Checking in about my Action Research...Sept. 2013

The last year of utilizing a communication tool to provide weekly progress updates to the stakeholders of homebound students has been very rewarding.  As of now, my action research is complete and I found the process to be successful.  The communication processes that were put into place have had a positive effect with most stakeholders involved in the homebound program.  The surveys that were sent out at the end of last year provided fabulous feedback.  The feedback was used to make changes to the process this year.  The improvements we made have been beneficial to all stakeholders.  For the homebound teachers and substitutes, the changes have made the communication process more streamlined and efficient.  For teachers, principals, counselors, and parents the communication tool is a living document that can be viewed at any time within Google Drive.  The stakeholders now have the ability to comment in real time regarding the progress of students.  I am excited for the positive changes that have taken effect as a result of my action research.  I did not have to make any changes to my original research plan.  The only changes that were made were in response to the feedback I received.  I continue to look for ways to improve communication and processes within our homebound department.  The only struggle we are currently encountering has to do with the training of our substitutes.  We have a number of older teachers who are not as comfortable with technology and are struggling with how to use our new communication tool.  All of the teachers are willing to learn but the process is slow and often frustrating for them.  I have to continue to remember that not everyone is as comfortable with technology as I am.

Draft Action Research Plan

Action Planning Template
Goal: Will utilizing a standardized communication tool improve communication between all stakeholders in the homebound program and indirectly improve student achievement?
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Create and send out a survey assessing the effectiveness of the homebound program in RRISD.	Tanja Wren	Start: May 2012 End: August 2012	Surveymonkey.com, computer, email	Collect and analyze data related to the survey and make recommendations based upon the data collected.
Read John C. Maxwell’s Book: “Everyone Communicates Few Connect: What The Most Effective People Do Different	Tanja Wren and all teachers in the homebound department	Start: August 2012 End: August 2012	Book	N/A
Create a standardized communication tool and share the tool with other homebound teachers.	Tanja Wren	August 2012	Microsoft Word, computer, input from homebound teachers	Gain feedback from homebound teachers who will utilize the communication tool.
Teach all homebound teachers and substitutes to use the communication tool. Set expectations for communication	Tanja Wren/Karen Bounds	Start: August 2012 End: August 2012	Communication Tool, funds to pay for training	N/A
Utilize the communication tool throughout 2012/2013 school year with all homebound students	All homebound teachers and substitutes	Start: August 2012 End: June 2013	Computers, email, Microsoft Word	Collect data on frequency that communication tool was used (i.e. weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, never) by homebound teachers and substitutes
Maintain accurate records and copies of all communication sent to stakeholders for each homebound student	All homebound teachers and substitutes	Start: August 2012 End: June 2013	Computer and flashdrive	Assess accuracy of documentation for each homebound teacher or substitute
Create and send out a survey to parents, teachers, principals, and counselors of all homebound students for 2012/2013	Tanja Wren	Start: May 2013 End: June 2013	Surveymonkey.com, Computer, email	Collect and analyze data from the survey
Collect and Analyze survey results	Tanja Wren and Karen Bounds	Start: June 2013 End: July 2013	data	Determine whether the survey was non-biased, effective, and provided the necessary information
Self Reflection on my specific survey data	Tanja Wren	Start: May 2013 End: July 2013	Survey results	Assess why my data might not reflect improved communication or improved student achievement
Collect credit completion data for current homebound students	Tanja Wren	Start: May 2013 End: June 2013	ESchoolPlus, computer, transcripts	Analyze data to determine if student’s gained all credits attempted while on homebound
Make recommendations for changes to communication tool based upon feedback from stakeholders	Tanja Wren and Karen Bounds	Start: July 2013 End: August 2013	Possible funding from program, computers for substitutes, Microsoft Word	Gain feedback from a sample of stakeholders and current homebound teachers and substitutes
Research other districts communication protocols for homebound teachers	Tanja Wren	Start: June 2013 End: August 2013	Computer, telephone	N/A
Share communication tool with all Homebound departments and supervisors and Implement communication tool for 2013/2014	All teachers and substitutes	Start: August 2013 End: May 2014	Face to Face presentation and training	End of training survey

Week 2 - The action research journey begins...

Week 2 of beginning my action research has provided me with some great dialogue and readings regarding other's ideas and wonderings. You often find that the wonderings of others leads to some wonderings of your own.  The most difficult part of being a dedicated learner is having a clear focus for your learning.  You can't learn about everything at once.  I have found that I want to know so much about everything that I am not committed to any one particular focus.  I am finding it difficult to stay on a particular learning path because so many other paths of interest keep popping up.  I'm sure that as I continue down this journey I will begin to settle in...we shall see.

How action research can be used on a campus...

A principal might use action research when faced with a particular problem that must be addressed on a campus, such as trying to improve communication between the school and home or dealing with low math standardized test scores that keep a campus from meeting AYP.  If a campus has PLC's (Professional Learning Communities) in place, then action research could be utilized as part of this collaborative group to determine if certain teaching strategies increase student achievement in a particular subject/department.

What I have learned about action research...

What I have learned about action research is that my district has been requiring this process as an appraisal tool for the last 10-12 years of my teaching career.  The district I work in has 2 forms of appraisal: 1) PDAS and 2) ABC (Appraisal by Collaboration).  The former is the state mandated appraisal system required of all teachers.  The latter is an alternative choice to PDAS that involves action research.  The process of action research or "administrator inquiry" as described in Nancy Dana's book "Leading With Passion And Knowledge" states,
         Inquiring professionals seek out change and reflect on their practice by posing questions or
         "wonderings", collecting data to gain insight into their wonderings, analyzing the data along with
         reading relevant literature, making changes in practice based on new understandings developed
         during inquiry, and sharing findings with others. (p. 2-3)
 The ABC process in our district requires us to be a part of an ABC collaborative group.  We are required to pose a "Banner Question" (this would be the same as a wondering) related to student achievement and throughout the year we collect data, collect artifacts, read relevant literature, and meet at certain checkpoints to reflect on our findings and processes with our collaborative team.  At the end of the year, our summative conference (appraisal) involves presenting our final product to our team and then meeting with our principal to discuss our ABC banner question and findings.  We are expected to explain not just what we found out throughout the inquiry process, but what changes we made based on the data, and how student achievement was impacted based on the changes we made.   Ever since this process was started in my district I have been a staunch supporter of it.  I truly believe that this process has made me a better educator and highlights the fact that I am a professional who is always wanting to grow and learn in my craft.  One of the struggles highlighted in the Dana text was time to conduct administrative inquiry.  Time is always an issue for anyone involved in education, but our district's ABC process was allotted time because our district believes in the inherent value of the inquiry process.  Unfortunately, not all teachers agree that this process is worthwhile and the district has decided to allow teachers/campuses to choose between PDAS and ABC.   As an aspiring principal I acknowledge that I have benefited greatly from action research as a teacher and I intend to make action research a part of my campus culture in the future.  The most important thing that I learned from the Dana text about action research is the need for a principal to be the "head learner" (p.2) in their school.  As a principal you must be willing to engage in action research if you expect your teachers to do the same. 

Dana, Nancy Fichtman. (2009). Leading With Passion And Knowledge: The Principal as Action Researcher. California: Corwin.