Site Supervisor Meeting

The question that I want to examine during my action research project is, “How can I use technology in the high school math class room in order to create engagement and increase student learning?” This is a very important topic to me because I feel that I could breathe new life into my math classes by getting technology into the student’s hands and allowing them to participate in self directed learning.

This past week I was extremely busy, but I was able to find some time to have a short meeting with my site supervisor about my action research plan. I was very pleased with how this meeting went because he thinks that I have an exceptional plan that is very practical for my students. He is an administrator who has worked very hard to get new technology into teacher’s hands and pressed for more training on how to effectively use it in our classrooms. He is also believes in the benefits of data analysis on issues like behavior and student achievement. One point of caution that I did receive from Mr. Garcia is that it may be very difficult for me to be consistent in my new curriculum and not go back to my old ways when things get difficult. I agree with this because it is very easy for us as educators to figure out what works and not seek to step out of our comfort zones. I think that this is great advice. I believe that the benefits of this research will be well worth the struggles. However, I acknowledge that I must stay committed and positive till the end. 

Finally I have really enjoyed reading the posts that have been left on my plan. Please continue to post and help me out! 

Action Research Draft Plan

1.    Setting the Foundation: Through curriculum planning meetings and daily interactions with other math teachers it has come to my attention that there is a need for more engaging technology based lessons in the math classroom.

2.    Analyzing Data: Test or benchmark overall scores will be compared to results from previous years. Additionally, scores of individual class assessments will be compared to those of other sections in the same class.

3.    Developing Deeper Understanding: Interviews with district curriculum and technology professionals will be conducted in order to gain insights on using technology in the classroom setting and integrating it successfully into lesson plans. Interviews will also be conducted with students who are both excelling and struggling with the class material with the purpose of finding ways to scaffold their learning or create more challenging lessons.

4.    Engage is Self-Reflection: I plan on conducting interviews with several district and campus curriculum coordinators as well as technology professionals. In these interviews I plan to gain vital insight into how I need to change my teaching practices in order to successfully integrate technology into my daily lessons. Additionally, self-reflection exercises should take place both before, during, and after I complete my research. Constant self-evaluation should help me gain a better understanding of how to enhance math curriculum through the effective use of technology.

5.    Exploring Programmatic Patterns: After speaking with my site supervisor I have pin-pointed some things that I need to pay special attention to during my project. I need to make sure that I have an accurate timeline of when I need to conduct my interviews and how often I should give examinations to my students to determine the overall effectiveness of my lessons. Also I need to make sure that I have several different options of technology to implement for similar lessons because I have learned in my short teaching career that what works with one class may not work with another.

6.    Determining Direction:  I feel that I have created a research question that very clearly conveys the problem that I am attempting to solve. I will use collaboration with others by seeking out advice from technology professionals, curriculum coordinators, and my site supervisor. Through my conversations with these professionals I will formulate a timeline of when to implement different technology resources into my lessons, and will also derive an accurate plan of how to give writing assignments for evaluating student success. As I gain information based on my evaluations I will continue to collaborate with others to make sure that I am proceeding and making adjustments in the most efficient and beneficial way.    

7.    Taking Action for School Improvement: The results (or scores) of the evaluations will be compared with the written reflections that I receive from the students. Together they will be analyzed and a comprehensive report to be presented to the principal will be formulated. The report will include a proposal for action with respect to utilizing more technology resources in the math classroom.

Sustain Improvement: The results of the research must be shared with other educators in order for all students to achieve that maximum benefit. During the following school year the results must again be analyzed and evaluated with the purpose of continuing to find new methods of integrating technology into the math classroom.

I found this week's lesson to be very thought provoking as far as coming up with a topic that I will pursue in my action research project. One of the main things that I learned that helped determine my topic was the point that Dr. Kirk Lewis made about the practicality in a research topic. Based on this I have chosen to discover resources that will lead me to more effectively use technology in the classroom. I am very excited to get started.

Using Blogs

Internet blogs can be used by educators and administrators in a number of different ways. One thing that I really like about using blogs is that you can publish a large amount of topics in one location. Another useful aspect of Internet blogs is how education leaders can build online learning communities simply by posting a topic and asking for opinions. This could be utilized as a great way to conduct staff development or gather staff perspective.     

Action Research

I have learned that administrative inquiry or action research is a process that is designed for professional growth and is vital to improving student learning. The process is very involved and introspective. A principal or an educator deliberately engages in self-analysis on his or her administrative practices in order to gain a better perspective on their actions and choices utilized in their administrative capacity. Once specific issues have been identified the administrator will then seek out resources to help themselves better understand their issues or questions. Gathering data and other information about the principal’s “wonderings” is only part of the research process. The most important part is determining how they will take action in order to change based on the knowledge they have gained through active research. I think another very important step of action research process is sharing the findings with others in order to pass the benefit of research on to others who may have similar issues or questions about their own methods. I think that I will be able to use action research in a number of ways during my internship and throughout my career. I consider myself an effective educator, but I know that there are a lot of areas where I need improvement. Curriculum planning, encouraging collaborative learning and effectively integrating technology into the classroom are a few topics where active research would benefit me greatly. I look forward to learning more throughout this course so that I can more effectively improve myself as an educator and a leader.