Action Research Plan Progress Report

Action Research Project Title: Parent Involvement using Mobile Communication

Blog URL: http://caseysactionresearch.blogspot.com/

Number of AR Project Documented Hours: 20-25 Hours

AR Project Summary (at least 250 words):

My action research project is designed around parent communication through the use of mobile communication devices.  We have a Low SES population and I believe that if we can communicate with parents using cell phones, we might have a chance.  I have already implemented our Facebook, Twitter and Remind101.  We currently have 48 active twitter followers and 275 Facebook friends.  The Facebook account is what has me the most excited.  I have been posting many school updates and information on our Facebook along with tweeting.  The great thing is that our open house had more parents than ever before.  Along with that, we have many parents asking for more information on this web page.  This communication has really started to change the way we do things at school. We have even been able to communicate with our non-English speaking parents about these tools and they are excited to get involved.  We are going to also start putting translated information on the site as well so we can continue to communicate will all our parents.  We are also having huge success with the Remind101 program.  The parents are really excited to get instant texts about their child’s class.  I now have to work on the data collection part of the project along with continuing to promote the sites.  The final data collection will take place at the end of the year when we receive STAAR results. We are hoping that the outcome will yield positive results showing that increased parent communication will indeed increase student scores.   

Week 5 Reflection

There were many highlights in my EDLD 5301 Research class.  Although I was a bit scared when I first entered the class, I came to find out that it was not going to be as bad as I thought! The class was broken up into multiple different areas and once I figured the method to conquer these tasks, it wasn't too bad. These areas were: Lectures, Readings, Searches, Assignments/Activities, Discussion Board and Blogs.

The first of these topics I will reflect on was the lectures that we had at the beginning of each week.  The lectures that stood out the most were the ones in which they interview prior Lamar doctorate students.  These were very informative because I felt like I was receiving information from my peers.  The one comment that I remember the most was from Dr. Kirk Lewis, Superintendent, Pasadena ISD.  He said, “Change the way we deliver instruction.”  (Lewis) He was referring to how the district is forced to change the way they teach to meet the current needs of students. This is a pivotal idea for schools to follow.

The second area that I am reflecting on is the readings.  These 2 books that were required for this course I found to be very helpful.  Throughout this entire course, I was dependent on the readings to help me with the information needed to complete this course.  The book that I used the most and was constantly diving back into was Leading with Passion and Knowledge by Nancy Fichtman Dana.  This book is one that I don’t plan on selling back because I want it to be a resource throughout my career.  One part of the book that caught my attention was when Dana stated, “Just as hikers gather information and prepare themselves mentally for a hike or climb—What territory do I want to explore? What do I hope to find?—as a principal-inquirer, you, too, will need  some mental preparation before you embark on your first inquiry journey.” (Dana, 2009) This quote hit me as I was preparing my action research plan that I needed to be prepared. Almost like I have to create a map to follow!

The next area that I am reflecting on is with the electronic searches that I conducted during the class.  When I was looking into topics, I hit a stale mate.  I struggled to find a topic and started to meet on a more regular basis with my site supervisor. I then found a website from the Madison Metropolitan School District.

This website is: http://oldweb.madison.k12.wi.us/sod/car/search.cgi  In this website, they had a search engine that allowed for you to type in a topic and search for Action Research Plans.  In Madison Metropolitan School District, they require all their teachers to complete a plan which makes for a huge site full of samples.  In all the searches that I did, this was the winner of them all.

Another area that was a success in this class was with the assignments and activities. I did very well on the activities and assignments but at first, I was pretty frustrated.  The assignments instructions seemed to be all over the place.  We were instructed to follow the web conference, the lectures, and the weekly overview on Google, the assignment in blackboard and in the rubric. This is a lot of areas to refer to but then to find that some of the areas were outdated seemed to cause some frustration.  I made an attempt to seek out the finite resource to follow and stuck to the rubric. This proved to be a success.  I also was connected to the Facebook group that was created for this course and seemed to be able to put out some fires.  Overall, I am very happy with my results and how this class turned out.  Through the assignments, I learned a ton of information.

In this class, we also had a chance to reflect on certain questions on the discussion board.  The questions were not overly complicated and gave us all a chance to reflect on our material.  It was also good to get valuable feedback from my colleagues.  I had a couple of good responses that I was able to take and adjusting my thinking to make some valuable improvements.  One of these comments was, “If you can utilize multiple forms of communication it might just be an incredible multi-tiered inquiry that results in an avalanche of data.” (D.Hutchins) Getting great results like this helped me get through the class.

