Revised Action Research Draft

After tonight's web conference, I went back and made some revisions to my action research draft.  It is lengthier than my first draft, so please don't get turned away by it!  I would really appreciate any comments or suggestions you have.  I will be happy to comment on your's as well :)

Action Planning Template
Goal:  To assess the perception of professional development amongst teachers in my campus, find out ways to make those sessions more meaningful, and identify the type of support needed for practices to be implemented with fidelity.
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
1.     Met with site supervisor to discuss professional development as an improvement area for our campus and current teacher selection criteria for attendance.	Sheila Mata	March 6, 2013	None	Review practices for teacher attendance of professional development sessions.
2.     Literature review on professional development	Sheila Mata	March 2013-July 2013	Lamar Online Library Internet	Review and identify literature that highlights key points of effective professional development
3.     Conduct teacher survey on perceptions of professional development and create/meet with focus group for teacher discussions.	Sheila Mata M. Ramos	May 1, 2013-May 31, 2013	*Surveymonkey.com   *Team leaders for every grade level   *Questionnaire on professional development	Review surveys and identify differences between new and veteran teachers.   Field notes on focus group discussion.
4.     Attend Trainer of Trainers Workshops	Sheila Mata M. Ramos	June 2013-August 2013	La Joya ISD Calendar of Summer Workshops	Identify key points of highly effective professional development in attended workshop
5.     Plan for summer staff development session using literature review on components of highly effective professional development	Sheila Mata	July 2013-August 2013	Material/content for staff development Literature review	Review plan for staff development session and identify components mentioned in literature review.
6.     Meet with site supervisor to present plan for staff development session and identify any problem areas or resources needed.	Sheila Mata	July 2013-August 2013	Material/content for staff development Literature review	Review plan for allocation of resources.
7.     Conduct a staff development session	Sheila Mata M. Ramos	August 1, 2013-August 30, 2013	Material/content for staff development	Evaluation form from teachers
8.     Obtain teacher evaluation of my staff development session	Sheila Mata	August 1, 2013-August 30, 2013	Staff development evaluation form	Collection and review of evaluation forms
9.     Monitor teachers implementation of learned content during staff development session and provide needed support	Sheila Mata M. Ramos	August 2013-October 2013	Monitoring & Feedback form	Field notes on monitoring and discussion with teachers.
10.   Conduct final teacher survey on support received after staff development session.	Sheila   Mata	November 2013	Surveymonkey.com	Review teacher surveys and compare results to first survey.
11.   Share project findings with administration, teachers, and curriculum coordinators.	Sheila Mata	November 2013-December 2013	*Action Research Artifacts/Results *Power Point *Literature Review *Educational Blog: http://sheilamata.blogspot.com/	Collect and review evaluation form on presentation, blog comments, and e-mail feedback.
12.   Meet with site supervisor to discuss how research findings can improve campus professional development procedures/effectiveness for 2014-2015 school year.	Sheila Mata M. Ramos	December 2013	*Action Research Artifacts/Results *Literature Review	Feedback from site supervisor.
13.   Revisit my action research plan, post it in school website, as well as educational blog for sharing and continuous improvement opportunities	Sheila Ramos M. Ramos M. Alaniz (Technology Specialist)	December 2013	*Action Research Artifacts/Results *Power Point *Literature Review *Educational Blog: http://sheilamata.blogspot.com/	Review comments and feedback from site supervisor, curriculum coordinators, and colleagues.

8 Steps from Analysis to Action:

 



Setting the Foundation:

As a teacher who has attended many professional development sessions and participated in discussions with teachers from my campus and others as well, I’ve picked up on a general dissatisfaction or negative disposition when it comes to professional development.  This is something that I shared with my principal as well, in one of our conferences regarding my action research topic.  She agreed that professional development was an issue not just for teachers but for principals as well.  She shared that many times, she had attended workshops that failed to target her school population or were conducted by outside presenters who didn’t have a clue as to her school culture or current problems, so the learning presented couldn’t be applied to her campus.  After discussing this topic with her and some fellow teachers, I realized that this was an issue that had to be looked at and improved, since continuous learning is at the center of teacher development and student success.

Analyzing Data:

This will be done thru teacher surveys to gain an insight as to the type of professional development they’ve attended throughout the school year (content or managerial) and the level of satisfaction.  I will also conduct focus group meetings where we will be discussing commendations and recommendations for the current professional development procedures.

Engaging in Self Reflection:

As I look at the data analyzed and the literature review, I will determine if I have access to the resources needed to carry out and implement my action research project.

Exploring Programmatic Patterns:

During my research I will maintain contact with my principal and assistant supervisor to uncover any problem areas that may surface once I implement my action research.

Determining Direction:

At the moment, the timeline that I’ve created seems to be realistic to the needs of my action research project.  I’ve gotten permission from my campus principal to survey teachers on level of satisfaction of professional development and I’ve also gotten the approval from team leaders in my campus to share their thoughts/ideas for our focus group.  As I implement my action research I will go back and reflect on progress made and meet with my site supervisor to identify probable problems that might surface throughout the implementation.

