Action Research Project
Goal: To determine if the frequency and intensity of RTI for TIER III students is helping students become more successful.  What areas of RTI Tier III need to be changed or modified to make it more successful?
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
1. Discuss Action Research topics with site supervisor.	Myself, and Dawn Randolph (assistant principal and site supervisor)	12/03/12 – 12/07/12	* Internship Plan	Discussed and created Action Research topic and wonderings
2. Look at the current curriculum and data for current tier III students.	Myself, Dawn Randolph (Assistant Principal and site supervisor), Diana Hedge (campus tier III specialist)	01/10/13 – 02/07/13	* Tier III curriculum * Progress monitoring data	Look at Progress Monitoring data and curriculum standards and determine average length of time students are in tier III.
3. Develop a plan to monitor current tier III progress and data collection.	Myself	02/08/13 – 02/28/13	*Access to past progress monitoring on all tier III students	Evaluate tier III students past progress and which tier III students have the possibility of exiting the program.
4. Monitor tier III progress on current tier III students and gather data.	Myself	02/28/13 – 04/12/13	* Progress monitoring data	Evaluate current progress monitoring data
5. Determine what changes (if any) need to be made to the tier III program.	Myself, Dawn Randolph (Assistant Principal and site supervisor	04/12/13 – 05/13/13	* Data gathered from step 2 and 4.	Review with Diana Hedge any weaknesses the current tier III curriculum may have.
6. Implement tier III strategies discussed in step 5.	Myself, Dawn Randolph (Assistant Principal and site manager), and Diana Hedge (campus tier III specialist)	05/14/13 – 05/31/13  Pick up again following school year  09/02/13 – 11/08/13	* Changes formulated in step 5.	Gather progress monitoring data during this time frame.  Receive feedback from Diana Hedge.
7. Evaluate results of the changes discussed in step 5.	Myself and Dawn Randolph (Assistant Principal and site manager),	11/11/13 – 11/25/13	*Data gathered from all above steps.	Evaluate progress monitoring during timeframe in step 6 and compare to previous progress monitoring.
8. Reflect on my findings and make recommendations for next school year.	Myself	11/26/13 – 11/28/13	* Blog generated in EDLD 5301 *Discuss findings with Diana Hedge and Dawn Randolph	Reflection of findings and providing these findings with my fellow educators and other educators.

Template was received from the following source on page 85:

Harris, S., Edmonson, S., Combs, J. (2010). Examining What We Do to Improve Our Schools. Larchmont, NY: Eye on Education.

Week 2

This week I read Chapter Two of Leading with Passion and Knowledge: The Principal as Action Researcher by Nancy Dana. This chapter discussed nine different passions for action research and how they play a crucial role in running a successful school/district.  While reading this chapter I realized that action research must be used by administrators to continue learning and to understand what makes his or her school successful.  Throughout  my career, I will continually refer back to action research and remember how effective this type of research is for school community growth and success. 

 

Action Research

While reading about action research, I learned many valuable ideas to use to help make a school environment successful.  Through collaborative groups, professional learning communities, university coursework, and superintendent/district meetings, administrators are encompassing all available learning environments to help their schools become successful and develop an always learning environment. 

One of the ideas is the forming of a collaborative group to help in building a culture of collaboration coupled with educational reform, accountability, and improved standards that require visionary and strategic planning.  Not only does it involve the principal but it also encompasses the school community.  The group meets to share problems, responsibilities and decision making.  With this collaboration comes a sense of not being alone when trying to deal with problems and in making the right decision.  Together, the team can continually learn together and in turn encourage others to learn. 

A professional learning community consists of six to twelve professionals that meet on regular bases to learn from structured dialogue and are always engaged in a never ending learning cycle.  It involves the articulation, wondering and collection of data to make improvements in practice based on what is learned and shared between professionals during these meetings.  These meetings also serve as support for each other in school and leadership practices. 

Through university coursework, students begin to bond with each other over experiences.  They also can lean on each other, learn from each other, and help each other through each aspect of the inquiry process. 

There are many ways that I can use action research in my school.  By forming these different groups in my school, I am working collaboratively with others to gain insights into the inner workings of what is going on in the school.  Through this collaboration, we can form solutions to issues that are problematic and find ways to make an open and successful learning environment.  
University course work helps with keeping current in professional development.  It also encourages the bonding of others outside of the school that are experiencing the same type of processes needed to be successful.  Developing relationships with others that are going through  similar experiences enables you to lean on and learn from each other also. 

Educational leaders could use blogs as a form of communication with the school community.  It would be a positive and "safe" place for everyone to voice and share their opinions and ideas without feeling on the spot or pressure to participate until they are ready.  It would also give the school community a place to share positive information about each other.  This could be the springboard to building a positive and encouraging environment.