ACTION RESEARCH PLAN

GOAL:  To determine whether or not the DAEP at the Mesquite Learning Center is academically effective for long-term elementary students.

OUTCOMES	ACTIVITIES	RESOURCES/ RESEARCH TOOLS NEEDED	RESPONSIBILITY TO ADDRESS ACTIVITIES	TIME LINE	Benchmarks/ ASSESSMENT	Revisions to SIP/ PIP based on monitoring and assessments
-Determine whether or not the DAEP is effective for long-term elementary students.	-Examine data of long-term elementary students. Data will be both previous and on-going assessments and grades.	-Previous assessments/test scores and grades of students entering into the DAEP	-Natalie Stewart (me)	-Beginning August 27, 2012		- Begin to formulate a more definite solution if there is a problem.
-Show that elementary students at the DAEP do not loose academic ground.	-Collect assessments (benchmarks, milestones, etc.) of students while at the L.C.	-Pre-test and post-test	-Keith Adams (building principal and site supervisor)	-Ending June 6, 2013		-Determine pros and cons of plausible solutions with site supervisor.
	-Continually monitor the academic progress of students.	-Computer spread sheet such as Excell	-Donna McAda (Administrative Officer)	-The steps in between start and end will be determined as students enter and leave the Learning Center.		-Identify pit-falls before implementing solution.
	-Share findings with other faculty and staff (particularly elementary teachers),	-I will need last years STAAR test results as well as the pre-tests and post-tests we will be giving the students as they enter and leave the L.C.	-Debbie Shewmake (Administrative Officer)
	-Schedule collaborative meetings with site supervisor.
	Engage in self-reflection and ask reflective questions.

Action Research Factors and Tips

   As an administrator, when someone comes to you with a problem there are two key questions you need to ask:

(1)   What is the problem?

(2)   What is the source of the problem?

You should then proceed with looking at the facts, collecting data, and looking at the qualitative perspective of things.  Never shy away from a problem. Read up on the issue and do your best to find out how others have been successful in solving it. Why re-invent the wheel if you do not have to? It is important to use your resources to help answer your questions. Find out what others in the same or a similar situation have done to help solve the problem and make comparisons with your findings. It is also vital that educators communicate with one another and collaborate to solve the problem and to better the school. Another important aspect of action research is that the research needs to be practical ( not just theoretical) for your situation and environment so that you will be interested, focused on the outcome, and so that your students will benefit from it. is working for your students and that it is relevant and helps them connect to the material. Lastly, it is important in action research to be able to extract, analyze, and apply data to find out if what you are doing is effective or not and what areas you are strong in and what areas need to be assessed further and revised.

What is Action Research and Why Use It

Administrative inquiry, or action research, is the process of the 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 reflect on their practice by posing questions or “wonderings,” 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. Administrative inquiry is a powerful vehicle for learning and school improvement. Administrators can use it to gain deeper insights into their practice as administrators and their leadership role in the school improvement efforts.It also provides principals professional development in which they participate as members of ongoing study groups analyzing instructional issues for their schools. Action research allows the administrator to take an active role and become the “head learner” in their school.

Action research usually refers to research intended to bring about change of some kind. In action research the administrator is an insider in the process and is actively engaged in the learning and the knowledge gained from the inquiry. Action research is cyclical and is a never ending process or creating and re-creating for the purpose of constantly improving the school. It is focused on providing insight into an administrator’s own practice in an effort to make change and improve the school. Action research is an introspective process where the administrator takes an active role asking himself/herself what ways can I help facilitate the professional growth of the teachers in my building. In action research administrators are problem solvers.

I plan on using action research this upcoming school year to find out where DAEP students that come to the Mesquite Learning Center stand academically.  In order to find this out, I will need to gather appropriate. This data would show that students are either gaining, staying the same, or loosing academic ground. If they are staying the same or gaining academically then GREAT!!! However, if we are loosing academic ground then that is a major problem. After analyzing the data, if this is the case, then we would need to examine the instructional program and find out what is missing.

How Educational Leaders Can Use Blogs

Blogs might be beneficial to educational leaders because it is a resource to share experiences, actions, and reflections. Through a blog, others will be able to reflect on the educational leader's actions and experiences. Educational leaders can also reflect on the actions and experiences of others by reading and engaging in the blogs of other educators. Blogging creates a discussion board for people to come together and discuss and share their thoughts and feelings about what is happening in our schools and what needs to happen. Educational leaders can use a blog as a tool to gain feedback from teachers, students, and parents. Using blogs also shows that the educational leader is a technology leader and models that he/she is keeping up with the technology as he/she expects teachers and students to do. This will encourage teachers to do the same in order to keep up with the advancing technology and new learning styles of today's students.