Action Research Update

In the past few months I have been researching whether the implementation of a science lab on our elementary school campus will increase student achievement on the Science STAAR. I chose this research project to increase the vertical alignment from Kindergarten through sixth grade. The first thing I did this year was to develop a science cadre consisting of a member from each grade level, and special population. This cadre has worked to develop strategies to align content and vocabulary. This includes: interactive notebooks beginning with kindergarten, a word of the week initiative, and  common assessments. At each cadre meeting, teachers share updates, success in their classrooms and concerns they have.  As a science cadre, we have planned our family science evening to be held in October, and second in February. These evenings will involve our school science club supporting students through the process of the Science Fair, and exploring science concepts through hands-on investigations. Future science cadre meetings will be held on campus to align power strategies, curriculum and the needs of each grade level on our campus. Since the performance measure of my action research project will rely mostly on Science STAAR data, I keep in close contact with my fifth grade teachers. I meet weekly to check how students are progressing, what interventions they may need, or any assistance I can provide them. I provide after school intervention in my science lab to close any possible gaps that may occur. I am also currently working with a small ELL population of students who are at a high risk for not meeting the STAAR minimum expectation. I will continue my collection of data from student surveys and of course the spring administration of the Science STAAR.

Week 4: Revised Action Plan

After meeting with my site supervisor, and receiving comments on my week 3 post, I found a couple places to revise my action plan. First, I will be adding data from the 2011-2012 science STAAR to compare the 2012-2013, and hopefully the 2013-2014 result with. There is a possibility that the results from 2013-2014 may not arrive in time for me to disseminate and add to my action research finding, so I want to have enough data to compare. Through collaboration and visiting with colleagues on my campus, I decided to have 3 scheduled science community nights instead of 1. I am hoping for a great turnout and to get as many community members as possible involved with my plan. By inviting parents and community members throughout the school year, I hope to find people who have great things to offer our students in the field of science. I would love to have classroom volunteers, guest speakers, and help with my new science club on campus. I am anxious to see what my results will be. Please let me know what you think by commenting below:


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Science Achievement
Goal:  Effectively implement a new science lab on campus to increase student achievement on the science STAAR.
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Disaggregate and analyze STAAR data from 2011-2012, 2012-2013 school years	Vicki Dibler, Leigh Anderson, Maria Lucero	May 2013	2011-2012, 2012-2013 Science STAAR data	Disseminated STAAR data by science objective and student expectation
Provide professional development training with teachers to explain standard operating procedures of the new science lab	Vicki Dibler, Ellen Baumler	August 2013	All teachers, Vicki Dibler	Survey giving feedback on professional development training
Create a science focus group of teachers to communicate science needs	Christina Razura, Connie Campos, Chris Rodriguez, Anita Romero, Lisa Hernandez, Cathy Collins, Leigh Anderson, Maria Lucero	August 2013- Ongoing	Quarterly meeting time, meeting location	Meeting notes, agenda
Create a weblog to communicate science information with the school community	Vicki Dibler	August 2013- Ongoing	Available computer to participate in blog	Blog postings, feedback from school community members
Conduct a Community Science Nights at R.E.L. Washington Elementary	Entire campus, parents and students	September 2013, November 2013, March 2014	Science Club members, Science data to provide meaningful activities, gymnasium, cafeteria, community members, science supplies, volunteers	Sign-in Sheet to document attendance, surveys from parents to provide feedback
Collect student surveys	Vicki Dibler	May 2013	Students of each grade level attending science lab weekly	Survey results from students
Disaggregate and analyze STAAR data from 2013-2014 school year	Vicki Dibler, Leigh Anderson, Maria Lucero	May 2014	2013-2014Science STAAR data	Disseminated STAAR data by science objective and student expectation
Compare results from 2011-2012, 2012-13 and  2013-14 STAAR data	Vicki Dibler, Leigh Anderson, Maria Lucero	May 2014	2011-2012, 2012-13, 2013-2014 Science STAAR data	Report on implications of data from 2-3 schools years

 

 

Format based on Tool 7.1 from Examining What We Do to Improve Our Schools

(Harris, Edmonson, and Combs, 2010)

Week 3: Action Research Draft

My action research question or inquiry will be: 

 

Will the implementation of a new science lab increase the achievement of students on the science STAAR?

