EDLD 5301 is Over

Well, EDLD 5301 is over.  I submitted my last assignment and I'm ready to begin my Christmas vacation!  This course may be over, but my action research is just beginning.  Over break, I will be creating my survey and planning our first family reading night.  I'm really excited to get started.  This course on action research has been a bit of a roller coaster, but I think I learned a lot.  I had never heard of action research before this class, and now I'm wondering why!  I mean, I must admit that when I first began the class I thought I would say what was necessary to get a good grade, but figured I wouldn't really use this stuff in real life!  But as I began to absorb the information, I realized that it makes a lot of sense.  Now I want to know why I had never heard of it before.  I truly can see myself using this as an administrator.  So, I'm looking forward to this endeavor and will keep you posted on how things are going!

Action Research Plan-Revised

Thanks for all the wonderful comments left over the past week!  It was so encouraging!  My research action plan has been modified just a bit.  I had to take out the Parent Night--Tips and Tricks for Maintaining Learning Over the Summer.  My site supervisor felt like it would be too difficult to provide child care.  She also felt like we wouldn't have a good turnout if parents couldn't bring children.  So, I've tabled that idea for now.  I hated to do it, especially since I received such positive feedback from you guys about that particular topic!  However, one major point of this research is to find out what the parents what to see happen on this campus.  If I find out through surveys and interviews that parents are interested in a night for them without the kids, then we'll do it!  I also had to move a few activities around due to a large PTO event happening in February.  All in all, only minor changes were really made.  I can't wait to get started and keep everyone updated on our progress!

Action Planning Template-Revised
Goal: In an effort to improve parent relations, what actions will be effective in positively impacting school culture and increasing parental involvement on our campus?
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Survey parents and teachers regarding potential campus activities and perceptions of current school culture	Catharine James	January 15-January 31, 2013	Survey Monkey; Printed copies of survey; Teachers; Parents	Review completed surveys and compile results; share with teachers and administration; use results to determine future direction
“Cozy Up to a Good Book” Family Reading Night	Catharine James Sue Weller, Principal	January 24, 2013-January 24, 2013	Building Facilities; Teachers; Books; Treats (i.e., bookmarks); Door Prizes; Sign-in Sheets	Parent Sign-in Sheets to monitor numbers in attendance; Interviews; Feedback Survey; Digital Pictures; Field Notes
Reading Restaurant	Catharine James Sue Weller, Principal PTO	April 30, 2013-April 30, 2013	Building Facilities; Teachers; Students; Menu of books; Books	Parent Sign-in Sheets to monitor numbers in attendance; Interviews; Feedback Survey; Digital Pictures; Field Notes
“Fright Night” Family Reading Night	Catharine James Sue Weller, Principal	October 29, 2013- October 29, 2013	Building Facilities; Teachers; Halloween Books; Candy	Parent Sign-in Sheets to monitor numbers in attendance; Interviews; Feedback Survey Digital Pictures; Field Notes
Interview a cross-section of parents regarding perceptions of campus culture and gain more ideas for improving parental involvement	Catharine James	September 30-November 7, 2013	Parents; Recording Sheet	Review and compile answers from interviews; share with teachers and administration to determine future direction
Family Math Night	Catharine James Sue Weller	Spring 2014	Building Facilities; Teachers; Door Prizes; Schedule; Games and Manipulatives; Handouts	Parent Sign-in Sheet to monitor number in attendance; Interviews; Field Notes; Digital Pictures; Feedback Survey
Other steps to be determined based on parent feedback	Catharine James	Spring 2013-Spring 2014	Necessary resources will depend on the activity	Parent Sign-in Sheets if applicable; Interviews; Field Notes; Digital Pictures; Parent Feedback
School wide survey of teachers and parents to assess campus culture and effectiveness of research project	Catharine James	March 2014-May 2014	Survey Monkey; Printed copies of survey; Parents; Teacher	Disaggregate data and compare to previously acquired information to determine progress made;
Share results of action research	Catharine James	May 2014	PowerPoint	Share results of final survey and data collection as a whole with teachers at a staff meeting

Format based on Tool 7.1 from Examining What We Do to Improve Our Schools

(Harris, Edmonson, and Combs, 2010)

 

Action Research Plan

Action Planning Template
Goal: In an effort to improve parent relations, what actions will be effective in positively impacting school culture and increasing parental involvement on our campus?
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Survey parents and teachers regarding potential campus activities and perceptions of current school culture	Catharine James	January 15-January 31, 2013	Survey Monkey; Printed copies of survey; Teachers; Parents	Review completed surveys and compile results; share with teachers and administration; use results to determine future direction
“For the Love of Reading” Family Reading Night	Catharine James Sue Weller, Principal	February 12, 2013-February 12, 2013	Building Facilities; Teachers; Valentine Books; Treats (i.e., bookmarks);	Parent Sign-in Sheets to monitor numbers in attendance; Interviews; Feedback Survey; Digital Pictures; Field Notes
Parent Night-tips and tricks to maintain learning over the summer	Catharine James Sue Weller, Principal PTO	May 9, 2013-May 9, 2013	Building Facilities; Babysitters; Snacks; Handouts	Parent Sign-in Sheets to monitor numbers in attendance; Interviews; Feedback Survey; Digital Pictures; Field Notes
“Fright Night” Family Reading Night	Catharine James Sue Weller, Principal	October 29, 2013- October 29, 2013	Building Facilities; Teachers; Halloween Books; Candy	Parent Sign-in Sheets to monitor numbers in attendance; Interviews; Feedback Survey Digital Pictures; Field Notes
Interview a cross-section of parents regarding perceptions of campus culture and to gain more ideas for improving parental involvement	Catharine James	September 30-November 7, 2013	Parents; Recording Sheet	Review and compile answers from interviews; share with teachers and administration to determine future direction
Other steps to be determined based on parent feedback	Catharine James	Spring 2013-Spring 2014	Necessary resources will depend on the activity	Parent Sign-in Sheets if applicable; Interviews; Field Notes; Digital Pictures; Parent Feedback
School wide survey of teachers and parents to assess campus culture and effectiveness of research project	Catharine James	March 2014-May 2014	Survey Monkey; Printed copies of survey; Parents; Teacher	Disaggregate data and compare to previously acquired information to determine progress made; share acquired learning with teachers and parents

Week 2 Update

Well, this week I've been doing a lot of wondering!  What I've discovered is that I have many questions, and that's a good thing!  I've been reading the book, Leading with Passion and Knowledge: The Principal as Action Researcher by Nancy Fichtman Dana.  One inquiry mentioned in the book is "How do I put more joy and celebration into our efforts?"  When I read that I thought...that's it!  To me, that question goes to the heart of everything we do as educators.  I told my husband that when I am a principal, I'm going to put that question on a big banner in my office (and maybe in the teacher's lounge, too)!  I would love to do action research on this topic because I think the answers that would come out of it would make such a powerful difference on school culture and student performance.