Action Research Plan

Action Research Plan
Goal: Improve student discipline processes at Trinity High School by examining discipline offenses and the consequences assigned by the school administration.
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Collect student discipline data from the administration’s discipline database for two consecutive six week periods	Brent Gillum and Trinity High School Assistant Principals	August 27 – November 30	Trinity High School discipline database	Student discipline data collected
Disaggregate the data for individual students by discipline code and consequence assigned	Brent Gillum	December 1 – January 1	Excel Spreadsheet and Trinity High School discipline data summary	Completed disaggregation of student discipline data
Determine the increase or decrease in individual student discipline offenses from the first six weeks to the second six weeks	Brent Gillum	January 1 – February 1	Excel Spreadsheet and Trinity High School discipline data summary	Increases and/or decreases in student discipline offenses are determined
Review action research results with THS administration and, if necessary, make recommendations to improve discipline processes used at Trinity High School	Brent Gillum and THS administration	February 1 – March 1	Summary of action research	Action research summary
Reflection	Brent Gillum		Action Research Plan   Internship Plan	Review action research plan and internship plan

Ideas for action research

My possible action research plans are as follows: 1. How does parent involvement of struggling and reluctant learners affect those student’s test scores on EOC and TAKS? 2. How can I develop more relevant professional development activities for teachers relating to the increasingly diverse student population at our school? 3. What changes (if any) need to be made in the current discipline system used by our school that will improve the academic performance of students? In my meeting with my site supervisor, Mr. Harris questioned my reasoning for each question.  As the discussion progressed, he stated that all three were good choices for action research.  He asked which of the three would be more feasible in our school setting.  Although I felt all three were sufficient, he then asked which would be more meaningful.  We both agreed that a study of the current discipline procedures would be the best thing to research.  This was mainly because of the increasing number of discipline referrals over the past few years and the increasingly diverse culture of the school.  We wondered if the increased discipline issues were due to the cultural changes at the school and if we needed to change our approach in solving discipline problems.  We decided this would be the action research plan I should develop and use for my internship.  Mr. Harris gave me some discipline data from the previous school year and I am going to use it as I begin studying this year.   If you are viewing this blog, what do you think about my ideas?  Any suggestions?  Thanks in advance for your comments.

 

Why use action research? How can educational leaders utlize blogs?

Why Use Action Research?
 

There are many benefits of action research.  First, it provides principals with a meaningful way to grow professionally.  It provides for more in-depth and active research.  Action research helps principals collaborate with other principals to find solutions to the ever-changing types of problems that they face on a daily basis.  In the past, many principals felt isolated.  With action research, these same principals now feel connected and have a different way to find solutions and grow.  Principals that use action research on their campuses  have teachers that have become more collaborative with other stakeholders.  This collaboration causes  stakeholders to buy-in more readily to the goals of the district and school. This, in turn, allows best practices to flourish.  Finally, action research becomes more proactive instead of reactive in relation to research. (Dana 2009)  It helps administrators to reflect on what is happening on their campuses more often than when they relied on outside sources for research.  They are the ones actively researching for solutions to problems.  This is important because they are involving themselves more in finding those solutions instead of relying on others.  As you can see, action research is becoming the best way to solve problems in educational settings.  Hopefully, more principals around the country will start utilizing this vitally important tool.  I plan on using it as I study to become an administrator and after I become one.  I also am going to start using active research to help me become a better teacher.  Doing that will help me to help my current students and the students that I will lead as an administrator in the future.

 Dana, N.F. (2009). Leading with passion and knowledge: The principal as action researcher. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
How Can Educational Leaders Utilize Blogs?

Educational leaders have used blogging to gain advice, to share findings, and to create networks for finding answers to many questions. The "Blog" has become a vital instrument in the educational community. Any educational leader can find the answers to questions and situations or advice from colleagues all over the world.  Blogging can help administrators capture and store thoughts and recollections safely so they can share them with colleagues and return to them at various times in the evolution of their action research projects.  They may gain new and deeper insights with each visit.