Description of my conference with my supervisor and revisions to my action research plan

My site supervisor and I met to discuss the Care model and the strategies I will be using.  She gave me insight to the demographic of our student population.  She explained the struggles between incoming non speaking English students and teachers not trained to identify these students.  Many times students are not recognized until they have not been successful on many state and district testing.  Home surveys are used to recognize these incoming students as well however parents are not always honest for reasons such as migrates, non trust in the system and illegal immigrants. Once identified, these students are small groups and pullouts to prepare them for the TAKS test.  These students that remain in the district growth are measured and they progress each year in preparation for the TAKS.  Some become conditioned to test taking.  They began taking the TAK test in their native language in the beginning of their school experience.  As they transition to older grades, they become TAKS trained and continue in small groups and pullouts plus they are exposed to differentiated instruction that is individualized to meet their needs. The longer they remain in the district, the more successful they become testing.   Now enters new students who take TAKS test that school experiences happen outside the district.  Do these students have the same experiences in their districts or state as our “homegrown” kids?  How are their scores similar/different from our students?  My goal in my action research is to collect this data and compare TAKS test scores between “homegrown students” and incoming students and determine if their success is based on being conditioned within our district or does incoming students perform as well or better than our students.  One major revision to my action research is to identify the students who English is their second language.

Week 3 Action Plan steps

Steps for action research Week 3

1.   Setting the Foundations:  All of our students have taken a State Evaluation until entering the 6^th grade.  Students from Texas are given the TAKS test. TAKS test evaluate how well students are learning TEKS in Writing, Reading, Math, Science and Social Studies.  It can also be used in preparing students for college.  TEKS are the same in all districts in Texas.  Performance expectations for teachers are all the same, high quality instruction delivered to each student in Texas.   Evaluating these results within your own campus prepare teachers to individualize student needs and focus on weakness.  If there are continuous deficiencies in student performance is it a district issue, campus issue or state issue.  Are students entering our school out performing our students within our districts?

 2.  Analyzing data:  Examine data collected from TAKS test as well as scores of assessments of students entering our district.  Collect this information from cumulative folders for all students.

Use a variety of resources such as cumulative folders, teachers and field supervisor.  Stay on completion track by utilizing a pre-made form.  Also use this form as a way to monitor achievement of goals set forth and reaching objectives set.

3.  Developing deeper understanding:  While gathering data, meet with Site Base Committee and discuss my findings of scores and interpretations of data gathering.  Listen to advice and recommendation from the committee to help my progress along.  Interview coaches and asked how they develop staff development based on data.   Continuous meetings with my Principles to discuss my progress and data.  Use the internet at look at similar research. 

4.  Engaging in Self-Reflection:  Reflect periodically and insure my goals and objectives are being reached.  Some other reflections questions answered is:

                            *Am I gathering the information I need or missing needed data

                            *Have I gathered data from only general education

                            *Have I paced myself adequately

                            *Do I need clarification?  

5.  Exploring programmatic patterns:  Identify gaps and patterns in the data collected.

6.  Determining direction:  Keep communication between my site supervisor, field supervisor and site base.  Provide them with my data to ensure I am accomplishing my goals and objectives as previously discuss.  Identify missed information from my data.  Does my research need any clarifications?  How can I improve my plan? 

7.  Taking Action for School Improvement:  Complete Tool 8-1 weekly as a checkpoint and monitoring system.  Scan the sheet for convenience.  You can not copy the chart, you have to print it and then scan to edit.

8.  Sustain Improvement:    Great ways to share information.  Post to my blog so that I can get others viewpoints.  Share with my peers.  Share with my classmates in discussion blogs.  This year the STARR test will replace the TAKS test so my next step will be to compare the scores of the STARR test to those of the TAKS test and examine if the increase rigor of the test caused a big drop in test scores of the past.       

 

Challenges for Action research

Challenges and Solutions

Some of the specific challenges that i foresee and have experience is the managing time. My action research is examining 6th grade students cumulative folders and determine if they have been in our school district grades K-5 and success on TAKS scores. I will compare their scores to students who have not been in our school district and took 5th grade TAKS. The cumulative folders are kept in the registar office and I have access during school hours. My best opportunity is early mornings before the school day starts. I have meetings three times a week during my conference period, so that leaves me two days. I also have other things to complete for our intern hours.

I have thought of a couple of solutions. One is continue to utilize my early mornings for research so that I can attend extra meetings for intern hours. I have a couple of things coming up that involves Saturdays at our school with students and my principle will allow me to do research on those days before the activities and a little time after the activity.
I also can use Euphoria but I can only attain my students which only leave me 150 students to search folders.

However, i have to use my time wisely and this will have to be a great challenge. Any suggestions

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