Online Learning Community- The Action Research Plan

GOALS:
The goal of this action research project is to prove that delivering staff development through an online learning community will improve staff development by increasing participation, offering relevant and timely topics and increasing communication and collaboration amongst teachers while also increasing technology use in the classroom.

ACTIVITIES:
Activities that will support the achievement of the goal include researching an appropriate tool to use as a delivery system; researching the areas of technical deficiency on our campus; designing a survey to serve as a “wish list” of desired staff development topics; searching for and creating relevant and timely content to be uploaded into the system; presenting/implementing the new tool; and lastly, providing “hot topics” for ongoing communication and collaboration amongst the staff.

NEEDED RESOURCES:
Resources that are necessary to achieve the goal are the internet, laptops, projectors, eInstruction clickers, Survey Monkey, content compiled by the principal, myself and the campus technologist, and the STaR chart results. These resources will allow us to plan, create, implement and maintain the program that we are attempting to launch.

TIMELINE:
Research on the delivery system, content and discussion topics began the week of July 21st and will continue through August 13th as we will go “live” on August 16th. The “wish list” survey will be completed during the August 9-13th timeframe. The technology survey is already completed and will be sent out to teachers the week of August 9th to prepare for the meeting on the 16th. The discussion topics as well as the future staff development courses will be an ongoing endeavor.

PERSONS (S) RESPONSIBLE:
The bulk of responsibility will remain with me; however, our principal (Leslie) and our campus technologist (Sharon) will play a very prominent role in providing content and direction for the staff development delivery system.

MONITORING:
The method of monitoring the development and implementation stages will be through detailed discussions practice sessions with the principal. Feedback will also be necessary from the campus technologist as well as the district instructional technology coordinator. A select group of lead teachers will also provide feedback.

ASSESSMENT INSTRUMENTS:
A verbal and written (electronic) survey will be given to the staff to determine the perception of value, relativity, timeliness and ease of use of the new delivery tool. Review by the district instructional technology coordinator and a representative from the district staff development office will also be requested. Lastly, a quantitative study on the number of staff using the system and any issues that arise will be conducted.

Reflections on Action Research

Learning about action research has really caused me to appreciate the efforts of my principal. She has made a lot of changes on our campus and asks us to do things that we haven't done before and I have always supported it, but never understand what went into the plan.

A good principal, or any leader for that matter, will not do things haphazardly without reflecting, researching and planning. Just going with something because it sounds good or fun will not prove to be fruitful without first seeing what the true benefit is and if it is right for your team or group.

Week 2 of this course really helped me to slow down and order my thoughts and actions. This really can be applied to almost every aspect of your professional and personal life.

ACTION RESEARCH

Action Research – What is it and what can I do with it?

The term or practice of action research is not new. It is known by other terms such as practitioner inquiry, classroom research and teacher inquiry and when undertaken by an administrator, it is called administrative inquiry.

Even though action research has been around, it has never been the accepted method to address school improvement until now.

So, what is action research? In a nutshell, action research is the process that a person (teacher, principal or anyone directly involved in the situation at hand) engages in to question, research, reflect, learn and take action to improve their school and their individual practice and professional development.

There are four major ways that action research is undertaken: university coursework, superintendent/district meetings, leadership teams and professional learning communities. Through my graduate courses, I have been able to take advantage of action research just by taking inventory of my thought process and my method of teaching and assessing. I reflected, researched, and reflected some more then made changes that immediately improved some areas in my classroom. This process of inquiry can be used by anyone for anything. I have formed a professional learning community where we discuss issues and concerns and together, we come up with our own solutions instead of going outside of the group to get answers.

Why Should Educational Leaders Blog?

Blogging offers an opportunity for your thoughts and plans to be shared with an audience that you would not otherwise have. Blogging is great for feedback and it is great for networking. Superintendents, principals, teachers, parents and students can all benefit from blogging because it opens up communication and it is not hindered by face-to-face time or hours of operation, it is 24/7 communication.