I do have a response to my opinionated statement on the discussion board about students running the household. I say that because in most cases the in ELL households the students are more informed and more knowledgeable than the parents and therefore when it comes to their education the parents let them take the driver seat. I do not have any data to substantiate this opinion but I will be adding to my research as far as the parental involvement.

Sharing Your Action Research is Very Important..........................

It is very important to share my action research with all constituencies who has a vested interest. According to Dana (2009), “An unshared practitioner’s inquiry is like the stone lying beside the pond. Unless that inquiry is tossed into the professional conversations that contribute to the knowledge base for teaching and administration, it has little chance of creating change” (page 135). I believe that professionals generally learn better from other professionals.  As such, action-research tends to fosters professional growth. Action research inquiries serves as a resource for multiple parties such as: teachers, principals, schools, other districts, state agencies, and even policy makers. There are a variety of ways to share your research including presentations and write-ups using blogs, journals, etc.  I intend on sharing my research using my blog. This will also serve as a tool to share my findings with my colleagues and fellow educators. Furthermore, I plan to display the data and report my findings to my campus and other interested parties. I also plan to design graphs and data analysis with comparison charts to indicate growth and that will demonstrate where we begin in the implementation process and where we are currently at in our progress.  In addition, I plan to meet with my campus team members on an ongoing basis to determine the success of the program as well as its fidelity. Finally, I intend on maintaining constant contact with the students, teachers, and parents through meeting and surveys in order to receive additional feedback. I will use the information obtained from this feedback to reflect and evaluate my success of my action research and the implementation on campus in its entirety.

Research Action Plan

Action Planning Template Goal: Close the gap of Reed Academy’s ELL students Action Steps(s): Person(s) Responsible: Timeline: Start/End Needed Resources Evaluation Identify those LEP students needing interventions; Meet with bilingual teachers S. Daughtery C. Donatto-Brown C. Salcedo V. Gallow Start - 10/11 End- 01/12 TAKS, TELPAS, Teacher Observation forms, Running Record Scores Are all ELL students in need of intervention identified (identified through TELPAS, TAKS, teacher observations, etc.) Survey teachers, students, and parents on knowledge and quality of ELL program as currently implemented. S. Daughtery C. Donatto-Brown Parental Involvement Committee Start - 10/11 End  01/12 Survey Monkey, Parent Portal, Book: Designing surveys: A Guide  to Decisions and Procedures Participation rate on surveys at > 65% Identify Interventions S. Daughtery C. Donatto-Brown C. Salcedo  Started 10/11-01/12 Research-based Interventions (i.e., Rosetta Stone, Imagine-Learning, and other current  district programs) 1.  Are the interventions aligned? Are they effective? 2.  What does the research say about the interventions? Set up conference with parents S. Daughtery C. Donatto-Brown Started 10/11-01/12 Assessment Data, Research data of Interventions, Survey Results, 1.  Do the parents have a clear understanding of the ELL program and its’ goals? 2. Do they understand their role in the process? 3.  Are they supportive? 4. Have their opinions and ideas been validated by stakeholders at the campus level? Implement schedule of classes S. Daughtery C. Donatto-Brown C. Salcedo L. Glenn 01/12-05/12 Master schedule, assessment data, and data from other campuses and/or district with same demographics. Is this schedule feasible for all parties? Establish committee to monitor student growth S. Daughtery C. Donatto-Brown 1/12-06/12 Data, academic plans/goals. 1.  Ensure that all members have a vested interest in the committee?  2.  Benchmark success with common goals. 3.  What can we do to support the development of the ELL students and the program? Assess success of intervention S. Daughtery C. Donatto-Brown C. Salcedo 01/12 – 08/12 Data 1.  Is the intervention working as measured by assessments and student performance? 2. What programs or changes need to be implemented?

Week 2

I have learned so many things this week.  You can just about perform action research on anything. I have so ideas and so many questions. Action research is on going and all research can be reevaluated. Action Research can be performed beginning with self and continue district and statewide, and in some cases can be taken to the national level. The most important statement that I took heed to this week in regards to Action Research is that it must be practical, must be what you can identify with in regards to your students, your classroom, your school or district for three reasons. First, it is is interesting to you. Secondly, you are more focused on the outcome. Thirdly, your students will benefit most from your research.

How educational leaders might use blogs

Educational leaders might use blogs to document thoughts and ideas about various topics.  It also allows for feedback and suggestions from others globally.  Blogs provide a source for sharing your experiences and opportunity for self reflection.  

Action Research

Action research is the inquiry of an organizations operations and procedures to improve the quality of an organization and its performance.  It is when a person or team analyzes the data to improve their practices.  Action research is tied to self reflection.  It is designed for one to analyze their situation, acknowledge any weaknesses and implement a plan of action for the betterment of the organization.  

Action research gives educators an opportunity to reflect on and assess their teachings; brainstorm new ideas and methods; share strategies and solutions with team members; and make appropriate decisions on how to improve instruction and student performance overall.  Action research provides teachers and administrators with an opportunity to better understand what happens in their school. It establishes a decision-making process that guides instructional planning for the school and individual classrooms.  Action research can be used in schools to assess how students’ perform on a regular basis.  Data can be obtained to show student’s performance and decisions can be made on how to improve classroom performance.  Collaboration with team members and stakeholders are essential with action research because input and feedback is vital to the decision making process.  A plan action is then implemented to improve the operations of the school.