Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Update of my Action Research



During our summer staff development, our whole campus was able to receive training from Love and Logic for behavior guidance.  The training was an eight hour training, and I was able to help by modeling some student behaviors for our presenter.  The staff all seemed on-board and willing to give the Love and Logic strategies a try.

Faced with an especially challenging group of 8th graders, I was able to use Love and Logic on the very first day of school.  I also enrolled in a Love and Logic for Parenting class that I attend once a week in the evenings.  It is my hope to be able to share this information with some particular parents as the need arises.

Last week, I met with the Academic Specialist, and we created an update lesson for PLCs.  We presented it and included some new information that wasn’t given in the initial training.

Everyone is still working on the basic processes of Love and Logic, and many of the teachers had questions at the PLC meetings.  However, the referrals for 8th grade ELAR are already less than they were by this time last year, and we are hearing students make comments about the way class is being run.

Next, I plan to work on a parent component, but I am not quite sure what / how it will work.  Stay tuned!

Monday, August 12, 2013

Reflecting on 5301 Research



To begin with, in the first week of the class, I learned that although inquiry is something I do in my classroom on a daily, probably hourly basis with my students, I was hesitant when I first came across this jargon.  After reading the assigned excerpts for this week’s assignment, things became much clearer.Harris, Edmondson, and Combs (2010) simply state that “Inquiry is investigating in a systematic way. Inquiry is examining data, asking questions, and requesting more information” (p.5).  Throughout this week’s readings, this definition acted as my baseline for understanding about this concept.  Inquiry seems to simply be the process of problem-solving through action.  As an administrator, this is something that one uses to “seek out change and reflect on their practice…” (Dana, 2009, p.2).  Dana (2009) describes it as “an intentional study of one’s own professional practice” (p.9).  By completing the action research process effectively, the administrator is completing his own professional development and gleaning a greater understanding for his students, teachers, and his own leadership style. It is interesting to me that this is something that administrators should do with priority, but as fires must be put out, it ends up being on the back burner for most.  Dana (2009) suggests that administrators block-out time for their administrative inquiry, that doing so will allow the administrator to take control and become proactive, rather than just reacting to situations.

In week 2, I watched several video lectures in which I learned about different ways to do research.  I chose two interviews that really spoke to me to focus on.  Dr. Briseno discussed the importance of qualitative data in regards to student achievement.  He stated, “…kids are kids, and sometimes if you just look at numbers, it doesn’t tell you the whole story.”  In his experience, the data that is on the page can only take you so far.  He feels that when you have a wondering about students’ scores, you should look at them not only as a set of data, but you should look into what is going on in their lives.  Dr. Lewis discussed a grant that his district received from the Gates foundation.  The purpose of the grant is to “…change the way we deliver instruction” to help ninth graders get on track for graduation.  The grant is research-based because the district must use their data in order to figure out what their areas of growth are and how they should attack those.  Different groups look at different areas of the data.  While those who are in upper-level positions understand how to complete research, some teachers may not know about the research process.  Everyone needs to know what they are looking at when they look at data and know what to do with that data.  I found both of these interviews informative, but I especially enjoyed Dr. Briseno’s interview from a teacher’s perspective.  I think principals and district and state administrators get so caught up in the numbers on the page in regards to student achievement, but I believe there is so much more that than that.  I fully agree that quantitative data is invaluable, but you can’t really understand how to improve it without knowing some of the qualitative data as well.  Dr. Lewis discussed the importance of knowing the research process more explicitly, and it opened my eyes to what some teachers, including myself before this class, don’t know about the importance of understanding how to do research.  I also learned about the 8 passions that help principals formulate their wonderings.  I was overwhelmed, again, by the many areas principals must dabble in.

In week 3, I created my Action Research Plan – what an undertaking.  Before creating the Action Research Plan, I met with my Site Supervisor to discuss my wondering and give her background information about my topic.  I was also able to glean background information based on her knowledge of the discipline issues at my campus.  After I have attended the “Love and Logic” training by Kimberly Smith, I plan to meet with my administrative team to build a group understanding of the topic.  Once the plan completed, I will present the information to my administrative team.  In that presentation, I will create a PowerPoint that systematically shows my learning from the research.  I will also share information from the student and teacher surveys in that PowerPoint.  These will serve as my data.  Finally, I will offer suggestions for systematic ways the campus can improve their behavior management process using “Love and Logic”.

Last week, for week 4, I learned about ways to sustain improvements at my campus from the Dana text.  The three strategies are:
Force Field analysis helps educators make informed decisions because they must focuses on both the driving forces and the resisting forces for a change.  It focuses on the process of the change, not so much on participants.  I liked this because it seemed the most logical of the three ways to sustain improvement.  I can see this being a great way to deal with issues like amount of tardies or failures on campus.  I plan to use this method to help me create my refresher course for my Action Research Project.The Delphi Method seems to be the method with which I am most familiar.  This seemed to be the natural progression of many e-mails I’ve sent and received.  Since this isn’t a face-to-face way of communicating, I see this method as working well for less touchy tasks, like building an agenda or creating a plan-of-action.  This is a way I will be able to keep anecdotal notes of the progress during my project.  Nominal Group Technique involves working with a small group who completes a five step process.  To me, this would be a great way to problem-solve when tensions are running high since everyone will get a chance to speak without being interrupted.
I also learned about the CARE model which is a planning tool for Action Research.  The last activity was to reflect on some of the comments on my blog about my action research plan.  I made some changes based on those comments and a meeting I had with my Site Supervisor.

