Summary of course EDLD 5301

This course has opened my eyes to the process and benefits of action research. Before taking this course, action research was something I had never heard of before, but it makes so much sense. If you compare the process to traditional research you can see why the additional steps of action research are a more effective process. Traditional research can lead you to others’ information, while action research not only makes the research specific to your school and problem, it helps you plan, execute, and evaluate your action research plan. As Dana states, “(action research)focuses on the concerns of the practitioners (not outside researchers) and engages practitioners in the design, data collection, and interpretation of data around their question” (Dana 2009).

I have learned that administrative inquiry or action research is a process that administrators undertake to somehow improve a certain aspect of their profession. They can do this in a variety of ways- by researching literature, interviews, observations, or any other means that might shed more light on the area they are investigating. Another component of action research is the administrator or researcher takes action to make the necessary changes based on what they have learned from their research. “Whether you are studying to be a school administrator or are a veteran administrator with years of experience but faced with new educational challenges every day, administrator inquiry becomes a powerful vehicle for learning and school improvement” (Dana 2009).

From the video lectures Dr. Jenkins mentioned some of the pitfalls while doing action research. He mentioned the importance of staying focused on the issue. When researching any topic it is easy to lose focus and go off on tangents. He also mentioned that the purpose must be reasonable and feasible with regards to time, data, cost, and participants. Finally, he mentioned that the purpose must be ethical.
I also looked at two case studies from Dr. Johnny Briseno and Dr. Timothy Chargois. They are both doctoral graduates of the Lamar University and did action research projects for their dissertations. Both of these scholars are proponents of action research in that it is the most effective way to bring about positive change in your school. One thing I have learned, or at least have had reinforced by these interviews, is that action research is much more personalized to your school and its problems than traditional research.
From the video in week three I learned there are 8 steps to an action plan:
1. Examining work/ Setting the foundation
2. Analyzing Data (we examined 9 data gathering strategies)
3. Developing Deeper understanding- Additional data collection techniques- qualitative data, focus groups, active listening, etc
4. Engaging in self-reflection
5. Exploring Programmatic Patterns- asking the appropriate questions, identifying data patterns and gaps, learning to address equity issues
6. Determining Direction-working collaboratively to address action research questions, monitoring progress, assessing achievement
7. Taking Action for School Improvement- use appropriate steps or templates to guide the action research (ch 7 tools, and another in course resource section)
8. Sustaining Improvement- learning to use the tools from action research for ongoing professional improvement
The action plan can also be shown in the form of a template as follows:

Action Planning Template
Goal: What can I as a principal do to lessen the amount of bullying (including physical, psychological, and cyber) that goes on at my campus?
Action Steps
Person(s) Responsible
Timeline: Start/End
Needed Resources
Evaluation
Define if our stakeholders perceive bullying to be a problem
Sean Davis
Month of August
Interview Stakeholders (Administrators, Teachers, Staff, Students, Parents) on if they think there is a problem of bullying at our campus. I would also ask them what they think should be done about it.
From notes taken in all the interviews determine if the stakeholders perceive bullying to be a school wide problem that needs some type of intervention
Collect Data to give me more background and try and find success stories from other similar campuses whom have successfully dealt with (or lessened) bullying issues
Sean Davis
Months of September to October
Internet, Interview Administrators from other similar campuses, Articles and Literature about bullying.
A useful amount of notes taken and data collected from different sources.
Formulate Action Plan from data collected
Sean Davis with the assistance of Maria Dillon- General Director, and Ana Bonilla- School Psychologist
First half of November
Formulate Action Plan using data gathered and action plans that have worked in other schools which have been modified for our school population
Compare our plan to other plans from similar schools taking into account modifications for our student body
Collect Data on the number of bullying occurrences at our campus
Sean Davis, Ana Bonilla, Teachers
Second half of November and month of December
From student interviews and Teachers tabulations record how many bullying occurrences there are in a week
Notes and tabulations from teachers and student interviews
Implement Action Plan
Sean Davis, Ana Bonilla, Teachers, Parents
Month of January
Staff Development for teachers, workshops for Parents, workshops for students led by Teachers
Number of Teachers who have implemented the program, a completed parent workshop on bullying, completed student workshops on how to handle bullying issues led by the school Psychologist
Evaluate Action Plan
Sean Davis, Ana Bonilla, Teachers
Months of February and March
After program has been implemented re-interview students and teachers tabulations of bullying occurrences there are in a week
Data will be collected by Sean Davis and the School Psychologist and presented to the Staff during Staff Development
Continued Assessment
Sean Davis, Ana Bonilla Teachers
Remainder of school year
Interview students a month later, and then every three months and check teachers tabulations weekly bullying occurrences
Data will be collected by Sean Davis and the School Psychologist and presented to the Staff during Staff Development


