Action Research Project Progress Report

So far in my action research project I have completed steps 1-5.  I began the process by meeting with my team, principal, and associate principal to share background information.  It was of the utmost importance that they know why I chose this action research project, what I believe we can gain from it, and how I would like to work together to achieve the goal I have set forth.  I have so far met with my team and administrators to review, discuss, and reflect on what we are doing and what the plan is to keep moving forward.  In order for this to be successful I need to have the teachers and principal understand my goal and mission.  I found incorporating Conscious Discipline has been quite successful.  The teachers enjoy the program and so do the kids.  There are some situations where it may not have worked as well as I would have hoped in calming misbehavior, but this is where you must assess the program and tweak it to fit your goals in the classroom.  For some children I believe it is working wonders, in other cases it is not providing the teacher with enough to control certain situations.  This is something that can be worked on and as always a teacher can supplement it with any type of behavior plan they deem fit.  Conducting action research is a process as we all know.  Some areas have been successful and it is great to see that it can work and most importantly help our students.  Improving behavior issues will, in turn, allow for greater academic success which is our continuous goal.  I look forward to continuing on in this journey and seeing the results it will bring. 

Reflection- Web Conference

The web conferences that I viewed were sometimes helpful and sometimes confusing.  I feel, at times, the questions would be answered and I would be back on track to accomplish my assignments.  At other times it seems like questions were not fully answered or answers were varied and many thoughts and opinions would be thrown in that I would walk away thinking, "Wait, what am I supposed to do?"  I believe web conferences can be very helpful and productive.  I think when conducting a web conference all involved need to be prepared and most definitely stay on track.  I know how valuable everyone's times is and we should all be recieving what we need to be successful in completing our assignments, getting our questions answered, and having concerns addressed. 

End of Another Class- My Reflection

I started this class not knowing what action research really was.  I was nervous when I read I would be creating an action research plan, but quickly discovered the process was not nearly as difficult as I thought.  I learned by reading “Leading with Passion and Knowledge: The Principal as Action Researcher” by Dana, that action research has many steps involved in it and it requires time and attention in order to be successful.  I learned that much thought and consideration is required when deciding the topic you want to delve into.  It is important to always keep in mind that as an action researcher our goal is to improve our staff, students, and overall climate. 

The text, “Examining What We Do To Improve Our Schools” by Harris, was an excellent book to use to guide me through the process of creating an action research plan.  It clearly lays out for you the steps that are involved and required to carry out an action research project.  The first task I had to undertake was to pick the topic and goal for conducting this action research. I thought it was going to be easy to pick a topic but it proved to be a little more difficult than I had thought.  I had several ideas and had to carefully consider each one and decide which area I thought would be most beneficial to my school.  In the end I decided to work on discipline and set my goal to reduce discipline referrals in 1st grade.  If this can be accomplished, than I can focus on implementing management programs across the grades to help with discipline. After choosing my topic and goal I had to write down step by step what I intend to do this year to work on discipline and how I plan on monitoring what is being implemented in the 1^st grade classrooms.  Once I wrote my draft action research plan, it was incredibly helpful to receive input from my colleagues via my blog.  My fellow classmates helped me to review my action research plan.  Suggestions were made which allowed me to add important information to my action research plan.  I never realized how helpful being a “blogger” can be!  I also think the discussion board forum is a great resource.  It allows us another way to communicate with one another.  We get to discuss our projects, ask questions, make suggestions, and support one another as we progress through this course together. 

After the final draft of my action research plan was written, the process can now truly begin. The data needs to be closely followed, much reflection must be done, and whenever applicable, changes will need to be made.  I learned that this process is not always problem free, one has to be flexible and aware that sometimes change is needed to make something better.  Conducting the action research allows us to learn more about our chosen topic and a chance to decide if what we are doing will truly be beneficial to those around us.  Whether it is successful or not, much will be learned by this process and hopefully we will all be walking away having done something to better and improve our school.