Dana, N. F. (2009). Administrator Inquiry Defined. Leading with passion and knowledge: the principal as action researcher. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Corwin Press, a Joint Publication with the American Association of School Administrators.
Harris, S., Edmonson, S., & Combs, J. P. (2010). Step 1: Examining the Work: Setting the          Foundation. Examining what we do to improve our schools: 8 steps from analysis to action. Larchmont, NY: Eye on Education.

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Revised Action Research Plan

After eliciting some feedback from peers and meeting with my site supervisor, here is my revised copy of my Action Research Plan.  I have left the original copy in the previous post for your reference.  The main changes are that I omitted some extraneous steps and added a parent component to my plan.


Anne-Lauren Marrs’ Action Research Plan
Question: How will utilizing strategies from the book Teaching with Love and Logic (Fay, Funk) affect students in the middle school classroom?
Goal: To build a better understanding for strategies that work when dealing with students in a middle school classroom setting using a structured approach to behavior management.
Action Steps(s):
Person(s) Responsible:
Timeline: Start/End
Needed Resources
Evaluation
Attend a “Love and Logic” training by Kimberly Smith, a “Love and Logic” Trainer  with the staff at deZavala
Kimberly Smith and campus administrators
August 2013
Training materials provided by Ms. Smith
Complete and earn credit for professional development hours spent learning
Read Teaching with Love and Logic
 
Anne-Lauren Marrs
September 2013
Teaching with Love and Logic (Fay, Funk)
Notes taken for missed skills from original training
Meet with Site Supervisor and administrative team to discuss plan for classroom management
Anne-Lauren Marrs
September 2013
Teaching with Love and Logic (Fay, Funk)
Share my design with the admin team and obtain a list of ideas of how they see me utilizing the strategies in my room
Keep a list of anecdotal notes that explain interactions in which “Love and Logic” strategies are used in the classroom
Anne-Lauren Marrs
September 2013-June 2014
Notepad or Microsoft office document
Use anecdotal notes to help prepare refresher course for teachers; continuously reflect on changes I make
Conduct teacher survey during my PLC covering student behavior and utilization of “Love and Logic” strategies
Anne-Lauren Marrs; Martha Leal, Instructional Specialist
August – December 2013
Self-created surveys
Analyze the surveys; take information to formulate refresher course for teachers
Conduct campus refresher course on “Love and Logic” strategies
 
 
 
Anne-Lauren Marrs and Martha Leal, Instructional Specialist
Spring 2014
“Love and Logic” ancillaries and self-made ancillaries
End-of-development survey of new understanding to find out if teachers will use in their classrooms
Conduct a Parent Academy that focuses on “Love and Logic” strategies for parents of teenagers
Anne-Lauren Marrs; PTA President; Michelle Martinez – School Counselor
Spring 2014
Teacher-Made PowerPoint, Info Packets for Parents
Survey exit slip for parents to fill-out about their experience
Conduct end-of-the-year teacher survey
 
Anne-Lauren Marrs
June 2014
Self-created Surveys
Anonymous paper surveys for data about teachers’ experiences utilizing “Love and Logic” in their classrooms
Meet with campus administrative team to discuss findings
 
Anne-Lauren Marrs
June 2014
Findings organized in a meaningful way (PowerPoint)
Explain the process of the year’s work and discuss findings and how these findings can shape campus decisions for behavior management in the following school year

Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Action Research Plan


Anne-Lauren Marrs’ Action Research Plan
Question: How will utilizing strategies from the book Teaching with Love and Logic (Fay, Funk) affect students in the middle school classroom?
Goal: To build a better understanding for strategies that work when dealing with students in a middle school classroom setting using a structured approach to behavior management.
Action Steps(s):
Person(s) Responsible:
Timeline: Start/End
Needed Resources
Evaluation
Attend a “Love and Logic” training by Kimberly Smith, a “Love and Logic” Trainer
Kimberly Smith
August 2013
Training materials provided by Ms. Smith
Complete and earn credit for professional development hours spent learning
Read Teaching with Love and Logic

Anne-Lauren Marrs
September 2013
Teaching with Love and Logic by Jim Fay and David Funk
Notes taken for missed skills from original training
Keep a list of anecdotal notes that explain interactions in which “Love and Logic” strategies are used in the classroom
Anne-Lauren Marrs
September 2013-June 2014
Notepad or Microsoft office document
Use anecdotal notes to help prepare refresher course for teachers
Conduct teacher survey covering student behavior and utilization of “Love and Logic” strategies
Anne-Lauren Marrs and Martha Leal, Instructional Specialist
August – December 2013
Self-created surveys
Analyze the surveys; take information to formulate refresher course for teachers
Conduct campus refresher course on “Love and Logic” strategies



Anne-Lauren Marrs and Martha Leal, Instructional Specialist
Spring 2014
“Love and Logic” ancillaries and self-made ancillaries
End-of-development survey of new understanding to find out if teachers will use in their classrooms
Conduct end-of-year student survey

Anne-Lauren Marrs teamed with 8th grade ELAR teachers

June 2014
Team-Created Surveys
Anonymous paper surveys for data about students’ experiences in a “Love and Logic” classroom
Conduct end-of-the-year teacher survey

Anne-Lauren Marrs
June 2014
Self-created Surveys
Anonymous paper surveys for data about teachers’ experiences utilizing “Love and Logic” in their classrooms
Analyze both sets of surveys to see trends

Anne-Lauren Marrs
June 2014
Self-Created and Teacher-Created Surveys
Analyze surveys along with anecdotal notes to learn how students were affected by the use of “Love and Logic” strategies
Meet with campus administrative team to discuss findings

Anne-Lauren Marrs
June 2014
Findings organized in a meaningful way (PowerPoint)
Explain the process of the year’s work and discuss findings and how these findings can shape campus decisions for behavior management in the following school year\