Action Research Plan

Below I have posted my current action research plan.  I'm sure it will be amended a lot along the way, but you must start someone.  Also, sorry for some format issues.  The blog didn't like the table :)

Goal: Research how current educators need to adapt to meet the needs and interests of 21st century students while still successfully preparing these students for life after graduation.

Action Steps	Persons Responsible	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
1.       Setting the Foundation: Read articles relevant to 21st century learning and the state of education in the US and abroad	Myself and entire district design team	Assigned Sept 21, 2012 Due Oct 11, 2012	Read the following articles: 1.       HPISD Visioning Document 2.        21st Century Student Outcomes and Support Systems 3.       The Most Daring Education Reform of All 4.       Redefining College Readiness 5.       What Socrates would Say	Meet with District Design Team to discuss relevance of each article to our district and needs
2.       Divide District Design Team into 5 groups to research the following characteristics of educators: a.       Skilled Assessments b.      Creating Academically Prepared Students c.       Adaptability d.      Teachers as designers/explorers e.      Teachers being risk takers	My group was a part of the Teacher as designers research group – Persons involved	Assigned Oct 11 Due Nov 15, 2012	·         Project-based Learning Schools (Coppell’s New Tech High) ·         Buck Institute ·         Data on performance of students from PBL schools ·         Constructivist Theory ·         Lee Crockett Learning Fluencies	Meet as a research small group to discuss outcomes of research done with resources listed and evaluate which techniques should be focused on as a district - or -  if the original 5 characteristics of educators need to be added to or amended.
3.      Design team will share and evaluate the research done by individual groups and decide what further research is needed to formulate a profile of an educator for the future.	Whole Design Team	December 4, 2012	·         Collection of studies done by individual groups	Through discussion, design team will evaluate the research done to confirm, amend, or delete characteristics of an educator.
4.      Agree upon a desired list of characteristics that define the educator of the future.  Use research to flesh out the details of how each of those characteristics should manifest themselves in HPISD employees.	Design Team	Complete by Wed January 23, 2013	·         Research and sources collected in in step 3	Final list of characteristics and descriptions to be approved by district superintendents
5.      Sub committees formed within District Design Team to work on descriptions of agreed upon characteristics of an educator	Myself and the Design Team	Complete work by February 28, 2013	·         To be determined by group research…	Will be evaluated and edited by Design Team
6.      Design Team compiles list of characteristics with descriptors and drafts proposal for the “Profile of an Educator for the Future”	Myself and Design Team	Complete work by March 27, 2013	·         Compiled list of all sub groups characteristics and descriptions	Will be evaluated and edited by Design Team
7.      Edit the format and wording for final “Profile of an Educator for the Future” pamphlet	Editing Sub Group of  District Design Team	Due by May 9, 2015	·         Last year’s Learner of a Profile for the Future pamphlet will serve as a template	Design team will proof and edit final wording to be sent out for publishing
8.      Publish “Profile of an Educator for the Future Pamphlet”	Asst. Superintendent and Communications Dept.	Summer 2013	·         Final copy of Educator for the Future Profile ·         Sources	Public evaluation: Parents will hold teachers and staff accountable to profile presented Internal evaluation:  Admin will use the new educator profile an assessment tool for current teachers and a hiring tool for future employees

Action Research and State Testing

Unfortunately, today’s schools are rated almost exclusively on how the school performs on standardized tests.  The pressure to meet annual yearly progress (AYP) goals is a common thread of discussion for all teachers and administrators.  It doesn’t take long for anyone to look around and realize that there is no shortage of inquiry going on about school performance.  These scores are how schools are evaluated on the national, state and local levels.  It seems like most schools around the nation are currently working on a action research project to increase test scores in some way, shape, or form.  Studies such as this do have value.  They force schools to collect data and have an honest conversation about the state of student performance within their schools.  They allow administrators to see who is performing and who is not and in some cases they do shed light on things going on in the classroom.  However, I must admit that I personally believe the pendulum of research has swung far too much toward focusing on how to improve test scores. So much inquiry is being done on test scores that it seems like inquiry on instruction is being left behind.  The truth of the matter is that good instruction and good educators will produce good students.  Perhaps there should be more action research done on how accurately test scores reflect school performance?  I honestly think that research in that area will prove that our focus should return to instruction.  After all, if good instruction is left behind, all children will be left behind.  

