There are many things that I have learned throughout this research course that I will be able to use in my career especially on the road to becoming an administrator. Thinking about topics and examples for an action research has really opened my eyes to the problems and situations that a school faces each year. “Wonderings materialize at the nexuses of the real-world observations, dilemmas, felt difficulties, and passions that you develop in your work as and administrator” (Dana, 30). These “wonderings” have allowed me to really take inventory of our school’s situations to see what is important and needs immediate change. I really feel that I have learned a lot about the “wonderings” that lead to the planning of an action research as well as the action research process itself. I feel that I now understand the importance of asking questions and defining problems. I realize that an action research can really make changes to help in school improvement.
I feel that I have chosen a topic for my action research that is both beneficial and significant to the school and to myself. I feel that researching common assessments in geometry is both important to me, a math teacher, as well as relevant to school improvement and student learning. This allows my action research plan to be a shared vision. “When there is no shared vision in place, a major barrier is constructed which does not allow for genuine school improvement” (Harris, Edmonson, & Combs, 5). Being a math teacher, I feel that the common assessment will help improve the curriculum and class schedule of the math department. If all goes well and the research shows positive results, then we can implement common assessments in other math classes as well as other core-subjects. I feel that I have outlined a detailed action research project that can be very successful. I feel this way because this class has really prepared me and showed me how to design my own action research plan. Regardless of the outcome, I really think that we will gain significant knowledge into the needs of our department and school. The data that we collect will be useful in determining changes that need to be made to my action research plan. Like Principal Johnny Briseno from Rancho Isabella Elementary said, “We don’t make decisions without looking at data first.” I have really learned how important and useful data can be and how sorting through it can bring great insight to an action research.
I also feel that I learned a lot from my meeting with my site-supervisor, Mrs. Phillips. She is very well informed on action research projects, and I feel that this gives me an advantage because I will be able to go to her for advice while implementing my research project. I am also glad that she approved it and like it. This approval makes me more confident because I know that I have her support and encouragement.
I am excited to begin my action research project, and I feel that I am very prepared for the upcoming events. I believe this class has equipped me with the knowledge of action research, and I know that I will be able to proceed with my action research plan with confidence.
Dana, N. F. (2009). Leading with Passion and Knowledge: The Principal as Action Researcher. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
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.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Revised Action Research
I have just revised my action research plan. Please feel free to post any comments or concerns. Thanks, Brit!!!
ACTION RESEARCH PROJECT
Common Assessments in Geometry
Wichita Falls High School
~In what ways will implementing a newly formatted common assessment help student achievement in the classroom and on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills Test in geometry?
~How do I improve the usage and effectiveness of common assessments in the geometry classroom?
· Goals and Objectives:
1. To design a common assessment for geometry that will focus on student learning and teacher instruction.
2. To have an assessment that will allow students to stay on track with the teacher and the class.
3. To build an assessment that will help teachers stay aligned with each other as well as with the curriculum.
· Persons Responsible:
1. The Team consists of: myself (Brittany Barbosa), a counselor (Shonna Norton, who used to be a math teacher), the math department head (George Samus), and the calculus teacher (John Roy)
2. The participation of all the geometry teachers who will be giving the common assessments and helping with questions and information.
3. The teachers from the entire math department which includes algebra 1, math models, geometry, algebra 2, pre-calculus, calculus, statistics, and AMDM.
· Action Steps:
1. The Team will research data from old common assessments that were used two years ago. We will take into consideration the format and the question types. We want the new common assessment to bring in higher-level thinking in the form of TAKS type questions.
~Who: The Team
~When: 2 weeks before school starts
2. The team will also use the internet to search for useful common assessment information as well as investigate common assessments used in other schools in our district and area.
~Who: The Team
~When: 2 weeks before school starts (same time as above)
3. We also want the geometry teachers to create a test question bank to help us design a mock common assessment. This will help us develop questions or problems that the geometry teachers feel are significant to the geometry class.
