Research Plan Goals and Outline

Goals:

1. Create a new technology integration program and curriculum for English/ Language Arts classrooms that will benefit teachers and students by increasing hands on learning and student achievement.
2. Increase teacher’s knowledge of technology use in the classroom by providing professional development trainings on the subject.
3. Increase the use of technology in English/ Language Arts classrooms by incorporating the use of laptops and CPS units.
4. Increase student achievement in all English/ Language Arts classes and other core areas.
5. Continually look for ways to incorporate the use of technology in all core classes.

Action Step	Person(s) Responsible	Timeline: Start/End	Resources	Evaluation
1. Meet with the Principal: Identify the need to increase the use of technology in the classroom.	Principal Lauren Burris	Prior to the first day of school July 2010- August 2010	2009-2010 AYP Reports Teacher / Principal Feedback Observations Interviews	In meeting with the principal, I plan to look at the data for the ELA classes and identify the need to increase the use of technology in the classrooms. We will also discuss observations from previous years and the best way to incorporate the action research project.
2. Meet with the SBDM team to analyze data in the area of English/ Language Arts from AYP reports, end of course assessments, and teacher observations.	Principal Lauren Burris SBDM team English/ Language Arts Teachers	Meet within the first two weeks of school. July 2010- August 2010	2009-2010 AYP Reports End of Course Assessments Teacher Observation Reports Teacher Questionnaire	While meeting with the SBDM team, I will introduce why this project what chose based on the meeting that took place with the principal, analyze the data more thoroughly with all members in attendance and match our needs directly to the action research plan. It is also important that the SBDM team agrees upon the action plan goals.
3. Interview teachers of the focus group (7th Grade ELA) to brainstorm lessons and activities that will incorporate the use of technology in the classroom using laptops and CPS Units.	English/ Language Arts Teachers Lauren Burris	August 2010- September 2010	ELA Curriculum Technology Curriculum Informal discussions/ Interviews with teachers Observations	Based on the data, we will begin to brainstorm lessons and activities that will incorporate the use of technology in the classroom. We will make sure it aligns with the districts ELA and technology curriculum. We will look back at previous years in coming up with these lessons and make sure they will meet the needs of our students.
4. Determine resources that will be needed in order for ELA teachers to incorporate effective lessons using technology.	English/ Language Arts Teachers Lauren Burris SBDM team Technology Liaison	September 2010	List of possible lessons and activities Laptops CPS Units ELA Curriculum Technology Curriculum Interviews with teachers and technology liaison Verification of resources available by district	As a group, most likely in another meeting, we will discuss the list of lessons and activities that were brainstormed, verify the materials that are available through the district, and make any changes where necessary based on what is discussed in the meeting.
5. Determine the possible pros and cons of the action research project. Make sure the plan is designed to avoid as many pit-falls as possible.	English/ Language Arts Teachers Lauren Burris SBDM team	September 2010	Data from technology driven districts Interviews with Principal and ELA teachers Interviews with various technology driven districts Researched pros and cons	Based on the data found from other technology driven districts, we will review findings with SBDM team and ELA teachers and discuss the possible pros and cons on completing this project on our campus. We will also discuss ways to avoid any potential pit-falls that could occur.
6. Provide professional development sessions to train teacher on how to use and integrate technology in the classroom.	District technology liaison English/ Language Arts Teachers Lauren Burris	September 2010	Laptops CPS Units Time reserved for PD sessions End of training survey/ evaluation Informal discussions/ Interviews with teachers	Once the professional development training has take place, I will have the participants complete a survey/ evaluation on the effectiveness and allow them to address and new concerns they may have. From there, I will look over the information from the surveys and make any necessary changes before the project begins.
7. Incorporate lessons using laptops and CPS Units 2-3 times per week in the English/ Language Arts focus group	English/ Language Arts Teachers Lauren Burris	October 2010- November 2010	Laptops CPS Units ELA curriculum Technology Curriculum Observations in classrooms Student and Teacher participation survey	This is the part of the project that will span the longest. Once proper training is given and curriculum is developed, the focus groups will being their technology driven lessons 2-3 times per week. This will take place for approximately two months. Throughout this part I plan to do informal walkthroughs, and hold meetings every other week with the ELA teachers and SBDM team to discuss the progress. Surveys will be given at the end.
8. Evaluate the effectiveness of incorporating the use of technology in the ELA classrooms with our focus group.	Principal SBDM team English/ Language Arts Teachers Lauren Burris	December 2010	Mid Term Assessments Observations Student Work Student and Teacher Surveys	By the end of the first semester, I will use the following resources to identify strengths and weakness of our project. I will look at mid term assessments, my personal observations, student work, and the surveys that will be given at the end.
9. Share action research project results with students, teachers, parents, the district, and any other stakeholders.	Principal Lauren Burris	Beginning of the 2nd semester January 2010	Cafeteria or gym reservation after school Project Power Point Presentation Student Work Survey results Project information Before and After Data Results	Once the project is concluded, I will hold an open oral presentation after school to share my project. Using the power point presentation to guide the meeting, I will outline the background information on the project, before and after data results broken down, show examples of student work, share survey results, and hold a brief Q & A at the end of the meeting.

