I will also continue to review the existing literature.

As I reflect on the past few weeks of this course in Action Research, I feel appreciative of the knowledge that has been imparted to me through the lectures and readings. Through interaction with the texts in the course of completing the assignments, I have gleaned much useful information that will certainly benefit me as a future administrator. In sharing thoughts with my peers on the discussion board and blogs, I have made connections with other future administrators and, hopefully, we will be able to maintain these connections throughout our administrative careers; perhaps even helping each other with future inquiries. I must confess I had never heard the term “action research” before enrolling in this course; now I wonder why. There are many times over the previous years of my career as an educator that action research would have been useful. To a degree I have utilized action research or at least parts of the process to find answers to problems in the past without realizing it was action research. My hope is to incorporate the process I have learned in this class to improve any schools that I have in my charge in the future. Improving schools and helping students become more successful is the main goal of any administrator and action research is one more tool that I now have at my disposal. I have added many strategies to my administrative repertory during this course, such as the Quality Indicators (Dana 2009), the Delphi Method, Nominal Group Technique, and Force Field Analysis (Harris et al. 2010). Additionally, I have really enjoyed getting better acquainted with the administrators at our school, especially my site-supervisor who is the head principal. Our school is a CCC middle school and is a very busy place. Because of this, I have never had many opportunities to spend much time in the front office. Generally, I am busy with my duties and administrators with their own. Interacting with our campus leaders on a regular basis has given me a fresh perspective on our school. Through meetings with my site-supervisor, I was able to gain focus and clarity regarding my inquiry and reached consensus on a project that will improve our school. This is exciting to me. I am finding new ways to contribute to the success of even more students at our school and this has given me a greater sense of pride and ownership in our campus.

References

Dana, N. F. (2009). Leading with passion and knowledge:  The principal as action researcher. Thousand Oaks, CA:  Corwin Press.

Harris, S., Edmonson, S., Combs, J. (2010). Examining what we do to improve our schools: 8 steps from analysis to action. Larchmont, NY: Eye On Education Press.

This week I have met with my site-supervisor, arrived at a consensus and revised my plan. I encourage all interested parties to provide me with suitable feedback.Your comments are appreciated. The following is the revised plan:

Action Planning Template
Goal: The Problem: How might we provide better instructional support for teachers to effectively utilize and embrace technology in the classroom? Rationale: The main objective of this action research project will be to improve our campus School Technology and Readiness [STaR] chart rating in the area of Instructional Support. The concern is that teachers are not confident and/or motivated to utilize technology in the delivery of their lessons. This research will seek ways to understand the qualitative issues as well as demonstrate quantitatively why technology in the classroom is vital to student and teacher success.
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Set a foundation by informally discussing my research goals with other teachers and informing them that I will need their help to successfully complete this research. Interview Jana Cash & Debi Gier. Try to acquire questions from STaR chart regarding Instructional Support.	Dennis Rowe	February 2012—March 2012	Informal meetings with teachers involved in research group	Site-Supervisor, Campus Site-Based Decision Making Committee, STaR chart, classroom observation
Analyze the data on the STaR chart	Dennis Rowe	March 2012—April 2012	Current STaR chart results	Site-Supervisor, Campus Site-Based Decision Making Committee, STaR chart, classroom observation
Develop a deeper understanding by listening to teachers describe problems and reasons they are not utilizing technology in their lessons	Dennis Rowe	April 2012 – May 2012	Teacher input	Site-Supervisor, Campus Site-Based Decision Making Committee, STaR chart, classroom observation
Engage in self-reflection by documenting how often I utilize technology in my classes and the different kinds of technology I use	Dennis Rowe	May 2012 – June 2012	Lesson plans, self-observation, PDAS evaluations	Site-Supervisor, Campus Site-Based Decision Making Committee, STaR chart, classroom observation
Explore patterns in the use of technology in the classroom (e.g., older teachers vs. younger teachers, core subjects vs. electives, and department vs. department)	Dennis Rowe	June 2012 – July 2012	Internet, current STaR chart results, teacher input	Site-Supervisor, Campus Site-Based Decision Making Committee, STaR chart, classroom observation
Determine direction for campus based on findings from inquiry	Site-Supervisor and Campus Site-Based Decision Making Committee	July 2012 – August 2012	Current STaR chart results, teacher input, findings from quantitative and qualitative data gathered	Site-Supervisor, Campus Site-Based Decision Making Committee, STaR chart, findings from quantitative and qualitative data gathered
Take action by assigning department heads to monitor and encourage implementation of technology by all teachers in each department on a regular basis. Also, plan appropriate technology training as staff development to increase comfort level of teachers	Principal and Department heads	August 2012 – September 2012	Internet, current STaR chart results, teacher input, findings from data, decision of Campus SBDM Committee	Site-Supervisor, Campus Site-Based Decision Making Committee, STaR chart, classroom observation, reports from department heads to principal
Sustain improvement by following up with department heads to ensure compliance of technology utilization and look for ways to anticipate future technology needs/upgrades	Principal	Ongoing following implementation of plan	STaR chart results, teacher input, student/parent input	Site-Supervisor, Campus Site-Based Decision Making Committee, STaR chart, classroom observation