The Benefits of Blogging

Web blogs on action research are essentially an online journal of professional thinking.  As one can imagine, there are many advantages using online documentation as research and inquiry take place.  For example, a blog allows one to look back at their perspective in the beginning of the research process and compare it to the new perspective at the end.  It also allows for uploading images, movie clips, or other digital tools that might not necessary be included in a written journal.  Lastly, it provides an area for reader feedback on the blog entries.  This piece could be the most beneficial because studies show that innovation and creative solutions to problems frequently come from a collaboration of minds over time.  Overall, one can see the many advantages for administrators and teachers who use blogs as part of either action research or even just part of their daily life in general.   

Action Research in Education

Like the world around us, the field of education is constantly changing and evolving.  In order to stay relevant in this field, all educators and administrators must adapt with that change.  As the guiding force within schools, principals and administrators especially need to stay current with the ebb and flow of change. Administrative inquiry, or action research, is the tool by which this is done.   In short, it is the continued study of effective administrative practice and educational leadership, resulting in a dynamic action plan for educational evolution. The process of action research includes a cycle involving planning, action, monitoring, and reflection.  This includes creating a question, collecting data on the question, analyzing that data, and finally, reporting the results. The key to this process is that it is being done by practitioners in the teaching field.  In other words, teachers are engaged in the design of the research plan, data collection, and interpretation of data.   This dynamic and ongoing spiral of reflection and action creates a much more authentic problem-solving model than previous educational research.  In addition, the results of action research usually approach solutions that could be applied to society as a whole, rather than just the educational world.  For example, a current field for administrative inquiry is the study and research of 21st century skills in the classroom and how teachers/administrators can help the educational realm grow with (as opposed to against) the evolving technological world around us. This research really does apply to how our society is changing in regards to technology and communication.  While the results of this study might be used to address issues in the classroom, they could also be used to address issues within all facets of our society.  Action research is an authentic process of metacognition and self-realization within the educational world.  It produces a framework for professional growth of teachers, but the implications of such do not stop in the schools. Thus the outcome of the research can produce a truly dynamic and interactive result rather than just information to add to the notch of the teaching belt.  


As stated above, a problem that I think is critical to look at as an administrator is how to effectively lead teachers as 21st Century educators.  I truly believe that the educational world is on the cusp of a major revolution.  We live in a world that is becoming increasingly connected through technology, yet in many ways we continue to teach in a 20^th century model.  I know there is a lot of talk in the educational world about introducing 21^st century skills… we need to be creating a learning environment where students can learn and grow into the type of citizens who can truly contribute to our future world.  We need to give them skills that can help them succeed in the “real world” so to speak.  Our students will not only need to be academically prepared, they will also have to be creative innovators, effective communicators, respectful collaborators and globally competent.  I think if we are truly honest with ourselves, our current educational model that revolves around standardized testing does not prepare students for this type of world.  I truly believe that more in depth action research needs to be done on integrating 21^st century skills into the education.  I would be interested in researching schools that focus entirely on Project-Based Learning (PBL) or reading about the Buck Institute that supports this type of educational structure.  From the research I’ve done so far, it seems like schools that follow the PBL model have both a high level of student engagement as well as sustained performance in creating future leaders.  It would be interesting to see how their scores compare to more traditional models.  Perhaps this type of 21^st century skill overhaul is what our educational world needs? As educator I would have to research and answer this question with my district before I could make a decision on whether or not this type of structural overhaul is actually needed.