saralowry

I was able to meet with my site mentor this week, and we discussed my action research plan. We discussed some alternative ways to work around any roadblocks that I encounter with students having access to any of the sites (blogster, google docs,...) from district computers. We just decided to work through that if and when the need arises. The other thing he said that I should prepare for is a lack of participation by teachers in the surveys I send out to collect data. He just explained that I’ll need to make sure I have a large enough sample to account for those who choose not to participate. Other than that, we’ve agreed that my action research project doesn't need any changes or updates at this time!

Goal: Determine which teachers on my campus are currently using Web 2.0 tools. Investigate how those tools are being used to increase student engagement. Determine what professional instruction is necessary to increase the number of teachers implementing Web 2.0 tools.
Action Steps	Persons Responsible	Timeline: Start/End	Resources	Evaluation
Discuss topic with Site Mentor	Myself Glen Harrison	February 2011 – March 2011	- Personal Communication	Topic discussed and agreed on
Determine which teachers to include in the research	Myself Glen Harrison	March 2011	- Personal Communication - Master schedule	Decided to use core, CTE, & other elective teachers
Use surveys to collect current data from teachers about using Web 2.0 tools	Myself Teachers	April 2011 – May 2011	- Online survey tools - Printed questionnaires	Survey results
Interview/Observe teachers that are currently using Web 2.0 tools	Myself Specific Teachers	May 2011 – June 2011	- Note taking - Observation time	Collect data on best practices that are currently being used
Use surveys to collect information from teachers/students about current student engagement & collaboration	Myself Teachers Random students	May 2011 – June 2011	- Online survey tools - Printed questionnaires	Survey results
Outside research	Myself	June 2011 – July 2011	- Internet - Journals - Research time	Collect information & examples from sources outside of our district to aid in implementation
Create staff development opportunity (maybe online or after school training) to help teachers understand how to use Web 2.0 tools	Myself Teachers who have experience using Web 2.0 tools Glen Harrison Renee Koontz	August 2011 – September 2011	- Internet - Online tools - Lab for afterschool training - Research/Best Practices	Use teacher evaluations of staff development to determine effectiveness/value
Field observation of teacher implementation	Myself Teachers	August 2011 – December 2011 (Ongoing)	- Observation time - Surveys & Questionnaires - Interviews	Determine if teachers effectively used Web 2.0 tools
Collect data from teachers/students about current student engagement & collaboration	Myself Teachers Random students	January 2012	- Surveys & Questionnaires - Interviews	Compare this data to results from prior to implementation and see if student engagement and collaboration has increased?
Compile and analyze all final data	Myself Teachers Glen Harrison	February 2012	- Research time - All collected data	Create a report with data and findings to be shared with campus and district

Week 3, Assignment Part 2

Goals and objectives/outcomes of the research investigation
- Determine which teachers on my campus are currently using Web 2.0 tools
- Investigate how those tools are being used to increase student engagement
- Determine what professional instruction is necessary to increase the number of teachers implementing Web 2.0 tool

Activities designed to achieve the objectives
- Professional development opportunities to instruct teachers on how to implement Web 2.0 tools
- Use of blog, wikis, Google sites, Google documents, RSS Feeds,…

Resources and research tools needed for data gathering
- Surveys of teacher
- Questionnaires for teachers and students
- Interviews/observations of teachers who have experience with implementing Web 2.0 tools
- Research outside sources for new methods?

Draft timeline for completion or implementation of activities
- April 2011 – June 2011: Collect data using surveys/questionnaires
- August 2011 – September 2011 (maybe ongoing?): Staff development opportunity to learn about implementation
- August 2011 – June 2012: Teacher implementation of strategies/Monitor ease of implementation and student engagement

Persons responsible for implementation of the action research plan
- Me
- Teachers/Students
- Glen Harrison/Renee Koontz (site supervisors)

Process for monitoring the achievement of goals and objectives
- Pre- & Post- Surveys to determine how comfortable teachers are using Web 2.0 tools
- Interviews with teachers/students to determine whether student engagement has increased
- Observation/Review of implementation

Assessment instrument(s) to evaluate the effectiveness of the action research study
- Surveys, Questionnaires, Interviews, Observation

This week, I, hopefully, have finalized my topic for research. I haven't heard back from my site mentor, which is a little frustrating, but he is a baseball coach and this is his busy season. I enjoyed listening to the interviews with the three scholars who completed their doctorates at Lamar. I thought they gave some very insightful tips about action research. There were a couple of points that really hit home with me. One is that just being able to impact one child is not enough anymore. Accountability calls for improving and impacting all of our students, and it takes research and learning in order to become an effective teacher or administrator. The other is that if I focus on what is practical for the classroom and student learning, then I will be more interested and more focused on outcomes, and students will also benefit more directly from the practical than the theoretical. Teachers and administrators that want to be good, strong leaders never stop looking for ways to improve all aspects of education.

Blogs are a resource that can be used by administrators as a method of journaling or brainstorming. It’s a way of getting thoughts down in a forum that allows for easy recall and commenting from others. It can also be a means of collecting data from self-reflection (Dana, 2009, pp.87-89). The collaborative aspect of blogging allows for insight into the thought process, and it allows for peer review.


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

Action research is taking the time to reflect on the activities that are going on around you. It can be done by administrators, teachers, and students. It involves inquiring about a concern or problem, surveying and collecting data, processing and analyzing the information, problem-solving to come up with solutions, and sharing the findings with colleagues. It forces you to focus on one issue at a time and work towards a solution for that one issue, not getting overwhelmed by a number of little things. A major aspect of action research is self-reflection. Dana (2009) states that “in a fashion similar to the ways teachers utilize this process to gain better understandings of themselves and their teaching practice, administrators can use it to gain deeper insights into their practice as administrators and the leadership role in school improvement efforts” (p.3). In my current position as a CTE teacher, I can use action research to reflect on my teaching methods in the classroom, as well as how I serve as a technology leader for my colleagues. For my action research project as part of this internship, I plan on investigating the use of blogs and other Web 2.0 tools in CTE and core classes. Another key factor in action research involves collaboration. I look forward to working with my colleagues and my classmates to conduct this research and find solutions to help our students.

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