My Action Research Template

I have developed a detailed Action Research template to follow during the 2010-2011 school year. I would appreciate any feedback on my template. I consider it to be a working document that is constantly available to change. Thank you for taking time to visit my blog.

Connections and Topics

This week's assignments were very interesting to me. The assigned readings were actually a breeze, which was a pleasant surprise. This week I learned how to choose an action research topic. There are nine different categories for action research topics. The categories include school culture, management, leadership, social judgement, school performance, staff development, individual teachers, individual students, and curriculum development. I was very intrigued by each of these topics which was another reasons why the readings were a breeze.

After meeting with my principal and assistant principal, I chose my research topic this week. It falls under the school performance category. I am going to compare data based on two types of assessments. I am going to research the results of K-2 students and their DRA scores and compare them to the TAKS reading scores. My goal is to discover whether a student that is reading on grade-level in Kindergarten, First, and Second pass the TAKS test. I am looking forward to conducting this research and discovering the correlation between DRA and TAKS and reporting my discoveries to my campus administration team.

What I've Learned About Action Research

This week I was introduced to a new form of educational research called action research. Action research is a sort of "scientific-method" approach to educational research that is developed by a principal. The research is based on a topic of curiosity or a wondering that is specific to the Principal's campus. The process involves questioning, data collection and analysis, formulating a plan of action, applying the plan of action, and evaluating to process and its success. The entire action research process allows a campus to investigate its weaknesses and collectively develop a plan that ensures the school's success in the future Reevaluating data a developing strategies to provide success are essential to a school's morale and the investments of stakeholders.

I plan to use action research in the future through a Professional Learning Committee or PLC. A PLC provides an easy platform to complete research. The PLC can disaggregate data which allows the campus to improve in several areas such as low test scores, including benchmarks and TAKS, attendance rates, for both students and teachers, and professional development courses in which teachers and administrators participate. The PLC provides the opportunity to work collaboratively with teachers to develop an action plan and complete the process as a team.