Action Planning Template
Goal: The Problem: How might we better train teachers to effectively utilize and embrace technology in the classroom? Rationale: The main objective of this action research project will be to improve our campus School Technology and Readiness [STaR] chart rating in the area of Instructional Support. The concern is that teachers are not confident and/or motivated to utilize technology in the delivery of their lessons. This research will seek ways to understand the qualitative issues as well as demonstrate quantitatively why technology in the classroom is vital to student and teacher success.
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Set a foundation By informally discussing my research goals with other teachers and informing them that I will need their help to successfully complete this research	Dennis Rowe	February 2012—March 2012	Informal meetings with teachers involved in research group	Site-Supervisor, Campus Site-Based Decision Making Committee, STaR chart, classroom observation
Analyze the data on the STaR chart	Dennis Rowe	March 2012—April 2012	Current STaR chart results	Site-Supervisor, Campus Site-Based Decision Making Committee, STaR chart, classroom observation
Develop a deeper understanding by listening to teachers describe problems and reasons they are not utilizing technology in their lessons	Dennis Rowe	April 2012 – May 2012	Teacher input	Site-Supervisor, Campus Site-Based Decision Making Committee, STaR chart, classroom observation
Engage in self-reflection by documenting how often I utilize technology in my classes and the different kinds of technology I use	Dennis Rowe	May 2012 – June 2012	Lesson plans, self-observation, PDAS evaluations	Site-Supervisor, Campus Site-Based Decision Making Committee, STaR chart, classroom observation
Explore patterns in the use of technology in the classroom (e.g., older teachers vs. younger teachers, core subjects vs. electives, and department vs. department)	Dennis Rowe	June 2012 – July 2012	Internet, current STaR chart results, teacher input	Site-Supervisor, Campus Site-Based Decision Making Committee, STaR chart, classroom observation
Determine direction for campus based on findings from inquiry	Site-Supervisor and Campus Site-Based Decision Making Committee	July 2012 – August 2012	Current STaR chart results, teacher input, findings from quantitative and qualitative data gathered	Site-Supervisor, Campus Site-Based Decision Making Committee, STaR chart, findings from quantitative and qualitative data gathered
Take action by assigning department heads to monitor and encourage implementation of technology by all teachers in each department on a regular basis. Also, plan appropriate technology training as staff development to increase comfort level of teachers	Principal and Department heads	August 2012 – September 2012	Internet, current STaR chart results, teacher input, findings from data, decision of Campus SBDM Committee	Site-Supervisor, Campus Site-Based Decision Making Committee, STaR chart, classroom observation, reports from department heads to principal
Sustain improvement by following up with department heads to ensure compliance of technology utilization and look for ways to anticipate future technology needs/upgrades	Principal	Ongoing following implementation of plan	STaR chart results, teacher input, student/parent input	Site-Supervisor, Campus Site-Based Decision Making Committee, STaR chart, classroom observation

In this week's lectures and readings, I have gained new insights regarding the nine areas of action research listed in the Dana (2009) text. I have narrowed my inquiry topic and am making progress toward developing a plan with my site-supervisor. The topic I have chosen is: How can we better train teachers and persuade them to embrace technology in the classroom? 

ACTION RESEARCH

Action research is an important tool for educators to use in problem solving and to improve teaching and learning. It is an informal process that may be carried out collaboratively in various educational settings. Ringler (2007) provides a succinct four step process:

Define an issue to study

Review the professional literature

Take action

Use and share results

(Ringler, 2007, p. 30)

For the purposes of our EDLD 5301 course, the following, more detailed process will be carried out:

Set the foundation

Analyze data

Develop deeper understanding

Engage in self-reflection

Explore programmatic patterns

Determine direction

Take action for school improvement

Sustain improvement

(Resources, 2012)

Some of the benefits of action research are escaping isolation, becoming a role model, encouraging best practices, and slowing down the busy pace that administrators often feel. (Dana, 2009)

I hope to be able to use action research to improve my school’s utilization of technology in the classroom as documented in the School Technology and Readiness (STaR) chart. Through collaborative inquiry, perhaps we can discover what the problems and concerns are, move toward a solution, and share our findings with the broader educational community and legislators.

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References

Dana, N. F. (2009). Leading with passion and knowledge:  The principal as action researcher. Thousand Oaks, CA:  Corwin.

Resources, EDLD 5301 (2012).  Action research project process overview.  Beaumont, TX:  Lamar University.

Ringler, M. (2007). Action research: an effective instructional leadership skill for future public school leaders. American Association of School Administrators Journal of Scholarship and Practice, 4 (1), 27-42.

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How Educational Leaders Might Use Blogs

Educational leaders might use blogs to keep stakeholders informed of current events, successes, and concerns within the district. It could be like a living newsletter, going out daily, weekly or as needed. In some cases, blog sites are blocked by district servers and may require special permission to be effectively utilized. When used appropriately, the immediate feedback on various issues could prove an invaluable resource to leaders and stakeholders alike.