In the Education Administration course, Research, I have learned how to use research skills as well as personal knowledge and experience to research a topic of interest and plan out its successful implementation. When I began the course, I was intimidated by the title. Research is typically not a topic of interest for most people, including myself. However, by choosing a topic that was of interest to me and of need on my current campus, I was able to use the skills I learned to create a plan that I am beginning to implement on my campus this fall. I am very excited that my school work will be translating to benefit the students that I teach as well as my colleagues and other stakeholders. I also learned how to better facilitate discussions and decision making at meetings by using methods such as the Delphi method, which will be a great help to me in leading the committees that I am a part of in this upcoming school year (Harrison, Edmonson & Combs, 2010). I also learned the different ways that action research can be used. It works best when it is combined with personal experience and background knowledge (Dana, 2009). Action research can be used to help understand the usage of professional development, the builing of culture on an individual campus, as well as to benefit individual teachers (Dana, 2009). Action research planning is not as daunting as it sounds, and I am glad that I know have this skill to add to my experience and prepare me to be a school administrator in the future. What I am most happy that I accomplished through this course, was the development and soon-to-be implementation of the first ever transition camp for incoming 9th graders at North Crowley Ninth grade. Hopefully my work and the creation of a committee and transitional programs will lead to an increase in successful students entering high school.
Dana, N. (2009). Leading with Passion and Knowledge. California: Cowin.
Harris, S., Edmonson, S., & Combs, J. (2010). Examining What We Do to Improve Our Schools. New York: Eye on Education.
Monday, August 9, 2010
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Agreed Upon Action Research Plan
Goal: The goal of transition camp is to introduce incoming 9th grade students and their parents to the expectations of high school in order to increase success among all students.
Action/ Steps
1. Create a campus transition team
2. Hold a transition camp for students.
3. Hold an information night for parents and students.
Person(s) Responsible
1. K. Tuomey
2. K. Tuomey
L. Newton
Transition Team
3. K. Tuomey
L. Newton
Transition Team
Timeline
1. July 2010-August 2010
2. August 2010-May 2010
3. August 2010-May 2010
Needed Resources
1. I will email the entire staff and faculty on my campus and speak at our back-to-school professional development sessions in order to peak interest and gain volunteers.
2.
-Presenters (counselor, teachers, former 9th grade students, administrators)
-Presentation materials (optional packets, PowerPoint presentations, videos, etc.)
-Volunteers to serve as school tour guides
-A layout of the tour route.
-Donated give away prizes (school supplies, school spirit gear, etc.)
-A scavenger hunt for students to learn the school
Several transition team meetings will take place prior to our first event in order to establish any further needs.
3.
-Presentation boards/powerpoint presentation/videos by each department and extra-curricular activity that would like to participate
-Volunteers to speak (members of the faculty and staff)
-Former student volunteers to provide a fashion show of expectations for Crowley ISD’s stardardized dress code
-Handouts of information
-Microphone and speaker
Evaluation
1. We will evaluate our team’s progress at the completion of the school year.
2. We will evaluate the smoothness of how the event worked and how effective it was in informing the students.
3. We will evaluate our success based on feedback, comments and concerns from all stakeholders, and at the end of the year their success rates (by how many credits were earned).
Assessment
1.We will evaluate ourselves based on the goals that we decide upon together at the beginning of the year. We will use a plus/delta method.
2.
-Feedback from students, transition team members, and other faculty and staff
-Plus/Delta transition team meeting
-Feedback from the counselor after class scheduling. This will tell us if the students are more informed about credits and expectations than in years prior.
3.We will take feedback from parents and students at the event, and will send out a questionnaire by email following the event.
Plus/Delta among transition team members.
At the end of the year we will compare credits earned by ninth grade students in comparison to the last two years.
Action/ Steps
1. Create a campus transition team
2. Hold a transition camp for students.
3. Hold an information night for parents and students.
Person(s) Responsible
1. K. Tuomey
2. K. Tuomey
L. Newton
Transition Team
3. K. Tuomey
L. Newton
Transition Team
Timeline
1. July 2010-August 2010
2. August 2010-May 2010
3. August 2010-May 2010
Needed Resources
1. I will email the entire staff and faculty on my campus and speak at our back-to-school professional development sessions in order to peak interest and gain volunteers.
2.
-Presenters (counselor, teachers, former 9th grade students, administrators)
-Presentation materials (optional packets, PowerPoint presentations, videos, etc.)
-Volunteers to serve as school tour guides
-A layout of the tour route.
-Donated give away prizes (school supplies, school spirit gear, etc.)
-A scavenger hunt for students to learn the school
Several transition team meetings will take place prior to our first event in order to establish any further needs.
3.
-Presentation boards/powerpoint presentation/videos by each department and extra-curricular activity that would like to participate
-Volunteers to speak (members of the faculty and staff)
-Former student volunteers to provide a fashion show of expectations for Crowley ISD’s stardardized dress code
-Handouts of information
-Microphone and speaker
Evaluation
1. We will evaluate our team’s progress at the completion of the school year.
2. We will evaluate the smoothness of how the event worked and how effective it was in informing the students.
3. We will evaluate our success based on feedback, comments and concerns from all stakeholders, and at the end of the year their success rates (by how many credits were earned).
Assessment
1.We will evaluate ourselves based on the goals that we decide upon together at the beginning of the year. We will use a plus/delta method.
2.
-Feedback from students, transition team members, and other faculty and staff
-Plus/Delta transition team meeting
-Feedback from the counselor after class scheduling. This will tell us if the students are more informed about credits and expectations than in years prior.
3.We will take feedback from parents and students at the event, and will send out a questionnaire by email following the event.
Plus/Delta among transition team members.
At the end of the year we will compare credits earned by ninth grade students in comparison to the last two years.
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