Draft Action Research Project Report

The impact Gifted and Talented (GT) and/or Advanced Placement (AP) teacher training has on the gifted and general education student

Needs Assessment

As my school district incorporated  heterogeneous classrooms, teachers were encouraged to attend teacher trainings that reinforced increasing rigor levels and developing differentiation skills, more specifically receive the thirty hours of Gifted and Talented training.  Many teachers took advantage of the opportunity, however, many chose not to do so.  With this, my supervisior and I determined it would be beneficial to measure the difference of  student achievement of the classrooms that are led by a teacher trained in the skills of differentiation and increasing rigor, and those that are not.  If data shows better instruction and student achievement with those attending training, this type of training could become mandatory.  As shown in Table 1, there were a large amount of teachers that have chosen or chose to attend gifted and talented training.

Table 1:  The amount of teachers attending GT training
Campus	Total Number of Core Teachers	Number attending GT training
SFA Elementary School	35	18
Richter Elementary School	41	20
KMB Elementary School	40	25
Nottingham Middle School	20	15
Woodrow Wilson Jr. High School	35	15
Dayton High School	52	25

Objectives and Vision

I will evaluate the level of rigor and differentiation applied in all core subject classrooms.  I will determine if there is a difference in the amount of rigor and differentiation applied in the classroom of a teacher that participated in GT training and those that did not.  I will provide learning opportunities for those lacking rigor and differentiation to enhance student achievement.  If those that attend the GT training are more prepared in differentiation skills and increasing rigor, I will recommed that it become mandatory for all teachers to receive Gifted and Talented training for future years, in order to improve student achievement as we continue with heterogeneous classroom design.

Review of Literature and Action Research Strategy

Based on the decision to go to a heterogeneous classroom design, my Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction – Peter Griffiths; Superintendent – Mike Kuhrt; and myself were curious if teachers that have had the thirty hours of GT training, including differentiation skills and increasing rigor, will have more student success based on this training.  Our goal is to have research based results showing the success of differentiation and increased rigor.  With these results, we will make it mandatory for all core-subject teachers to attend the thirty hour GT training.  Our goal is to make instruction consistent on all campuses and increase the learning of all students of all academic levels.  District administrators and coordinators will conduct curriculum walkthroughs that measure the level of differentiation and rigor taking place in the classroom.  The walkthrough results will always be shared with the teacher receiving the walkthrough.  The walkthroughs will simply serve as a “snap shot” of what is taking place at that time, therefore, multiple walkthroughs will take place of a period of time.  Teacher and student results will also be evaluated using the Curriculum Based Data every six weeks.  We will measure the increase and decrease of student achievement with teachers receiving GT training and those not receiving the training.

Articulated the Vision

I communicated the action research project to the district staff through e-mail, teacher trainings, faculty meetings, and one-on-one meetings.  I shared the project with my supervisor and Superintendent in a sit-down meeting, where we discussed student achievement and teacher training.  I will share the results with the community once the project is complete.  I will do so through the district website.

Manage the Organization

Student achievement is the number one concern.  Therefore, this project is solely based on student success and progress.  The individuals conducting the walkthroughs are myself, other district coordinators, campus administrators, and district administrators.  These individuals are already conducting walkthroughs as part of their job description, therefore, we did not have to modify job requirments or time.  Classroom walkthroughs are conducted in 2-5 minutes per classroom, in order, to minimize classroom disruption.  Immediate feedback is provided to teacher to enhance classroom instruction.  Every six weeks, a data dig meeting takes place to dissect the data.  I will use the data received in these meetings to measure teacher and student success.

Manage Operations

The strategy I have used to lead the operations of the project is part of my job description as the Gifted and Talented Coordinator.  I am communicating with other district administrators to discuss walkthrough data and results along with CBA data.  The needs assessment was easily identified when my district chose to go to a heterogeneous grouping for the classroom.  We wanted to find a way to enhance the learning of all students, not just the gifted or struggling learner.  As differentiated instruction has become a hot topic, we realized tha all teachers that attend the thirty hours of gifted and talented training, receive in-depth skills to enhance differentiation and rigor in the classroom for all learners.  When we realized that only about half of our teachers have attended this type of training, we wanted to compare the results of the two groups of teachers.  We communicated this goal with other administrators and as we conducted the initial walkthroughs, we saw a great demand for differentiation and rigor training.  There has been conflict about walkthroughs.  The teachers felt threatened with administrators coming into their classroom.  We are calming the conflict by reassuring the teacher that the walkthroughs are meant to be curriculum support and allow us to determine the best strategies to enhance student learning.  We are focused on increasing student success. 