Taking action for school improvement:

I’ve developed a written draft of my action research as well as created a focus group to discuss areas of commendation and recommendation for our current professional development practices.  I’ve decided that by monitoring the implementation of learned practices after my staff development session, providing support, and meeting with teachers to discuss effectiveness of session, I can evaluate the meaning and value of the session and compare current perceptions to old ones.

Sustaining Improvement:

After sharing the results of my action research with administrators and curriculum coordinators, I will continue to revisit my plan as well as post it in the school website and educational blog for colleagues to review and comment on areas of improvement for the school years to come.

 

Action Research Draft

These past days, my thoughts, actions, readings, and yes...even dreams, have been filled with one thing:  ACTION RESEARCH!   After several days of editing, this seems to be my draft for my action research project.  I hope that I'm on the right track with my research activities.  Good thing about a draft is that it can always be improved, so any suggestions or recommendations are highly appreciated :)

Action Planning Template
Goal:  To assess the effectiveness of professional development amongst teachers in my campus, find out ways to make those sessions more meaningful, and identify the type of support needed for practices to be implemented with fidelity.
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
1.     Literature Review on professional development	Sheila Mata	March 2013-July 2013	Lamar Online Library Internet	Review and identify literature that highlights key points of effective professional development
2.     Conduct teacher survey on perceptions of professional development	Sheila Mata M. Ramos	May 1, 2013-May 31, 2013	Surveymonkey.com	Review surveys
3.     Create focus group for teacher discussions on professional development	Sheila Mata M. Ramos	May 1, 2013-May 31, 2013	Team leaders for every grade level Questionnaire on professional development	Field notes on focus group discussion.
4.     Attend Trainer of Trainers Workshops	Sheila Mata M. Ramos	June 2013-August 2013	La Joya ISD Calendar of Summer Workshops	Identify key points of highly effective professional development in attended workshop
5.     Plan for summer staff development session using literature review on components of highly effective professional development	Sheila Mata	July 2013-August 2013	Material/content for staff development Literature review	Review plan for staff development session and identify components mentioned in literature review.
6.     Conduct a staff development session	Sheila Mata M. Ramos	August 1, 2013-August 30, 2013	Material/content for staff development	Evaluation form from teachers
7.     Obtain teacher evaluation of my staff development session	Sheila Mata	August 1, 2013-August 30, 2013	Staff development evaluation form	Collection and review of evaluation forms
8.     Monitor teachers implementation of learned content during staff development session and provide needed support	Sheila Mata M. Ramos	August 2013-October 2013	Monitoring & Feedback form	Field notes on monitoring and discussion with teachers.
9.     Share project findings with administration	Sheila Mata	November 2013	Action Research Power Point Literature Review	Collect and review evaluation form on presentation

Action Research in Professional Development

I am planning to conduct my action research in the area of professional development. Specifically, I want to research the general perception of professional development amongst teachers in my campus and what are some ways in which we can make their professional development meaningful and effective so that practices are implemented with fidelity. Some questions that stem from that are:

*What is the relationship between teacher's attitudes and effectivness of professional development?
*How do the veteran's teachers perceptions differ from begninning teachers and how does it reflect in their implementation of practices?
*What is the relationship between the size of teacher groups to the effectiveness of professional development?
*What type of support are teachers seeking so that whatever they learned is implemented effectively and with fidelity?
*Do staff development trainings have more meaning for teachers when the expert or presenter is a colleague or an outside source?

The significance of my action research is to identify what makes professional development sessions effective and meaningful for teachers so that practices, strategies or techniques are implemented with fidelity. This action research will benefit first and foremost our teachers. Often times, I hear teachers in my campus complain of professional development sessions they attended.  They see some of them as a waste of their time since they don't see a purpose for them or how they target their students.  If we can find ways for professional development to have meaning and purpose for teachers and find what type of support they need to put practices into effect, then maybe they may not simply see staff development sessions as a "sit and listen" training. By providing adquate support and follow up with teachers in the correct implementation of practices, our students will ultimatly benefit from teachers knowledge and trainings in different areas, therefore increasing student achievement.

Reflection on Action Research

After viewing and analyzing each scholar practitioner interview, and reading chapter two from Dana's Leading with Passion and Knowledge, I realized that action research is and should be an integral part of improving practices in the educational setting.  It should be viewed as a very important tool that should be utilized not only at the administrational level, but in the classroom as well.  Also, I learned that it is important to stay current on the latest research articles since they can become research based strategies that can be implemented within our campuses with the goal of replicating the same successes.  Finally, an important factor when conducting an action research project is that it must be practical and relevant to your current campus needs.  This will yield the greatest benefits since it will be of greater interest to the person conducting the research, and it will actually impact the students that they are currently serving.