Super STaR

It has been a while!

Greetings!  It has been a while since I posted anything, but I am hoping to do better.  I am really getting the "blog-bug."  I am actually planning on starting a personal blog with teaching strategies and tips.  Once I have it up, I will post the link for it as well. 

I am now in EDLD 5352 - Instructional Leadership:  Technology Component.  I am excited because my district is really pushing for more technology enrichment opportunities in the classroom.  I look forward to learning how to incorporate more tech in the GT enrichment class.

Talk to you all soon!
Mitzi

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.