End of Course Reflections

I have enjoyed my journey through this course.  I have to admit that I was nervous when I realized the name of the course, but as I got into the content I soon realized that this course was going to give me the tools to grow as a developing leader.  During the five week period of this course, I was able to increase my knowledge of research.  I was also able to understand and appreciate the use of action research, inquiry, and reflection as an educator.   

With the readings I was able to learn about the vast amount of time and effort it takes to develop a meaningful inquiry question or statement.  During the first week of reading in the Dana text, Leading With Passion And Knowledge, Chapter 1, I learned what action research is and how it is useful in an educational setting.  When I read chapter 2 of the same text in week 2, I had a wonderful insight into my inquiry and what I felt passionate about.  The eight steps helped me derive my final inquiry for my project.  Learning about the nine areas that are common targets or themes of school-based action research was one thing that stands out about the text.  Reading about these areas helped me realize that there are many avenues in a school where action research could be beneficial.  I have spoken with my principal and we are coming up with ideas to use inquiry as staff development for the next school year.

As I worked through the assignments I found myself becoming more comfortable with the action research process.  I can tell that the developers of this course and its content took careful consideration to do this.  I have to say that at the end of this course I find myself excited to get started with my inquiry.  I think my favorite assignment was during week three.  This is the assignment that required me to develop my draft of my action research plan.  As I went through the steps, I realized how meticulous I need to be in implementing my plan.  I want to thank the course professors for considering all of this when creating the assignments. 

The discussion board was my favorite part of the course.  I enjoyed reading what my peers are considering in their action research projects.  I valued the comments that I received on my postings.  Some of the discussions helped me reflect on my own project and avenues I need to pursue during the project.  Another thing about the discussion board that was useful to me was being able to hear about other schools.  I know that we are all going through some of the same challenges, which made me feel more comfortable with this course and the masters program. 

I was nervous about the blog, being that I didn’t even really know what a blog was prior to this course.  I have become more comfortable with it, and I do enjoy reading other blogs and reflecting on my own.  It has helped me practice self reflection.  That is a great thing since self reflection is an area that I need more development in.  I am considering having my current class participate in a blog during the second semester. 

Overall, I know that I have grown throughout this course.  I also am aware that my research abilities have improved.  The most important thing that has happened to me during this course is that my confidence has increased.  That, in itself, is worth a million dollars to me. 

Week 4 of my journey

I met with my assistant principal this week to go over my action research plan.  She will be acting as my site supervisor for this project since my topic is on classroom management.  She was impressed with my plan.  She only offered one suggestion which was to begin implementation at the start of the new semester.  She felt that my students would be more accepting of it at that time.  She wants to play an active role in this project as well.  I am excited to get started, and grateful to have such a supporting team to help me!

Debi’s Classroom Management Action Research Project

Action Step(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Read the book, Time To Teach: Encouragement, Empowerment, and Excellence in Every Classroom.	Debi Dodd	November 28, 2011 to December 4, 2011	Time To Teach: Encouragement, Empowerment, and Excellence in Every Classroom By: Rick Dahlgren and Judy Hyatt	After reading the book I will develop a synopsis for my teaching team.
Share the synopsis of my reading to my teaching team	Debi Dodd	December 5, 2011 to December 8, 2011	The synopsis of my reading	Discuss with my teaching team areas of concern about the classroom management plan
Come up with a plan for implementation of this classroom management plan	Debi Dodd, Julie Griffith, and Molly Radford	December 11, 2011 to December 16, 2011	Documentation of our proposed plan	Coming up with a consensus with my teaching team for implementation
Select a date for implementation of the classroom management plan	Debi Dodd, Julie Griffith, and Molly Radford	December 16, 2011 to December 16, 2011	A draft of proposed action for implementation	Coming up with a consensus of a date for implementation
Implement the classroom management plan	Debi Dodd, Julie Griffith, and Molly Radford	TBD	Resources from the book and documents created by my teaching team	Meet with teaching team at the end of the first week to discuss concerns/success
Meet with teaching team weekly throughout the remainder of the year	Debi Dodd, Julie Griffith, and Molly Radford	TBD	Resources from the book and documents created by my teaching team	Go over data collected weekly to adjust our plan of action
Have an end of the year conference with my teaching team	Debi Dodd, Julie Griffith, and Molly Radford	June 1, 2011 to June 1, 2011	Data collected by all parties from the date of implementation	Come up with areas that need improvement prior to implementation the following year
Write up a summary of findings	Debi Dodd	June 2, 2011 to June 16, 2011	All data collect from date of implementation plus notes from weekly meetings with the team	Use my written summary to answer my inquiry questions

Reflection on creating my plan

I am excited and nervous about starting my action research plan.  I am concerned about the timing of the school year, but it might be a wonderful way to bring in a new semester!  My teaching team is ready to get started and they are here to support me during this project.  I am ready to get results, but I know that good research takes time.  I am working on creating documents to use for data collection.  This is going to be a neat experience for me!

