Reflection of Research Course

This course has provided me with vital tools to conduct action research, but I have also learned a lot about self-reflection and myself in the process. The assignments required me to be insightful and really look at my school with “new eyes” to determine my action research topic. Once I decided on 4 topics, I met with my site supervisor and she helped me decide on what would be best for the school. This was very important to me because I wanted to make sure that the action research project was something that was important to me, but that would also benefit my colleagues and ultimately my school as a whole. I really like the way the assignments were laid out. They really broke everything down so that we understood what we were doing and why we were doing it. I am excited about the action research topic I chose and I am looking forward to sharing the findings with the staff at my school.

The readings from the Dana text were the most helpful for me because there were many examples and the action research indicators were clear and well defined. I also enjoyed reading from the websites. The blogs and action research websites were extremely helpful and I know I will use them as a resource throughout my entire action research project.

By far, the most beneficial thing I have learned during this course is the self-reflection and blogging piece. I used to keep personal journals, but never thought about the importance of career related journals. Keeping a journal at school has been really helpful and I have learned a lot about myself and my students. I hope to continue this using a blog and journal. Blogging is helpful because of the connection to other educators around the country and the world. I am thinking of all of the connections that can be made centering just around the action research projects. I am really glad that the blog was required because I am not sure that I would have realized the importance if I had not had to sit down and create the blog and find other blogs. It will be a very helpful tool for me as an administrator.

The discussion boards are nice because they provide opportunities for contact among peers and for almost instant feedback for any questions or issues. I really enjoyed reading my peers answers to the discussion questions and I learned a lot in the process. I also appreciated the feedback the provided me and I made changes to my action research plan based on some of the recommendations.

I also had the opportunity to participate in one of the web chats. Because of the nature of the online courses sometimes it is hard to feel a part of the “class.” The web chat was nice because it was like we were in a class setting and asking and discussing topics with instant feedback and/or information. I hope to continue to go to at least one web chat per course.

Overall, I learned so much about the action research process and I am excited to begin my research and discover how I can better help students with free or reduced lunch increase their literacy scores.

Revised Action Planning Template

Action Planning Template
Goal(s): Teachers will learn effective strategies and interventions to use with students in Kindergarten that have free or reduced lunches and low literacy scores. Parental Involvement in this area will increase.
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Analyze data of students with free and reduced lunches to determine specific areas of weakness in literacy.	Amelia Galloway Elizabeth Rabb, Assistant Principal Allison Waring, Title One Facilitator	January 2011- May 2011	Benchmark Data DRA assessments	Evaluate DRA and benchmark data
Use a variety of research based interventions to determine which are most effective based on data collected	Amelia Galloway Elizabeth Rabb, Assistant Principal Allison Waring, Title One Facilitator	January 2011- May 2011	Variety of literacy intervention sources Previous research on these interventions Collect Data	Use collected data to determine which interventions were the most effective.
Provide opportunities for the school to come together as a whole to support students with free or reduced lunches and increase their scores	Newington Elementary Staff Members	January 2011- May 2011	Interview teachers about how they can work together to support students Interview students about how teachers can support them in their learning	Use the interviews to decide on ways to involve the entire school in assisting students with low literacy scores. Evaluate the effectiveness
Interview the Title One Facilitator at our school to discuss ways to increase parental involvement in free or reduced students’ families.	Amelia Galloway Allison Waring, Title One Facilitator	January 2011	How are Title One monies used to support these students in literacy?	Evaluate the way monies are spent to ensure that we are providing the most support possible for these struggling students. Send the interview ahead of time so that she can complete the questions when she has time.
Parent Night that focuses on educating Kindergarten parents on literacy tools they can use at home with their children.	Amelia Galloway Guidance Counselors	March 2011	Parent Surveys that highlight areas of need Place for the meeting Meeting agenda What speakers can we have?	Evaluate the effectiveness of this parent night by using exit slips for parents.

Action Research Plan

Action Planning Template
Goal(s): Teachers will learn effective strategies and interventions to use with students that have free or reduced lunches. Parental Involvement in this area will increase.
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Analyze data of students with free and reduced lunches to determine specific areas of weakness in literacy.	Amelia Galloway Assistant Principal Title One Facilitator	January 2011- May 2011	Benchmark Data DRA assessments	Evaluate DRA and benchmark data
Use a variety of research based interventions to determine which are most effective based on data collected	Amelia Galloway Assistant Principal Title One Facilitator	January 2011- May 2011	Variety of literacy intervention sources Previous research on these interventions Collect Data	Use collected data to determine which interventions were the most effective.
Provide opportunities for the school to come together as a whole to support students with free or reduced lunches and increase their scores	School Staff Members	January 2011- May 2011	Interview teachers about how they can work together to support students Interview students about how teachers can support them in their learning	Use the interviews to decide on ways to involve the entire school in assisting students with low literacy scores. Evaluate the effectiveness
Interview the Title One Facilitator at our school to discuss ways to increase parental involvement in free or reduced students’ families.	Amelia Galloway and Title One Facilitator	January 2011	How are Title One monies used to support these students in literacy?	Evaluate the way monies are spent to ensure that we are providing the most support possible for these struggling students.
Parent Night that focuses on educating parents on literacy tools they can use at home with their children.	Amelia Galloway Guidance Counselors	March 2011	Parent Surveys that highlight areas of need Place for the meeting Meeting agenda What speakers can we have?	Evaluate the effectiveness of this parent night by using exit slips for parents.