Course Reflection-5301

When I first saw the name of this course I was a little scared. Research can be intimating if not broken down in steps. I leave this course feeling more confident in my action research plan. I have enjoyed my learning process with this course. I have learned a tremendous amount in such a short period of time, some of which cannot be measured on paper. The students in this class were extremely helpful in finishing assignments and giving usable advice. Many students responded with in minutes to many of my questions. I bet if I took this class again and again I would learn new things about myself every time. This course was insightful but at the same time challenging. Each week of the course made me change my action research plan multiple times. The part that I liked the most was the blog responses to the action research plan. It is so nice to have other teachers comment. We all know that a second sets of eyes is always better. I still need more help on how to utilize my blog in a more beneficial manner. I know as I become better with technology the blog will improve greatly. I can kill two birds with one stone if you may see it that way. I am still unclear on everything that I should or can post to my blog but I am learning every day reading other peoples blogs. The video conference with my field supervisor was ok. I thought that is was going to be more one on one so I was a little disappointed. When I did get to converse with her it was great however I do wish it was more individual. Listening to others talk about their action research plan was a great learning process for me. I just kept thinking to myself how many issues we really have in our professions. It also made me thankful for my school and administration because many of the issues that other students are concerned with, for example discipline, my campus has little problems with. The discussion boards are always helpful to me. I like reading multiple ones before I comment. I use the discussion boards as almost an introduction to my assignment. I receive many good tips and even compare my ideas with others before I start my assignments for that week. I so wish that there was an alert or something of that nature that would let you know when someone has commented on your post. I would like more help with TK20. I feel like this course made me use it more but I still wish that one course was all about how to utilize and what all we need to put in TK20. This course gave me a little more help but was still looking for more in regards to this program. Overall there were many aspects of this course that I learned from. I have enjoyed this course even through my struggles. I have learned to be patient and embrace change. Thank you to everyone who has helped me and provided any type of guidance, all of which was much needed. Now time to enjoy my one week off!!! Thank you ;)

Jillian Edwards updated Action Research Plan
Goal: Can peer tutors help students who are at risk increase their class grade in order to pass for the entire year?
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Analyze student’s math grades for the first semester.	Edwards and Mrs. Bonnet	After third six weeks grades come out.	Access to the grade book. Teacher Rosters and Students ID numbers	Have a print out from our registrar office of grades and students who failed for the semester.
Survey monkey on what incentives would make them work harder in class.	Edwards	End of third six weeks	Survey Monkey Printed copies or access to computer lab	Count the number of students in class and make sure I have that many surveys completed.
Pick two classes to start pairing up an at risk student with a student who is passing with an A. If I have to choose a student with a high B or performs high on benchmark test.	Edwards and Cheryl Alexander	Beginning of fourth  six weeks	Grade book, time in class to match students. Teacher Rosters, student ID	Have all grades per class in numerical order laid out so we may match the students together.
Have a power point presentation and examples to go over the expectations/incentives of the plan.	Edwards	First day of the fourth six weeks	Power point presentation and examples	Have a sheet with bullets of important information for the plan.
Pair up all bubble buddies	Edwards	First day of the fourth six weeks	Index cards with names on them	Have a binder with each class and Bubble pair labeled
Send an email/home the power point for parents to read and sign with their child	Edwards	First day of the fourth six weeks	-Printed copies of power point -All student/parent email address -Parent notification signature page (email parents)	Have a spread sheet done of all students involved in and check sheet to keep up with signatures
Meet with each Bubble Buddy pair and give them the average the “at risk” student needs in order to pass for the third six weeks and the semester.	Edwards	First week of the fourth six weeks	-Venn diagram with each student’s[j1]  grades and the names of partners. Calculator in order to show students how to calculate average.	-Check back each week with partners. Have a check list that the bubble buddy checks to make sure they are giving the most help to the at risk student.
Provide students with an outline of things that might help them be successful in this program	Edwards	First week of the fourth six weeks.   *The template should be part of the power point presentation as well.	Template of ways to help each other	Keep a log of how often they perform these types of activities. Make them sign in each time.
Have another meeting with the Bubble pairs every three weeks. At the end of the fourth six weeks update the Projected number needed to pass for the year.	Edwards	Progress report time and end of each six weeks	Updated venn diagram of the needed number in order to pass for the year	Keep a copy under tab in my binder
Look at grades for year	Edwards	End for the last six weeks	All data collected as to whether or not they increased their grade.	Evaluate the program. How many students increased their grades the last two six weeks?
***Incentives will be given every week as well as at the end of each six weeks***	Edwards	Every week/end of each six weeks	The results from the survey monkey at the beginning of the plan	Do the incentives work?