Action Research Plan

I have reviewed the 8 steps from the Harris text and have concluded that my plan already addresses all of these elements. Action Planning Template Goal:  To implement the classroom management plan described in the book, Time To Teach:  Encouragement, Empowerment, and Excellence in Every Classroom, and evaluate ways that this classroom management plan improves student behavior and increases instructional time in the classroom. Action Steps(s): Person(s) Responsible: Timeline: Start/End Needed Resources Evaluation Read the book, Time To Teach:  Encouragement, Empowerment, and Excellence in Every Classroom.    Debi Dodd November 28, 2011 to December 4, 2011 Time To Teach:  Encouragement, Empowerment, and Excellence in Every Classroom By:  Rick Dahlgren and Judy Hyatt After reading the book I will develop a synopsis for my teaching team. Share the synopsis of my reading to my teaching team Debi Dodd December 5, 2011 to December 8, 2011 The synopsis of my reading Discuss with my teaching team areas of concern about the classroom management plan Come up with a plan for implementation of this classroom management plan Debi Dodd, Julie Griffith, and Molly Radford December 11, 2011 to December 16, 2011 Documentation of our proposed plan Coming up with a consensus with my teaching team for implementation Select a date for implementation of the classroom management plan Debi Dodd, Julie Griffith, and Molly Radford December 16, 2011 to December 16, 2011 A draft of proposed action for implementation Coming up with a consensus of a date for implementation Implement the classroom management plan Debi Dodd, Julie Griffith, and Molly Radford TBD Resources from the book and documents created by my teaching team Meet with teaching team at the end of the first week to discuss concerns/success Meet with teaching team weekly throughout the remainder of the year Debi Dodd, Julie Griffith, and Molly Radford TBD Resources from the book and documents created by my teaching team Go over data collected weekly to adjust our plan of action Have an end of the year conference with my teaching team Debi Dodd, Julie Griffith, and Molly Radford June 1, 2011 to June 1, 2011 Data collected by all parties from the date of implementation Come up with areas that need improvement prior to implementation the following year Write up a summary of findings Debi Dodd June 2, 2011 to June 16, 2011 All data collect from date of implementation plus notes from weekly meetings with the team Use my written summary to answer my inquiry questions Share my research project with the faculty on my campus Debi Dodd August 2012 to August 2012 during Staff Development My presentation Use comments/ideas shared during the presentation to determine if a campus wide implementation is feasible

Classroom Management

I am relieved to have a fianl decision about my action research project.  I have decided to focus on classroom management.  I will be working with my site supervisor and my assistant principal on the details of this project.  I will be reading the book, Time to Teach:  Encouragement, Empowerment, and Excellence in Every Classroom.  After reading this and discussing my plan with my site supervisor and assistant principal, I plan on putting this into action on my team.  My wondering is:  Does applying this classroom management plan improve student behavior and create more time for instruction?  I plan on sharing my results with the staff.  I am nervous and excited about getting started!

Analysis of educational leader blog use

I believe that blogging would be extremely beneficial to educational leaders.  I think that they could use blogs as a reflective journal.  It would allow for any leader to gain additional insight with comments from colleagues that blogs allow.  Blogs would also be useful tools for leaders to share with faculty and staff. 

Action Research

I have learned that action research is a hands-on approach to inquiry.  The teacher or administrator would define the research topic, read books or articles pertaining to the topic, and collect data.  The next step would be to propose an action plan and set guidelines for the plan.  A timeline would be set for follow-up, and then results would be determined.  A great advantage to this type of inquiry is that it benefits all stakeholders.  Teachers are able to reflect and adapt their instruction to become better teachers.  Students are given the opportunity to improve their learning through quality instruction.  Also, action research provides an opportunity to share information with other teachers and administrators.  This allows for teachers to have a resource for additional ways to improve student achievement campus wide.  Teachers also have a voice in policy making at the campus and/or district level.  The process of reflection during and after the research is profound in aiding teachers to make better choices in their classrooms.  Administrators benefit in the same way that teachers do.  Although this type of inquiry takes time (and training), it should be considered when dealing with problems/challenges in the classroom.  I have found in my readings, that when action research is implemented in schools, it provides teachers a chance to brainstorm ways to improve all issues in the classroom.  Action research is an excellent way to provide meaningful professional development in an educational setting.