Final Action Research Plan

How does the integration of technology in the classroom impact student achievement?

For my action research project, I plan to integrate the use of different forms of technology into the classroom. Mainly those items that is currently available to our district. Throughout this process, I will focus on integrating the use of laptops and CPS (Classroom Performance System) Units. I have decided to narrow my focus to the 7^th grade, English Language Arts classes. The reason I chose 7^th grade is because these will be students I teach as well and I will be familiar with my sample group. I decided English Language Arts would be the best subject to use for my action research project because this class serves as a strong foundation for learning in other subjects. In all, there are about 300 7^th graders that will serve as part of my research.

At my campus there are three 7^th English Language Arts teachers. I plan to integrate the use of laptops and CPS Units with one of the teachers, serving as my focus group, and the other two teachers will continue with the traditional methods of teaching they have always used. During my process, and at the end, every teacher will give their students an assessment. Every student will take the same assessment, regardless of which group they are in. From there, I can compare my results and see if student achievement among my focus group increased.

Besides collecting data through traditional assessment measures, I also plan to observe the English Language Arts classrooms during my off time and conduct field notes for my study. I would also like to conduct interviews with the three teachers, individually and as a group, discussing their views on the research project.

Action Research: Purpose and Signifigance

How does the integration of technology in the classroom impact student achievement?

Purpose: The purpose of my proposed action research study is to identify the effects of integrating the use of technology in the classroom. I want to know if those teachers who use technology often in their lessons have a greater impact on student achievement. Is curriculum enhanced by the use of technology? If we take advantage of the various forms of technology available and integrate them in our lessons, do our students respond better? I will research what forms of technology are available to our school, what trainings our teachers can participate in to help them become comfortable with integrating technology in the classroom, and what the overall impact of increasing technology usage is.

Significance: By integrating technology in the classroom, students will have the opportunity to participate in more hands on learning. By increasing the hands on opportunities for students, we are increasing the opportunity for increased academic achievement. Technology is changing and becoming more of an essential learning tool as our society changes. Not only will students benefit from this increased use of technology by preparing them for the future, but teachers will benefit because their lessons are now more relevant to today’s generation of students.

How might educational leaders use blogs?

For me, I am very involved in many different forms of technology, but this is the first time I have ever created a blog. At first I was hesitant, but now that I have my blog up and running, I am already beginning to feel more comfortable about this whole process.

As an educator and future administrator, I could see how using a blog would be very beneficial to not only my staff members, but students and family members as well. As a principal, I could use a blog to reflect on school events, discuss upcoming fundraisers and school wide projects, celebrate successes of teachers and students, and inform parents about what is going on in all aspects of our campus.

I am looking forward to learning more about blogs and their benefits. I think having a blog not only as an educational leader would be beneficial, but as an educator as well.

What is Action Research?

To me, action research is defined as the process of an administrator researching and studying ways to improve a specific topic of study, usually a problem or weak area, based on his/her's own campuses needs. This is a way for the principal to take action and research effective practices that will improve the educational experience for all students. I also like to think of action research as a means of professional development specific to your needs. With action research, administrators design, collect, and interpret their own data around the question they want to address. According to Elliot (1998), "action research is a continual set of spirals consisting of reflections and action".

By using action research, administrators can make reflection purposeful and visible. When we simply "sit and get" at typical trainings and professional development we listen and we get what we get. We may use it and we may not. The main reason behind this is because that particular session may not address any problems or needs that your campus currently faces, therefore you may not have a use for it. When we use action research you a learning and working with those on your campus to work toward a common goal that will improve an aspect specific to your school. You are also looking at what you are currently doing to address the problem, if anything, and what you need to do to change it.

Introduction to my Action Research Project

For my action research project, I would like to focus on the use of technology in the classroom for all students. In my school district, they do a great job of initiating new technology in campuses. My problem is that not all students actually get the opportunity to learn and use technology very often. For example, on my campus, which is a middle school, there are student computers in each room. However, there are on average 3 student computers and anywhere from 25-30 students in each class. There are laptop carts available, but again they are limited in number and are usually reserved for reading/ language arts classrooms. I come across many students who do not even know basic typing skills. It is difficult to explore different technological advances when many students have not had much exposure to even a computer. Where my school is located, there are a very large number of students who are considered low socioeconomic. So, it is very likely they do not have access to computers or other forms of technology outside of the classroom.

Some forms of technology that I believe would be beneficial to incorporate into all classrooms are the use of iPods, laptops, computers, SMART boards, Classroom Performance Systems, etc.

I do also feel that technology may not be used often is because of many teacher’s reluctance to do so. I have come across teachers on my own campus who do not even try incorporating technology in the classroom because they either do no understand how or feel that there is just not time to do so. In my action research project, I would like to look into forms of professional development for all staff that would make them more competent and comfortable with using technology in the classroom. Not only do students respond well to technology, I feel it makes them more involved in classroom learning.