The last part of my class just happened to be my favorite.  I love the blog idea and plan on using this for a long time.  It is a great tool to post ideas, topics and questions plus many people can comment on your blog.  This is a great tool for not just this class, but in my school as well.  I have even looked at incorporating these into our school this year.  Blog will also allow for me to post my action research findings.  Once I get it set as I think it should be, I can share it with more than just my school and district. I can share it with anyone!!

My overall experiences in this class were positive.  I enjoyed the learning, the research and the interaction with my colleagues and professors.  I learned how to attend web conferences, which I will hopefully be conducting for our staff soon, and the importance of action research.  I will work hard on my plan and hope to get some great results!!

Bibliography

Dana, N. F. (2009). Leading with Passion and Knowledge. Thousand Oaks: Corwin Publishing.

Lewis, D. K. (n.d.). Superintendent. (L. University, Interviewer)

Week 4

Hello all,

My week 4 blog post is in action.  I didn't have any changes to my ARP because I submitted and updated one last Sunday.  I appreciate all the comments on my stuff especially since I have not been good about commenting.  I just have been so busy!!  The school year is rapidly firing up and I am worried as to how I keep up with all this once we get rolling!!  I guess we will figure a way!!  I have to also get away from the "have to score perfect" mentality.  I have to make a B Average!!  I think I need to relax a little bit and take it one step at a time!!  I really really appreciate all the comments!!

Thanks again,
Casey

Here is the updated Action Plan

Action Planning Template
Goal: To determine the effectiveness of implementing new forms of mobile communication networks in order to increase parent involvement which should increase lower socioeconomic students’ growth on the 2014 8th Grade US History STAAR test.
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Collect the numbers of parents involved with our website last year along with collecting the start results from the 8th grade students last year in US History.	Casey Gray and Philip Bates	August 2013	2013 US History STAAR Results (Low SES Students) 2012-2013 Parent Website Numbers	Create a comparable spreadsheet to evaluate the scores and parent involvement.
Create Facebook, Twitter and Remind101 accounts	Casey Gray	August 10, 2013	Facebook.com Twitter.com Edline.com Remind101 APP	Check for ease of access and that all parts of the sites adhere to district guidelines.
Submit the Facebook  Twitter and Remind101 accounts to site supervisor for approval.	Casey Gray and Philip Bates	August 20, 2013	Computer and account access	Meet with supervisor to discuss changes or indentify any additional needs.
Go live with these 3 accounts	Casey Gray Philip Bates Counselors PTA - President	September 1, 2013	PTA Directory, Counselors email list, Parent Directory, Connect Ed Phone System, Copier and PA System	Create a checklist of students and parents at our school. Sign off when parents and students join.
Monitor the Facebook  Twitter and Remind101 accounts – Accept invitations	Casey Gray	All year long	Computer, Account access	Make sure there are a steady number of requests. If not, promote the sites again.
Post valuable information about school, tests, benchmarks, tutoring times, Saturday schools and other educational opportunities	Casey Gray Philip Bates Counselors Teachers with educational information	All Year Long	Test and tutoring schedules. Educational opportunities schedule. Extra Curricular activities	Create Parent surveys to evaluate the effectiveness of this form of communication. Make sure they are getting the needed information.
Evaluate the final numbers of parent involvement	Casey Gray	May 2014	Facebook, Twitter and Remind101 access.	Compare the numbers to the previous years numbers on the spreadsheet from first task.
Collect and evaluate scores from 2014 8th Grade US History STAAR Test	Casey Gray Philip Bates	May 2014	8th Grade US History STAAR RESULTS	Did the scores improve?  Compare versus last years scores.
Create a final results summary	Casey Gray	June 2014	Spread sheets from both years. Parent involvement numbers and STAAR Scores and Action Research Template	Compile findings and prepare to share
Share the findings with our school, district Social Studies Coordinator and on my educational blog	Casey Gray Philip Bates Milissa Pfiefer	June 2014	Final Results Summary and Action Research Template	What is the final verdict? Did the increase of mobile communication networks help increase both the numbers of parents involved and the overall 8th grade history scores?

This is my stress free get something on paper rough rough draft. I plan on changing this before submitting it into part 2. Please give me honest and critical advice!!!

