Guess you all thought I had disappeared for a while, huh?!? Well...technically...I guess I did. Last year, I was all set to begin my Action Research Project, had a Plan (Template for a Plan anyway) and couldn't wait to get started. Toward the end of the school year, I found out that I would be changing positions and teaching in the English Department for the 2011-2012 school year! I was excited for the change and excited that I could actually be the one to observe my students in this Project on a daily basis. So, I decided to put the plan on a temporary "hold" and make some adjustments to the original Plan.
Little did I know that, once in the English Department, there would be such a set-back in the Plan. I recently found out that most of the books/novels the entire English Department teaches are in fact...NOT FREE to download (even the classics)! This is a major problem. After a lot of discussions and researching books/novels that are free (and that the English teachers will be teaching this year), I learned that only ONE of our freshman (English I) teachers will be teaching from a book/novel that IS free to download onto students' personal communication device(s)! It is the Odyssey - hooray for the Odyssey!!
This meant discussing the changes with my site supervisor and making some changes to the details of the Plan, which, thankfully did not change the purpose or vision of my Action Research Plan at all.
So, that gets all of you "up-to-speed" on the progress (or lack thereof) and onto the revised Plan. Here it is - let me know what you all think. Feedback is appreciated!
Goal: Utilizing the capabilities of students’ personal communication device(s) to improve students’ accessibility and/or likelihood to engage in reading assignments and ultimately improve students’ English grade(s).
| Action Step(s)/ Activities | Person(s) Responsible | Timeline: Start/End | Needed Resources/Tools | Evaluation |
| Create inquiry for action research plan | Julie Salinas | January 2011 | Idea(s) and inquiry plan | Approval and recommendations from cohort peers |
| Gather data regarding how many students are referred to the office due to using a personal communication device inappropriately on campus or in class | Julie Salinas and Mr. Paul Black | January 2011 | Access to administrative database | Review data to determine the percentage of referrals for devices versus other disciplinary concerns |
| Seek approval for possible action research topics and tentative plans with site supervisor | Julie Salinas and Mr. Paul Black | January 2011 | Action research proposed plan | Approval from site supervisor |
| Obtain approval for students to use communication device in class | Mr. Paul Black | January 2011 | Question/Inquiry | Approval from administrative staff |
| Explain action research plan to English Department Coordinator to implement action research project in the English classroom | Mrs. Tracy Winstead | September 2011 | Question/Discussion of purpose | Approval from English Department Coordinator to implement action research project |
| Explain action research plan to freshman (English I) teacher to implement action research project in the classroom | Ms. Sandra Allen | September 2011 | Question/Discussion of purpose | Receive approval from English I teacher to implement action research project |
| Create revised Action Research Plan and timeline | Julie Salinas | September 2011 | Revised Action Planning Template | Plan timeline created for implementation |
| Survey students in English I class | Julie Salinas | September 2011 | Survey (created by Julie Salinas) performed in English I classes | Determine how many students have personal communication devices, what kind, if they have iBook accessibilities |
| Survey students in English I class to get feedback on the proposed plan | Julie Salinas | October 2011 | Survey (created by Julie Salinas) performed in English I class | Gather feedback of how students feel about their novel unit, carrying novels versus using an electronic iBook, and if parental permission is necessary |
| Determine how many freshman students will be able/interested in participating in the project | Julie Salinas | October 2011 | Discussion/questions performed in English I class | Gather data and statistics to be used in action research project |
| Discuss district/school policy for use of communication device, details/guidelines on how devices can be used for the purposes of this project, and consequences of misuse or not following guidelines | Julie Salinas and English I teacher | October 2011 | Discussion with the English I classroom students involved | Obtain agreement from students to follow guidelines and rules pertaining to use of their communication device(s) |
| Assist freshman students with free downloads, if necessary | Julie Salinas and/or Justin Gomez | October 2011 | Computer and/or communication device, iTunes or the equivalent | Gather feedback on how many students have successfully downloaded the electronic iBook novel and gather estimated number of students who will participate |
| Observe freshman students reading from their communication device(s) | Julie Salinas and Ms. Sandra Allen | October/ November 2011 | Classroom observation | Receive feedback on how project is going, if it is going as planned and/or if adjustments need to be made |
| Monitor student participation within the novel completion timeline | Julie Salinas and Ms. Sandra Allen | October/ November 2011 | Teacher discussions/classroom observations | Determine if project is going as planned and/or if adjustments need to be made |
| Survey freshman student project participants | Julie Salinas | November 2011 | Survey (created by Julie Salinas) performed in the English I class | Review and study student participation and interest and gather data/statistics regarding improvement of: grades, comprehension, and involvement |
| Examine grades of students who participated in project versus those who did not | Julie Salinas and Ms. Sandra Allen | November 2011 | GradeSpeed for grade entry | Review/analysis of data and recognize similarities and differences |
| Thank freshman students for participating in project | Julie Salinas | December 2011 | Thank you cards created by Julie Salinas | Receive feedback, if given |
| Observe data collected from freshman class | Julie Salinas | December 2011 | Create charts and graphs to display data | Review/analysis of data, similarities, and differences |
| E-mail teachers throughout the campus a survey to determine how many would be willing, if able, to allow students to use their devices for educational purposes | Julie Salinas and other campus teachers | January 2011 | Send survey (created by Julie Salinas) e-mail though Webmail | Gather data regarding teachers’ responses |
| Report findings to site supervisor | Julie Salinas and Mr. Paul Black | January 2011 | Meet with site supervisor to report raw data on the project’s findings | Receive feedback and suggestions from site supervisor |
| Complete draft of report based on findings including additional research done on topic | Julie Salinas | February 2012 | Data, charts, graphs, research, feedback, suggestions, etc. | Revision of drafts editing where necessary |
| Final report “okay” from site supervisor | Julie Salinas and Mr. Paul Black | March 2012 | Final draft | Get the final “okay” from site supervisor |
| Submit findings to Principal, Academic Dean, and English coordinator | Julie Salinas, Mrs. Patti Hill, Mrs. Lourdes Medina, and Terry Winstead | March 2012 | Final draft | Receive approval of action research project for possible submission to Central Office or other Administrative staff. |
