EDLD 5301 Research Course Reflection

Just an excerpt from my course reflection of what I learned in the course:

Action research takes me out of my comfort zone. It challenges me to think outside the box. I am a firm believer that one cannot grow if they are stagnant. One must step outside that zone of stagnation and comfort to grow and challenge oneself. Nothing gets accomplished if one stays in their comfort zone. This is especially important if you are a leader. Leaders must be growing and challenging those around them or they are going nowhere. Leaders inspire change. I have learned that action research is just the change that leaders should use to improve and promote healthy changes within the school setting.
As with most things, there are challenges and obstacles within the action research process. It is good to reflect on what challenges you might foresee coming. What might go wrong or be a roadblock? If you are aware that there will be problems, then you can plan ahead to try to avoid them or have strategies set in place. Then, when those things arise, you have a plan of attack. You aren’t just stumped and stupefied that a problem arose. Good leaders have solutions when problems arise.

Jana Dugas
EDLD 5301
ET 8038

Action Research Plan SIP

SCHOOL VISION: Meet AYP


GOAL: To see how using the Classroom Performance System affects the student scores for benchmark purposes.

Action Research Plan

It has been fun and interesting in designing my action research plan. I can't wait to see the results. It will be interesting to see if the technology increases the scores or not. I am nervous and overwhelmed at the same time. I am finding it difficult to get everything done! I have learned so much from all the reading about action research, and I am excited to put it into practice and see what kind of results come from it!

Goal: To see how using the Classroom Performance System effects the student scores for benchmark purposes.

Activities designed to achieve the objectives: All students are required to take the benchmark test every 6 weeks in all subject areas. I will compare scores, from students who are on the same academic level; one class will use the CPS system to enter their scores into the computer, while other classes will use a bubble sheet and answers will be scanned into the computer. All scores will be sent to Eduphoria Aware, which generates various reports of student scores. I will use the data to see if there are any differences between those who used the CPS and those who did not.

Resources & research tools needed: CPS system, CPS software with class information and benchmark questions loaded, link the CPS system with Eduphoria Aware, students and student scores.

Draft timeline for completion or implementation of activities: May 2012, we will have taken 4 or 5 benchmark tests; giving me 4 or 5 opportunities to gather data.

Persons responsible for implementation of the action research plan: Jana Dugas, help from Jana Cash (mentor, technology coach for our district), data from students in Johnna Brinkley’s and Amber Simmons’ class (4th grade at Vidor Elementary).

Process for monitoring the achievement of goals and objectives: I plan to collect data from all subjects. Even though student data will be taken from 3 different classes and three different teachers, I believe the students are all being taught very similar. We all use the same curriculum, have similar teaching styles, and spend the same amount of time teaching the subjects tested. We all plan our lessons together to make sure our students are all on the same page. I will gather data after every benchmark from a sample size of about 3 above average students, 3 average students, 3 below average students, and 3 at-risk students. I plan to track their achievement, noting any increases or decreases in scores through out the school year. Some of the students will use the CPS system while others will use the paper and pencil system to record answers.

Assessment instrument(s) to evaluate the effectiveness of the action research study: I will use the data from Eduphoria Aware; it reports student scores from the test.

Action Research

Action research. Until today those words didn’t mean a whole lot to me. After doing some reading, I have found that action research is something I should be doing in my job as a teacher. Action research is a way to improve your teaching, solving a problem, or both. It is a systematic process by which you pose a question about something you would like to improve, review literature on the topic, plan a strategy, and share what you learned. I think it will be very useful to use in my teaching as well as intervening in academic or behavioral situations – for students who are struggling. I already use a process similar to action research, but not as in depth. Action research is an intense, in-depth process that brings about positive change. I believe all teachers and administrators should be practicing action research. The possibilities are endless when this process is used. As an educator, we are encouraged to use “best practices” in our classrooms. Best practices are strategies that show exemplary results. In my opinion, it would be a best practice to use action research as we change the way we teach; preparing our student for STAAR, college, and 21st century learners.
Educational leaders can use blogs to collaborate, communicate, and support each other; even though they may be long distances away from each other. By blogging, you can share ideas and strategies. Learn what worked and what didn’t work. It allows you to reflect on your work and be intentional about what you do (Dana, 2007, p. 150).

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

Course Reflection 5306

I envisioned that I would get an overview of what educational technology leadership was all about. I believe that this course has done just that. We studied everything from ethics, to technology plans, to TEKS. I think I achieved the outcomes that I envisioned and more. I did some things that were difficult, but necessary for my success. I also thought that I would learn a lot about how to do more things on the technology side. I learned how to create a blog and wiki as well as how to attend a web conference. There were some aspects that I didn’t know what to expect or envision, so a lot was new to me. It is hard to say if the actual course outcomes aligned with those I envisioned. I didn’t have a lot envisioned – I didn’t know what to expect. I know that I have learned a lot through this class and improved on the skills that I already had; as well as learning new skills.
The outcomes are somewhat relevant to the work I do in my school in that I am able to think more about incorporating technology into my lessons. I am more aware of what my students are doing on the Internet and how I can teach them about cyber-bullying, ethics, and safety. I also understand why the STaR Chart is important and that Texas has a long-range plan for technology. I used to fill out the STaR Chart because it was a requirement, but now it has meaning to me. I can see how our district is aligned and planning to meet technology goals. I would like to use blogs and wikis in my classroom, but there are strict rules against such use. I never used to think that those things had a place in a classroom, but now I see a need for them. I believe the things I have learned are being applied to how I teach.
There were some outcomes that I did not achieve. When I took some of the self-evaluations in Week 1, I realized that I was lacking in some of the areas. I thought that I would learn how to use certain things like Internet research, web-publishing skills, and graphics usage. Although there were lots of new things I learned, I had hope to touch on those previously listed above. I hope that I do learn those things that I don’t know a lot about. I don’t believe anything in the course prevented me from achieving them; they just weren’t addressed. I have not had time to do those things on my own, to teach myself. I do believe that I will learn how to do these things by the time I finish the program.
I think I was successful in carrying out the course assignments. I was able to complete them all to the best of my abilities and followed the rubrics for maximum points. I scored very well on most assignments. On one assignment, Week 3, I scored lower than all other assignments and was unsure why. I had followed all directions as stated in the assignment and read the rubric to make sure I had done everything correctly. I’m not sure what happened. I also struggled to upload my site-mentor agreement to my wikispace. It seemed like a simple task, but took me hours. I had a new computer, new printer/scanner and had never tried to upload a file to a wiki before. After trial and error, I learned how to do it. It was discouraging at first, but when I overcame the barrier, I felt awesome!
I learned a lot about myself and my attitude from this course. I learned that I achieve this goal and dream if I just tried. Long ago, I had envisioned that someday I would get a masters degree. I always had excuses and recently it seemed as if it would never happen. Through much thought and support from my family, I decided to just do it. I have always tried to keep a positive attitude, and this course has encouraged me to keep it up! I have learned and assessed where I am with my technology and leadership skills. I have also taken steps to improve those skills. I have also learned how to rely on others to reach my goal. I always try to do things on my own and don’t ask for help. I was required to secure a site-mentor and in the process I ended up with two of them! Never in my wildest dreams would I have done that on my own. The best thing is that they are both very open to helping me out. Both my mentors are knowledgeable in their areas and are going to teach me and encourage me to meet my goal.

Validation

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