Responding to Community Interest and Needs

Our district most recently went to a heterogeneous learning environment, versus homogenous.  This has raised community concern.  Many parents and community leaders are concerned that those of the minority or with special needs will not receive the education they deserve and need.  This is what intrigued me on this research project topic.  We notify these parents and individuals on the increased focus on differentiation and rigor.  We show them how many teachers have received the training and how we are helping those that have not.  If we set the bar high for increased achievement for all learners, we will see improved student achievement for all. 

Gifted and Talented Program - QUEST

I have launched our new gifted and talented program for our district.  It will be called, QUEST.  This stands for - "Questioning, Understanding, Evaluating, Searching, Thinking."  I am extremely excited about this new opportunity for our children.  The issue I am running into is parent opinions and support.  Due to the fact that my district is in a small town that does not like change (of any kind, good or bad), they are extremely apprehensive.  I am working so hard to break down the walls of miscommunication and discontent to open the doors to opportunity, learning, and higher level thinking.  I have my first parent meeting in October and I hope this will give parents a chance to share their concerns with me and allow me to gain their trust.  I know change and attitude cannot be changed over night, but I am looking forward to the day that I have earned their blessings and our new QUEST program is a great success! 

EDLD 5326

I am now in a new course with Lamar.  It is about Community and Parent Involvement.  I am really excited about this course because I know the importance of parent and community support for students.  I would not be where I am today if it wasn't for the support and love of my parents and the motivation from my community.  I strongly believe that without the support of parents, students suffer greatly.  I know in my classrooms in the past, each year parent support and involvment became less and less.  The consequence of this was the idea students began to form due to this lack of interest.  Many felt school wasn't important and that they were only there because they "had" to be.  Teachers can do their best to change this mindset, however, if parents are not involved or supportive of the classroom and education of their children, then the battle is an uphill climb.  Our children need us more than ever!

As I reflect on my time in Action Research, I must admit that the course was not what I first expected.  I had the same assumption that many others had – research, meant boring.  However, action research is a different level of research.  I explain it others as research that allows you to reflect on your campus or districts improvement plan.  It begins by posing a question or issue you feel needs to be resolved.  The principal or administrator then conducts research to result in plan of action that will benefit the campus, district, teachers, and students.  By conducting action research, the principal becomes the head learner and sets a positive example for his/her campus.  When the principal decides to be a learner and practices this with his/her staff and students, the campus momentum changes for the positive.  The students will value their learning more knowing their leader values its importance.  With that being said, one of the things that made the most impact on me in this course was learning to use reflective journals and/or weblogs to document my findings and things I have learned.  By doing this, my staff, administrators, coworkers, as well as fellow teachers across the state will be able to learn with me as I journey through my action research plan. 

Utilizing journals or weblogs allows a principal-researcher with a tool for reflecting on their own though processes (Dana, 2009).  If one chooses to use a weblog, it works like an online diary that others can reference use as a source.  Another benefit to blogging is, that one can combine text, images, and links to other blogs as well as post comments in an interactive format.  The comment feature of blogs allows principal-researchers to receive feedback from anyone in the world (Dana, 2009).  Blogging is a great way to also allow students a chance to learn in an interactive manner.  When the principal utilizes this tool, his/her teachers will be more likely to open this learning opportunity for his/her students.  A win-win for all.  Blogging takes learning into the 21^st century.

As I mentioned earlier, when a principal becomes the head learner of his/her campus, the learning environment steps up a notch.  As Dana states, besides using the journal or blog as a powerful data collection tool for the principal, as “Head Learners,” principals can share their journal writing or blogging time with students to model a love for writing (Dana, 2009).  I love an idea a principal had.  She scheduled ten minutes of journal writing time into her schedule each week, coordinating this time with a writer’s workshop in tow of the fifth-grade classrooms in her building.  She would show up once a week in the classroom and sit with the students as they silently participated in journal reflections (Dana, 2009).  This example the principal set for her students and staff is stronger than simply telling them what to do.  The action spoke louder than words. 

