Revised action research plan 8/11/2013

I have made a few revisions to my research plan with based on suggestions from my colleagues and site supervisor.

Action Planning Template
Goal: Use data to determine the effectiveness of EOC remediation as tool to increase academic performance. Performance outcomes ·      Survey staff and find their feelings on the EOC remediation program ·      Determine the effectiveness of our remediation methods as they relate to test scores ·      Use data and research to modify/revise EOC remediation if needed
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
1. Acquire a roster of students for EOC remediation	Clayton Floyd, John Westbrook, Shane Webb, Regina Pruitt	August 26th/September 13th	EOC remediation rosters	Build a master spreadsheet from the rosters for data collection during the research
2. Conduct research on tutorial methods used in the USA	Clayton Floyd	September 13th/June 6th	Google Academic Journals Literary resources	Research will be used to gather ideas on what methods other districts have used to have an effective tutorial program
3. Survey staff to get their professional opinion of the EOC remediation process	Clayton Floyd Site Supervisor Professional High School Staff	October 4th/December 19th	Survey Monkey School Email	Staff opinion of tutorials will be gathered from the survey
4. Monitor students benchmark performance, and their performance on EOC tests	Clayton Floyd	August 26th-June 6th	Benchmark scores EOC performance data	Information regarding student performance will be tracked and recorded onto the master spreadsheet.
5. Use data collected to analyze the effectiveness of Remediaton on improving student performance on EOC tests	Clayton Floyd	December 15th-June 6th	Benchmark Scores EOC performance data	Data collected will be analyzed to determine the effectiveness of tutorials/remediation on improving student performance and EOC test scores
6. Make revisions/recommendations to tutorials plan if data shows that it needs revision	Clayton Floyd High School Administration	May 31st – July 4th	Literary research Data collected during research	Remediation revision plan will be presented to the high school principals. Recommendations will be based upon data collected during the research project.

Here is my original action research plan. I feel that this plan suites my interests, and it will also allow me to collect data that are campus can use to improve. Please give any recommendations to the plan is you see something wrong, or missing.

Action Planning Template
Goal: Use data to determine the effectiveness of tutorials/remediation as tool to increase academic performance.
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
1. Acquire a roster of students who are in MESS tutorials, and a roster for students in EOC remediation courses. These students will be a combination of Freshmen, Sophomores, Juniors, and seniors.	Clayton Floyd, John Westbrook, Shane Webb, Regina Pruitt	August 26th/September 13th	I will need to acquire the master roster of students that are required to attend MESS tutorials, and I will also need class rosters of any EOC remediation courses.	Once I acquire rosters for the remediation courses and tutorials, I will make a master list of these students on an excel spreadsheet, and use this spreadsheet to track student performance throughout the year.
2. Track student performance at the end of each 6 weeks grading period, and on EOC tests as the scores become available throughout the year.	Clayton Floyd	September 13th/June 6th	Performance data from EOC tests, and 6 weeks grades from classes in which the student must attend MESS tutorials.	Student data will be collected throughout the year. Data from EOC exams and 6 weeks grades will be reported on to the master spreadsheet as the year progresses.
3. Use data collected during research assignment to analyze the effectiveness of MESS tutorials/Remediation on increasing student performance on EOC tests, and regular classroom performance.	Clayton Floyd	October 4th/June 5th	Performance data from EOC tests, and 6 week grades from classes in which the student must attend MESS tutorials.	The data will be used to determine if MESS tutorials/Remediation are effective in increasing student performance on EOC tests and regular classroom performance.

Action Research Potential

Welcome to my blog. I can already see how this can be an excellent tool for reflection and gathering information from my peers. This is my first experience with the idea of action research and I am definitely sold on it's potential as a tool to become a become a better educator. One of the characteristic's of action research that I believe is most important, is the fact that the research is done hands on by the people on the ground. Every school district throughout the state of Texas is different. Different student demographics, income levels, social problems, parent involvement, etc. will lead to circumstances that are often specific to that particular school district, or even school campus. Professional development stereotypically consists of someone coming in from the outside to a group of teachers and going over a presentation that contains the latest and greatest methods that research has shown to be effective in the classroom. The teachers go through this class for 4-8 hours, take notes, get hand-outs, form an opinion, and then the professional development is over. No one ever knows if those teachers are using the strategies that were presented in class. The instructor of the course is never seen on campus, until maybe the next summer when professional development starts up again. The knowledge gained from a course like this can be beneficial, but often times it is not effective, or the teacher has not been taught how to properly apply it in the classroom. I have learned many great strategies during this type of professional development, but I have learned more from collaboration with fellow teachers. We never really looked at this as "action research", but that is essentially what we were doing without knowing it. Coming together during PLC's to ask questions, reveal issues, give suggestions, and interpret data gave our department a chance to learn from each other and work towards a common goal. The main area we lacked from an "action research" approach was reflection. By reading the text, I now have discovered how reflection is such an important part of learning. Action research leads to a plan of action that is specific to that particular campus or district. It is an individualized plan of action, and I can definitely see where action research can have a major benefit for individuals and the school as a whole. I believe that the knowledge gained during this course will allow me to contribute to my current school district, and whatever district I end up with as an administrator.

As far as blog usage goes, I must say that the best benefit would be to gather information. Social media has allowed us to connect with individuals all over the world, and with that we can connect with educators all over the world. A principal could post a blog about a problem that was going on at school, and someone could respond with a solution that the principal had not yet thought of. There are often other school districts that are having to deal with the same problems that you are, and there is no reason to reinvent the wheel if some else has already figured it out.