Action Planning Template
Goal: In what ways can our school develop a better communication system with our parents in order to improve not only the number of parents involved, but the overall impact it has on student growth compared to last years parent involvement numbers and school achievement?
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Collect the numbers of parents involved with our website last year along with collecting the start results from the 8th grade students last year in US History.	Casey Gray and Philip Bates	August 2013	2013 Starr Results 2012-2013 Parent Website Numbers	Create a comparable spreadsheet to evaluate the scores and parent involvement.
Create Facebook and Twitter account	Casey Gray	August 10, 2013	Facebook.com Twitter.com Edline.com	Check for ease of access and that all parts of the sites adhere to district guidelines.
Submit the facebook and twitter accounts to site supervisor for approval.	Casey Gray and Philip Bates	August 20, 2013	Computer and account access	Meet with supervisor to discuss changes or indentify any additional needs.
Go live with these 2 accounts	Casey Gray Philip Bates Counselors PTA - President	September 1, 2013	PTA Directory, Counselors email list, Parent Directory, Connect Ed Phone System, Copier and PA System	Create a checklist of students and parents at our school. Sign off when parents and students join.
Monitor the facebook and twitter accounts – Accept invitations	Casey Gray	All year long	Computer, Account access	Make sure there are a steady number of requests. If not, promote the sites again.
Post valuable information about school, tests, benchmarks, tutoring times, Saturday schools and other educational opportunities	Casey Gray Philip Bates Counselors Teachers with educational information	All Year Long	Test and tutoring schedules. Educational opportunities schedule. Extra Curricular activities	Create Parent surveys to evaluate the effectiveness of this form of communication. Make sure they are getting the needed information.
Evaluate the final numbers of parent involvement	Casey Gray	May 2014	Facebook and Twitter access.	Compare the numbers to the previous years numbers on the spreadsheet from first task.
Collect and evaluate scores from 2014 STAAR Test	Casey Gray Philip Bates	May 2014	STAAR RESULTS	Did the scores improve?  Compare versus last years scores.
Create a final results summary	Casey Gray	June 2014	Spread sheets from both years. Parent involvement numbers and STAAR Scores and Action Research Template	Compile findings and prepare to share
Share the findings with our school, district Social Studies Coordinator and on my educational blog	Casey Gray Philip Bates Milissa Pfiefer	June 2014	Final Results Summary and Action Research Template	What is the final verdict? Did the increase of mobile communication networks help increase both the numbers of parents involved and the overall 8th grade history scores?

Week 2 Reflection

This week started out very confusing to me.  I wasn't sure if I get my information from the:
1. Google Site
2. Blackboard
3. Assignment template
4. Assignment overview
5. Rubric
etc...
I think you get the point. I am sure you might have felt the same way. The good news is, Dr. Abshire put it best when she said, "you will be graded by the rubric. Your IA's will follow the rubric when grading."  This was like music to my ears.  I had an answer!! I will follow the rubric.  I will use the other sources as guides but the be all end all is the rubric!!  Feeling much better.

As for what I learned this week, I think I am excited.  I noticed through this action research study that there are many areas that I would like to investigate.  I want to know the answer to most of the topics introduced in the book.  IT also got me to look beyond the books and research some education research plans.  Wow is there a ton out there!!  I even found one that I will be able to use as a resource for my action plan.  This week took some time to complete but I feel I am better prepared for my action research plan!!  I look forward to your comments!!

Casey Gray

What have you learned about action research and how you might be able to use it.

Action research as a whole scared me when I first started reading about it.  I have always been a little worried about the word research because it can entail such a broad spectrum of learning.  As for this action research plan, it does cover a broad spectrum, but is not scary at all.  I started by reading The Principal as Action Research by Nancy Fichtman Dana.  This text comforted me with much of its description of what exactly an action research plan is.  In the text, Dana simple states, “administrator inquiry refers to the process of a principal engaging in systematic, intentional study of his/her own practice and taking action for change based on what he/she learns as a result of the inquiry.” (Dana, 2009)  This is exactly what we do on a daily basis already as teachers.  This is simply put as creating an assignment, giving the assignment, grading the assignment and then adjusting on the next assignment based on what your learned from your inquiry.  Now I am fully aware that an action research plan is in much greater detail and has much more depth to it, but in a sense, we are just extending what we normally do on a daily basis.  According to John Elliot, “action research is a continual set of spirals consisting of reflection and action.” (Elliot, 1988)  We have to constantly reflect on our learning’s and put forth an action plan to battle this new set of learning’s.  Lastly, I learned about the many benefits to action research.  Action research is, “a meaningful way to grow professionally… allows for principals become role models… and engagement in this process can help best practices to flourish at your school.” (Dana, 2009) Action research I believe is going to be an exciting part of my internship into Education Leadership and Administration.