Action remains the same

I met with my site supervisor and went over my action plan.  She agreed to it all.  However when we send out the survey this week we will ask for teachers to identify whether or not they are interested in working with another buddy classroom and if they are interested in being a club sponsor.  This will give us an idea of whether or not a service-learning club is feasible or not.  If not then we will move forward with buddy classrooms performing service-learning projects instead.  The survey will allow us to partner willing classrooms together.  On Tuesday I am meeting with my site supervisor again to give her a list of five service learning options and the survey questions that are to be sent to staff.  Once we get the survey back we may or may not modify the action plan based on the results.  So at this point my action plan has not changed.   

Reflections

As I reviewed my action plan draft and compared it to the suggestions in the Harris text, I was pleased to see that I had included all the suggested steps.  I am taking this plan to my site supervisor on Wednesday as she is ready for me to get started immediately.  My only concern is finding a teacher willing to take on service learning. There will be no extra pay, so we will have to package the idea very carefully.  

Action Plan

Action Planning Template
Goal:  To increase student achievement through the use of service learning projects.
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Research service learning opportunities	Tammy Anderson	Begin December 3, 2011 End December 5, 2011	Service Learning resources gathered from St. Louis site visits, internet searches	Present final list of topics to Dr. Carrie Bachmeier for review and approval
Survey the staff to choose the top projects and to discover the most interested grade level	Tammy Anderson	Begin and End December 2011	List of service learning projects Survey results	Survey participation Percentage of interest level
Find a sponsor for the club	Dr. Carrie Bachmeier	Begin and End December 2011	Survey Results	Consult with Dr. Carrie Bachmeier on staff selection
Work with the Sponsor to develop the club, the letter to parents and the permission slip Present the club to students	Tammy Anderson Dr. Carrie Bachmeier Club Sponsor	Begin and End January 2011 Begin and End February 2011	Information from St. Louis site visit schools District Guidelines on clubs and permission slips Ideas from meeting with club sponsor	Parent response Student participation Student response and participation
Begin and maintain the club on a weekly basis	Sponsor, Tammy Anderson, Dr. Carrie Bachmeier	Begin February 2011 End May 2011	Project feedback	Participation Project progress and results
Track the participating students reading and acuity scores (if applicable)	Tammy Anderson Dr. Carrie Bachmeier	Begin February 2011 End May 2011	Data from classroom testing	Achievement Data

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

(Harris, Edmonson, and Combs, 2010)

Week two of action research

This week I listened to different administrators discuss action research and it's uses.  They all had two common ideas that really stood out to me.  They all discussed the importance of ensuring that the research is meaningful and deliberate.  They all also discussed the importance data has on student achievement.  There are no surprises there-however it was nice to hear those concepts from different perspectives and levels of administration.  It was also clear that they viewed action research as a common everyday task of leadership.  It seems to be just another job of leadership.  This week brings me one step closer to looking at service learning from an action research point of view.

Blogs--How do they benefit leaders?

Blogs are a good forum for reflection.  They are also a good place to bounce ideas off of other educational leaders.   Blogs make it easy for leaders to seek out others' unbiased opinions and read about what other leaders are doing-all within the limits of their own terms and time.   They allow for leaders to express what professional development topics and exercises worked and didn’t work for them.  Blogs could be considered another resource for leaders.  

What is Action Research?

This past week I have learned quite a bit about action research.  I must admit that before this week, I would not have been able to tell you anything about it.  Now that I have read about it and saw some examples of it, I realized that I see action research in action often.  Action research is simply a process of research that allows a group to work together to determine a plan of action for improvement.  You start with an open-ended question and set about finding data that helps you determine some solutions.  Together you work collaboratively to break the data and information collected into the best possible plan for your quandary.  The next thing the group needs to do is to implement the plan.  Reflection should be an important part of the process throughout, but is should ongoing throughout the implantation of the plan.  During the final phase of action research, the group pretty much watches and listens and makes changes as needed.  I think the important thing to consider in regards to action research is that it is a joint effort.  It is crucial that everyone is participating and on board with the process.  You want buy-in.  Without buy-in your odds of the plan being followed through are slim.  I almost want to stop referring to the process as “Action Research” and call the process what it is- “Action Planning.”