~Who: All geometry teachers
~When: During our back to school work days
4. The team will meet to decide on appropriate questions and problems to be put on the draft common assessment. We do not want to involve the geometry teachers because we do not want them to see the actual questions to the assessment in fear that they will review those problems with the students.
~Who: The team
~When: During our back to school work days
5. The team will meet to design of the first common assessment draft. We will take the questions and problems that were chosen from the math department and put them into the TAKS format so the students become familiar with that style way before actually taking the TAKS test.
~Who: The team
~When: 1st and 2nd weeks of school
6. We will meet with some math teachers from the department and present them our draft in order to receive their feedback and their thoughts before we finalize the assessment. We hope to answer any questions or concerns they may have at this time. This will also allow us time to reflect on our progress as well.
~Who: The team and volunteer math teachers
~When: At the 3 weeks mark (half way through the first six weeks)
7. The team will do a check-in with the geometry teachers to make sure that they are on track with the curriculum so that the topics on the assessment are being covered in the classroom.
~Who: The team
~When: 3rd and 5th weeks of school
8. We will meet with the geometry teachers to discuss the importance of the common assessment. We will also tell them to stress to their classes that it will be a test grade. We will also have them tell their classes about the incentives. 2 “no homework” passes for 86-100 and 1 “no homework” pass for a 70-85.
~Who: The team and the geometry teachers
~When: 4th week of school
9. We will then finalize the common assessment and give it to the geometry teachers to administer.
~Who: The team
~When: Finalize in weeks 4 and 5; give to geometry teachers at week 6. Common Assessment will be given on the Wednesday of the last week of the six weeks.
10. Finally, the team will meet to grade and evaluate the student progress. We ask that all the geometry teachers attend this meeting so we can take into consideration both the grade as well as the teachers’ thoughts on each students’ progress.
~Who: The team and all the geometry teachers
~When: Beginning of the 2nd six weeks
11. We will then share our findings with the math department, and we will hear their thoughts on our research.
~Who: The team, all the geometry teachers, and the entire math department
~When: Beginning of the 2nd six weeks
12. We will also give a powerpoint presentation to the entire faculty at one of our staff meetings. We will ask for their thoughts and concerns.
~Who: The team
~When: Some time during the first semester
· Resources:
We will use past common assessments as well as data collected from those assessments. We will use internet search engines to help gather more information. We will also access TEAMS, DMAC, and other student information resources.
· Monitoring:
We will need to monitor student progress through each of the geometry teachers. We will gather their input as well as grades on the common assessments. We feel that grades are not always a sure sign that students are or are not achieving in the classroom. Thus, the team feels that the teachers’ notes and thoughts on each student are vital in deciding the final outcome. We will also have to take into consideration outside factors that could affect a student during the day that the common assessment is given. We will also observe the students in the classroom setting, and possibly interview students to obtain their feelings about the common assessments. We will also see if the teachers are on the same track as each other as well as with the curriculum. One of our goals is to help teachers stay on the same pace as each other. In the past teachers have been as far as four to five weeks apart in their instruction, which is very alarming. To give all students the same opportunity to learn, we, as teachers, need to be on the same outline and teaching the same curriculum.
· Evaluation:
We will definitely us the students’ grades on the common assessment, and we will use the teachers’ notes and thoughts to help gauge their progress. We will also be sharing the research progress with our math department so their input will be useful also. We will also use reflection, both individually and group, to help evaluate our effectiveness.
ACTION RESEARCH PROJECT
Common Assessments in Geometry
Wichita Falls High School
~In what ways will implementing a newly formatted common assessment help student achievement in the classroom and on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills Test in geometry?
~How do I improve the usage and effectiveness of common assessments in the geometry classroom?
· Goals and Objectives:
1. To design a common assessment for geometry that will focus on student learning and teacher instruction.
2. To have an assessment that will allow students to stay on track with the teacher and the class.
3. To build an assessment that will help teachers stay aligned with each other as well as with the curriculum.
· Persons Responsible:
1. The Team consists of: myself (Brittany Barbosa), a counselor (Shonna Norton, who used to be a math teacher), the math department head (George Samus), and the calculus teacher (John Roy)
2. The participation of all the geometry teachers who will be giving the common assessments and helping with questions and information.
