1. Goals and objectives/outcomes of the research investigation
• The goal of my research will be to determine in what ways do the Hamilton Middle School campus vision and mission statements currently support the campus learning community? By determining if the concepts and ideals that are set in these documents are shared by our campus staff and community we can measure our effectiveness as an overall learning community. The knowledge by campus staff that there is a shared vision and commitment to these standards for our campus we can determine if there are also ways to improve our campus educational environment. The outcome from this will be that our campus stakeholders will be able to see our efforts as a campus to provide the best possible education possible for our students.
2. Activities designed to achieve the objectives
• The activities that I will need to design to achieve the objectives include:
• Creating a staff survey
• Create KWL charts for staff regarding the campus vision and mission
• Create a student survey
• Create a community survey
3. Resources and research tools needed for data gathering
• The resources that I will need for data gathering include:
• The campus vision
• The campus mission statement
• Campus Staff health surveys
• Student surveys
• Community surveys
• Campus Improvement Plan
• Student Performance Reports
• Student Discipline Reports
4. Draft timeline for completion or implementation of activities
• The timeline for completion and implementation is from August 2009 to January 2010. During the course of this project several deadlines will exist for collecting and assembling data,
5. Persons responsible for implementation of the action research plan
• The persons responsible for implementation of this plan will be I, the researcher.
6. Process for monitoring the achievement of goals and objectives
• The process for monitoring the achievement of goals and objectives will include the study of the following documents:
• Campus Improvement Plan
• Student Performance Reports
• Student Discipline Reports
7. Assessment instrument(s) to evaluate the effectiveness of the action research study
• The assessment instruments needed to evaluate the effectiveness of the plan include:
• Campus Staff health surveys
• Student surveys
• Community surveys
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Monday, July 19, 2010
Week Two: Research Reflection
My week two assignment allowed me the opportunity to research the 9 areas that Nancy Dana suggests are great beginnings for action research projects. Staff development, curriculum development, individual teachers and students, the school culture, it's leadership, management performance and social justice are all considered great launching points. This study has allowed me to focus on my action research plan which I believe falls under the school culture umbrella to consider if the campus vision and mission statements are supporting the needs of the campus learning community.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Educational Leaders and the Use of THE BLOG
I suppose the best way for an educational leader to use his or her blog would be as a form of communication to his local community. The idea of a public blog where the principal or leader can share the successes of his students or programs could be a valuable asset to a learning community.
If a school leader chose to use a blog as a research engine I imagine there would have to be a great deal of anonymity needed without revealing sensitive information about the specific campus.
If a school leader chose to use a blog as a research engine I imagine there would have to be a great deal of anonymity needed without revealing sensitive information about the specific campus.
Action Research Thoughts
As I have begun my inquiries into the concept of action research I have found that there are several concepts I am fairly comfortable with as a result of my experiences in education.
I think the most important lesson I have learned thus far is that what I have been doing for most of my career regarding self evaluation falls comfortably under the concept of action research. The idea that I have continued to evaluate my practices and make changes based on those self evaluations through my sixteen year career solidifies my understanding of this model of research.
I also believe, as our readings resonate, that the collegial interaction between administrators and educators opens the door for a more direct line of communication and trust. This open door then allows for more quick change through the action research process. This ability to track information from multiple sources or colleagues to more quickly address the effectiveness of my operating system or plans creates a much more efficient learning environment.
The inclusion of this concept by administrators of opening their doors to the people around them will allow for much greater successes in the classroom and within the overall learning community. This idea of being more visible through the open door will allow for members of the community to continue to more readily trust the decisions and plans made by the administrator and his colleagues.
I think the most important lesson I have learned thus far is that what I have been doing for most of my career regarding self evaluation falls comfortably under the concept of action research. The idea that I have continued to evaluate my practices and make changes based on those self evaluations through my sixteen year career solidifies my understanding of this model of research.
I also believe, as our readings resonate, that the collegial interaction between administrators and educators opens the door for a more direct line of communication and trust. This open door then allows for more quick change through the action research process. This ability to track information from multiple sources or colleagues to more quickly address the effectiveness of my operating system or plans creates a much more efficient learning environment.
The inclusion of this concept by administrators of opening their doors to the people around them will allow for much greater successes in the classroom and within the overall learning community. This idea of being more visible through the open door will allow for members of the community to continue to more readily trust the decisions and plans made by the administrator and his colleagues.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Technology Course Reflections
• What outcomes had you envisioned for this course? Did you achieve those outcomes? Did the actual course outcomes align with those that you envisioned?
As I recall starting this course I was most excited about the chance to get into a topic that I felt like was moving to the forefront of our schools. I really wasn’t too sure about what I would be doing in my coursework and how relevant was it going to be to the position of an administrator versus that of a classroom teacher. I was most surprised to get into both aspects. I felt like the study of the vision for technology and the use of technology like the blogs really helped me get my feet wet. I feel like the course met my expectation for dipping into both topics.
• To the extent that you achieved the outcomes, are they still relevant to the work that you do in your school? Why or why not?
