Week 5 Reflection - Action Research

When I began this course, I was extremely skeptical as to what this course would offer me, as the word “research” completely turns me off. I am an action oriented person, a “doer”, if you will. The course sounded boring to me, frankly. Upon completing the first assignment, I realized that this was actually interesting to me and action research fits my personality more than the traditional approach to research. I contemplated a few different topics for my action research project, including discipline and RTI. I chose a topic based on attendance, as this seems to be the most important topic to be addressed on my campus. We are there to teach the students, but are clearly unable to do so if we can’t get them in the school. This got me thinking that extra-curricular activities usual give students a sense of belonging and accountability for their actions. I spoke with my site supervisors to gain insight on what they thought the most important topic would be. They both agreed that attendance is a major issue, and were interested to see my findings in relation to attendance and involvement in extra-curricular activities. Thus, my research question became, “How does involvement in extra-curricular activities affect student attendance?” Throughout this five week course, I have met with Kim and Donna on multiple occasions to bring them up to date on my research, and to ask for their input. I also spoke with Janet Wyatt, the assistant principal in charge of attendance to gain some insight from her. She is the one that spends a large amount of time and resources in truancy court due to attendance issues. I spoke with a few teachers about my research topic choice, and they all agreed that this was an excellent topic. I enjoyed watching all of the lecture videos and seeing how those leaders view campus issues, as well as the importance of action research. The main thing I learned from this is that you must make the time to identify pertinent topics and perform the action research to make effective changes for your particular campus. I learned from watching the video lectures that it is imperative that all educators never stop learning. While it is helpful to have information on what has worked on other campuses, it is vital to find what methods can be successful and make an impact on your campus. I highly enjoyed reviewing the discussion board, as well as my classmate’s blogs. I feel like I have been given a huge resource by being able to read and consider the thoughts and theories of such talented and educated individuals. I particularly enjoyed the positive comments on my discussion board posts and blog posts, as this boosted my confidence in my abilities to be an effective administrator. Unfortunately, I am not getting the support I would hope to receive from the teaching partners in my department, so the positive comments from my classmates kept me focused on my goal on particularly challenging days at work. I believe it is of great value to have the discussion boards and blogs in order for us to learn from and lean on each other. By having access to different viewpoints,I feel that this will make us all more effective administrators.

Action Research Plan

SCHOOL VISION: NFHS has a strong philosophy for continuous improvement. The faculty and staff are committed to supporting students to continuously improve their academic, social, and personal skills. Furthermore, the campus strives to continuously improve its performance on district and state assessments, as well as, academic and athletic competitions. GOAL: Encourage student involvement in extra-curricular activities to improve attendance rates. ACTIVITIES DESIGNED TO ACHIEVE THE OBJECTIVES: Teacher encouragement for student involvement Yearly event during school hours to showcase all activities offered on campus Faculty and staff support of all organizations (Ex: attending a contest or sporting event) RESOURCES AND RESEARCH TOOLS NEEDED FOR DATA GATHERING: Attendance records Student enrollment information by course number Cool Ice Edugence Student interviews Student surveys TIMELINE: Research will be complete before the end of the 2011-2012 school year. Findings will be delivered to administrators at this time with suggestions on implementing activities to improve student attendance beginning with the 2012-2013 school year. PERSONS RESPONSIBLE FOR IMPLEMENTATION: ALL faculty and staff are responsible, but we may have a team in place to assist staff which could include: One lead administrator Student Activities Director PROCESS FOR MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT INSTRUMENTS: Attendance reports Six week grades Court occurrences

Week 3 Reflection - Action Research

While working on the week 3 assignment, I started to wonder if I should include data on behavior and grades as well. Participation and involvement in extra-curricular activities affects attendance, and regular attendance has a positive affect on grades. Participation in extra-curricular activities discourages students from making poor choices in regards to behavior, but that has nothing to do with attendance, so I quickly tossed that idea. I feel, though, that if I include data on grades it will connect more with the teachers to get their support in encouraging participation in activities. I'm interested to see the push-back I will get, and the reasons why. I know that some teachers see participation in activities as a complete waste of time and a distraction. Thus, I will pull data on grades for the selected sample population. I do find myself wondering if I am making this harder on myself than I should be. I need to stay focused on a manageable source of data to keep this from snowballing into an unmanageable task.

Week 2 Reflection - Action Research

Upon further reflection of my action research topic, I have decided that I chose a very broad topic just based on the number of students in our school. When I met with my Site Supervisor, she encouraged me to “keep it manageable, and hone in on a smaller group”. She asked which topic most interested me, and I told her it would be attendance. What makes these kids come to school? What makes them not come to school? I told her that my interest was in how involvement in extra-curricular activities affects attendance. Her response, “I like it”. In order to keep this topic manageable, she suggested that I focus in on activities that are tied to a class in order to pull accurate data efficiently. We don’t have a database that holds student information/membership to be able to include all clubs and organizations. She suggested honing in on fine arts and athletics. Even more, she suggested that I choose one or the other, or even just one fine arts, like band. I agree with her that I can get more reflective data on 250 students than I can 2,400 that are involved in all activities and organizations on campus.

I have decided to hone in on either fine arts or athletics. These are tied to actual courses, and can easily be tracked. I could even go to just one or a couple of activities in either, or both. For example: Band and Drill Team, or Men's and Women's Basketball.

Being that I am a new teacher to the campus, it might be best if I focus on the departments in which I know the staff the least. While deliberating that, I wonder if people that I know would be more willing to assist me in this effort.

How can educational leaders use blogs?

Staying connected is something we all crave with the click of a mouse, or an app to consult. We want information, and we want it now. Administrators can use blogs to stay connected with students, teachers, parents, and the community. Simple things like weekly announcements, expectations, or calendars can be shared easily with a large population. While the administrator makes the decisions, they are able to see suggestions in the form of comments on the blog. Staying involved is the key for success of the administrator; engagement is imperative to the trust of the learning community.

What is action research, and how can we use it?

Action research is based in an educational setting and allows the educator to address issues for which they usually have an immediate concern about, as well as what they may have some type of control over. This allows them to make necessary changes which may bring about a desired result by making themselves question, look at the data, and make decisions. As an administrator, action research is imperative in keeping you involved in your campus and community. As someone who has been called “Ms. Action”, this type of research is more appealing to me than traditional research. In traditional research, we are led by the works of other people that while having done extensive research to provide great insight, have never stepped foot onto our campus, districts, or states. What works for one, may not work in a district or even campus with different demographics. With action research, administrators have the ability to focus on prevalent issues they see on their campus while partnering with their teachers. Making decisions by listening to students, teachers, and the learning community will bring more information and increase morale at the same time. Action research can also be important in staff development. If all faculty on one campus is a part of action research, you have a campus engaged in solving issues effectively as a team.