After the action research plan has been finished, it is important to share the results with the stakeholders. In this case the stakeholders include the Administrators, Teachers, Parents, Students, and other research collaborators. When sharing results I will include the four points stated by Dana, “(1) provide background information, (2)sharing the design inquiry (procedures, data collection, and data analysis), (3)stating the learning and supporting the statements with data, (4)providing concluding thoughts”(Dana 2009). These results will be presented to stakeholders in a variety of ways. With Administrators and research collaborators I will provide a written report. With teachers I will provide a power point presentation during a staff development. For parents I will notify them by email in the weekly newsletter of the results as well as post the written report and power point presentation on our website (all of our parents are connected to internet). For our students we will have a general assembly sharing the results and celebrating their success in the program.
As working in SBDM committees is a large part of action research, we also discussed 3 different strategies to make decisions as a group- force field analysis, the delphi method, and the nominal group technique.
Force Field Analysis is a tool used to evaluate some type of proposal for change. One must facilitate “the group in brainstorming the possible driving and resisting forces of the potential change” (Harris 2009). This is broken down into 7 steps:
1. Describe the current situation.
2. Describe the proposed change.
3. Identify what will happen if no change occurs.
4. Identify the forces driving the proposed change.
5. Identify the forces resisting the change.
6. Determine whether the chance is viable.
7. If the change is viable, what is needed for implementation?

The Delphi Method is a method of coming to consensus that is very useful when working with a group. This method can be used with larger groups. Participants respond to different questions or issues that will go through 2 or more rounds. A facilitator will provide a summary with a rationale for the response. After each round there should be consensus on responses and they will eventually converge into a unifying consensus.
The Nominal Group Technique is another method used to come to group consensus on an issue. This method goes through the following 5 steps:
1. Without discussion individuals within small groups write perceived needs or issues
2. Individuals share with the small groups an issue at a time as a facilitator writes them down
3. The issues are discussed within the small groups
4. Numerical values are assigned to all perceived for all needs or issues
5. These are shared with the entire group

As an administrator I would use all of these strategies with the staff. They all seem to be effective methods for coming to consensus within a group. I would imagine that Force Field Analysis, Nominal, or Delphi might be more effective when dealing with different types of issues and depending upon who your audience is. This might also take some trial and error with the staff to see which is more effective.

I also had the opportunity to work with my Lamar colleagues and well as my site supervisor and school psychologist. From each of them I received quite a bit of positive feedback as well as suggestions and advice on where to find out more information to support my action research plan.

One area I would still like to learn more is in the area of motivating others to help execute your plan (especially teachers). Often teachers are bombarded with staff development and new methodologies they are asked to implement. Although I agree that it is important to continue research and implement new plans to improve and “update” education strategies and methodologies as well as individualize instruction. Many teachers become overwhelmed and reluctant to so much change. As the debates between the powers that be go back and forth between – phonics vs. whole language, cooperative learning vs. individualized instruction, student accountability vs. teacher accountability; teachers are caught in the middle. How do we keep teachers motivated to try out new programs and buy into new educational philosophies?
To continue building my applied knowledge in this area I will work closely with teachers and administrators who have been successful in this area. I will try and find out what administrators who have had success bringing about multiple changes in their schools have done. Is it by sharing the research with the teachers? Is it by including the teachers in the decision making process through SBDM committees? I will also find out from teachers why they buy into changes and new educational philosophies.