Agreed Upon Action Research Plan

ACTION RESEARCH PLAN
GOAL:	To reduce discipline referrals in 1st grade at Castleberry Elementary.
Action Step(s)	Person(s) Responsible	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
1. Meet with principal and associate principal to discuss classroom management programs.	Jennifer Helgen Hollie Lancarte Terry Johnson	July 27th	Discipline Referrals Data from previous year.  Conscious Discipline	Summary of meeting.  Journal entries.
2. Survey 1st grade teachers on what they think are best practices for dealing with discipline issues. Collaborate with teacher’s best ways to smoothly transition into using Conscious Discipline.	Jennifer Helgen 1st Grade Team	August 22nd	Survey Focus Groups	Analyze survey results
3. Conduct team meeting/presentation to provide strategies and information from Conscious Discipline.	Jennifer Helgen	August 22nd	Agenda with talking points Power Point Conscious Discipline	Meeting and presentation feedback Summary of meeting
4. Interview teachers.  Discuss overall thoughts and feelings regarding Conscious Discipline	Jennifer Helgen 1st Grade Team	September 12th	Questions Notebook	Feedback from 1st grade team.  Interview notes and field notes.
5.  Collect and analyze data.  Review findings with 1st grade team.	Jennifer Helgen Terri Johnson 1st Grade Team	September 24-28th	Referral Data from Skyward Journal entries from Eduphoria	Number of referrals.  Summary of data and meetings.
6. Conduct team meeting/presentation to provide strategies and information from Conscious Discipline.	Jennifer Helgen	October 3rd	Agenda with talking points Power Point Conscious Discipline	Meeting and presentation feedback. Agenda notes and summary.
7.  Survey teachers on positive and negative aspects of program.  Survey students and parents to get their input on new program.	Jennifer Helgen 1st Grade Team	November 7th	Survey Monkey	Survey results Parent and student feedback.
8. Conduct team meeting/presentation to provide strategies and information from Conscious Discipline.	Jennifer Helgen	November 14th	Agenda with talking points Power Point Conscious Discipline	Meeting and presentation feedback. Agenda notes and summary.
9. Meet with principal and associate principal to discuss overall results thus far.	Jennifer Helgen Holli Lancarte Terri Johnson	December 11th	Notes Skyward Data Eduphoria	Meeting summary and feedback.
10.  Collect and analyze data.  Review findings with 1st grade team.	Jennifer Helgen Terri Johnson 1st Grade Team	January 8th	Referral Data from Skyward Eduphoria	Number of referrals.  Summary of data. Meeting notes
11. Conduct team meeting/presentation to provide strategies and information from Conscious Discipline.	Jennifer Helgen	January 16th	Agenda with talking points Power Point Conscious Discipline	Meeting and presentation feedback. Agenda notes and summary.
12. Interview teachers.  Discuss overall thoughts and feelings regarding Conscious Discipline.	Jennifer Helgen 1st Grade Team	February 6th	Questions Notebook	Feedback from 1st grade team.  Interview notes and field notes.
13. Conduct team meeting/presentation to provide strategies and information from Conscious Discipline.	Jennifer Helgen	March 6th	Agenda with talking points Power Point Conscious Discipline	Meeting and presentation feedback. Agenda notes and summary.
14.  Survey teachers on positive and negative aspects of program.  Survey students and parents to get their input on new program.	Jennifer Helgen 1st Grade Team	April 3rd	Survey Monkey	Survey results Parent and student feedback.
15.  Collect and analyze data.  Review findings with 1st grade team.	Jennifer Helgen Terri Johnson 1st Grade Team	April 17th	Referral Data from Skyward	Number of referrals.  Summary of data. Meeting notes
16.  Conduct team meeting/presentation to provide strategies and information from Conscious Discipline.	Jennifer Helgen	May 1st	Agenda with talking points Power Point Conscious Discipline	Meeting and presentation feedback. Agenda notes and summary.
17.  Final Interview with teachers.  Overall thoughts and views on new program.	Jennifer Helgen 1st Grade Team	May 22nd	Interview Questions Notebook Conscious Discipline	Teacher feedback Interview notes
18.  Collect and analyze data.  Compare results to beginning of the year data and previous year’s data.	Jennifer Helgen Holli Lancarte Terry Johnson	June 4th	Referral Data from Skyward Eduphoria Notes	Number of referrals.  Summary of data. Meeting notes
19.  Write self reflection based on surveys, discipline referrals data, interview notes, and overall observation findings.	Jennifer Helgen	June 7th	Data Collected Observation Notes Interview Notes Microsoft Word	Self Reflection
20.  Share information found on action research with administrators and staff.	Jennifer Helgen	August 2013	Power Point Data Collected Notes	Presentation feedback

Format based on Tool 7.1 from Examining What We Do to Improve Our Schools

(Harris, Edmonson, and Combs, 2010)

