Action Plan for
Stacey Thompson

Project: Effective Strategies for Economically Disadvantaged Students Date: 07/31/2010
Goals:
The goal of my action research study is going to focus on the effective strategies that teachers can use to help economically disadvantaged students be successful on Reading TAKS.


Measures of Success:
Surveys, benchmarks, TAKS scores and other data that is collected.


Staffing and Participants:

Stacey Thompson
Donna Alexander
Cathy Geary
Judy Cottier

Estimated Completion Date for All Activities: November 2010

Action Item: Surveys Owner: Stacey Thompson Due Date: 09/06/2010
Description of Activity: Create a survey for teachers, parents and students
Resources Needed: sample surveys



Action Item: Surveys Owner: All Due Date: 09/10/2010
Description of Activity: Teachers will give surveys to students and parents to complete. The teacher will also complete a survey of their own.
Resources Needed: surveys



Action Item: Data Analysis Owner: Stacey Due Date: 09/14/2010
Description of Activity: I will take the data that we received from the surveys and break it down to find the method of instruction to be used in the experimental group.
Resources Needed: surveys and desegregating data tools

Action Item: Implement Changes Owner: All Due Date: 11/2010
Description of Activity: The assisting teachers will implement the changes of teaching methods in their classrooms as the results of the findings of the surveys.
Resources Needed: results of surveys, new teaching tools to assist in the implementation of changes

Action Item: Ending Data Owner: Stacey Due Date: 11/2010
Description of Activity: I will take the data from the benchmarks and/or TAKS test and compare it to the previous year’s benchmarks and/or TAKS tests to determine if the changes that were implemented benefited the students.
Resources Needed: Benchmark Scores, TAKS Scores, other beneficial data

Evaluation or Reflection: Throughout the course of the plan and implementation the participating teachers and I will use anecdotal records, teacher observations, samples of students work, interviews and conversations. These tools will give us the information we need to know if we are going in the right direction or if there are changes that need to be made.

Real Life Research

Throughout week two I have watched, listened, and read about different types of action research and how to choose what your topic should be. I have found many topics of interest but I still seem to go back to my previous topic of interest. The scholar's interviews that we watched were very helpful and beneficial.
After this week's reading I learned about the different areas of action research. I did not realize that it could be broken down into this many areas. I found that many topics I thought of for each are could overlap into others.
The scholar's interviews that we watched were very helpful and beneficial. They opened my eyes to the topic of action research. I really took the advice they gave to heart about how to choose a topic. I feel that with their suggestions and ideas it has helped me in making the decision about what my topic will be. My topic is of interest to me and I know that my campus will benefit from my findings. Then the question would be if they use what I find to help them.
I am hoping that with what I have learned so far and what is to come. I will conduct a research project that will be successful and beneficial to all.

Action reseach is an inquiry conducted by the self and into the self. It is open ended and does not begin with a fixed hypothesis. It begins with an idea that you develop. The research process is the developmental process of following through the idea, seeing how it goes, and continually checking if it is in line with what you wish to happen. Seen in this way, action research is a way of self evaluation.
Action research differs from traditional research by it being on a personal level, what you think, rather than what others think.
Action research can be used in many aspects in life. I could use it in my personal and professional life. In my personal life I can use it to evaluate my life, where I am and where I am going. I can find things that need to change and develop goals and a plan to make the change happen. Professional as a classroom teacher I see myself using action research already and not even know it. I look back a previous years and reflect on things that worked or didn't work. Such as, lesson plans and discipline. I then try and look at ways that I can change them to make them work better for me and the students. As am administrator I would use action research in the same way. I would reflect on certain decisions or choices that I made throughout the school year and see if they are ones that I or we as a campus want to continue or need to be change.


Educational leaders can use blogs as a mean of communication between themselves and their faculty and staff. They could create a blog and invite their faculty and staff to comment or reflect on what they have written. This could help also in getting ideas