As far as my position, I believe that having experience in what is relevant with technology in the classroom as well as understanding how to provide the infrastructure needed to accomplish this will really help me in the long term. I really think as an administrator there are many more ways to begin to communicate with the community and technology can support that at such high levels.
• What outcomes did you not achieve? What prevented you from achieving them?
If I was to say there were any outcomes that I did not achieve, I’m not sure I could list them all. I think with technology there are too many components to address that how could it all be possible to get to them all effectively in a five week course. I believe that the course did a good job of scratching the surface of technology and its potential role in schools. I know that there has not been any class that I have asked so many questions of my campus administrative team any more than this, including “School Law”.
• Were you successful in carrying out the course assignments? If not, what prevented or discouraged you?
I do believe that I was able to carry out the course assignments. I felt like I had to really rely on the rubric to guide my work in order to stay focused on the assignments. If I had an opportunity to revise anything about the course I believe it would deal mostly with the assignments for week three and week four. I have colleagues that have started the Lamar Masters program and are in their first class after the fundamentals class. I found myself having to provide help and direction to those colleagues for those assignments because of their lack of experience in areas like curriculum development. I’m not totally convinced that I really “got” assignment four, however I did feel like it had me problem solving at a high level to come to a final product.
• What did you learn from this course…about yourself, your technology and leadership skills, and your attitudes?
As far as what information have I gained from this course I would say that the most important lesson was the idea that there is a plan for technology that we are following that I did not know existed. I also know that I will do a much better job with my Texas STaR chart in the future. As a potential leader, technology as a subject doesn’t scare me. Ultimately being the person that provides for the technology does frighten me to a point. Knowing that there are so many roadblocks to technology whether they are internet safety, cyber bullying or infrastructure and budgeting. I see, in my school district, that there are so many budget challenges and I realize that generally speaking technology is a priority. I think that my attitude is strong for technology; however I’m not sure that I can provide the real financial answers I will need as a campus administrator.
• What is the educational value of blogs and blogging to the 21st century learner?
I’m not sure that I can say where the concept of blogging for the 21st century learner ranks with educational value. I know that a number of students have accounts with social networking sites and I see those as a type of blog in some ways. The ability for educators to post research results and projects for sharing will allow for students globally to have access to a wealth of shared interest information.
• What are the concerns of blogs and blogging in education?
Blogging is a completely valid reality in education. I do realize that as a concept for gaining access to information instantly I would be most concerned with bad or misinformed information being taken as factual. Although the concept of Wikipedia is a good one, there are still errors. The fact that any user can change things in it prevents it from having a higher level of credibility universally. There is no question that a much larger amount of information shared in blogs will be accurate than not. I am just nervous about knowing what the percentage of misinformation will be.
• How can you use blogging to communicate with school stakeholders?
As school districts compete for the attention of the stakeholders, specifically the parents and students, we have to be creative with communication. I feel like emailing groups of parents that I teach is effective because I know that I am able to send them something directly. I don`t think I am ready to trust families to check my blog for current events. I can post assignments and information, such as resources, that can help parents with working on assignments with their student assignments.
As I recall starting this course I was most excited about the chance to get into a topic that I felt like was moving to the forefront of our schools. I really wasn’t too sure about what I would be doing in my coursework and how relevant was it going to be to the position of an administrator versus that of a classroom teacher. I was most surprised to get into both aspects. I felt like the study of the vision for technology and the use of technology like the blogs really helped me get my feet wet. I feel like the course met my expectation for dipping into both topics.
• To the extent that you achieved the outcomes, are they still relevant to the work that you do in your school? Why or why not?
As far as my position, I believe that having experience in what is relevant with technology in the classroom as well as understanding how to provide the infrastructure needed to accomplish this will really help me in the long term. I really think as an administrator there are many more ways to begin to communicate with the community and technology can support that at such high levels.
• What outcomes did you not achieve? What prevented you from achieving them?
If I was to say there were any outcomes that I did not achieve, I’m not sure I could list them all. I think with technology there are too many components to address that how could it all be possible to get to them all effectively in a five week course. I believe that the course did a good job of scratching the surface of technology and its potential role in schools. I know that there has not been any class that I have asked so many questions of my campus administrative team any more than this, including “School Law”.
• Were you successful in carrying out the course assignments? If not, what prevented or discouraged you?
I do believe that I was able to carry out the course assignments. I felt like I had to really rely on the rubric to guide my work in order to stay focused on the assignments. If I had an opportunity to revise anything about the course I believe it would deal mostly with the assignments for week three and week four. I have colleagues that have started the Lamar Masters program and are in their first class after the fundamentals class. I found myself having to provide help and direction to those colleagues for those assignments because of their lack of experience in areas like curriculum development. I’m not totally convinced that I really “got” assignment four, however I did feel like it had me problem solving at a high level to come to a final product.
• What did you learn from this course…about yourself, your technology and leadership skills, and your attitudes?