Action Research Plan

ACTION RESEARCH PLAN
GOAL:	To reduce discipline referrals in 1st grade at Castleberry Elementary.
Action Step(s)	Person(s) Responsible	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
1. Meet with principal and associate principal to discuss classroom management programs.	Jennifer Helgen Hollie Lancarte Terry Johnson	July 27th	Discipline Referrals Data from previous year.  Conscious Discipline	Summary of meeting.  Journal entries.
2. Survey 1st grade teachers on what they think are best practices for dealing with discipline issues. Collaborate with teacher’s best ways to smoothly transition into using Conscious Discipline.	Jennifer Helgen 1st Grade Team	August 22nd	Survey Focus Groups	Analyze survey results
3. Conduct team meeting/presentation to provide strategies and information from Conscious Discipline.	Jennifer Helgen	August 22nd	Agenda with talking points Power Point Conscious Discipline	Meeting and presentation feedback Summary of meeting
4. Interview teachers.  Discuss overall thoughts and feelings regarding Conscious Discipline	Jennifer Helgen 1st Grade Team	September 12th	Questions Notebook	Feedback from 1st grade team.  Interview notes and field notes.
5.  Collect and analyze data.  Review findings with 1st grade team.	Jennifer Helgen Terri Johnson 1st Grade Team	September 24-28th	Referral Data from Skyward Journal entries from Eduphoria	Number of referrals.  Summary of data and meetings.
6. Conduct team meeting/presentation to provide strategies and information from Conscious Discipline.	Jennifer Helgen	October 3rd	Agenda with talking points Power Point Conscious Discipline	Meeting and presentation feedback. Agenda notes and summary.
7.  Survey teachers on positive and negative aspects of program.	Jennifer Helgen 1st Grade Team	November 7th	Survey Monkey	Survey results
8. Conduct team meeting/presentation to provide strategies and information from Conscious Discipline.	Jennifer Helgen	November 14th	Agenda with talking points Power Point Conscious Discipline	Meeting and presentation feedback. Agenda notes and summary.
9. Meet with principal and associate principal to discuss overall results thus far.	Jennifer Helgen Holli Lancarte Terri Johnson	December 11th	Notes Skyward Data Eduphoria	Meeting summary and feedback.
10.  Collect and analyze data.  Review findings with 1st grade team.	Jennifer Helgen Terri Johnson 1st Grade Team	January 8th	Referral Data from Skyward Eduphoria	Number of referrals.  Summary of data. Meeting notes
11. Conduct team meeting/presentation to provide strategies and information from Conscious Discipline.	Jennifer Helgen	January 16th	Agenda with talking points Power Point Conscious Discipline	Meeting and presentation feedback. Agenda notes and summary.
12. Interview teachers.  Discuss overall thoughts and feelings regarding Conscious Discipline.	Jennifer Helgen 1st Grade Team	February 6th	Questions Notebook	Feedback from 1st grade team.  Interview notes and field notes.
13. Conduct team meeting/presentation to provide strategies and information from Conscious Discipline.	Jennifer Helgen	March 6th	Agenda with talking points Power Point Conscious Discipline	Meeting and presentation feedback. Agenda notes and summary.
14.  Survey teachers on positive and negative aspects of program.	Jennifer Helgen 1st Grade Team	April 3rd	Survey Monkey	Survey results
15.  Collect and analyze data.  Review findings with 1st grade team.	Jennifer Helgen Terri Johnson 1st Grade Team	April 17th	Referral Data from Skyward	Number of referrals.  Summary of data. Meeting notes
16.  Conduct team meeting/presentation to provide strategies and information from Conscious Discipline.	Jennifer Helgen	May 1st	Agenda with talking points Power Point Conscious Discipline	Meeting and presentation feedback. Agenda notes and summary.
17.  Final Interview with teachers.  Overall thoughts and views on new program.	Jennifer Helgen 1st Grade Team	May 22nd	Interview Questions Notebook Conscious Discipline	Teacher feedback Interview notes
18.  Collect and analyze data.  Compare results to beginning of the year data.	Jennifer Helgen Holli Lancarte Terry Johnson	June 4th	Referral Data from Skyward Eduphoria Notes	Number of referrals.  Summary of data. Meeting notes
19.  Write self reflection based on surveys, discipline referrals data, interview notes, and overall observation findings.	Jennifer Helgen	June 7th	Data Collected Observation Notes Interview Notes Microsoft Word	Self Reflection
20.  Share information found on action research with administrators and staff.	Jennifer Helgen	August 2013	Power Point Data Collected Notes	Presentation feedback

Format based on Tool 7.1 from Examining What We Do to Improve Our Schools

(Harris, Edmonson, and Combs, 2010)