EDLD 5326 Week 5 Action Research Update

The purpose of my action research project is to find effective researched based activities for 1^st grade that will increase fluency and comprehension and determine if implementing these activities improve student performance on the end of the year (EOY) Texas Primary Reading Inventory (TPRI).  Being that we have only been in school for 5 weeks and this project will span the entire school year, I have not gotten into the meat of the project.  I have however, kept on schedule as per my action planning template.  To start off the project, I took the TPRI scores from the EOY Kinder students and determined the percentage that were still developing on listening comprehension.  I compiled a list of these students noting which teacher they will have for 1^st grade.  We used this information as a beginning of the year guide to place the students in tutorials and small group reading.  During the 1^st week of school I was also able to meet with the first grade teachers to explain my research inquiry.  They were all very receptive to the project and have been very accommodating.  At this point we have just finished administering the beginning of the year TPRI and I am gathering the data from the teachers to begin analyzing the scores.  This week I will get the scores analyzed and once I have it all done I will meet with the teachers again and we will pick 3 students from each class that I will chart and follow throughout the year.  Outside of school, I have been researching instructional activities that we will begin implementing by the middle of October.  In the next 2 weeks I will work with the teachers to model the activities that we will be implementing and the teachers will begin using the activities in their literacy stations as well as small group reading. 

Week 5......I MADE IT

When I saw “research” in the name of this course, my heart sank down to the bottom of my stomach.  I must admit, I was quite worried.  The only background I had to go by was the research I had to endure during my English classes in high school and college.  I did not like it!  Thankfully the lectures, readings, assignments, discussion forums, and blogs put my mind at ease and made me realize that there are some very meaningful and useful ways to conduct research.  Thus my action research journey began. 

I began week one by watching the lecture video by Dr. Arterbury and Dr. Jenkins to give me an insight into what to expect of the coming week.  This was my first introduction to action research and by the end of the video I was stressed.  Each week as I watched the videos the stress lessened more and more and the information given became clearer.  This helped me better understand the process of action research.  It also helped that the video transcripts were available to look through if something was unclear in the video.  Although all the information helped me gain a better understanding of what action research is, what stuck with me as I worked through the process of picking my research project was to make sure it was meaningful to me. 

Both of the books, “Leading with Passion and Knowledge: The Principal as Action Researcher” by Nancy Fichtman Dana and “Examining What We Do to Improve Our Schools: 8 Steps from Analysis to Action” by Sandra Harris, Stacey Edmonson, and Julie Combs, were informative and made the assignments much easier to complete.  Not only did it help me that the books spelled out step by step the process of action research but having the examples of actual research inquires was a huge benefit.  The first lines I highlighted in Dana’s book, “Simply stated, administrator inquiry refers to the process of a principal engaging in systematic, intentional study of his/her own administrative practices and taking action for change based on what he/she learns as a result of the inquiry (Dana, 2009. p. 2),” pretty much summed up for me what this course was going to entail and made me feel much better about the word “research”. 

The assignments, activities and discussion boards were frustrating at times but they did help me in understanding what action research is and what I need to do to engage in this process.  I felt like I was repeating myself a lot especially with the discussion questions.  Although, I loved reading other people’s discussion posts and learning about their projects.  These discussions were actually helpful in some instances and the feedback from my peers made me think of things in a different way.  Overall, I am very pleased with how my work has gone with this course. 

The most fun activity was creating my blog.  Never did I think that I would be a blogger.  As a teacher, I looked at tons of other teacher’s blogs and got lots and lots of ideas from them.  But me, a blogger, that was just something I never even considered.  As I look back over the last 4 weeks, I came to realize that this is an awesome way to journal your reflections to share and collaborate with others going through this process with you.  I have to admit, posting to my blog is something that I am going to have to make a habit or it is something I will not do.  Just as learning to reflect is going to have to become a habit. 

EDLD 5301 has been the beginning of a journey I was very worried about starting.  It has taught me that I can enjoy, learn, and actually do something with what I learn from research.  I look forward to the rest of this journey.    

 

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

Week 4......Whew almost there

This has been an interesting week.  I got a little taste of what it is going to be like going back to work and having assignments waiting on me when I get home.  I'm going to have to get out of the habit of staying up until 1 or 2 in the morning and doing my work.  I keep telling myself a little each night is going to be the key to my success. 

