Action Research Plan

I.              Setting the Foundation—I work at a Title I campus southeast of Houston. Therefore, we have plenty of opportunities for parental involvement, but sadly the kids who need more attention are the ones who are not getting educational support from the home. My classroom, grade level, and school campus is the foundation and climate in which to put my action into place. I hope to foster an easier way for parents to be involved with what is going on in the classroom.

II.            Analyzing Data—I plan to look at the correlation between parental involvement and reading levels, grades, and scores on standardized tests. I plan to use informal data like sign-in sheets from parent orientation, open houses, school events, etc. My grade level as a PLC often share information and trends dealing with parental involvement in their own classroom as well.

III.           Developing Deeper Understanding—There is an abundance of research already completed on parental involvement and how it affects a child’s education. I plan to delve deep into the research in hopes of discovering new ideas or new wonderings to further my studies in my action research topic.

IV.          Engage in Self-Reflection—I began asking myself, “Am I really involving every parental unit in my classroom?” Of course, you are in contact with parents of the students who are having behavior issues or failing grades, but have I really fostered a relationship with each of my students’ guardians. “Should I be doing more to reach the ‘unreachable parent’?”  In my self-assessments through the first course of my master’s program, I unsurprisingly noted that I am much more aware and focused on task rather than people. I need to learn to foster relationships with those who are stakeholders in my classroom and my campus.

V.            Exploring Programmatic Patterns—What happens when a teacher/counselor/administrator has done everything in their power to foster parental involvement, but the other shareholder is not cooperating? As my supervisor pointed out, involved parents (especially in Title I schools) seems to be more like just “icing on the cake” now. Yes, it is a blessing, but it may not come from every family in our building. The question may no longer be, “How can the campus and the home work together for the good of the child?” but yet “What can we do, even without any parental help, to still give a quality education to every student behind our walls?”

VI.          Determining Direction—I am attempting to solve the ever-growing gap between school and home. I will be using personal updates between myself and the guardians of my students. I will foster the desire for my students to teach their families at home what we are learning in class. I will be improving my communication skills to enhance my focus on people-not just task. I will use the other teachers and administrators around me in a collaborative approach.

VII.         Taking Action for School Improvement—I will include in my research literature reviews of districts which isolate a student holiday simply to meet with parents. This may be a future recommendation to my own district depending on the results found in research.

     VIII. Sustain Improvement—I hope that my successes through this research will become habit in my every year of teaching and when I become an administrator.

Weighing the Options

Week 2: Discovering the Options

As a teacher, it is easy to discover the issues in the classroom that could be possible "wonderings" to put into an action plan. It is a bit harder however to look at the big school-wide picture when your mind is so focused on your class. In my first class, while I was beginning my internship, my assistant principal urged me to view everything more globally. If you are eventually heading out of the classroom into a school leadership position, you must be prepared to take on the role of a school leader.

My first instinct for my action research project was to look into parental involvement. While I am acting on this project (whether or not I document it as my project for my internship), I am also looking at other options that affect the school as a whole: tardy prevention, student motivation, and reaching the students who are more worried about what they may eat that night instead of when their homework is due.

So many potential projects are at our fingertips. We work and live in a ever-changing career. We must be ready to take risks in order to change OUR behavior to better suit the needs of our students.

How can educational leaders use blogs?

       There are many benefits for educational leaders when we blog. One is the art and practice of getting all our thoughts out of our head onto "paper." We can then go back to remember and analyze any thoughts that might get lost behind the day to day tasks and pressures of being an educational leader. Another, and in my opinion more important, way leaders use blogs is to create a support group by linking blogs together. Ideas and opinions can be shared, points of view can connect leaders, and leaders can share their successes and failures in order to enhance the actions of one another.

What is action research?

     Action research is a process in which a professional can study themselves in an effort to make a change that will lead to improvement. One must analyze an area which needs improvement by inquiring of themselves what can be done to fix the situation. Through literature review, peer discussion, and other's successful, one can develop a plan which will bring about change-hopefully dissolving the current problem. Self evaluation is a must. One must inquire what they can do in order to bring about successful change. Inquiry is intentional and data based. Once a plan is made, it must be put into action. The results of the action must then be evaluated and analyzed to gather information of whether a positive or negative change is occurring.
     One way I can use action research as a teacher and aspiring administrator is ask myself "What can I do to make my students be more successful?" That is after all my purpose and calling as a teacher. Teachers and leaders can use action research daily, but I will be specifically researching the idea of parental involvement. What can I as a teacher do to further parental involvement in my classroom and how can this make my students more successful?