EDLD 5352 Staus Updates...Campus-Supervised Internship & Action Research Plan

Campus-supervised Internship activities Status
So far I have completed ten courses in the Lamar program.  I meet on a regular basis with my site supervisor, Ms Robbie Reeves and continually complete items on my internship plan.  I have attended many administrative team meetings, been an active member of the Campus Improvement Team as well as the District Improvement Team.  I helped revise the Campus Improvement Plan, helped with the master schedule, shadowed an administrator in an ARD meeting, shadowed our administrators while on lunch duty, met with my district superintendent, served as a member of a committee to pass a bond (which it did not)  interviewed our campus nurse, shadowed out campus administrative assistants,became familiar with budget supervision, Title I & II funds, learned our scheduling computer program (DMAC), reviewed district goals for assessment, began my professional library, became an active member of our PTO, became a member of NAESP and TAESP, became more active in our school board meetings and above all have learned to be loyal and a trustworthy confidant by keeping administrative conversations quiet when need be .  I have two more courses and my ILD training  to complete my journey in becoming an administrator.  I am looking forward to the next 12 weeks!!

Action Research Status
My Action Research Project is improving parental involvement on my campus.  This is a work in progress to say the very least.   After choosing this as my action research project, I conducted a survey with current staff and parents to find ways to encourage parents to want to be involved on our campus.  Through the surveys, teachers expressed concern for more parents to become involved but did not offer any ideas as how to incorporate this plan!  The parents expressed they want to become involved but feel they are not welcome on our campus at all times.  The climate of our campus is improving and this is a must before the parents will want to stay on campus.  With the approval of my campus principal, we held two family nights for parents to come and visit with teachers in small groups for ideas helping their students at home.  Also, we had a family book fair night, a Fall Festival, and I personally became very involved in our PTO.  It was expressed at these meetings that the parents did not know the teachers, never saw the teachers at these meetings, etc.  So, with that being said I tried to encourage more teachers to participate in the monthly meetings.  A few teachers did come.  I will continue to work on this project again this year.  Our PTO is young and very energetic and I am looking forward to a great year.

EDLD 5352 Week 5 Reflection

When I first began this class I was expecting it to be just like all the previous one, read, videos, write a paper, etc, etc. etc.  But, WOW, was I ever wrong.  This class turned out to be a PBL.  "PBL, uh what's that?" is what I would have said four weeks ago.  Now there is an acronym for the very thing I have been doing in my classroom for 17 years...Project Based Learning! I had envisioned an outcome where I would be more knowledgeable about technology use in instruction. I had no idea I would learn so much in such a short time.  I have thoroughly enjoyed learning and using Google.docs to collaborate with my fellow classmates.  This is something I hope to use as soon as school begins.  I like it better than email  Everything will be in one place.  This will be a great tool to use for our PLC's.  I am excited to also join in "National Flip Your Classroom Day".  Hopefully I can introduce this to some other teachers on my campus and they will join in the fun.  This course has made me re-evaluate my thinking in how technology is used and how it's going to be used in the future of the education world.  This class definitely has me excited to begin the new school year and hopefully be a stronger leader in the technology area on my campus.  This entire class reminds me of one of my most favorite quotes, 

Web Conferences

Web Conferences are a great way to talk live with the professor(s).  I have participated in very few during this class due to personal time conflicts.  I feel that they are somewhat effective to some as they are not very techno savvy and somewhat ineffective to others as so many questions are posed at once that the professors cannot always keep up and participants will have to repeat the questions.   Sometimes participants use the conference time as a social hour and those who might just have a question or two can have their time wasted. I personally enjoy "catching up" with everyone and getting to know my classmates. So with this being said, I guess you could say I use the web conferences, but maybe not to the extent of their intended purpose.  I do enjoy them though! 

Reflection for 5326 Week 5

So...Here's what I've been able to accomplish thus far regarding my action based research plan:

·         Discussed topic of increasing Parental Involvement with site supervisor/Principal

·          Gathered data and established a tentative calendar/timeline

·          Met with teachers to discuss last year’s parental involvement on campus to   establish baseline for improvements for this year

·          Established committees for this year’s parental involvement plans

·          Presented a tentative calendar to all staff regarding ideas, dates, and plans for upcoming events for this school year

·         Shared my vision and goals with all staff and administrators

·         Presented my plan of action to all staff and administrators

·         Explained NCLB, Title I and AYP to all teachers regarding our staus of being a district currently in the 2^nd year of not meeting AYP.  With this being stated Parental Involvement is one of the upmost important items on the district’s agenda district wide this school year.

Now....I am a little behind schedule due to unforseen campus based issues.  So by Oct. 8^th, my goal is to:

·         Get list of PTO officers (our PTA has been dissolved and our PTO is a currently a work in progress….a slloowww work in progress!!)

·         Administer survey to all parents for ideas on Parental Involvement

·         Meet with officers regarding action plans for upcoming year

·         Establish goals and deadlines for events

·         Establish committees for upcoming events

The biggest problems I face at this time are:

·         Lack of established PTO

·         Time constraints – personal time and school year is already flying by

·         Lack of fellow teacher’s interest to increase parental involvement

·         Testing – this has absorbed all of my administrator’s time, so no after school meetings such as Campus Advisory Team has convened as of yet!  Uugghh

My fingers are crossed for upcoming progress this next few weeks!!

