Week 5 Reflection

If I am going to be honest, Research was not a class that I was looking forward to taking. I was not sure how a class on research was relevant to my position or a Masters of Educational Technology Leadership. Now that I have completed the course, I can see not only the relevance of it but also the need of all educators, whether classroom teachers or district administrators, to understand and engage in action inquiry.

In regards to picking a topic for my action inquiry, that was probably the simplest of all tasks during this course. As the Technology Director, I have often wondered whether our implementation procedures truly assist the teachers in successful technology integration. This summer, my district purchased an additional 40 interactive whiteboards for all four campuses and various subject areas. In the past, I have scoured the Internet for information regarding the successful implementation of whiteboards but have been disappointed in the lack of quality research. This course has given me the confidence and skills I needed to conduct my own research.

Nancy Dana’s book titled Leading with Passion and Knowledge The Principal as Action Researcher has provided me with knowledge and skills that I will carry with me throughout my career. The first thing that struck me is that action research is not about some dry subject that you are disinterested in, but it is truly research into yourself as an administrator and what drives you. As Dana states “wonderings materialize at the nexuses of the real-world observations, dilemmas, felt difficulties, and passions that you develop in your work as an administrator” (2009, p. 30). Action research is not just about improving my school or district, but about improving myself and my own practices as well. This is done by finding my passions and searching for solutions through the collection of data.

The usefulness of collecting data to help improve my knowledge and practice became quite clear as we employed blogs in our coursework. By sharing my wonderings and subsequent research plans, I was able to collaborate with fellow cohort members to improve my inquiry. This was also true when I posted to the course discussion board. My classmates provided me with insights that helped to guide my inquiry and also led me to further wonderings. For instance, MamaEstes posted “My only suggestions would be to not overlook the importance of teacher and student reflections, observations by teachers of student behavior/grades, and providing samples of teacher and student work using the boards” (2010). While I planned to have both teachers and students complete multiple choice surveys, I had not considered having them write actual reflections. Through the reflection process, they would be given the opportunity to state in their own words what they saw and felt about the boards, and would not be limited to the four choices I provided for answers. Without the collaboration of blogs and the discussion board, I may have missed a key opportunity to collect relevant data.

While the lectures were useful as background information, it was the assignments themselves that truly introduced me to the world of action research and how such inquiries could be valuable to me as an administrator. In writing and rewriting my action plan, I was forced to really consider what knowledge I hoped to gain from the inquiry as well as the best means of collecting the data. Harris, Edmonson and Combs point out that a written action plan may not be necessary, but it does assist in keeping the inquiry focused and provides a form of communication to share with the district (2009). Once again, this also allowed me to share my plan with classmates and benefit in their knowledge, opinions and feedback.

References

Dana, N.F. (2009). Leading with passion and knowledge: The principal as action researcher. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Harris, S., Edmonson, S., & Combs, J. (2009). Examining what we do to improve our schools: 9 steps from analysis to action. Larchmont, N.Y.: Eye on Education.

Mamaestes. (2010, July 24). Re: Week 4 revised action plan [Web log comment]. Retrieved from http://leimer5301research.blogspot.com/2010/07/week-4-revised-action-plan.html#comments.

Week 4 Revised Action Plan

Revisions are posted in red. Tool 7.1  Action Planning Template Determine if the implementation of interactive whiteboards in core area classrooms has effected instruction by improving student-centered instruction, and encouraging student engagement?” Goal: Action Step(s) Person(s) Timeline: Needed Evaluation Responsible Start/End Resources Teacher survey - Have any teacher with an interactive whiteboard complete a survey on their perceived skills, training they have received and plans to integrate into curriculum -Survey will include an opportunity for teachers to list any training they felt they needed as the year starts. Technology Director August 16/ August 20 May 23/June3 SurveyMonkey account Survey results Administrator Field Notes -Administrator training showcasing model lessons and what to look for during CWTs -Campus administration will use classroom walkthroughs to document use of interactive whiteboards in lessons Instructional Technologist/Curriculum Director Assistant Superintendent Campus Principals/Assistant Principals August 18 Ongoing – 1 per teacher every six weeks 2 per teacher every six weeks -Training room with interactive white board -Eduphoria access -Smart phone or Palm to conduct walkthrough -Modified CWT template to reflect use of technology -sign in sheet from training Completed CWTs in Eduphoria Interviews -interview teachers in each core area and campus to determine their opinions of training availability and support Technology Director/Curriculum Director 1st Six Weeks 4th Six Weeks 6th Six Weeks Database software Interviews catalogued in database software Student survey -Survey students to determine their perception of the lessons being taught on the interactive whiteboard, including how much time they are allowed to use the board Technology Director August 16/ August 20 May 23/June3 SurveyMonkey account Survey results Student achievement – Semester exams, TAKS results for tested subjects and CBA District Testing Coordinator/Campus Administrators CBAs – every six weeks End of 1st Semester April TAKS results End of 2nd Semester DMAC software Test scores Committee Meetings Committee members: Technology Director, Curriculum Director, Campus Principals, Assistant Superintendent Once each six weeks Data collected Meeting agendas Help ticket tracking – track number of support requests from teachers regarding interactive whiteboards Technology Director June 3, 2010 Spiceworks help desk software Help desk reports

