Lindsey Serrette's Action Research Blog
Monday, April 1, 2013
EDLD 5326 Action Research Update
The first step in my action research project was to gather PEIMS data on low socio-economic/economically disadvantaged males and females. I met with the PEIMS coordinator and parent liaison and we went through the students who fit these criteria and picked out students who have failed at least one of the state tests. There were plenty of students to choose from. We picked the students who showed the most need. The current program has one hundred males about twenty females that fit into this category. We currently have about seventy-five mentors who come weekly. Some of them mentor and tutor more than one student. I am in the process of going to community meetings to advertise and recruit more mentors. When new mentors join the program, I meet with them and try and match them with a student. We also have a training session for the mentors. We use the data analysis program ANOVA to see which objectives the students did not master. We go over these with their mentors and review strategies to help these students become successful. After each mentoring session, I ask the mentors to reflect on the session in their student’s folder. We use this to track the progress. I am currently looking for grants to apply for to support the program. Our current funding is ending this year and we need a plan to sustain and grow the program to include more female students. This month, I plan on making a survey for students, teachers, mentors, and parents to get feedback on the program. I plan on using an online survey. In the early part of the month I will create the survey. After making sure it is complete, I will send it to all stakeholders. Next month, I plan to analyze the results of the survey.
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Insights
EDLD 5301 Research has given me
some of the essential tools required to be an administrator. Before I began this class, I thought I
knew everything about research. In
college I majored in Psychology and had to complete various research
projects. After graduation, I
began working as a research assistant in a traditional lab setting. This was tedious work that I did not
enjoy. When I became an educator,
I thought I was through with research.
In the first few weeks of the class I began to realize that this
research was different than any I had done before. During week one of the course the reading was about how
action research was different than traditional research. University researchers who are outside
of the classroom usually conduct traditional research. Practitioner inquiry focuses on the
concerns of the practitioner and engages them in the design, data collection,
and interpretation of data. (Dana,
2009, page 5)
I really liked how this class had
so many avenues to gather information.
One of my favorite ways to post and receive information was through my
blog. This was the first time I
have ever used a blog. I have
heard people talking about them, but I had never read one and had definitely
never made one. I enjoyed making
my blog. Week one was rough
because this technology was new to me.
However, now that we are completing week five, I feel that a blogs are
very user-friendly. I liked
posting my assignments to my blog and getting feedback from my classmates
almost immediately. Since this class,
I have been using blogs for cooking and decorating ideas! The discussion board was very helpful
too. I liked reading everyone’s
posts. I learned so much from
other people on the board. I would
find problems and suggestions on their posts that I had not even considered in
my own research. I found the
discussion topics very helpful.
They were always relevant to the week’s assignment. The thing that has been most helpful to
me through this class was the Facebook page that was created for students on
the same track. I have never taken
an online class until I started this program. I was nervous about not having classmates to ask questions
or to collaborate with. I thought
that I was going to be alone in this process, but I was wrong. I can go to this page any time of the
day or night with questions and get a response almost immediately from a
classmate.
I enjoyed the assignments that
required me to meet with my site supervisor. I think these meetings taught me the most. My principal recently got her
administrative degree so she knows the process and what I am going
through. Her advice throughout
this course helped me significantly with my project. She gave me suggestions and feedback that I do not think I
would have come up with myself without her experience. I also was able to appreciate
everything she does and know that she does certain things for a reason. I began to appreciate her patience she
has with her staff and students with everything else she has on her plate. I am glad I will have someone to talk
things through for the remainder of my action research project and the
remainder of the program.
The text for this course fit the
class and was aligned well with the course curriculum. The assigned readings were always
useful when completing the weekly assignments. I know have a deeper understanding of action research and
see the importance of lifelong learning.
I found the week 5 assigned reading to be very helpful for the remainder
of my action research project.
Even though I am a beginner researcher, I want my research to be high
quality. I now know what to look
for and what to ask myself to make sure that my research is the best it can
be. I know I will be referring
back to this text not only to critique my current research project, but also to
refresh my memory when trying to begin the next.
At the completion of this course,
I feel very prepared to finish out my action research project. The tools I learned in this class will
make me a better teacher and a better administrator. These are tools that I can and will use for the remainder of
my career. I will use the
knowledge I gained in this class to continually improve my research skills and
to make the best environment for my students.
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Revised Action Research Plan
Action Planning Template
|
||||
Goal: Improve TAKS scores for low socio-economic/economically
disadvantaged male students through a mentoring program.
|
||||
Action Steps(s):
|
Person(s) Responsible:
|
Timeline: Start/End
|
Needed Resources
|
Evaluation
|
Get PEIMS
data to find low socio-economic/economically disadvantaged males
|
Lindsey Serrette,
Jennifer Alcocer
|
1/7/13 -
1/11/13
|
List of
students who fit this category.
|
Site
supervisor approval
|
Review
TAKS scores of this population to find students who failed at least one exit
level TAKS tests.
|
Lindsey
Serrette
|
January
2013
|
TAKS
scores
|
Site
supervisor approval
|
Go to
community meetings to recruit mentors for the program.