Research? Borning? Not!!

Research!?!  The word is very scary or so I thought 5 LONG weeks ago.  Before beginning this course, EDLD 5301 Research, I had no idea what to expect.  I had heard how it was going to be the toughest class ever.  I was nervous and even entertained the idea that maybe this is not really what I want to do.

               As I began the first week of this course, I began watching the lectures and immediately panicked when Dr. Jenkins and Dr. Arterbury began talking about “Action Research”.  What was it and how do we do it?   Dr. Arterbury suggested some great tips during the first lecture.  Some of those tips included stay on topic, create a visual road map for the reader, begin my outline with an introductory statement, general-to-specific flow works best, create a varied blend in writing and conclude with summary statements.  After completing the first assignment, I was a basket case who was stressed out waiting for my grade to post.  Finally it did and all was great!  I thought “I can do this!”  The lectures, video conferences, and Facebook Page were very informative and helped me feel at ease when creating my Action Research plan.

              I also enjoyed the readings that were included with this course.  Leading with Passion and Knowledge: the Principal as an Action Researcher by Nancy Dana Fichman and Examining What we do to Improve our Schools: 8 Steps to Improve our Schools by S. Harris, S. Edmondson, and J. Combs. Although both books were very informative, I learned more from “The Dana Text”.  In the book Leading with Passion and Knowledge: the Principal as an Action Researcher, “Administrator inquiry refers to the process of a principal engaging in systematic, intentional study of his/her own administrative practice and taking action for change based on what he/she learns as a result of the inquiry.  Inquiring professionals seek out change and reflect on their practice by posing questions or “wondering”, collecting data to gain insights into their wonderings, analyzing the data along with reading relevant literature, making changes in practice based on new understandings developed during inquiry, and sharing findings with others (Dana p.2-3).”  This process is a long process and does take quite a bit of time.  I found this process somewhat demanding of my own time since I am currently out of school for the summer and use the month of July to organize my school supply drive of providing supplies to needy students in SISD.  900 students this year!   It will take a lot of time and effort once school is in session.  Finding the time is the key factor when implementing an Action Research Plan.  According to the book, What we do to Improve our Schools: 8 Steps to Improve our Schools, leaders who want to improve their schools (in my opinion, all staff members are leaders in some way), “Need to engage in meaningful improvement in their schools, empower their teacher to willingly and collectively participate in improvement, broaden the definitions of performance indicators, and understand the skills and tools necessary to lead effective change (Harris, xiv).”  The latter states the need to understand all tools and skills to lead effective change, which includes one’s ability to manage their time to inherit a working Action Research plan.

               The assignments and activities for this course were very time consuming and a little frustrating at times but with the closeness we are gaining from our social media board, Facebook, I felt more confident as time progressed.  Our page is truly a beneficial tool when working on assignments and activities.  It allows for current feedback from other students in the program to make appropriate changes to my assignment or activity.

               With the use of the blog for this class, it is amazing being able to see and communicate with others in my class as well as followers outside of my class and rely on their feedback for any suggestions or changes that need to be made to my Action Research Plan.   Blogging is a tool that I have used in the past to communicate with parents and plan to continue to use throughout my teaching career.

 As I reflect back on this course, I have gained many insights into action research.  I am reminded of Lou Holtz’s quote in the Harris text Examining What We Do To Improve Our Schools, “We aren’t where we want to be, we aren’t where we ought to be, but thank goodness, we aren’t where we used to be.” (Harris, et al)  This statement reflects my feelings about doing action research.  Through my action research project, I know that changes will occur at my school, whether they are intended or not. I like the forward progress that comes with action research and the constant opportunity to grow as a teacher and a researcher. 

           With the use of the tools and resources received from this course, it will make the process of implementing my Action Research Plan easy and efficient.  I will use the information I obtained to not only follow through with my current Action Research plan but also to create and implement other plans to improve our campus, community and student achievement.

Reflections....

This week I learned a great deal from working through the process of creating an actual action research plan.  I believe the plan helps to put into words the process that many educators understand intuitively.  The formalization of the necessary steps needed to execute the plan, sample group, dates for collaborative meetings, formal collection of data, time for analyzing that data, putting that information into common language, reporting on that information, and more collaborative meetings.  Further, I think this process brings to light the understanding that informal, intuitive, analyzing and postulating can lead to misleading assumptions.  When we find small errors in logic or discover that some of our assumptions based on informal research were wrong, it shows us that we are better served to do some formal research on the important matters that concern our students and schools.

       I also learned this week that the Action Research Project Process Overview concerning cell phones is a very useful document. The overview explains step by step the action research process as outlined by Dr. Arterbury and Dr. Jenkins in this week’s video lesson.  In addition to outlining the process, it outlines the process by overlaying it according to the five weeks of our course.  It also provides a guide to follow to make my plan be the most successful.  I am starting to get excited about the upcoming school year, but I am going to be so busy!!!!

