Action Research Project Action Plan

Action Research Project
Process Overview
Increasing Parental Involvement to Increase Student Achievement

1. Setting the Foundation --
Through the collaboration and during meetings with the Parent Liaison, principal, and/or
other entities such as the Site Based Decision making committee decisions can be made as
how to involve our parents into the school to improve student success on standardized
assessments.

2. Analyzing Data --
Through the use of a variety of data gathering (surveys in English/Spanish to the
parents of 11th grade students) and also through electronic searches (search the ERIC data
base, using Google search engines, visiting the AASA, and the NASSP websites) to find
information relating to this topic.

3. Developing Deeper Understanding --
From the use of the methods to gather data mentioned in step number 2, more questions
are likely to pop up in comparison to the answers. It is important to note that because of
this there might be a shift to the actual beginning question. It is important for the action
researcher to remain flexible and not to just make the research fit into this one particular
question. Through the use of interviewing, observations, survey results, and the
research found a deeper understanding about this issue will begin to immerge.

4. Engage in Self-Reflection --
Self reflection is a critical component of the Action Plan Research packet. This allows for
the researcher to look into the information found and then ask questions that make sure
they are on target with what they are looking for.
Is the data I am looking at valid and reliable?
Is there going to a real outcome to this project?
How will I get the parents to buy into this project?

5. Exploring Programmatic Patterns --
During this part of the Plan, I must make sure that I seek the advice of my on-site supervisor
and any other colleagues that would offer me concrete and real advice/criticism. This would
also include the Parent Liaison, parent volunteers, and the principal. It is crucial that during
this entire process that steps four and five are on-going and productive.

1. Determining Direction –
Again, here it is important to make sure that I am staying the course. I must make sure that
I can answer these questions:
A. Are you clear on what your attempting to solve?
I am looking to see if increased parent involvement increases student success on
standardized assessments.
B. Have you adequately addressed the skills and resources questions?
I have the skills needed for this but I will need to search for resources.
C. Have you established a collaborative approach to this question?
Not yet, but once school begins I will implement this.
D. Are your timelines realistic?
I believe they are. Changes can be made once a committee is put in place.
E. Do you have a reasonable plan to monitor the project?
As of right now, I would have to say the plan is a working plan basically meaning I will
change it as the research actually begins.
F. Do you have a reasonable plan for determining the level of success – how do you
evaluate if the plan is effective?
I will evaluate the plan using the results from the survey. Once we get these in we can
begin to implement necessary changes. More than likely this will take place over a two
year period.
G. How will you revise and improve the plan based on monitoring and evaluation?
Using the self reflection questions and meeting with the committee any alterations to the
plan will be made.

2. Taking Action for School Improvement –
Due to the information found during this Action Research Project using the Action Plan
Template from Part II, the committee will meet to discuss how the research is progressing a
and in which direction we need to go in.
Tool 7.1 Action Planning Template
____________________________________________________________________________
Goal: Implement programs that increase parent involvement to increase to student
performance on standardized assessments.

Action Person(s) Timeline: Needed Evaluation
Steps Responsible Start/End Resources

1. Begin on Research Literature

Allen Wilson

August 2010

Time, Internet

Find information that is related to this topic and how it could be used at Lanier High School.

2.Meet with Parent Liaison at Lanier HS

Allen Wilson/Tina Morales

August 2010

Time, Internet

Begin to make a list of ways to actively involve parents in school. Begin Parent Survey

3.Create committee of school members/parent volunteers

Allen Wilson/Tina Morales

September 2010

Time, Meeting Room, reference materials

Create a committee that is dedicated in increasing parental involvement.

4.Research as a group

Committee members

October 2010

Time, Internet
Search for ways to increase parent involvement.

5.Share information within group

Committee members

November 2010

Time, Internet

Sharing out the information gathered and begin to outline a plan.

8. Sustain Improvement --
In this last section of the Action Research Plan, some positive effects will take place or
instead there might be some ways to improve on the things that the school is currently
doing. It is essential to share these events, findings, and ideas so we can sustain
improvement with issues of improving parent involvement and student success on
standardized assessments.

Week 2 Reflection

This was a great week of information. I thought the interviews from the three administrators offered great insight on how to motivate your faculty and to offer suggestions to their teachers on how to conduct action research. I thought the information that Dr. Chargois shared was very important regarding how important it is for teachers today and those in college and/or teacher preparation programs begin to realize that they need to make sure that they are cognizant of the data that is being produced and to work together to find solutions.

I am interested to see where my topic will lead me: Increasing Parent support in the high school setting to increase to student achievement, and to search through the data that has been found so far regarding this topic. I know it will lead to something very positive for my campus or maybe it will steer me to something else entirely that I never thought of. The success of this project will be the journey not necessarily in the destination. We shall see.

Educational uses for blogs

I intend to implement blogs for my classes this school year. In addition to this, as department chair, I plan on implementing blogs for our science teachers as well. I think that it would be awesome if our school had a blog and be able to talk to the principal or assistant principals about incidents that happended, upcoming events, good things that happened or were witnessed. I am very excited about this.

Action Research

We have all been to that training where we listen to the researcher stand at a podium and begin to talk about his latest research for the next three hours. They begin with a joke that isn't funny and they fumble through their very dull and unattractive PowerPoint switching back from slide one to slide ten and then back to one. Please don't send me back there... there is so much I could do with those three hours that would positively impact my classroom.
Action research, or administrative inquiry, has now put the power into the hands of the educator and has given some real authority in making decisions that affect their own classrooms. Following the steps that are presented in the text, Leading with Passion and Knowldege by Nancy Dana, educators can now focus in on an issue that is affecting the campus and begin to find practical and research based solutions to these problems. But what makes Action research so much more approachable is that this can then be presented to the staff by the very people that produced the results, the teachers and staff for that campus. The cycle then continues onto a new topic/issue/concern and the school takes responsibility for their own problems and searches to seek real solutions.