Focused Writing Instruction

Due to a position and campus change within my district I have changed my action research topic. I will be evaluating student achievement in writing. I will be analyzing last year's district assessments and STAAR data to find improvements in writing. We have gone from departmentalized teaching in 4th grade, to a three way switch, allowing 1 teacher to focus on writing. My question is, "Will focused writing instruction increased results in writing, both meeting the standard and being commended?"
Currently I have began to review data from last year and identified specific needs to address TEKS missed most frequently. As we begin to administer district assessments I will begin to compare data. My final article of data will be STAAR and I will be able to construct all action research.

Reflection

I really enjoyed creating my blog for this course. I was interested in creating a blog for personal use, but hadn’t. Now knowing how easy it is I feel like it something I can use to share with family about home life and in my classroom to communicate with students. Aside from creating the blog I liked using the blog in this course because of the feedback I received from peers on ways to improve my plan. For the most part it was words of encouragement but 2 classmates left great feedback and I was able to make adaptations to my action research plan. I will say that the way I got my blog out there and received comments was through a facebook group that another Lamar student created. I wonder how those not in our facebook group advertised their blog and got people to comment on their posts. Lastly I liked the fact that we actually used our blog in this course. In other classes I have created technology pieces that then I do not use nor where peers given the opportunity to view. I learned a lot through other blogs and I feel more valued if something I spend time creating is then shared.

I also appreciated Dr. Abshire communication. She updated weekly overviews and shared them in emails and on a google site. She kept us informed when she received assignments like blog urls and TK20 updates. This was very reassuring because often you follow the directions and then just hope for the best, but she let us know that she had received the material. Also frontloading her communication seemed to really help with the web conferences. For the most part people came well prepared with questions and it wasn’t things that they could have just read on the assignment page.

The readings that were assigned in this course seemed very applicable to not only the assignments but also professionally. In addition the readings were quick reads and easy to apply.

Lastly in this course I very much enjoyed meeting with my field supervisor. Dr. Preston was extremely encouraging and seemed like he truly was there to help. He took the time to talk with each of us and asked insightful questions. I also like the group that I was placed in because it is very diverse so it was interesting listening to their internship plans and action research topics.  To conclude our conference he encouraged that we become involved in our budgeting and finical meetings at our campus. Not only did this show me that he was an attentive listener but also was great advice because this is definitely an area that I need to understand more about. I left the conference wondering how I could get more involved and then made a plan. This is exactly what we should get out of meetings. We should feel encouraged but also leave challenged and asking how we can continue to grow as professionals.

Overall I would say that I have learned a lot in this course, enjoyed hearing from my peers, and looking forward to working with my field supervisor.

Revised Action Research Plan

Action Planning Template
Goal: The goal of my action research is to discover any correlation between implementing early intervention with at-risk students academic achievement.
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
1. Identify students that are at-risk of not meeting passing standard on STAAR.	Myself	August 2013	STAAR results from 2012-2013 school year	An analysis of STAAR data from previous years will indicate students who have not met passing standard.
2. Review STAAR results to identify specific objectives the students will address in tutoring.	Myself	August 2013	2013 STAAR results	Data analysis of STAAR performance will specify at-risk students failed objectives.
3. Strategize student plan with classroom teacher.	3-5 Classroom teachers and myself	August 2013	STAAR objective breakdown	Student trends will be identified by objective break down of STAAR and a plan will be created that will include myself and classroom teachers. (Encore time)
4. Administration of district benchmarks	3-5 classroom teachers	2013-2014	District benchmark	Analysis of student growth will be charted, as well as, goal setting for next administration of test.
5. Adapt student plan to accommodate objectives that still need to be addressed.	Myself	2013-1014	District Benchmark	Adjust student plan to address objectives that did not meet standards, as well as, bypass any objectives that have met standard.
6. Teacher meeting to update Encore time plan.	3-5 teachers Myself	2013-2014	District Benchmark	Review material that will be covered during encore time with classroom teacher to address needs reflected in benchmark data.
7. Administration of STAAR test	3-5classroom teachers	Spring 2014	STAAR	Examination of at-risk student results to identify growth.
8. Reflection of results presented to administration then staff.	Kimmie Ethridge Linda Ruhs Granger Staff Myself	End of Year 2014	2014 STAAR results	Presentation of data gathered and results of student achievement.

Action Research Plan- Week 3

Action Planning Template
Goal: The goal of my action research is to discover any correlation between implementing early intervention with at-risk students academic achievement.
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
1. Identify students that are at-risk of not meeting passing standard on STAAR.	Myself	August 2013	STAAR results from 2012-2013 school year	An analysis of STAAR data from previous years will indicate students who have not met passing standard.
2. Review STAAR results to identify specific objectives the students will address in tutoring.	Myself	August 2013	2013 STAAR results	Data analysis of STAAR performance will specify at-risk students failed objectives.
3. Strategize student plan with classroom teacher.	3-5 Classroom teachers and myself	August 2013	STAAR objective breakdown	Student trends will be identified by objective break down of STAAR and a plan will be created that will include myself and classroom teachers. (Encore time)
4. Administration of district benchmarks	3-5 classroom teachers	2013-2014	District benchmark	Analysis of student growth will be charted, as well as, goal setting for next administration of test.
5. Administration of STAAR test	3-5classroom teachers	Spring 2014	STAAR	Examination of at-risk student results to identify growth.
6. Reflection of results presented to administration then staff.	Kimmie Ethridge Linda Ruhs Granger Staff Myself	End of Year 2014	2014 STAAR results	Presentation of data gathered and results of student achievement.

Week 2 Reflection

As I begin to really focus in on my action research and decide between 2 very interesting topics I see the importance and the application seems much more doable. Each year our district mandates that each campus create a "Problem of Practice", this is something that the campus has identified as an area for improvement. I now know it to be action research. I'm excited that I do actually know how to do this and the task no longer seems as daunting.

Educational Leaders Using Blogs

Blogs are an extremely useful publication of information to a broad audience. Blogs allow for sharing globally and reporting action research findings.
As an administrator you could also use blogs as a modern day newsletter. Enabling followers and comments allows the administrator to iinteract live with the school community. In addition to providing current news to the community the administrator could create a blog to interact with the students in addition.

Thoughts on Action Research

Action research is not necessarily a new concept, however its utilization in an educational setting is quite innovative. The thought that the core of the research you gather as a leader is centered around a topic you intend to improve is provocative. As educators we are continually implementing research based practices, so why not you be the one to do the research rather than relying on researchers that are removed from the campus setting. As the administrator on campus you are the leader, you are driving the vehicle for change. We are continually telling students to lead by example, so what better opportunity.
Through my participation in Professional Learning Communities, or PLC's I have partaken in action research without my realizing. The collaboration of teachers in the communities allow for reflection and correlations to be made between best practice and student achievement.
Action research provides opportunity for the leader to be transparent to their followers. Often leaders feel the need to have all the answers; when in all actuality that is impossible. With that being said, using reflection to call notice to an area of improvement then asking all members to walk along aside you as you delve deeper into the matter is extremely powerful.
I plan to use action research as I begin to identify at risk students and data their track progress. This will allow me to see instruction that is effective and provide feedback to their classroom teachers so that progress will continue to be made in the general education setting as well.