Reflections on this course

Truth be told, when I saw the title of this course, "RESEARCH," I dreaded it -- I am an English teacher, and I know how to research and how to try and teach the research process, but the word still conjures up stressful feelings.  Luckily, within the first week, through our book, lectures, and discussions, it was clear that this was not traditional research, and as I learned more about how were were supposed to conduct action research, the negativity disappeared.  In fact, even though I am in a way glad that my project will not be implemented until next fall, I am also anxious to get started.  I will spend the next couple of months getting my teacher/student questionnaires created and ready to distribute by year end.

CARE Model

I just completed this for the action research project.  I like to consider myself a planning "freak," but this model really helped me think about areas I hadn't before.  I especially like the affirmation part because I think it so important to accept weak areas and work on them, but not lose sight of the positive things going on around you.  I think most of us do that (try to look on the bright side!) in our personal lives so that we don't dwell on negative, but in our jobs I think can be too easy to just see all the problems, and in doing that, we cheat ourselves and our students out of appreciating all the good things about every day.

Action Plan

Action Plan
Goal: Increase attendance at after school tutoring by holding in conjunction with “Home” sports events
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Survey students for interest/need. Survey teachers for ideas or any interest in implementation other than input	K. Grant	4/12 – 5/12	Surveys	Analyze survey data to gauge student interest and faculty input.
Communicate initiative to staff, students, and parents. Use summer break to inform new and returning students	M. Brooks  - principal T. Brown  - PR officer K. Grant	6/12 – 8/12	Staff meetings or email District website Meet the Teacher event Research on effective tutoring programs	Observe teacher reaction/ willingness to offer suggestions.  Listen to/address parent questions/ concerns.
Recruit participants either through lists from teachers, curious students, or suggestions from admin or counselor.	Faculty J. Groom  - asst. principal S. Castania  - counselor K. Grant	9/12 – 3/13	Space (room) Student assignments  *student       responsibility Student contract Laptops Snack	Monitor quantitative data like attendance, level of “0’s” (missing work), and discipline issues on game days. Also, use qualitative info i.e. teacher comments on change in work ethic/ behavior/attitude and student feedback on tutoring sessions
Overall assessment. ID strengths and weaknesses. Determine if intended goal is being realized. Revise if needed, or move in new direction and begin planning for 2013-2104.	M. Brooks  - principal J. Groom  - asst. principal Faculty Students/Parents K. Grant	5/13 – 8/13	Data from all involved Additional research on successful after school tutoring Action Plan for 2013-2014	Decision to continue program or replace with an alternate proposal

Format based on Tool 7.1 from Examining What We Do to Improve Our Schools

(Harris, Edmonson, and Combs, 2010)

Action Plan

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?hl=en_US&hl=en_US&key=0Anye4ehpjE5ydHBuQm42ODFIdWJBb25RNzJmT3AwM3c&output=html

Plan "A"

I have finished my action plan, and try as I might to get everything down and a timeline I think will work, I know there will be revisions once things get rolling -- reulting in a Plan "B", Plan "C" and on and on.  I am ok with that -- getting the initial plan down addressing the main areas that need attention and attempting to set time periods is the way to start.  My particular project will not run until next year, so I'm thankful I have the next few months and the summer months to prepare the best I can.