Action Research Progress Check 1

Currently in my RTI project we are in the fourth week. However, we did not get to start the project on time due to the scheduling conflicts with our current bell schedule. I have met with my school’s administration to develop the alternative bell schedule, but we decided to go with our activity bell schedule because maintenance was unable to rework our bell system. We have noted that next year, we will put the alternative schedule in at the beginning of the year. The activity bell schedule uses a whole hour for activity and there are already complaints that the RTI classes are too long and that it should not be the same subject everyday. We will also try to divide the time up evenly between the eight classes. For 8^th grade class scheduling we looked at our students previous STAAR scores, district assessment, and six weeks test scores. Since 8^th graders have to pass Math and Reading to go the next grade, the students that were weak in those areas were assigned to those classes first. After that, the Science and History teachers selected students based on the same criteria. Our SPED students were assigned to their Resource Math or English teachers. Students who did not necessarily need the RTI were assigned to elective classes for enrichment. For 7^th grade class scheduling we looked at the same criteria and students were split up on whether they needed help with writing, reading, and math. Each department chair met with administration to order additional resources for RTI classes. We met with the Staff during our January staff development and two weeks before we implemented the program. We didn't end up teaching elective teachers on core content, because they just ended up working on enrichment activities. We have informally checked the school climate, but have not done anything formally since we didn't do the 1^st two weeks full out. We also haven’t been able to give our students formal two week assessments. Right now we are getting ready for our first round of administration, but we will actually change the RTI scheduling afterwards based on the STAAR results.

Updated Action Research Plan

RTI Action Plan
Goal: To increase student achievement on standardized testing and mastery of TEKS.
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
1.  Develop alternative bell schedule.	Counselor & Administration	Dec 2012-Jan 2013	Master Schedule, List of all students	Review current activity bell schedule and make adjustments based on faculty input from department meetings. Principal will give final approval of schedule.
2.    Create class schedules for RTI.	Counselor & Administration	Dec 2012-Jan 2013	Previous STAAR scores, AWARE, District Assessment Scores, 1st 3 six weeks test scores, teachers input.	Teachers will be asked to review data for their students and make suggestions for students that will need to be placed in their core class based on their history.
3.    Criteria for student placement.	Administration and RTI committee	Dec 2012-Jan 2013	Previous STAAR scores, AWARE, District Assessment Scores, 1st 3 six weeks test scores, teachers input.	RTI committee will come up with criteria for class placement. What will be the cut-off for student placement? Ex. Students who score below 70 on tests, etc.
4.   Research and Analyze Assignments/ Activities for   RTI period	Administration, Department Chairs	Dec 2012-May 2013	STAAR Coach, Explore Learning, Adaptive Curriculum, Textbooks, Labs	Department Chairs will need to make sure that the RTI activities are rigorous, relevant, and engaging.
5.  Hold faculty meeting to discuss implementation.	Administration	Dec 2012	Master Schedule	Principal will hold meeting to go over the RTI program.
6.              6. Train elective teachers in content they will teach.	Department Chairs	Jan 2013-May 2013	Depends on content area. For example, Science teacher will train elective teacher on how to use Adaptive Curriculum, etc.	Core teachers will make sure elective teachers feel comfortable with the information.
7.  School Climate Check	RTI Committee	Jan 2013	Survey	Teachers will be surveyed the 1st two weeks to iron out any issues with the new program.
8.  Review Progress Checks	All teachers	Bi-weekly from  Jan 2013-May2013	2 weeks assessments, AWARE	Teachers will review 2 weeks assessments to check on student progression.
9.  Conduct Teacher Survey	Ashley Harper	May 2013	Survey	Survey teachers on overall success and possible improvements for schedule change.
10.  STAAR Results	Admin	May 2013	STAAR Reports	STAAR Reports
11.  Conduct Student Survey	Ashley Harper	Jan 2013-May 2013	Survey	Students will be surveyed bi-weekly to see what could be done to enhance the program. Do they feel it is beneficial? Is there something missing that they feel they could grow from?
12.  Force Field Analysis	Admin & Ashley Harper	Dec 2012-Jan 2013	Identified past and present issues.	Meet as a team to go over possible issues that would disrupt the program. Make sure our driving forces are stronger than our resisting forces.
13.  Delphi Method	Ashley Harper	Dec 2012-Jan 2013	Survey	Conduct a survey amongst all teachers regarding the new implementation and what needs to be done. Compile a list of the issues and resend to staff to come to a consensus on how to address the implementation.

Harper's Action Research Plan

Week 2 Action Research Reflection

This week I have learned that teachers have to be action research oriented. The research we do needs to be practical and can be applied to my learning environment. When choosing an action research topic, I have to make sure that:

1. I do not focus my action research question on controlling or changing other people's practices.  The only person I can control is myself and my action research question should be a self-discovery for my practices.

2. I take the time to discover a true passion so that it will sustain me through the process.

3. I focus on something that pertains to my building.

4. I ask for help from other colleagues.

5. I allow my question to change and evolve over time as I engage in the process.

In this day and age, teachers have to be data driven. I have to use data to impact my instruction on a daily basis and my action research should be data driven as well.

Use of blogs

Educational leaders might use blogs as a data collection tool, for their own professional development, to inform others on improvement efforts and what’s going on at the school, and to capture their thinking of inquiry as it unfolds. It can be for collaboration and receiving support from other peers. Principals can write their feelings, ideas, and experiences and receive feedback from numerous educators around the world. Blogs can also be used as a reflective tool.

What I've learned about action research

I have learned that action research is a process like the scientific method where educators research the best way to improve teaching practices and student learning. It helps teachers with their professional development and accountability. The first thing you have to do with action research is identify a problem/ pose a question. Once, the problem is identified the educator will research the problem by reading different literature relating to the topic and coming up with ideas and ways to fix the problem. The educator will then try their new idea/technique. They will collect data and analyze this information. If the results are successful, then they will share their results with others, however, if the results are not what they expected, then they will have to go back and work on either revise or coming up with a new technique/idea to try and test it out.

Action research is different than the traditional educational research because it pertains to the educator’s particular campus versus a generic format. Action research can take place in various educational settings. Educators can either participate in action research as part of university/college coursework, superintendent/district meetings, leadership teams, or professional learning communities.In the university/college coursework setting, the educator either writes a proposal for an action research project or conducts the research as part of their curriculum. In the superintendent/district meetings, the educator works with other colleagues on a monthly basis completing interactive tasks that helps then identify an area of study to help them with their own practices. In the leadership team setting, the educator works with other faculty members on their campus where they share problems/ideas, responsibilities, and decision making. In the professional learning community setting, the educator works with other faculty members like the leadership team, however the meetings are more structured and the action research is a continuous cycle.

 I could definitely use it in my classroom. Science tends to be a hard concept for students to grasp. We are always trying new methods and techniques to help students internalize what we teach. I would love to be able to identify the main problem with my student’s learning and to be able to help them learn better. As Department Chair, I would be very pleased if I could find a way to help my team teach our students more effectively. Right now my district is moving toward teaching all 3^rd-8^th graders with PBLs (problem-based learning) 90% of the time. I’m interested in seeing if the students actually do learn better this way.