|
Lindsey
Serrette
|
January
2013
|
Mentors
|
Mentor
commitment
|
Go to
classrooms to promote the program to the target students
|
Lindsey
Serrette
|
January
2013
|
Teachers,
students
|
Student
commitment
|
Track
results as students meet with mentors
|
Lindsey
Serrette, Vivian Hernandrez, Mentors
|
January
2013 – May 2013
|
Mentors,
Students
|
Data from
mentors and teachers
|
Survey
students, teachers, and mentors to get feedback on the mentoring program.
|
Lindsey
Serrette
|
February
2013 – May 2013
|
Online
Survey (Survey Monkey), Teacher participation, Student participation, Mentor
Participation
|
Let all
parties know that their concerns and ideas are being taken into
consideration.
|
Go over survey
results with Vivian Hernandez and decide if changes need to be made.
|
Lindsey
Serrette, Vivian Hernandez
|
February
2013 – May 2013
|
Survey
Results
|
Survey
Results
|
Analyze
and compare TAKS the student’s TAKS scores before joining the mentoring
program to their scores after participation in the program.
|
Lindsey
Serrette, Vivian Hernandez
|
June 2013
|
ANOVA
|
Comparing
actual data/data results
|
Use the
results to obtain more funding for the program and increase student and
community participation
|
Lindsey
Serrette, Vivian Hernandez, Administration
|
June 2013
– August 2013
|
Data
|
Any change
made that will grow the program
|
Format based
on Tool 7.1 from Examining What We Do to
Improve Our Schools
(Harris,
Edmonson, and Combs, 2010)
CARE Model
Tool 8.1 CARE
Model: Planning Tool
Identify Concerns
that must change (look to the future)
(Assign points to
concerns from 1 to 3 in the order of the most important issues to consider.)
1. School rated as low performing by the
state.
2. African American males are the lowest
performing group on campus for math and science.
3. High drop out rate of low performing
students.
Identify
Affirmations that must be sustained (look to the present)
(Assign points to
affirmations from 1 to 3 in the order of the most important issues to
consider.)
1. There is a mentoring program available
to students who failed at least one exit level TAKS exam.
2. Availability of grant funds to maintain
the mentoring program.
3. Support and commitment of all
stakeholders.
SMART
Recommendations that must be implemented:
(Specific,
Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Timely)
(Assign points to
recommendations from 1 to 3 in the order of the most important recommendations
to implement.)
1. Implement a mentoring program for young
men who are economically disadvantaged who have failed at least one exit level
TAKS exam.
2. Identify students who meet this
criteria and get them to commit to being an active part of the program and find
mentors in the community who are willing to commit to once a week mentoring
sessions for one semester.
3. Give routine assessments to students to
monitor progress and growth.
EVALUATE –
Specifically and Often
(Identify the best
ways to evaluate the implemented recommendations.)
1. Surveys, mentor observations.
2. TAKS assessments, teacher observations,
mentor observations, group discussions.
3. TAKS assessments, teacher observations,
mentor observations, group discussions.
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Action Research Plan
Action
Planning Template
|
||||
Goal: Improve TAKS scores for low
socio-economic/economically disadvantaged male students through a mentoring
program.
|
||||
Action Steps(s):
|
Person(s) Responsible:
|
Timeline: Start/End
|
Needed Resources
|
Evaluation
|
Get
PEIMS data to find low socio-economic/economically disadvantaged males
|
Lindsey
Serrette, Jennifer Alcocer
|
1/7/13
- 1/11/13
|
List
of students who fit this category.
|
Site
supervisor approval
|
Review
TAKS scores of this population to find students who failed at least one exit
level TAKS tests.
|
Lindsey
Serrette
|
January
2013
|
TAKS
scores
|
Site
supervisor approval
|
Go
to community meetings to recruit mentors for the program.
|
Lindsey
Serrette
|
January
2013
|
Mentors
|
Mentor
commitment
|
Go
to classrooms to promote the program to the target students
|
Lindsey
Serrette
|
January
2013
|
Teachers,
students
|
Student
committment
|
Track
results as students meet with mentors
|
Lindsey
Serrette, Vivian Hernandrez, Mentors
|
January
2013 – May 2013
|
Mentors,
Students
|
Data
from mentors and teachers
|
Analyze
and compare TAKS the student’s TAKS scores before joining the mentoring
program to their scores after participation in the program.
|
Lindsey
Serrette, Vivian Hernandez
|
June
2013
|
ANOVA
|
Comparing
actual data/data results
|
Use
the results to obtain more funding for the program and increase student and
community participation
|
Lindsey
Serrette, Vivian Hernandez, Administration
|
June
2013 – August 2013
|
Data
|
Any
change made that will grow the program
|
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Week 2 Reflection
This week I continued my study of action research. After watching the videos of the scholars, I learned that I should never stop learning
and using data. When selecting an
area to study, I need to make sure that I am reaching a majority of students. I
need to be able to produce results that will help increase student
performance. My project needs to
be something that is practical to me and something that I can apply directly to
student learning. The purpose of
my research must by something that I can apply and something I am interested
in. The decisions I make as a teacher or administrator must be made based on data.
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