The NEW plan...

Action Planning Template
Goal: Upon completion of this action research project, I hope to find out if our new summer school plan is worth the cost.
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Create Templates/Charts for data	L. Robinson	7/1/12 thru 7/15/12	Example templates/charts previously used	Zielonka/ Johnston
Collect Data prior to the beginning of Summer School	L. Robinson	Complete before 7/23/12	Student Cumulative folders/Previous year teacher information	Zielonka/ Johnston
Identify Reporting Categories that each student needs most improvement in	L. Robinson/ Previous year teacher input	Complete before 7/23/12	Benchmarks/EOY Report Card Grades	Completed Data Charts and identify objectives that must be covered in Summer School
Share information with Summer School teachers	L. Robinson and Summer School Teachers	7/26/12	Data gathered	Teacher Input/ Thoughts on how to teach specific objectives.
Gather reading data from teachers for the beginning of the 2012-2013 school year	L. Robinson/ 3rd and 4th grade Teachers of Summer School Students	End of Sept. 2012	TPRI scores/Rigby/Star	Results on beginning of the year inventory tests
Obtain grades for the 1st 9 weeks and benchmark scores	L. Robinson	October 28, 2012	Report Card Grades and Benchmark Scores	The grades each child received
Obtain grades from progress reports	L. Robinson	End of November 2012	Progress Reports	Grades
Complete Final Data Sheets and Report my findings	L. Robinson	Beginning of December 2012		Zielonka/ Johnston

Summer School: Is it worth it or not?

Needs Assessment- The district is trying a different approach to summer school this year.  My research is necessary to determine if the programs benefits are worth what it costs to run summer school.  The data that I collect will give background information on the students and how they progressed through the 2012-2013 school year.  This will be presented in a graph for ease of comparison.

Objectives and Vision of AR project- Since this is the first year for my district to try the new approach to summer school, the object of my research is to use data to determine if the students are making large enough academic gains to support the funds being spent on this program.  I hope that by approaching summer school in a different way, we will be able to reach the students that are just barely making it though the school year.  We will use differentiated instruction, hands-on activities, problem solving skills, lit circles, and other strategies to help these students reach higher passing rates.

Review of the literature and Action Research strategy- The students that we chose for summer school are the ones who struggle in reading and math, but get by.  These students were chosen for summer school in hopes that by attending, it will help them have a higher success rate in their 9 weeks report card grades and state assessments. After all data has been gathered, we will be able to determine if attending summer school was academically beneficial.  I do not have resources at this time.  I am currently working on setting up the spreadsheets and gathering data that I can obtain prior to the beginning of summer school.

  Articulate the Vision- Summer school will be a chance for the students to get back on track and fill gaps that they have from previous years.  The vision of the action research is important because the target audience are the parents of the students that we would like to come to summer school.  It is not mandatory, so we are offering a few incentives for those who do attend. 

Mange the Oraganization- In order for this project to be completed, I have to communicate with the students’ previous teacher(s) and the summer school teacher to decide what skills need to be worked on during the 8 days.  I will ask that teachers help me with collecting data for these students.  Most of  it I will be able to gather on my own, but to fill the holes, I might need their assistance.  A majority of the project will be completed independently.  I do not need any monitary assistance.  I will need to find out how much money was spent on the progam so that in the end we will be abe to determine if the money spent is worth the knowledge the students gained.  Obviously, the what the students will be learning is of the utmost importance.  What the students take from the progam will be the tell all of how beneficial the program was for them.

Manage Operatoions- This program is based on what child will benefit from summer school the most.  We decided that students with low Ds for an end of year average and low benchmark scores would be the students that we invite.  These are the students that need reinforcement in order to start off the new year.  After the program has concluded, I will continue to gather data on these students.  I will obtain their benchmark scores in the fall and 9 weeks reporting period grades.  This data will help to decide if the growth that the students made was significant enough to continue funding the program.  The communication process is between teachers, the principal, AP, the reading specialist, and parents.  I will be gathering data from these groups of people to help support my findings. 