Week 3 Action Plan

Revisions are posted in red. Tool 7.1  Action Planning Template Determine if the implementation of interactive whiteboards in core area classrooms has effected instruction by improving student-centered instruction, and encouraging student engagement?” Goal: Action Step(s) Person(s) Timeline: Needed Evaluation Responsible Start/End Resources Teacher survey - Have any teacher with an interactive whiteboard complete a survey on their perceived skills, training they have received and plans to integrate into curriculum Technology Director August 16/ August 20 May 23/June3 SurveyMonkey account Survey results Administrator Field Notes -Campus administration will use classroom walkthroughs to document use of interactive whiteboards in lessons Assistant Superintendent Campus Principals/Assistant Principals Ongoing – 1 per teacher every six weeks -Eduphoria access -Smart phone or Palm to conduct walkthrough -Modified CWT template to reflect use of technology Completed CWTs in Eduphoria Interviews -interview teachers in each core area and campus to determine their opinions of training availability and support Technology Director/Curriculum Director 1st Six Weeks 4th Six Weeks 6th Six Weeks Database software Interviews catalogued in database software Student survey -Survey students to determine their perception of the lessons being taught on the interactive whiteboard, including how much time they are allowed to use the board Technology Director August 16/ August 20 May 23/June3 SurveyMonkey account Survey results Student achievement – Semester exams and TAKS results for tested subjects District Testing Coordinator/Campus Administrators End of 1st Semester April TAKS results End of 2nd Semester DMAC software Test scores Committee Meetings Committee members: Technology Director, Curriculum Director, Campus Principals, Assistant Superintendent Once each six weeks Data collected Meeting agendas Help ticket tracking – track number of support requests from teachers regarding interactive whitboards Technology Director June 3, 2010 Spiceworks help desk software Help desk reports

Week 2 Reflection

As I listened to the interviews and read the textbook this week, it struck me just how important data is to the success of a school. All three interviews stressed not only the importance of administrators conducting action research, but the importance of teachers conducting it as well. Teachers must also be aware of how to use research data to improve their instruction. For districts to be successful, they must train their teachers how to disaggregate data and apply the results to their instruction. Finding the action research topic that is most meaningful to you is not easy. When I was working on the proposals for part 3 of the assignment, I found myself quickly veering off topic, or developing a proposal that was too vague or large to reasonably study. This is where brainstorming with my mentor really became valuable. Working together, we were able to form my ideas into reasonable and valuable research topics. Each proposal would provide the district with critical data. At that point, it was difficult to pick which I felt was the most important to pursue. I finally settled on the topic I felt was most relevant to my current position.

Week 1 - Action Research

After reading about action research this week, I found myself thinking that, if all the research projects I had to do over the course of high school and college had been personally relevant to me, I might have enjoyed doing them more. To me, I think that this is the key to the success and importance of action research. It is research being carried out by the very people who will benefit from the research. A principal and their leadership who carry out an action research project will not only have a unique insight into the issues they are studying that an outsider will not have, but they will also be able to see first hands the results of their work. Another benefit is that it forces administrators to truly focus on a problem. Although I am not a campus principal, as a district administrator I understand just how chaotic and stressful it can be to work in an administrative role. I find myself writing little notes to remind myself to research this issue or program. Often times, this research never happens because other fires need to be put out. In my position, I think I could benefit from performing action research. In technology, so often we implement new hardware or software and there is little research done afterwards to judge its success. The whole point of action research is to gather data over time, analyze the data and make adjustments to processes and plans based on this data. This is beneficial at a campus level for instruction, and is also beneficial at a district level. In my case, its beneficial because I would have real data to either support the continued use of certain technology, or to show that we need to change what we are doing in relations to technology in the district. I found the comparison of action inquiry to a doctor searching for a diagnosis enlightening. The description of how a doctor works towards a diagnosis in comparison to a principal using numerous data sources to reach a solution really helped clarify what action research and inquiry is all about needed (Harris, Edmonson & Combs, 2010). I can clearly see how action research is a step by step process, where some steps may be revisited time and again as we search for a positive solution.

Harris, S., Edmonson, S., & Combs, J. (2009). Examining what we do to improve our schools: 9 steps from analysis to action. Larchmont, N.Y.: Eye on Education.

Blogging as an Educational Leader

One thing I have found as an administrator is that I rarely have time to myself to really reflect upon my day and what I did or did not accomplish. If I were to set aside time each week to blog about my work, even if no one else reads the post, it would be a great opportunity to basically do a "brain dump" of all those things running around in my head. It would allow me to visually see what I have been working on, prioritize my responsibilities and work through lingering problems. An even better scenario is to have colleagues read my blog and post comments. While Information Technology is a separate department, we cannot be successful without keeping close communication ties with the campuses. On the flip side, if the campus principals and Superintendent wrote blogs that I could access and comment on, I would have an insight into the problems they are facing and perhaps even situations where I might be able to provide assistance. Often times as administrators we get so bogged down in our duties that we forget to come up for air and ask for help. A simple solution may only be a phone call away, but sometimes we forget to make it. If all district administrators participated in blogging, it would be another way to open the lines of communication and perhaps strengthen us as a team.