 

Here is the draft of my Action Plan:

 

Action Planning Template
Goal:  Effectively implement a new science lab on campus to increase student achievement on the science STAAR.
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Disaggregate and analyze STAAR data from 2012-2013 school year	Vicki Dibler, Leigh Anderson, Maria Lucero	May 2013	2012-2013 Science STAAR data	Disseminated STAAR data by science objective and student expectation
Provide professional development training with teachers to explain standard operating procedures of the new science lab	Vicki Dibler, Ellen Baumler	August 2013	All teachers, Vicki Dibler	Survey giving feedback on professional development training
Create a science focus group of teachers to communicate science needs	Christina Razura, Connie Campos, Chris Rodriguez, Anita Romero, Lisa Hernandez, Cathy Collins, Leigh Anderson, Maria Lucero	August 2013- Ongoing	Quarterly meeting time, meeting location	Meeting notes, agenda
Create a weblog to communicate science information with the school community	Vicki Dibler	August 2013- Ongoing	Available computer to participate in blog	Blog postings, feedback from school community members
Conduct a Community Science Night at R.E.L. Washington Elementary	Entire campus, parents and students	March 2014	Science Club members, Science data to provide meaningful activities, gymnasium, cafeteria, community members, science supplies, volunteers	Sign-in Sheet to document attendance, surveys from parents to provide feedback
Collect student surveys	Vicki Dibler	May 2013	Students of each grade level attending science lab weekly	Survey results from students
Disaggregate and analyze STAAR data from 2013-2014 school year	Vicki Dibler, Leigh Anderson, Maria Lucero	May 2014	2013-2014Science STAAR data	Disseminated STAAR data by science objective and student expectation
Compare 2012-13 STAAR data to 2013-14 STAAR data	Vicki Dibler, Leigh Anderson, Maria Lucero	May 2014	2012-13, 2013-2014 Science STAAR data	Report on implications of data from 2 schools years

 

 

 

Format based on Tool 7.1 from Examining What We Do to Improve Our Schools

(Harris, Edmonson, and Combs, 2010)

 

 

There are many new components of action research that I learned about this week. Reading about the variety of wonderings made by educational leaders, according to Dana (2009), gave me a new perspective to the direction I felt would be best for my interests as an educator. As I gathered topics of interest for my action research plan, I focused mainly in the area of curriculum. I began researching other works in published journals that might guide me to my final action research plan. I learned that there were many people who have already done some research in the area of science lab implementation, but did not directly link their results to student achievement on standardized test in Texas. This will be the direction I take in my action research plan. While finalizing my decision for action research, I also kept in mind the comments made by educational leaders in video segments I viewed this week. I recall the importance to research an idea or wondering you have interest in. My experiences with the subject area of science helped me make my final decision easier.  Teaching science is my passion, and I am anxious to investigate if implementing a science lab on our campus will increase student achievement on the science standardized assessment.

Action research is a valuable tool I will use in many ways as an educator. It will be a process I can use to change and reflect in my practice of educating my students and fellow colleagues. Through the use of action research, I will be able to use my wonderings on various issues to drive my instruction and develop clear understandings with others. Action research is a perfect plan to enrich any professional development encounters. With its systemic model, action research will give me a road map to follow through the process. I will be able to take a purposeful question, develop strategies to resolve the problem, and test these strategies for their effectiveness. Since action research helps educators draw conclusions based on data, and continue onto a new areas of improvement, I can see its use through our campus educational improvement committee.  Using this process of inquiry, I can see myself constantly reflecting on my experiences, as well as collaborating with my colleagues. Action research will give me an ample amount of time to gather information, test the various strategies I choose to explore, and reflect on my findings. Through the use of action research, I feel that I will be able to make a true commitment to continuous school improvement and feel successful in my endeavors.

Educational leaders can use blogs in many ways. I plan to create a blog for my Science Club to communicate with our school community the great investigations that are taking place among our students as well as providing information on meetings and activities taking place. I can also see blogging as a means of receiving feedback from parents and students on things they are enjoying and any improvements that could be made to our club. Blogs as Dana states, "uncover the thinking that occurs in the school and within a blogger's own mind (2009)." With this said, I can see blogs used effectively in an educational setting when educators share best-practices that take place on their campus. This will give others an opportunity to use an educator's success in their setting.