EDLD 5301 - Week 3 Reflection

This week the grindstone turned a bit harder. We were challenged to finally nail down a research topic and begin to draft a plan to implement this research project. Up until this point I was still pretty wishy-washy on exactly what I wanted to do. After talking with my Intern Supervisor on the phone we decided on a plan of action. She helped me narrow my focus and find a research topic that was manageable in a reasonable time frame and with resources I had available to me. Although I really wanted to focus on the blended learning classroom we both thought that this plan of action was the stepping stone to seeing that dream come to fruition. Although not a total blended learning classroom in such terms, this project will begin the process of using technology to help deliver course content in an effective manner. Hopefully upon completion of this research plan, other research can be done on a more broad scale. I know research done in two 4th grade classrooms isn't going to change the way our curriculum department sees technology, but it is a start to the process of implementing change. After working through the planning template and setting action items in place I am energized about this project and hope to be successful.

Action Research Plan Overview

My action research plan will be to determine the effectiveness of technology devices and web 2.0 tools in a 4th grade science class on student learning and understanding of curriculum content.

My research will be conducted in four 4th grade science classes at two schools in my district. One of those schools will be implementing these technology tools in their class instruction, enhancing what is established in the current curriculum documents. The other campus will be teaching the curriculum content as written.

I hope that through this research project and can help determine if these tools are an effective way to deliver content to students and if they gain any more knowledge or understanding of the curriculum content by using these methods of learning. I plan to share my results with key players in the district's curriculum and technology departments and hopefully begin changing mindsets about these tools. Helping others understand that they are key tools for today's students to learn and retain information.

My action research plan will begin with testing the student's knowledge of the particular subject matter before the content is taught in class. I will give these pre-tests to both campuses. I will then take the next several months to implement the tools and devices in the classrooms at the focus school, encouraging teachers to use them as often as possible. I will be available for student instruction, teacher planning and discussions throughout the process. At the end of the first half of the science unit the district has a Content Based Assessment (CBA) on the first half of the curriculum. Then again at the end of the unit there is another CBA over the 2nd half of the content. I will use the test results from these two tests in comparison to the pre-test data at the beginning of the plan to determine the differences, if any, in the testing results between the two campuses. I will be measuring the growth from the pre-test data to the CBA data between the two groups.

My ultimate goal is to see a change in the curriculum development to include these tools more often in the required lessons and activities set in place by the district. So often teachers feel they can't "afford" to take up any of their class time with these tools when the district doesn't require it. I hope to begin changing those mindsets.

A copy of my Action Resesarch Plan - DRAFT can be found here: http://txteacher25.blogspot.com/p/action-research-plan.html

EDLD 5301 - Week 2 Reflection

Ofter completing this weeks assignment I do think I have a much better understanding of Action Research as it pertains to the educational environment. With the explanation of the narrowed focus sections in Chapter 2 of the Dana text I was able to begin a narrowing down process for my action research topic. Although the entire course, and especially this text is more focused on administrators and students preparing to be principals, I do feel that I can get SOME useful information from the readings. It would however be more helpful if the content at some point in time had some focus on technology since that is what I'm seeking a degree in, and not principalship.

I am still in a really vague era when it comes to exactly what I want to do for my project, and what will benefit me, my school, and my district the most.

I was unable to meet with my site director in person this past week, but am planning on getting together with her in the following week to help pinpoint my research plan and find a more narrowed focus. I know I want to research the effectiveness and implementation process for a blended learning classroom. The thought of a classroom that is part face-to-face instruction and part eInstruction is intriguing to me. I really feel that it can be a win-win situation for not only students, but for educators as well. I want to know what I need to do to create an effective blended learning environment in my schools, and eventually district.

Web Conference Reflection - Research 5301-Week 2

I was unable to attend the Web Conference for this week. The conferences are normally on Thursday evenings and I have a standing commitment on Thursday evenings from 7-10 which makes it difficult for me to have the opportunity to participate in these conferences. I would hope that throughout the program they will vary the evenings that they offer the web conferences so that others might have a chance to attend.
I did watch the recorded version. After viewing the conference I feel that, for me anyways, it wasn't an effective conference. They spent the majority of the first part discussing the switch to TK20. I had not been informed via email as many others had about the switch. It seems that the program will basically do the same thing that the ePortfolio wiki we created in EDLD5306 will do. I'll wait until further information before making the $100 purchase.

The rest of the conference was mainly about the topics that students had chosen for the action research project. Not having an opportunity to participate live, I didn't get much from that aspect of the conference. There were, however, a few topics that did benefit me a little. There were a few questions I had that were answered. Overall, this week the conference was not of much assistance to me. Really hoping that I get a chance to participate at some point, either a change of date, added conference date, or a canceled Thursday night appointment. If nothing else it seems to help with the comrade of the cohort group. I could use that to help me navigate the very confusing course outline and curriculum.