As I looked over my ARP after reading the suggestions made to me, I made a few changes.  The major revision was adding an activity of going into the classrooms during ELA time and making unscheduled observations.  Although not going to be 100% full proof, this will be a way for me to monitor the fidelity and accuracy of the instructional practices being implemented.  I also went back and changed my acronyms to spell out what they mean.  My last revision did not come from a suggestion but rather the working that this peer used.  When she commented on my blog she used the word instructional practices as opposed to strategies or interventions.  I decided to change my wording to instructional practices because sometimes these activities will be taking place during station time and not always with the teacher in a guided reading group. 

My meeting with my site supervisor went well.  She has been very supportive of my ARP and is excited about seeing some improvement in our 1st grade end of year scores.  I wanted to thank everyone for your encouraging comments and great suggestions.  It really helps a lot to have your peers help you through the process. 
WEEK 5....HERE WE COME :)

Week 3 - Action Research Plan

Action Planning Template
Goal: To find effective strategies for 1st grade that will increase fluency and comprehension and determine if implementing these strategies improve student performance on EOY TPRI
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Look at EOY comprehension scores for Kinder TPRI to determine % of students that were still developing on listening comprehension.  (will not be able to look at fluency because they do not orally read a story in Kinder, it is only listening comprehension)	Kelly Wehmeyer	August 19, 2013 to August 23, 2013	2013 Kinder EOY TPRI Summary Sheets	% of students still developing on comprehension and a list of these students as well as the classroom they will be in this coming year.
Review literature on instructional strategies related to fluency and comprehension	Kelly Wehmeyer	August 5, 2013 to September 30, 2013	Lamar Online Library, International Reading Association, Journals and articles,	Compile a list of instructional strategies
Search online and in Intervention resource books for research based strategies for fluency and comprehension	Kelly Wehmeyer	August 5, 2013 to September 30, 2013	Online research based strategies, resource books	Compile a list of instructional strategies   Make the 1st grade teachers a resource page with the strategies
Explain the research inquiry to the 1st grade teachers	Kelly Wehmeyer; 1st grade teachers	August 26, 2013 to August 30, 2013	Research information and Block time for meeting	Making sure the 1st grade teachers understand the process
Administer the BOY 1st grade TPRI	Kelly Wehmeyer 1st Grade Teachers (teachers will administer the test)	September 3, 2013 to September 30, 2013 (unsure of when the exact 2 week window will be)	1st Grade TPRI Kits	TPRI Assessment
Gather and  analyze each 1st grade class TPRI scores   Pick 3 students from each class that I will base my findings on (21 students total)   (teacher will use strategies on all students reading below grade level)	Kelly Wehmeyer	September 30, 2013  to October 11, 2013	BOY TPRI summary sheet from each teacher	Spreadsheet with % still developing and % developed on BOY oral reading and comprehension   Progress chart/graph of students that I will base my findings on.
Meet with 1st grade teachers during block to model how to implement the instructional strategies   Give teachers the names of students that I will base my findings on	Kelly Wehmeyer	October 14, 2013 to October 18, 2013	Resource page of Instructional Strategies   List of students	Ensure an understanding of the strategies they will implement
Implement Strategies to increase fluency and comprehension	1st Grade Teachers	October 21, 2013 to December 18, 2013	Instructional Strategies	Cold Read/Hot Read Charts; Running Records to show  the effectiveness of  the strategies; 6 week oral reading and comprehension assessment   These students will also be monitored on AIMSweb   This information will be from my 21 students
Meet monthly with 1st Grade teachers to discuss progress and change strategies if no progress is shown	Kelly Wehmeyer 1st Grade Teachers	November 2013 to May 2, 2014   Meet one block period per month	Copies of running records; six week assessments; AIMSweb graphs   Journal of strategies	Progress Charts
Administer the MOY 1st Grade TPRI	Kelly Wehmeyer 1st Grade Teachers (teachers will administer the test)	January 2014	1st Grade TPRI Kits	TPRI Assessment
Gather and  analyze each 1st grade class TPRI scores   Compare to BOY scores	Kelly Wehmeyer	January 2014	MOY TPRI summary sheet from each teacher	Spreadsheet with % still developing and % developed on BOY Oral reading and comprehension   Spreadsheet with % of students that improved from BOY to MOY   Graphs with growth for the 21 students
Continue implementing strategies if showing progress   Change strategies if no progress is shown	1st Grade Teachers	January 6, 2014 to May 2, 2013	Instructional Strategies	Cold Read/Hot Read Charts; Running Records to show  the effectiveness of  the strategies; 6 week oral reading and comprehension assessment   These students will also be monitored on AIMSweb   This information will be from my 21 students
Administer the EOY 1st Grade TPRI	Kelly Wehmeyer 1st Grade Teachers (teachers will administer the test)	End of April 2014	1st Grade TPRI Kits	TPRI Assessment
Analyze and interpret data from EOY TPRI scores	Kelly Wehmeyer	May 5, 2014 to June 6, 2014	EOY TPRI summary sheets	Create charts and graphs of data findings and compile a list of strategies that proved to be successful
Share results with administration	Kelly Wehmeyer	June 9, 2013 to June 14, 2013	Action Research findings	Summary of findings