Respond to Community Interest and Needs- As stated before, any student that meet the criteria mentioned above, will be invited to attend summer school.  If this includes special needs students, we will work with them to try to fill the gaps and follow their needs outlined in their IEP.  Most likely, the majority of our attendees will come from different cultures, ethnicities, and socioeconomic standards.  We are a Title I school, so the students who attend will receive free school supplies and a book each day.  We are unable to provide transportation because of limited funding, but in the past, this has not been an issue.  As a team of teachers, we are going to identify skills that these students need the most assistance with and focus on those areas.  We will play games, work in groups, solve problems, and learn to be thinkers.

Change of Plans!

Well, half way through the program I decided to abandon my original project.  My project will now focus on summer school and how effective it was for the students vs. the amount of money spent to fund the program.  More to come in the next few weeks!

OUT OF SIGHT OUT OF MIND...

Unfortunately I had forgotten about updating my blog!!!!  Oh no! 

I have not made much progress on my action research project, but I am about to start researching questions that I might need to ask on the surveys for the students and teachers.  I am not sure of where to start because I have not created a survey before.  I will try survey monkey first because I have heard great things about this site. 

ANY SUGGESTIONS OR THOUGHTS?????

Action Research Plan (draft)

Action Planning Template
Goal: Upon completion of this action research project, I hope to find ways to motivate the unmotivated 4th and 5th grade students.
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Create a student survey to determine a good starting point for research.	Lacie Robinson with the help of S. Zielonka (mentor)	Oct. 23 - Nov. 30, 2011	-On-line survey assistance -Examples of survey questions	Approval by S. Zielonka -Research
Create a teacher survey to determine what teachers are already doing in their class to help motivate students.	Lacie Robinson with the help of S. Zielonka (mentor)	Oct. 23 - Nov. 30, 2011	-On-line survey assistance -Examples of survey questions	Approval by S. Zielonka -Research
Conduct research through reading articles/journals and analyzing completed surveys.	L. Robinson	Beginning of Dec. to the end of Dec. 2011	I need to research books that will assist me with this project.  I will also google articles/journals for tried and true practices. Completed surveys.	Completed surveys
Visit different grade levels and classes to see motivation strategies used by others.	L. Robinson	October 24- Dec.16, 2011	Campus Classrooms	Completed surveys
Compile data and decide what motivational strategies are most effective and should be tested.	L. Robinson	End of Nov. 2011-Jan. 2, 2012	Information collected from visiting classrooms and research.	Results from research
Ask teachers to implement different strategies to measure effectiveness.	4th and 5th grade teachers, reading specialist, math specialist	May 2012	-Teacher notes/thoughts and findings	Teacher comments/thoughts
Create a post survey and poll the teachers after they have implemented recommended strategies.	L. Robinson	End of May 2012	-On-line survey assistance -Examples of survey questions	Approval from S. Zielonka
Compile all data and review the information with S. Zielonks	L. Robinson S. Zielonka (mentor)	June 2012		Collected Data Surveys

Week 2 Reflection/Comment

I have started to realize that I have conducted action research many times, just not as detailed as the current project.  The other math/science teacher on my team and myself plan our lessons together.  We are always looking for ways to improve how we present the information being taught or looking for new activities to engage the students.  We have been known to research activities and ask for input from teachers at other schools.  After we complete the lesson or activity, we discuss what went right and what needs to be changed. 
After reading about the 9 passions, I was thinking that action research could be used with nearly any topic.  I believe that this method of research is more meaningful and beneficial because you are actually carrying out a plan to see if your ideas will work.  Like our readings from last week stated, you are the "insider" in action research.

Why BLOG?

Educational leaders should use blogs to communicate with other leaders about successes, issues, "wonderings," and support.  This is a great way to connect with people that share your same interests/views in education.  Blogs help to bring people together all around the world.