Action Research SIP/PIP

OUTCOMES	ACTIVITIES	RESOURCES/ RESEARCH TOOLS NEEDED	RESPONSIBILITY TO ADDRESS ACTIVITIES	TIME LINE	Benchmarks/ ASSESSMENT	Revisions to SIP/PIP based on monitoring and assessments
Obtain information on ED students on campus	Start notebook (e file and hardcopy if possible)	PIEMS information	Laura Dacus PIEMS Secretary	Aug 15-19, 2011
Assist ED students in reviewing laptop care and agreement documentation	Create packets of info for parents/guardians	Arp ISD website or documents from tech department	Laura Dacus Student tech assistants Tech dept	Aug 22-Sept 2011
Review TAKS scores for ED students	Retrieve TAKS information from counselor or principal	TAKS results via state	L. Dacus Counselor Principal	Aug 22-Sept 2011
Chart when students receive netbooks
Discuss Action Research Plan with fellow teachers on campus

EDLD 5301 Week 2-- Assignment Reflection

Well week 2 is down. I thought the assignments went pretty well. I had quite a few personal things happen over the course of the week that complicated things, but I really appreciate the IA's and professors understanding. Ive spent most of the past week waiting in hospital rooms, waiting for doctors to come by, and helping my daughters family as they dealt without having mom at home. She gave birth to her second child on Wed. July 13, and ended up back in the hospital with dangeriously high blood pressure on Sunday the 17th. It took 6 days to get her blood pressure regulated so that she could go home. Then on Friday, July 22nd, I had hand surgery for carpal tunnel and shoulder surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff. It has been a stressful and painful week!

However, as I sat in the hospital, I almost found refuge in my assignment readings and videos. I allowed my mind to wander on the topics, truly pondering my action research plan and the areas that offer opportunities (or are ripe) for improving my leadership skills, impacting my students and my campus in a positive light. I really like the opportunity to reflect. In many ways it allows me to bring closure to certain activities. It also lets me take stock in what I have done and what I need to work on. I think I'm going to use the practice of reflection in my classes more this year.

EDLD 5301 Week 1--Educational Uses of Blogs

I have really enjoyed using blogs in my classroom although I initially was hesitant. We have found blogging to be a great way to complete our daily journal, discuss topics from our lessons, create value added responses to our peers' posts, get information out to parents and guardians, attach notes or key lesson concepts for future reference, post videos of step by step instructions for specific activities, post commonly used websites for students to access, and really the list goes on and on.

EDLD 5301--Action Research in Educational Settings

We often say in education that we are lifelong learners. While that may mean that we learn new things and gain more knowledge and skills about our subjects or new technologies and strategies used in the classroom, I believe this also refers to examining what we do as educators and what results we receive. I once heard a statement that I thought to be so very true for teachers; if you keep doing what you are doing, you will keep getting the same results. This week’s readings and focus have been on conducting action research in an educational setting. In order to help students be successful, we need to reflect on our practices. Action research takes an initial situation or dilemma and seeks to find workable solutions. Once a situation is realized, i.e., “Why can’t my students turn math word problems into computations”, then strategies or actions are considered and implemented. Afterwards, we review the results. Did the action produce any new results? I can think of a couple of instances in my classroom where I say students struggling to read and basically pretending to read their books. They depended on class discussions to give them insight as to what was really going on in the book. I identified the problem, searched for possible strategies for solutions and put those strategies into action later evaluating the results. For one particular student, we realized that audio books produced amazing results. The student developed a love for reading and began to work diligently at gaining the skills he needed. I think I didn’t even realize it then, but it seems to me that I was conduction action research. Often I am guilty of wanting to do the same thing, teach the same way, and present the information the same with each student or class. However, when I take time to reflect on my lessons or on problems students are having, I realize that they lack the skills to empower themselves. It’s my responsibility to help them find what works. If you keep doing what you are doing, you will keep getting the same results.