As I grow into an administrator, I hope that I too can set that kind of example for my staff and students and always be a “Head Learner.”

Works Cited

Dana, Nancy Fichman (2009).  Leading with passion and knowledge:  The principal as   

           action researcher.  Thousand Oaks, CA:  Corwin Press.

As week 5 winds down

Well, as week five winds down, I cannot believe how time has flown by.  I have learned a tremendous amount of information.  However, most importantly, I have learned to appreciate research on a new level.  I realize it is not only reading but more of an aspiration to become a better administrator by reflecting on your current position and how to always improve.  As I continue down the road of administration, I hope to continue to learn from an action research plan.

Time flies by!

I read on a fellow class friend's blog how she was going to set a phone reminder for herself to remind her to post progress on her blog.  I want to take this a step farther.  Not only do we need to remember to post blogs about our action research, but we must also remember our tasks on our Internship plan.  Therefore, something I am doing is to write the tasks I had "planned" to achieve on my Internship Plan on my desk calendar on my desk. So whatever items I need to do in August, I will write on the notes margin of my desk calendar to keep me on track.  I wanted to share this idea and hope it helps you also stay focused before time flies by.  Good luck everyone!

Action Research Underway

This week was my first week on my new job as Gifted and Talented Academic Coordinator.  Good news is I know I am right where God wants me to be.  That is such a blessed feeling.  I am also very excited because I was given ample opportunity to dicuss my action research plan with other administrators and how we are going to implement it.  This year our district will be conducting administrator walk-throughs that allow us to be in the classrooms seeing what the teachers are doing to enhance student performance.  One of the walk-throughs we will be conducting is one on rigor.  This will allow us to give teachers the tools to enhance the rigor in their classroom.  By conducting these walkthroughs, it will allow me and other administrators to help the teachers that need assistance and praise those that are right on target.  I hope to possibly video short spurts of the teaching styles of the teachers that are practicicing elevated rigor and differentiated instruction to show other teachers that differentiated instruction works and helps the students become more successful learners.  If teachers  are resistant to the changes we are trying to implement, can see first hand that the strategies we are stressing work, they will be more likely to use them in their own classrooms.  For the teachers that do struggle with rigor and differentiated instruction, we will gie them more training on the subjects in Job Embedded Professional Development sessions (JEPD).  These sessions will be short courses to better elaborate on the needed topics and give the teacher more tools to use in the classroom.  I will be conducting my first JEPD on September 16 on the subject of rigor.  I hope to give teachers a better idea of what rigor should look, feel, and sound like in the classroom.  This will be one of my steps in my action research journey.

How to post research plan

I found two ways to publish my research plan on the blog.  First you can follow the second set of instructions that were on the link they gave us on Epic on how to post your blog.  I did this and it posted it as a link to click.  I also experimented and I copied my plan from word and then pasted it into a new blog and that is the most recent post I have of the actual plan.  Take a look at both ways and hopefully one of them will work for you as well.

Action Research Plan

Action Plan
Goal: Research the impact Gifted and Talented and/or Advanced Placement teacher training has on the gifted and general ed student.  I will focus on the differentiation and rigor levels that are present in classrooms of teachers that participated in the trainings versus teachers that did not and evaluate the student performance in the two types of classroom settings.
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Create a list of teachers that attend GT/AP teacher training	Miriam Kline; Sherri Long; Kaye Porter; Dorrie Lang	August 6, 2011	Staff Development attendance list	Ensure each teacher that is educating gifted students is properly certified and has received their required renewal hours.
Construct a list of GT students in each grade.	Miriam Kline; Campus Principals	August 6, 2011	GT identification results; classroom rosters	Ensure each GT identified student is with a certified GT teacher.
Conduct walkthroughs of classrooms of with teachers that have had GT/AP training and document differentiation strategies and rigor levels of instruction	Mitzi Kline and district coordinators, and camps administrators	August 2011 – June 2012	Walkthrough evaluation forms; PDAS expectations	Conducting walkthroughs will allow me to evaluate differentiation levels and rigor levels in GT classrooms and general ed classrooms.
Compare student performance of students in a classroom with GT certified teacher and those that are not.	District coordinators including myself and campus administrators	September 2011-June 2012	District assessment results and state assessment results	Comparing the data will allow us to see if teachers with training in differentiation and rigor of GT students improve the scores of their general ed students by applying skills from GT training.
Survey teachers that participate GT and AP training to see if they utilize the skills they learn with general ed students.	GT/AP teachers	October-November 2011	Survey Monkey	Getting teachers input on their experience with GT/AP training and how much the utilize will allow us to determine if the training is sufficient or needs improving.
Conduct walkthroughs of classrooms with teachers that have not had GT/AP training	District Coordinators (including myself), Campus Administrators	September 2011-June 2012	Walkthrough evaluation forms; PDAS expectations	Conducting walkthroughs of general ed classrooms will allow comparison of rigor and differentiation strategies with GT classrooms.

