Feedback

    I have received feedback on my blog about my action research plan.  Suggestions seem to be linked to the experiences that others had (good or bad) in their district when they used PLC's.  I also received some suggestions on the discussion board.  The majority of the feedback from the discussion board was that  PLC's had been very positive at each of their campuses, but that it took a little tweaking after implementation.  Two major points coming out in the discussion board were to make sure there is adequate time to meet and make sure there is an agenda to keep the staff on task.

Starting PLC's at Kaufman High School

Goal: Successfully Implement PLC’s At Kaufman High School
Action Steps	Person Responsible	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Research	Richard Smith K. Campbell	Started last spring. Will not stop till implementation	Internet, books	Collaboration of what we like from what we have read and talked to others about? What do we think will work at our school?
Create agendas	R. Smith K. Campbell	Want to start working on this in January	Several copies of what works for other school districts.	Is this agenda workable and applicable to all that will use it? Will it keep discussion focused and to the point?
Create meeting schedule	R. Smith K. Campbell	Will start working on a schedule when the creation of the 2012 master schedule is completed.	Master schedule, copies of what worked at other school districts.	Are the meeting times doable by all? Do they conflict with anything? Are we meeting enough to obtain the goals that we want? Are we meeting too much?
Creation of PLC groups	R. Smith K. Campbell	Will start looking at groupings when we have a completed master schedule so that teachers will have the greatest chances of teaching the same students.	Master schedule	Do the members of each PLC teach the same students? Will they work to help each other teach cross curricular?
Implementation of the PLC’s	R. Smith K. Campbell	Fall 2012	1-4 Must be ready to go. We must create an in-service to explain why we are creating PLC’s and how they are going to work.	Listen to feedback. What is working with each group? What needs to be changed? How is the agenda and what can be changed to make it better. Constant evaluation. Did scores rise on TAKS?

      The first step to making a difference will be selling the need this study to our administration, faculty and staff.  I will present our administration, faculty and staff information provided by the class research reports that compare our progress of schools that use PLC programs.  I will go further into the presentation by showing them how this research could help improve achievement and morale on our campus. I will show our staff how these programs will be built to improve the attitudes towards education of the very students they will see in the classroom every day, which will hopefully spark interest and involvement in our studies.

    Sharing the results of my action research will be a very important step to insure the long lasting effects of both of these studies.  I will first share my findings with school administration looking for the data to support a continuation and advancement of our research on PLC’s. I will then take my information to the campus staff in hope that we will continue to receive the support necessary for the sustained success as well as involvement from teachers and staff.

Identify at least three topics for possible action research.

    I really have three action research plans that I would love to investigate.  The first being the use of cell phones in the classroom.  It would be fun to create ways and procedures as a staff that call phones could be utilized by our students.

    The second one that I am really excited about is PLC and how we can improve cross curricular teaching through their use.  PLC’s are something that really is intriguing to me.  I really think PLC’s, if set up correctly, will help with both test scores and discipline issues.

    The third thing that I would like to research on day is researching a way to evaluate current school operations to make sure they are aligned with the district policies.

Describe the conference with the site supervisor(s) regarding topics of interest for action research.

     I met with Dr. Todd Williams to discuss the topic for my action research.  I had three topics that I presented to Dr. Williams and we discussed each one and how I could conduct the research.  He suggested that I determine which one of the topics that I felt the most passionate about and would enjoy conducting the research.  I felt that school use of PLC’s would be the best choice.  Dr. Williams mentioned that he was curious about this study as well.  He thought this would be a great research study and one that would have data available.

Describe the topic or problem agreed upon for the action research project.

    I chose my 2^nd option which was to research PLC’s and how best to set them and if they will improve test scores and discipline. I believe that PLC’s would help in making sure that the students are in the best possible learning environment and I believe that this is not the case in some classes in my district.  School districts are always looking to increase student performance and I believe this study offers great insight into this topic.  I believe this study will benefit everyone involved in some way. 

Action Research

     Action research is a complete one hundred and eighty degree turn from traditional educational research. Action research is very campus specific.  It is not a shot in the arm and everything will be OK.  It is a planned approach to analyze what is going on and how to fix problems along the way.  Action research is done by someone that is very close to the problem.  Action research is conducted by those that have a personal stake in getting the problem fixed.  I think the appealing factor of action research is there is not a tremendous amount of "going to the library" and seeing what others are doing, of saying about making a change.  It takes research a step further and makes one look at what exactly is going on at your specific school and formulating ideas and plans that might actually work on your specific campus.  It is very "real situation" research.  I agree with the Dana text when it states that when a practitioner actively participates in the research process that they will be more likely to facilitate change.  The hardest thing to do in education is to institute change.  Active research forces one to be involved and if you are involved in the research process you will want to be involved in the change that the research will incur.  Action research is also a reflective process of progressive problem solving led by individuals working with others in teams or as a part of a community to improve a situation or help in solving a problem.  Reflection is the key term used in this process. It is the culminating event.

    Educational leaders can generate explanations of their educational influences in their own learning, in the learning of others and in the learning of social groups.  They can generate explanations from experiencing themselves and answer the question "How do I improve what I am doing?"  They can use reflection to develop action plans, modify concerns, evaluating ideas, and imagining possibilities of gathering data.