As the new school year has begun I have been able to document more hours that have been devoted to my action research.  Since my plan focuses on PLCs and how they are implemented on my campus many of my hours have been spent in PLC time.  I have found that since this is the beginning of the year much of our PLC time has been spent on housekeeping items like the new district walk through form and Love and Logic training.  I look forward to continuing to grow and document more of our time as it is used in PLC.

Reflection

When starting this course I did not even know what action research was, let alone what it entails.  I now truly understand the process and determination for improvement that work together to create action research. 

In week one I learned about what action research is and the steps that are implemented to conduct it.  Administrative inquiry is “…the process of a principal engaging in systematic, intentional study of his/her own administrative practice and taking action for change based on what he/she learns as a result of the inquiry” (Dana, 2009, p. 2).  Basically administrative inquiry is meant to bring about a change on a campus based on the needs.  This process involves identifying a problem, generating an action strategy, implementing the strategy, and focusing on the outcome or changes that were made.

In week two I was introduced to the idea of choosing appropriate action research topics. After reviewing a lot of examples of action research, including video interviews, I was able to narrow my ideas down and discuss these with my site supervisor.  These ideas included: behavior management, professional learning communities and the use of personal devices in the classroom.  One of the interviews that I viewed was that of Dr. Johnny Briseno, a Principal in Angleton ISD.  He discussed how a lot of teachers view a change in standardized test scores as an issue and wanted to investigate what causes these changes.  He went on to say that we need to look into the outside factors that are affecting that student’s life.  One of the ways in which he addressed this issue on his campus was to set up time for teachers to vertically discuss student achievement and student groups.  The teachers often have the quantitative data but not the qualitative data.  Instead of having to figure a student out each year it makes sense to discuss past achievement with former teachers.  He reinforced how important it is for education professionals to research topics or issues that come up within their schools.

 

In week three I determined my action research topic and plan.  I choose the topic: How do PLC’s, as they are implemented at de Zavala Middle School, benefit teachers and students?  How can we improve PLC time to better serve the teachers and students?  We then constructed our action research plan and shared with our peers.  After going through the process of brainstorming and actually constructing my action research plan, I found that one of the most valuable components of this course was to share my plan on my blog.  I was lucky enough to get a multitude of comments from my fellow students.  They brought up so many different ideas, suggestions and questions.  Since I am conducting my action research over the way in which Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) are implemented on my campus, many of my peers wanted to understand how we currently conduct PLCs.  I received feedback that included questions in which I should include when I survey my staff and interview different members of the administration.  I really liked that one of my fellow students took the time to think through ideas for me to include in my survey.  Another suggestion that I came across was to observe a PLC on another campus.  Since my campus’s PLC practice is a little different than the traditional PLC this could be a really interesting practice.  I really appreciated all the suggestions that I received and used them to reflect on my action research plan as well as to brainstorm future problems or concerns that I may run into after starting this process.

 

In week four we reviewed the strategies in order to sustain our action research.  My action research plan is somewhat centered around the use of questionnaires and surveys.  The Harris text explains that “questionnaires provide excellent opportunities for gathering information and opinions quickly” (Harris, 2010, p. 94).  I was happy to gather information about further ways to continue improvement.

 

Dana, N. F. (2009). Administrator Inquiry Defined. Leading with passion and knowledge: the principal as action researcher (pp. 1-15). Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Corwin Press, a Joint Publication with the American Association of School Administrators.

 

Briseno, J. Retrieved from https://luonline.blackboard.com/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_62323_1%26url%3D

Action Planning Template- Andrea Harris
Goal: How do Professional Learning Communities, as they are implemented at de Zavala Middle School, benefit teachers and students?  How can we improve PLC time to better serve the teachers and students?
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Interview Academic Specialist to discuss the benefits of PLC time for teachers and students	Andrea Harris Martha Leal (Academic Specialist)	August 2013	PLC Schedule PLC Plans PLC Calendar	Review interview notes
Interview the Principal about her vision of what PLC time should look like and how this benefits teachers and students.	Andrea Harris Anika Horgan (Principal)	August 2013	Vision	Review interview notes
Document the use of PLC time throughout the school year using photos and video.	Andrea Harris	2013-2014 School Year	PLC Calendar	Document all PLC events and dates
Reflect on procedures and information gained during PLC and how I personally implement in my classroom.	Andrea Harris	2013-2014 School Year	Reflective Journal	Use notes to help disseminate data from questionnaire.
Survey teachers asking about the benefits of PLC, what they have taken back to their classroom, and how to improve this time.	Andrea Harris De Zavala Faculty	November 2013	Questionnaire	Review survey results
Discuss survey results with administrative team and develop ways to address teacher concerns.	Andrea Harris Principal Asst. Principals Academic Specialist	December 2013	Teacher survey results	Review highlights of survey results with administrative team
Implement changes to PLC based on the input of the teachers.	Andrea Harris Academic Specialist	January 2013- May 2014	Plan created with administrative team
Survey teachers again to acknowledge changes.	Andrea Harris Faculty	April 2013	Questionnaire	Review re-evaluation of PLCs
Debrief with administrative team results of final survey	Andrea Harris Administrative Team	May 2013	Results organized in a meaningful way	Review final results and plans for the future

Action Research

This week I was able to determine what my action research topic is going to be!  I am going to be focusing on my campus's use of Planned Learning Communities (PLCs).  On our campus we have structured PLC time built into our day twice a week.  I want to look into how this time helps our teachers and students as well as how to better improve the use of this time.  I am really excited to embark on this journey and I am looking forward to gaining insight from the other faculty members as to how to make these improvements.  I was also able to discuss this with my site supervisor who thought this was a great topic take a deeper look at.  I am looking forward to learning more about PLCs in general.

Why blog?

I have found that blogging lends itself well to the world of education.  It is a great way to reflect on learning much like a journal and you can provide and receive immediate feedback from others.  It is also a way that I as an educator can model good writing not only to my peers but also to my students as well. 

What is action research?

This week I learned a lot about action research.  Action research is basically focusing on the problems on their campus and finding ways to fix the problem.  I learned that it varies greatly from traditional research in the fact that the stake holder is the one conducting the inquiry.  It seems as though it is a much more meaningful way to grow and make a meaningful change to a campus, classroom or administration.  I understand that the process involves a few steps in which  you first identify an issue, you then come up with an action to solve the problematic situation, next you implement your new strategies and evaluate whether or not they were effective, and lastly clarify the outcome in order to make a change.  With all of these factors combined a good administrator can really evaluate a multitude of issues or problems that are prevalent in schools today.   I understand that administrators are busy and often do not have the time for inquiry unless they take the time to make it part of their regular schedule.  I also think it is a great way to reflect on the strengths and weaknesses on a campus and work together to find ways to improve.  I am really excited to embark on this journey of action research because I think it will help me grow immensely and really get me ready to become an administrator.