3. The teachers from the entire math department which includes algebra 1, math models, geometry, algebra 2, pre-calculus, calculus, statistics, and AMDM.
· Action Steps:
1. The Team will research data from old common assessments that were used two years ago. We will take into consideration the format and the question types. We want the new common assessment to bring in higher-level thinking in the form of TAKS type questions.
~Who: The Team
~When: 2 weeks before school starts
2. The team will also use the internet to search for useful common assessment information as well as investigate common assessments used in other schools in our district and area.
~Who: The Team
~When: 2 weeks before school starts (same time as above)
3. We also want the geometry teachers to create a test question bank to help us design a mock common assessment. This will help us develop questions or problems that the geometry teachers feel are significant to the geometry class.
~Who: All geometry teachers
~When: During our back to school work days
4. The team will meet to decide on appropriate questions and problems to be put on the draft common assessment. We do not want to involve the geometry teachers because we do not want them to see the actual questions to the assessment in fear that they will review those problems with the students.
~Who: The team
~When: During our back to school work days
5. The team will meet to design of the first common assessment draft. We will take the questions and problems that were chosen from the math department and put them into the TAKS format so the students become familiar with that style way before actually taking the TAKS test.
~Who: The team
~When: 1st and 2nd weeks of school
6. We will meet with some math teachers from the department and present them our draft in order to receive their feedback and their thoughts before we finalize the assessment. We hope to answer any questions or concerns they may have at this time. This will also allow us time to reflect on our progress as well.
~Who: The team and volunteer math teachers
~When: At the 3 weeks mark (half way through the first six weeks)
7. The team will do a check-in with the geometry teachers to make sure that they are on track with the curriculum so that the topics on the assessment are being covered in the classroom.
~Who: The team
~When: 3rd and 5th weeks of school
8. We will meet with the geometry teachers to discuss the importance of the common assessment. We will also tell them to stress to their classes that it will be a test grade. We will also have them tell their classes about the incentives. 2 “no homework” passes for 86-100 and 1 “no homework” pass for a 70-85.
~Who: The team and the geometry teachers
~When: 4th week of school
9. We will then finalize the common assessment and give it to the geometry teachers to administer.
~Who: The team
~When: Finalize in weeks 4 and 5; give to geometry teachers at week 6. Common Assessment will be given on the Wednesday of the last week of the six weeks.
10. Finally, the team will meet to grade and evaluate the student progress. We ask that all the geometry teachers attend this meeting so we can take into consideration both the grade as well as the teachers’ thoughts on each students’ progress.
~Who: The team and all the geometry teachers
~When: Beginning of the 2nd six weeks
11. We will then share our findings with the math department, and we will hear their thoughts on our research.
~Who: The team, all the geometry teachers, and the entire math department
~When: Beginning of the 2nd six weeks
12. We will also give a powerpoint presentation to the entire faculty at one of our staff meetings. We will ask for their thoughts and concerns.
~Who: The team
~When: Some time during the first semester
· Resources:
We will use past common assessments as well as data collected from those assessments. We will use internet search engines to help gather more information. We will also access TEAMS, DMAC, and other student information resources.
· Monitoring:
We will need to monitor student progress through each of the geometry teachers. We will gather their input as well as grades on the common assessments. We feel that grades are not always a sure sign that students are or are not achieving in the classroom. Thus, the team feels that the teachers’ notes and thoughts on each student are vital in deciding the final outcome. We will also have to take into consideration outside factors that could affect a student during the day that the common assessment is given. We will also observe the students in the classroom setting, and possibly interview students to obtain their feelings about the common assessments. We will also see if the teachers are on the same track as each other as well as with the curriculum. One of our goals is to help teachers stay on the same pace as each other. In the past teachers have been as far as four to five weeks apart in their instruction, which is very alarming. To give all students the same opportunity to learn, we, as teachers, need to be on the same outline and teaching the same curriculum.