As far as what information have I gained from this course I would say that the most important lesson was the idea that there is a plan for technology that we are following that I did not know existed. I also know that I will do a much better job with my Texas STaR chart in the future. As a potential leader, technology as a subject doesn’t scare me. Ultimately being the person that provides for the technology does frighten me to a point. Knowing that there are so many roadblocks to technology whether they are internet safety, cyber bullying or infrastructure and budgeting. I see, in my school district, that there are so many budget challenges and I realize that generally speaking technology is a priority. I think that my attitude is strong for technology; however I’m not sure that I can provide the real financial answers I will need as a campus administrator.
• What is the educational value of blogs and blogging to the 21st century learner?
I’m not sure that I can say where the concept of blogging for the 21st century learner ranks with educational value. I know that a number of students have accounts with social networking sites and I see those as a type of blog in some ways. The ability for educators to post research results and projects for sharing will allow for students globally to have access to a wealth of shared interest information.
• What are the concerns of blogs and blogging in education?
Blogging is a completely valid reality in education. I do realize that as a concept for gaining access to information instantly I would be most concerned with bad or misinformed information being taken as factual. Although the concept of Wikipedia is a good one, there are still errors. The fact that any user can change things in it prevents it from having a higher level of credibility universally. There is no question that a much larger amount of information shared in blogs will be accurate than not. I am just nervous about knowing what the percentage of misinformation will be.
• How can you use blogging to communicate with school stakeholders?
As school districts compete for the attention of the stakeholders, specifically the parents and students, we have to be creative with communication. I feel like emailing groups of parents that I teach is effective because I know that I am able to send them something directly. I don`t think I am ready to trust families to check my blog for current events. I can post assignments and information, such as resources, that can help parents with working on assignments with their student assignments.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Action Plan for Technology and Evaluation
The technology integration plan will be evaluated in several ways:
The Texas STaR chart campus results will be reviewed by the campus Director of Instruction and a determination of the level of technology inclusion in the classroom will be made.
Formal observations by campus leadership team appraisers will be done to determine if campus teachers are integrating lessons using technology.
Campus staff participation in staff development training activities will be reviewed annually at summative conferences.
Student assignment samples, resulting from lessons using technology, will be reviewed for comprehension.
The Texas STaR chart campus results will be reviewed by the campus Director of Instruction and a determination of the level of technology inclusion in the classroom will be made.
Formal observations by campus leadership team appraisers will be done to determine if campus teachers are integrating lessons using technology.
Campus staff participation in staff development training activities will be reviewed annually at summative conferences.
Student assignment samples, resulting from lessons using technology, will be reviewed for comprehension.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
STaR Chart Opinion
As I study the STaR chart results for my campus and compare them to national results I discover that our campus is doing very well with the technology.
Today I am going to focus on the area of Educator Preparation. This area is mostly concerned with providing teachers with not only the software and hardware in the classroom, but the instruction on such equipment so that it can be utilized to its potential. The ability for staff to gain not only knowledge, but confidence in using technology in their classrooms is necessary for improvement in this caption. The vertical alignment of TEKS and the anytime, anywhere use of online resources in the classroom can be daunting so training and preparation is crucial.
Our campus specifically has shown some improvement in this area in the last three years moving from developing technology to the caption of advanced technology. My opinion is that the "target" technology is out of reach for most campuses because such inclusion of technology would almost completely change the landscape of the current classroom. State and National progress shows that we are currently ranked amongst the most technologically proficient campuses.
The trend I notice for our state and country is that our biggest hurdle with technology is the education of the teachers. The only way that our campuses and classrooms will become more technologically savvy is if our teachers acquire the knowledge to make it so.
I foresee that there will be a shift from staff training that focuses on relationships and student behavior to one that is more about technology inclusion in the classroom at all levels of instruction.
One thing I can take from studying the background of the STaR chart and more importantly its purpose I know that I will make a more conscious effort the next time the survey comes around.
Today I am going to focus on the area of Educator Preparation. This area is mostly concerned with providing teachers with not only the software and hardware in the classroom, but the instruction on such equipment so that it can be utilized to its potential. The ability for staff to gain not only knowledge, but confidence in using technology in their classrooms is necessary for improvement in this caption. The vertical alignment of TEKS and the anytime, anywhere use of online resources in the classroom can be daunting so training and preparation is crucial.
Our campus specifically has shown some improvement in this area in the last three years moving from developing technology to the caption of advanced technology. My opinion is that the "target" technology is out of reach for most campuses because such inclusion of technology would almost completely change the landscape of the current classroom. State and National progress shows that we are currently ranked amongst the most technologically proficient campuses.
The trend I notice for our state and country is that our biggest hurdle with technology is the education of the teachers. The only way that our campuses and classrooms will become more technologically savvy is if our teachers acquire the knowledge to make it so.
I foresee that there will be a shift from staff training that focuses on relationships and student behavior to one that is more about technology inclusion in the classroom at all levels of instruction.
One thing I can take from studying the background of the STaR chart and more importantly its purpose I know that I will make a more conscious effort the next time the survey comes around.
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