Week 2 Reflection

I have to admit, this week was tough.  We were on vacation in Arkansas and Tennessee and I get extreme car sick so working in the car was impossible.  But, I made it through. 

I was not able to meet with my site supervisor this week but I did email her 3 topics that I thought would benefit our campus.  The one that I had spoke with her about previously and the one that I have wanted to do my research project on all along is the one that she approved.  YAY!!!  When we spoke about my topic I had approached her with working with 1st and 2nd grade.  We decided that it would be best to focus on the grade level that needs the most help, so I will focus on just 1st grade this year.  This really excites me because before moving into the instructional specialist position, I taught 1st grade for 11 years.  These babies hold a special place in my heart.  :)
My topic of research will be:  What are some effective strategies for building automaticity and fluency to help comprehension and does implementing these strategies prove to be successful in improving automaticity, fluency and comprehension?

As far as our readings, videos, and assignments this week, it was very insightful.  Like I stated in my first post, action research was foreign to me before this class.  Now I feel like I have a pretty good understanding of what it is exactly, and I'm looking forward to learning more about how to actually do it.  The nine passions were quite interesting.  It helped me understand exactly how and where administrators begin the process of research inquiry. 

It was also interesting to me that in the 2 interviews that I reflected on, both were very adamant about how important it is to make sure that what ever research you do, it is useful and will impact student achievement and result in student improvement.  Also the fact that they also spoke of how data is the driving force in much of what you research. 

Although this week was a tough one, I keep telling myself that I will make it through this journey.  I guess that thing that stresses me out the most is the fact that it's still summertime and I feel overwhelmed.  I can't imagine how I'm going to feel once school starts in just a few weeks. 

Research and Blogs!!!! YIKES!!

To be honest, before I started this class, I had never heard of action research before.  In fact, when I saw that this class was a research class, my stomach sank.  I was not excited at all.  But, after this first week’s readings and videos, this is a very interesting way of doing research and one that I don’t think I will find to be stomach turning.  In fact, in a roundabout way, isn’t this what teachers do daily?  If something isn’t working in class or if the students are struggling, we reflect on the way we are teaching that concept or skill, we “research” ways to improve and we make changes. 

From what I have learned from the readings, administrative inquiry or action research is a systematic problem solving method in which an administrator looks at his/her own professional practices for inquiry for the betterment of the school.  Through this type of research, one is able to have ownership in the research which enables you to make this a continuous process of learning, reflecting and implementing changes.  “Practitioners become collaborators in educational research by investigating their own problems, and 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).”  I see it as a hands-on approach to finding solutions to problems or questions one has.   Another point that I found interesting is the fact that action research requires one to do a lot of self-reflection.  Action research is a reflective process. 

Like I said above, I think teachers already do action research in an indirect way.  To be an effective teacher you have to reflect on the ways the students are responding to the lessons and make changes if need be.  As an administrator there are countless ways I feel I would be able to use action research.  One would be to use it to collaborate with teachers on issues that are affecting our school, thus finding ways to make it the best possible place for our students to learn.  How I would like to see action research used is with our Administrator meetings that are held at the district office.  Instead of sitting and listening and listening and listening, why not come up with some questions for the betterment of the district and then collaborate together to seek the changes that need to be made.   

Blogs are a very beneficial tool for educational leaders to use.  I never knew how helpful blogs were until I started searching for ideas for my classroom and there were tons out there for me to look at.  One way for leaders to use blogs is to inform parents, students, fellow administrators and teachers.  It can be a networking tool with others who are in the educational field, or a way for parents and students to stay abreast of things happening at the school.  It can be used as a type of journal for reflections, feedback, and collaboration between administrators and teachers.  Blog possibilities are endless.