Supervisor Meeting - Action Research

First Topic:  The effects of technology on student performance.  My supervisor mentioned to me that he was not only concerned but curious about the effect that handheld devices have had on our students’ attention and performance.  The questions include; How many students have the devices?  How many are using them in the classroom?  And is the use of these devices taking away from time they should be focused on completing classroom assignments?  We decided that a way to study this would be to identify two teachers in the same subject matter, one with a strict management code concerning the use of handheld technical devices and another with an unrestricted policy.  Over one grading period we could then meet with the teachers involved and discuss the pros and cons and evaluate the results. 

Second Topic: Is “cyber bullying” something that is an issue in our school and are any of our students being affected by it?  My supervisor is worried, in light of the recent national stories, which include suicides prompted by the students being bullied through social networking sites.  Questions include: Are any of our students being affected by this?  If so, what can we do to not only find out, but to then deter it from taking place?  Idea:  We thought that a way to possibly find out if this is a problem would be to implement a random survey among students to ascertain if it is an issue in our school and if so, how prolific.  If we do determine that there is a problem we will then need to figure out how to address the issue and prevent it from continuing.  My administrator suggested implementing a program that would allow students to anonymously report who is being bullied, by who, and how.  A program could be put in place that includes the student council.  Once this is known to be an issue and students are being caught, it will be less likely to continue and we can make a difference.  The idea is to work toward a safe and comfortable learning environment. 

Third Topic:  Does a strictly enforced absentee policy affect academic performance?  My supervisor believes absenteeism is problem in our school and that too many students take advantage of our inadequate policy.  Students miss school due to outside extra-curricular activities, untimely vacations, and simply parental consent to stay home.  Idea:  Create a policy stating that regardless of the reason, each student is allowed a certain number of days missed and anything beyond that would constitute consequences in regard to their privileges.  An example would be if a student misses this number of days, they are no longer allowed to participate in certain school activities such as pep rallies or student clubs.

Examples of Action Research

Staff Development:  I wonder how to improve cooperation and understanding and support among staff members.  Idea:  Plan and take part in an overnight retreat involving all staff members.  This would be an important area because cooperation and mutual respect among staff members is essential to accomplishing the school objectives both academically and socially. 

Curriculum Development:  What if students were involved in creating and developing the school curriculum?  The idea is to do this by establishing and academic counsel compromised of both students and faculty.  This would be an important area in that it would allow students to feel involved in creating their schools academic choices.

Individual Teachers:  I think teachers should receive merit and overtime pay as most employees in the private sector.  Idea:  This would be an excellent way of keeping good employees and compete with the private sector for top level college graduates. 

Individual Students:  I wonder how to better provide extra academic assistance to students.  Idea: Develop a program for student tutoring and provide teachers extra compensation for staying after school to help the students in their classes.  This is an incentive for both teachers and students. 

School culture / community: What if the school became a more vibrant and contributing part of the community?  Idea:  Have professional members of the community come in as guest speakers in classes weekly where appropriate.  This would allow the community to support the school and become a part of the educational process.

Leadership:  I wonder how we can establish better leadership qualities among both students and faculty.  Idea: Recognize excelling teachers and students in as many ways possible.  This would motivate both to look for opportunities to put themselves in leadership positions and then be recognized for doing this.

Management:  I wonder if classroom management would be influenced by requiring students to adhere to a behavioral code.  Idea:  Those students that adhere and follow the schools conduct policies may then be included in developing their classes’ classroom management policies and procedures with the assistance of their teachers.  This would prove that good behavior, when rewarded, would encourage student performance.

School Performance:  I wonder if establishing an after school program for strategies of taking standardized tests would improve overall test scores.  Idea:  Have a teacher rotation to oversee an after school program for test taking strategies and grade practice tests.  This would help the school raise its test scores and enhance their chances of improving their ranking academically compared to other schools.

Social Justice for Equity Issues:  I wonder how we could prevent bullying in schools.  Idea: Provide a program that allows students to anonymously report acts of bullying that they are either involved in or witnessed.  This would help to ensure that students feel that when they come to school they are in a safe and comfortable environment.   

Chosen Action Research Project for 5301

With the idea in mind that I would someday like to be an Athletic Director I would like to do my Action Research on something related to whether or not being in athletics and / or extracurricular activities tends to lead to increased performance in the classroom. After discussing this issue with the lead counselor at my school, he led me to believe from his experiences many students tend to see a decrease in their grade point average after quitting a sport and not replacing it with another activity. This is something coaches rarely think about because after a student has stopped playing their sport, they tend to no longer keep up with their classroom performance. Depending on the results of the study, it may be appropriate to assign a counselor or teacher to this group to make sure they do not get lost in the shuffle after an eventful change in their life. Essentially, what are the effects of athletics and extra curricular activities on the academic performance on those students that participate in them?

How Educational Leaders can use Blogs.

A blog can be beneficial to an educator for several reasons but here are two that I feel may benefit them the most.  One, it provides an open forum for sharing ideas and thoughts on ways to engage and reach students.  Two, it offers a platform for educators to express their views and a place to think through their ideas and methods therefore leading to self-improvment and quality of work toward their own careers. 

Action Research: What I have learned.

In being introduced to Action Research I have learned that it is the study of specific material through focused efforts with the goal of improving the quality of an organization and its performance.  It is done using data and analyzing that data to improve one's own group, team, or business.  It can be done alone or with others, which is know as a collaborative inquiry. 

This type of research is of great benefit to those in edcuation because it provides new opportunities for appraising their abilities and styles of teaching .  In addition it allows educators to explore and test new ideas and then to asses how effective those ideas were.  This leads to new and imporved approaches within the world of edcuation at all levels. 

The steps included in an action reasearch project may include, setting the foundation; analyzing data; developing deeper understanding; engaging in self reflection; exploring pogrammatic patterns; determing direction; taking action for school improvement; and sustaining that improvement. 

I have not exactly decided as of yet on my project but plan on using action research toward understanding the relationship between the student athlete and how being an athlete motivates them toward being a better student and getting better grades.