· Evaluation:
We will definitely us the students’ grades on the common assessment, and we will use the teachers’ notes and thoughts to help gauge their progress. We will also be sharing the research progress with our math department so their input will be useful also. We will also use reflection, both individually and group, to help evaluate our effectiveness.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Common Assessment in Geometry
ACTION RESEARCH PROJECT
Common Assessments in Geometry
Wichita Falls High School
* In what ways will implementing a newly formatted common assessment help student achievement in the classroom and on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills Test in geometry?
* How do I improve the usage and effectiveness of common assessments in the geometry classroom?
·Goals and Objectives:
1. To design a common assessment for geometry that will focus on student learning and teacher instruction.
2. To have an assessment that will allow students to stay on track with the teacher and the class.
3. To build an assessment that will help teachers stay aligned with each other as well as with the curriculum.
·Persons Responsible:
1. The Team consists of: myself (Brittany Barbosa), a counselor (Shonna Norton, who used to be a math teacher), the math department head (George Samus), and the calculus teacher (John Roy)
2. The participation of all the geometry teachers who will be giving the common assessments and helping with questions and information.
3. The teachers from the entire math department which includes algebra 1, math models, geometry, algebra 2, pre-calculus, calculus, statistics, and AMDM.
·Action Steps:
1. The Team will research data from old common assessments that were used two years ago. We will take into consideration the format and the question types. We want the new common assessment to bring in higher-level thinking in the form of TAKS type questions.
+ Who: The Team
+ When: 2 weeks before school starts
2. The team will also use the internet to search for useful common assessment information as well as investigate common assessments used in other schools in our district and area.
+ Who: The Team
+ When: 2 weeks before school starts (same time as above)
3. We also want the geometry teachers to create a test question bank to help us design a mock common assessment. This will help us develop questions or problems that the geometry teachers feel are significant to the geometry class.
+ Who: All geometry teachers
+ When: During our back to school work days
4. We will meet with the math department to enlist the help of willing math teachers in the choosing of appropriate questions for the common assessment. This will give us a wide variety of opinions on what is considered an important lesson or problem in geometry.
+ Who: The team, all geometry teachers, and the entire math department
+ When: During our back to school work days
5. The team will meet to design of the first common assessment draft. We will take the questions and problems that were chosen from the math department and put them into the TAKS format so the students become familiar with that style way before actually taking the TAKS test.
+ Who: The team
+ When: 1st and 2nd weeks of school
6. We will meet with the geometry teachers and present them our draft in order to receive their feedback and their thoughts before we finalize the assessment. We hope to answer any questions or concerns they may have at this time. This will also allow us time to reflect on our progress as well.
+ Who: The team and all the geometry teachers
+ When: At the 3 weeks mark (half way through the first six weeks)
7. We will then finalize the common assessment and give it to the geometry teachers to administer.
+ Who: The team
+ When: Finalize in weeks 4 and 5; give to geometry teachers at week 6. Common Assessment will be taken before the end of the six weeks.
8. Finally, the team will meet to grade and evaluate the student progress. We ask that all the geometry teachers attend this meeting so we can take into consideration both the grade as well as the teachers’ thoughts on each students’ progress.
+ Who: The team and all the geometry teachers
+ When: Beginning of the 2nd six weeks
9. We will then share our findings with the math department, and we will hear their thoughts on our research.
+ Who: The team, all the geometry teachers, and the entire math department
+ When: Beginning of the 2nd six weeks
10. We will also give a powerpoint presentation to the entire faculty at one of our staff meetings. We will ask for their thoughts and concerns.
+ Who: The team
+ When: Some time during the first semester
·Resources:
We will use past common assessments as well as data collected from those assessments. We will use internet search engines to help gather more information. We will also access TEAMS, DMAC, and other student information resources.