Action Research Plan

Action Plan – Tammy Griffin

Question:  How can I increase parental involvement on our campus (Kirby Elementary)? 

School Vision:   Kirby Elementary will actively solicit and welcome parental participation and advocacy in all aspects of the educational process.  We believe all children that thrive at school will thrive at home and throughout life.

Goal:   Improve parental involvement through improving communication efforts of teachers, increasing parent helpers on campus, and implementing parents to campus committees and programs.

Outcomes	Activities	Resources/Research Tools Needed	Responsibility to Address Activities	Time Line	Benchmarks and/or Assessments	Revisions to CIP based on monitoring & assessments
Identify and initiate action that establishes positive school/parent partnerships including removing barriers to effective Parent Involvement	Obtain information from parents (involved and uninvolved) and parent organizations regarding the current and future state of parent involvement including perceived problems and needs through a needs survey	Research based created survey for all stakeholders	Campus Principal Tammy Griffin PTO	August 2012	None	None
Share the goal, vision, and plan with campus personnel about integrating parental involvement	Explain the need for parental involvement during an in-service prior to the first week of school	Cafetorium PowerPoint presentation, computer, projector, handout of PowerPoint presentation for note taking Snacks	Tammy Griffin	August 2012	None	Goals and objectives subject to change depending on campus personnel views.
Explain data from NCLB and AEIS Report and how it affects decisions made about parental involvement on campus.	Provide survey results and research from articles supporting parental involvement, NCLB mandates, and data showing how parental involvement increases student achievement	Cafetorium PowerPoint presentation, computer, projector, handout of PowerPoint presentation for note taking Researched articles NCLB Mandates AEIS Report Pencils, pens Snacks	Campus Principal Tammy Griffin CAT (Campus Advisory Team)	September 2012	Check for understanding of  data presented from AEIS and NCLB mandates	None
Provide opportunity for campus personnel to collaborate and discuss parental involvement goals and objectives for campus.	Campus personnel will have ample time to develop goals and objectives for campus parental involvement activities for the 2012-2013 school year based on data.	Campus Improvement Plan (CIP) Action Template Paper, pencils, pens Snacks	Campus Principal Campus Personnel	September 2012	Check for understanding of  data presented	None
Set up a parent information session that addresses parental involvement needs for campus	During campus orientation, have a short handout introducing the parental involvement plan for the campus and ask for parents to volunteer	Handout Volunteer Form	Campus Principal Tammy Griffin	August 2012	Evaluate the number of parent volunteers	None
Help facilitate Parental Teacher Organization.  Form a parental involvement committee that will facilitate the activities involving parental involvement activities/opportunities.	Acquire volunteers from each grade level to participate on the parental involvement committee along with parent volunteers	Cafetorium Sign-up sheet Snacks	Tammy Griffin PTO Officers Faculty Representatives	September 2012	None	None
Committee will understand the importance of using action research to develop the parental involvement program		Cafetorium PowerPoint presentation, computer, projector, handout of PowerPoint presentation for note taking 8 Steps From Analysis to Action by Harris, et. al. Paper, pencils, pens, highlighters Snacks	Tammy Griffin	September 2012	Committee members will be able define and implement steps of  an action research plan	Parts of presentation may need to be readdressed to emphasize importance of action plan research steps
Provide opportunity for committee to create goals and objectives for parental involvement activities for campus based on surveys, campus data, research and CIP.	Discuss and create goals and objectives for the parental involvement activities Develop focus groups for specified parental involvement events Committee will meet on a monthly basis throughout the year	Cafetorium Snacks Paper, pencils, pens	Campus Principal PTO Tammy Griffin	September 2012– June 2013	Effective collaboration and participation efforts among committee members	Goals and objectives may change throughout the year depending on attendance of events.
Implement parental involvement committee activities to the campus	Create calendar for parental involvement events for the 2012-2013 school year	Cafetorium Snacks Computer Calendar (district & campus) Paper, pencils, pens	Parental Involvement Committee PTO Campus Principal Tammy Griffin	September 2012 – June 2013	Committee develops parental involvement activities based on the needs of the campus	Adjustments to future events based on attendance of current events
Committee will meet on a bi-monthly basis before and after each parental involvement event	Parental involvement committee will meet before each event to plan the activities and gather resources needed Parental involvement committee will meet after each event to assess and evaluate the event	Cafetorium Snacks Computer Calendar (district & campus) Paper, pencils, pens	Parental Involvement Committee PTO Campus Principal Tammy Griffin	September 2012 – June 2013	Committee will assess each event based on attendance and feedback from all stakeholders	Adjustments or deletion of event maybe needed based on attendance and feedback from all stakeholders
Activities and events will be assessed and fine-tuned for the following school year (2013-2014)	Committee will meet to express concerns of improvements and/or changes to any and all events from the 2012-2013 school year	Cafetorium Snacks Computer Calendar (district & campus) Paper, pencils, pens	Parental Involvement Committee PTO Campus Principal Tammy Griffin	June 2013	Evaluation of each event based on feedback and attendance	Revision of current activities may be done to increase parental involvement efforts based on the evaluation of the current school year events.