Action Research Plan

Action Planning Template
Goal: To determine the impact of Career and Technology (CTE) certifications on long-term career decisions by high school students.
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Discuss Action Research topics with site supervisor	Site supervisor (Katie Laza, Angleton ISD CTE Director) and myself	January 2011	Discussion Notes Intern Plan	Prepare Action Research topic and supporting inquiries
Research online articles and other resources regarding selected Action Research topic.	Site supervisor, myself, Angleton High School (AHS) principal, AHS librarian, various Angleton ISD (AISD) administrators as needed.	February – March 2011	Internet, library, input from AISD administrators	Evaluate data, review relevant information to begin formulating action research inquiry activities
Survey surrounding school districts as to CTE certification offerings	CTE Director/Site supervisor, myself, CTE Directors from surrounding school districts	March 2011	Survey/Questionnaire	Compile data and examine correlation to Angleton ISD – are we offering relevant certifications? Are there additional certifications other school districts are offering that would/could be beneficial to our students?
Survey Angleton ISD CTE teachers as to value and relevance of certifications in their subject areas	Myself, Angleton ISD CTE teachers	March 2011	Survey/Questionnaire, Interviews	Compile data and examine results – is AISD offering relevant certifications for college, technical school or work placement? Are students taking advantage of these certifications pre- and post-graduation?
Assemble statistics of certifications received by CTE students during past 2 years	CTE Director/Site supervisor, myself, AISD teachers, AISD information database, CATEMA database	April 2011	CTE data from Angleton ISD	Compile data and examine results – what is the total number of certifications in each CTE area? Which certifications are the most prevalent?
Survey current students pre-graduation as to plans after graduation	AISD teachers, myself, students who have received certification during current school year	April – May 2011	Survey/Questionnaire, Interviews	Compile data and examine results – are students planning to use certifications after graduation?
Contact students who have graduated as to their use of certifications post-graduation	CTE Director/Site supervisor, myself, AISD teachers, AISD CTE information database, CATEMA database	May 2011-Summer 2011	Survey/Questionnaire, phone and/or email contact	Compile data and examine results – are students utilizing certifications post-graduation? If so, how are they using certifications? If not, why?
Compilation of data in report form	Site supervisor, myself	Summer 2011	Tables, charts, spreadsheets, reports, PowerPoint – time, computer	Review, critique, revise as needed to complete inquiry in report format
Review wonderings/ inquiries for further evaluation	Site supervisor, myself	Summer 2011	Data, discussion	Add additional information to report as needed
Share/ implement findings	Site supervisor, myself, AHS principal, AISD administrators	September 2011	Final summative report, discussion	Evaluate results for continuation of relevant certifications, elimination of certifications not utilized and addition of other constructive certifications as needed

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

(Harris, Edmonson, and Combs, 2010)

Web Conference – EDLD 5301 – Week 3

This week the discussion was centered on our action research topics and the decision process in choosing a topic that was not only applicable to our school and area of academic concentrations, but also a topic that was interesting and significant to our inquiries and wonderings. Dr. Abshire and Dr. Jenkins provided specific ways in which we could begin qualitative and quantitative study into our topics as we posted questions, and our colleagues provided additional insight into beginning our action research journey. I am looking forward to beginning the production of collecting data and continued evaluation as the action research begins.

Web Conference – EDLD 5301 – Week 2

This week we had the opportunity to participate in our first web conference for EDLD 5301 – Research for Teachers. It was great to have both of our professors, Dr. Abshire and Dr. Jenkins, available to ask questions of, especially as we begin to think about our action research topics. Many questions were asked about the mechanics of our new coursework, as well as proposing ideas and thoughts about what we could develop as our action research topics. I was able to ask questions about the topic of literacy in Career and Technology (CTE) classes, which is an area I am considering for my research. My concern is that the topic is too broad for specific data collection. Dr. Jenkins was very helpful in suggesting that I can use qualitative data as well as quantitative data, which is a thought I had not considered. I enjoy the web conferences each week, and it is somewhat comforting to know that I have many of the same questions as my classmates, and most of these questions are addressed during the web conference. It is also a enjoyable time to interact with classmates in a casual and informal environment.

Blog Reflection – EDLD 5301 - Week 2

As I began to think about possible action research topics, I found myself having difficulty narrowing it down to 2-3 ideas. There are so many issues we face each day as educators that could benefit from action research; however, after discussion with my site supervisor, I had to think about what I could gather in terms of specific, useful data. That is probably one of the most valuable things I learned this week. Ideas must be formulated into practical and functional study material. The readings this week were also helpful in identifying the passion areas that action research falls within. The identification of these passions also helps to focus areas of action research as they relate to success in our schools.

How Educational Leaders Might Use Blogs

          Educational leaders can use blogs to convey day-to-day communications such as weekly calendars, testing instructions and upcoming events. In addition, blogs can be used to illicit comments and suggestions regarding campus issues. Other documents such as PowerPoint presentations on in-service activities and professional development subjects can be posted to the blog. This is also a method of sharing thoughts and ideas on topics to teachers, staff, parents and/or students. In addition, and maybe more importantly, an administrator can use blogs as a tool for reflecting and journalizing the ideas and thoughts for current as well as future reference.

What I Have Learned About Action Research

                I have learned that action research is a collaborative and “hands-on” approach to identifying and resolving issues facing organizations today. Action research requires us to move away from the previous held theories of utilizing outside information steeped in control and prediction and move toward using reflection and inquiry to answer the urgent concerns of our schools. Within action research, we also utilize stakeholders such as teachers, other administrators and sometimes parents and students to aid in facilitating a response to the identified topic. The advantages to this type of inquiry are that “practitioners play a part in the research process, which makes them more likely to facilitate change based on the knowledge they generate.” (Dana, 2009, p. 5)
                What I discovered as I learned about action research is that I and my school are currently using several of the frameworks that action research fits into best. By engaging in this master’s program, I am learning about the advantages of action research and how to utilize this type of inquiry in my graduate work. As a member of my leadership team at my high school, we manage many of our school issues with collaboration and informal action research. This is a tool that we can improve upon as I continue to learn more about the components of action research. In addition, we use Professional Learning Communities, or PLCs, to engage in collaborative inquiry, discussion and resolutions of curriculum and student concerns. As Dana states, PLCs “learn from practice.” (Dana, 2009, p. 21) PLCs are a great structured action research tool for dialogue and sharing of information. As I continue to learn and apply action research to my work, both as a student and teacher, I believe the inquiry and resolution of issues will have a lasting affect that other forms of research may not possess.

Reference:

Dana, N.F. (2009). Leading with passion and knowledge: The principal as action researcher. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.