·Monitoring:
We will need to monitor student progress through each of the geometry teachers. We will gather their input as well as grades on the common assessments. We feel that grades are not always a sure sign that students are or are not achieving in the classroom. Thus, the team feels that the teachers’ notes and thoughts on each student are vital in deciding the final outcome. We will also have to take into consideration outside factors that could affect a student during the day that the common assessment is given. We will also observe the students in the classroom setting, and possibly interview students to obtain their feelings about the common assessments. We will also see if the teachers are on the same track as each other as well as with the curriculum. One of our goals is to help teachers stay on the same pace as each other. In the past teachers have been as far as four to five weeks apart in their instruction, which is very alarming. To give all students the same opportunity to learn, we, as teachers, need to be on the same outline and teaching the same curriculum.
·Evaluation:
We will definitely us the students’ grades on the common assessment, and we will use the teachers’ notes and thoughts to help gauge their progress. We will also be sharing the research progress with our math department so their input will be useful also. We will also use reflection, both individually and group, to help evaluate our effectiveness.
Friday, July 23, 2010
9 Areas of Importance
This week in my masters class we worked on giving examples of action research in nine areas of importance. These nine areas are of major importance to school leaders. These nine areas include: staff development, curriculum development, individual teachers, individual students, school culture/community, leadership, management, school performance, and social justice or equity issues. These nine areas benefit from action research projects because an action research can gain more insight in to any problem or situation that might occur in any one of these nine areas. An action research can help by allowing the school leaders to collect and analyze data that surrounds the situation, and then the school leaders can collaborate together to find a solution and share the final outcome or changes. This is significant to these nine areas because these nine areas keep schools running smoothly and efficiently. Thus, an action research is beneficial in any area, but for education, these nine areas use action research as a guide to focus on school improvement.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Blogs for Educational Leaders
A blog can be beneficial for educational leaders to use. A blog is just another way to share news as well as get feedback from others. For a school leader, a blog could be used to post events or meetings that are open to the public, or the blog can be used to gain comments from outside sources on a given situation. Positive or negative feedback to a post can give insight into a certain problem. A blog can help keep the principal or school connected to the community.
Intro to Action Research
I am working on my masters in educational administration so I can obtain my principal's certification. My current class is called Research, and right now, we are primarily focusing on action-based research. Action-based research is very beneficial and can be used to help identify problems and work towards solutions. There are two types of research: action-based research and the more traditional educational research. With educational research, the principal is a not part of the equation because outside experts are used to locate problems and give solutions. On the other hand, action-based research is all about the principals needs and ideas. With this type of research, the principal is the one who decides what topic will be investigated, and throughout the whole process, the principal is in the middle collecting data, analyzing the findings, and implementing the changes. Action-based research definitely keeps the stakeholder involved in all of the steps.
Action-based research can be used to help gain insight on many of the problems that a principal faces. Lets say that a principal notices that his/her school is having difficulty with students cutting class. With an action-based research, the principal will be able to gather data on the students cutting class, the times they are cutting, the subjects or teacher they are skipping, and maybe find some reasons behind the students cutting class. Once the principal gains this data, he/she can analyze it and further evaluate the situation. After these steps have been followed, the principal can decide to do more investigating or he/she can start making changes. During all these steps, the principal should be reflecting on each finding as well as each decision he/she is trying to make. The action-based research will keep the principal focused and engaged throughout the entire process, thus helping solve the problem of class-cuts. Action-based research can be used to help with many of the problems or curiosities that a principal or school faces.
Action-based research can be used to help gain insight on many of the problems that a principal faces. Lets say that a principal notices that his/her school is having difficulty with students cutting class. With an action-based research, the principal will be able to gather data on the students cutting class, the times they are cutting, the subjects or teacher they are skipping, and maybe find some reasons behind the students cutting class. Once the principal gains this data, he/she can analyze it and further evaluate the situation. After these steps have been followed, the principal can decide to do more investigating or he/she can start making changes. During all these steps, the principal should be reflecting on each finding as well as each decision he/she is trying to make. The action-based research will keep the principal focused and engaged throughout the entire process, thus helping solve the problem of class-cuts. Action-based research can be used to help with many of the problems or curiosities that a principal or school faces.
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