Blogs in Educational Action Research

Blogs are online journals. Principals or other educational leaders can use the public journal entries to capture their thoughts and display them for others. In action research blogs can play an active role in helping the researcher document via a narrative timeline the events as they unfold in their research project. Having your thoughts out in the open, available for other educational leaders to read and reflect on gives the researcher feedback as well. The comment section of a blog lets other leaders share their insights on the situation at hand and possibly offer some advice or guidance.

What is Action Research?

Action research is research done by actual practitioners, such as principals and teachers, who are fully in tune with the workings of their particular schools. The researchers determine the problem or wondering and how it affects their everyday working environment and usually has a focus on student achievement or improvement. Action research is a "systematic approach to improvement based on the process of inquiry and use of diagnostic data from multiple sources" (Harris, Edmonson, & Combs, 2010). Part of what makes action research such a valuable research method is that the actual research and questioning is done by those people who the outcomes will affect the most, those people who make a school successful. When the people who need or want the change go through the process to determine the best outcome, they are more likely to implement the change in an active and positive way. Action research can be done by any leadership personnel in a variety of formats. It can be a group of principals from across a district vying for change in a district wide program. It can be managed by a principal and a group of other school and community leaders to help facilitate change in a particular school. Action research could even be done by an individual teacher or team of teachers who want to evaluate a process or subject in their own classrooms. The key of action research is that it hosts elements of reflection and action and can be spiraling, with one research project leading into another to continue growth.

Refrences

Harris, S, Edmonson, S, & Combs, J. (2010). Examining what we do to improve our schools: 8 steps from analysis to action. Larchmont, NY: Eye On Education.

Course Reflection

To be honest I’m not real sure what I expected out of this course. I really went into this program blindly. I guess my general idea was that we would learn about the foundations of educational technology, why it is important, how it should be implemented in a school district. I guess since I learned about the foundations and the processes, and the ways technology can benefit education, then I did achieve those outcomes. The class was very informative and made me think about things that I had either forgotten about or shed some new and different light on. I can say that I was pretty aware of all the documents, concepts, and programs mentioned throughout the course, but I definitely learned more about them.

The concepts we learned about during this course are very relevant to the work I do at my schools. Now, some of the articles were a bit outdated, and there could be some new information included in the course documents, but the over all ideals are still relevant. The ideals will probably never change completely, just change form. I will say that I was a bit shocked, and unfortunately disappointed, that some of the articles written in 2005 and earlier were relevant. I would have hoped that articles about cutting edge technology and advancing technology in the school systems written that many years ago would be antiquated and outdated. It goes to show that although I believe we are making progress there is still a long road ahead of us.

There really were not any outcomes I didn’t achieve, because I didn’t go into the course with any outcomes that I had envisioned before hand. I guess the only thing I can say that I did not achieve was learning something totally new. Which I guess can be seen as a good thing or a not so good thing. I was hoping there was going to be some big revelation that was shone upon me during the course that would totally transform my life and career. Alas, there wasn’t. But I guess that can be a good thing if you think about the fact that I am at least aware of the major issues and processes that deal directly with my career. Granted I still have a lot to learn about each and every thing we focused on, but at least I’m not totally in the dark.

The course assignments were difficult. I would say that the course was much harder than I had envisioned. I very much underestimated the time commitment this course would be. I have two friends who previously took this course (cohort 1 I believe) and they said they spent about 5-10 hours a week on course work. I would say that I am definitely spending twice that much time, if not more. It is hard to squeeze another 20-25 hours into an already very packed week of being a full-time employee, a full-time, often single-mom, and a full-time student. I managed all the assignments, so far, and didn’t have too many roadblocks along the way. I did at times have to manage some time restraints, connectivity issues, and availability of personnel needed to gather some district information during a weeklong holiday, but I managed to get what I needed. I had to work at a McDonalds in the back hills of Missouri one night to get a Wi-Fi signal since my in-laws are in such a remote area they only have a dial-up connection, but it worked. Also, many of the assignments were confusing to understand what exactly was expected. There were times I had a difficult time trying to decipher what it was that was expected of me. But I guess I did ok.

This first course in my graduate work did teach me a lot about myself. I was pleased to learn that I have a strong core knowledge and background in my field of work. I enjoy my job and I’m glad that I seem to be on track with my career. While creating my Curriculum Vitae it was brought to my attention that I haven’t done much outside of my district. Although I have taught well over 250 hours of staff development courses within my district, I haven’t had much, if any, exposure to teaching or leading workshops outside my area. I’ve already spoken with my supervisor and we are working on setting up some teaching engagements. On a personal note, I learned that I can do this. School and I have not really played well together over the course of my schooling days. I have always struggled with reading, staying focused, and being successful. Although these things still offer me challenges, I know that I can over come them and be successful in this program.