Action Research Plan

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Oh my, oh my

I must admit, that I am overwhelmed with the action research plan.  At one point I feel I am on the right track, then I feel like I have bitten off more than I can chew.  Is there anyone else out there that feels the same anxiety as I do?  I have chosen a topic that I will be working on as part of my new position with my district, however, I'm nervous of doing it all correctly.  My project will be posted soon and I look forward to hearing your feedback.  I ask that you give me as much as you possibly can to help me.  Thanks my friends!

Never stop learning

Howdy!  As I went through this week's lessons, readings, and so on for my Master's something kept being said over and over - the importance of continued education.  Now, I've always known that one must never stop learning.  However, hearing it and reading it multiple times this week, this concept took a new meaning.  As an educator we always want to inspire our students to keep working towards a common goal - graduation, college, career.  But shouldn't we be setting an example that learning doesn't stop once you have landed that dream job.  It should always be a continuing process.  If teachers would model learning and how it never stops, then our students would be more apt to do the same.  Our students hear only a small percentage of what we say, but they see and hear what we do.  I liked how one leader put it, if we will take the time to read 10-15 minutes a day in the area we are interested in, we can learn a great deal of information and maybe how to solve problems through someone else's experience.  Like my colleague and boss states it is always best to, Reduce, Recycle and Reuse - even in education.

Why me?? Why should educational leaders use blogs?

Why blog???  I must admit, this is a question I asked even myself.  Why should I or anyone else blog??  Blogging is part of the 21st Century and as educational leaders, we expect our students to be active learners in the 21st century, therefore we must do the same.  Blogging allows educational leaders to discuss "hot" topics that we all face.  Through blogging other eduational leaders are able to learn and provide feedback.  This open communciation has no boundaries by miles or distance.  It allows open communication for all that have an opinion or desire to learn.  It provides ample opportunity for those that want to stay in the "know."

Wow! Action Research

Research:  (1) A boring way of being told what I am obviously doing wrong by someone who has no idea what it is like to do what I do and then being expected to practice what I learned.  (2)  Sitting for hours reading studies and books on a topic that is foreign to me and then being expected to regurgitate what I read. 

These were the defintions I envisioned when I heard the word, "research."  However, thanks to a new concept called, "Action Research," I have a new opinion and outlook on something I once thought to be a dreary idea.  Action research, also known as administrative inquiry, is the idea that an individual becomes the researcher and solves their own questions through action.  For example, as a teacher we all have issues or problems that we want to solve.  In action research, we, the teacher, take action.  We investigate, question, experiment, interpret data, and discuss our findings.  Now, I know this sounds like a lof of work and who has time for that.  But think of the benefits that one would reap by conducting action research.  I know we promote "student-centered learning" in the classroom.  Well, think of action research as "teacher-centered research."  It is research that enables us to determine the issues we endure and how to better solve them.  To me, the best part of action research is the opportunity to communicate with a community of other professionals.  This open communication allows one to enter the world outside the classroom and learn from others.  It all makes sense, if we expect our students to do it, shouldn't we practice what we preach and become actively engaged in the action of research? 

Action research can be used in a number of ways.  For example, a principal may create leadership teams on his/her campus.  These leadership teams are a small group of faculty and staff that meet to discuss issues and address circumstances facing the campus.   The principal can utilize this time to allow the team time to research the reasons for certain issues (ex.  why are math test scores decreasing) and create a problem solvingn plan based on their findings.  By engaging the leadership team in action research, ensures that not only are the members of the team conducting meetings, but they are also learning.  Action research can be used by a single teacher that is concerned with an issue in their own classroom.  A teacher may decide to research why one of her classes is performing lower than others.  The teacher will analyze all of the circumstances that affect their teaching and student learning.  They will analyze data and design a plan of action.