 

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

(Harris, Edmonson, and Combs, 2010)

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 [j1]

Jillian Edwards Action Research Plan
Goal: Can peer tutors help students who are at risk increase their class grade in order to pass for the entire year?
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Analyze student’s math grades from the first and second six weeks.	Edwards	Beginning of third six weeks.	Access to the grade book. Teacher Rosters and Students ID numbers	Have a print out from our registrar office of grades.
Pair up an at risk student with a High performing student. “Bubble Buddy”	Edwards	Beginning of third six weeks	Grade book, time in class to match students. Teacher Rosters, student ID numbers for the bubble buddy	Have all grades per class in numerical order laid out so we may match the students together.
-Meet with each Bubble Buddy pair and give them the average the “at risk” student needs in order to pass for the third six weeks and the semester.       *Have a power point that shows the incentives that each student can receive if certain goals are met.	Edwards	-Beginning of the third six weeks	-Venn diagram with each student’s[j1]  grades and the names of partners. Calculator in order to show students how to calculate average.       *Free homework passes, lunch pass with teacher, passes for free minutes at the end of class, candy	-Check back each week with partners. Have a check list that the bubble buddy checks to make sure they are giving the most help to the at risk student.       *Survey students to see what incentives they would like-needs to be short and straight to the point.
Meet with bubble buddy at the two week mark and the 5 week mark.           *On the fifth week make sure they know they only have one week left before grades are due.     Remind them of the incentives given for students passing	Edwards	On that Monday following the end of the second week with in the third six weeks.	I need access to both students math grades.	Give the pairs any missing work what either student is missing and give them a deadline when to return the work.

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 [j1]

Action research ROCKS!

What action research means to me and how will I use it.

Action research reminds me of the circle of life. It is a continuing process that is forever changing. When you get to what you think is the end of that certain need, another need pops up for discussion. Action research lets us deal with the problems at hand and be productive problem solvers in order to make changes to fix the problem. The process that it takes to revamp the situation is key. Everyone needs to be on board with change, they need to embrace it and be comfortable with it when it occurs because change is needed in order to have successful results. We are always analyzing data for students so why not analyze our process and make changes as needed. Intervention with our students normally has a great success rate. Why not intervene on our own process and make adjustments as needed. We should always be adjusting our teaching styles and classroom procedures due to the needs of the class. As an administration the whole school is our classroom. We need to reorganize and make changes for the better of our classroom. What works for one school does not always work for another; however, we can learn from each other and get great ideas. The reflection process is such an important part in action research. Without the reflection process we will not get the satisfaction out of our final results. The circle of life is forever evolving and changing. It is always adapting to our surroundings and making those adjustments as needed.

My math interventionist teacher uses this style daily. I would use it to know what kids to pull for extra help. I would analyze the classroom data in order to move forward. Re-teaching is a form of action research. We reteach based off of our results and our data. If my students score low on a certain topic and my partner teacher's kids scored high then I would learn from him to better re-teach that topic or subject.


How can educators use blogs?

Educational leaders might use blogs in many ways. It would be a great form of communication for the staff. I would use it and update every week to relay what events are happening for the week. They may also use it for parents. It would give them some updates on school events or extra resources to help their children be successful. Each department could have their own blog to help align topics for parents as well. Many great ideas come to mind. We can learn a lot from other school districts by reading their blogs. Learning is a never ending process.