In conclusion, it has been a very informative course and I now have the tools to help me plan and execute an action research plan.


Dana, N.F. (2009). Leading with Passion and Knowledge: The Principal as Action Researcher. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Harris, S., Edmonson, S., & Combs, J. (2009). Examining what we do to improve our schools: 9 steps from analysis to action. Larchmont, N.Y.: Eye on Education.

feedback on action plan

This week I got some great feedback from my university and work colleagues. I was able to meet with the General Director as well as the school psychologist. I showed them each my action plan template as well as the draft of my action research plan. Unfortunately this is a very busy time of the year and they weren’t able to give as much time as I would have liked. Both were very complimentary on the template as well as the action plan. They thought the template was great because in a clear format it showed who was responsible for which steps with a timeline. They felt like it could have included a bit more detail for a final version, but to begin with it was well done. They also really liked the Action Research Plan. They got very excited about the plan and already started offering suggestions on what they felt would work with our student population. I mentioned some of the recommendation from my Lamar colleagues and they both agreed that we should work closely with the parents as well as have a “support group” for bullying, and use student questionnaires to gather data. They also stressed the importance of sharing results with stakeholders and involving them. Finally, they both felt it would be a bit ambitious to think bullying would be eradicated by any action plan, but there was a definite need to lessen the effects at our school and this action plan was a step in the right direction.

Steps of Action Research Plan

1. Examining the work:
Define if our Stakeholders determine that bullying is an issue that needs some type of intervention. This will be done by interviewing the different stakeholders- Administrators, Teachers, Staff, Parents, and Students. I would also ask them what their opinion is of what can be done about bullying at school.

2. Analyzing data
I will use a variety of data gathering to build up a stronger base on the problem of bullying- causes, intervention strategies. I will try and collect data from success stories from similar schools. Initially I will look to the internet- Google bullying to find out what is happening in other schools and how they deal with it. I will also investigate anti-bullying campaigns and programs that have been successful.

3. Developing deeper understanding
To dig deeper I would like to interview administrators from other schools that have been successful dealing with bullying or lessening the effects at their campus. I would also research literature and other articles to answer new questions as they come up. I realize there is an extensive amount of literature on bullying so I will try and focus on information that have been written on programs in schools that are similar to my campus.

4. Engaging in Self-Reflection
I would reflect on if the information of what I have researched up to now, these programs have produced positive results in their schools? What were the difficulties they encountered to change bullying habits at their school? Who was involved in the programs? Will these programs be able to be adapted successfully at my school? What modifications will need to be made? How were these programs evaluated? How are the programs ongoing or sustainable?

5. Exploring Programmatic
I will form a Site Based Decision Making Committee to help formulate the action plan. The committee will include Mari Dillon the General Director, Ana Bonilla- school Psychologist, two experienced teachers (one from upper elementary, and one from lower elementary), and myself. I will give them an overview of the information I have researched to give them some background on the problem. I would like to get their feedback on what things they think are essential for successful project implementation as well as pitfalls and difficulties we might encounter.

6. Determining direction
Working with the same Site Based Decision Making Committee I will try to determine direction by answering the following questions as well as any others that have come in the process up until this point:
· Is everyone clear that we are trying to lessen the effects (or get rid of all together) of bullying in our school?
· Do I feel like we have done adequate research in trying to understand bullying and read up on other anti bullying programs?
· Have we established a collaborative approach with all the stakeholders (Administrators, Teachers, Staff, Parents, and Students) as well as made all decision and plan of action with a SBDM committee?
· Are our time lines as well as people responsible realistic?
· Have we determined how the plan will be monitored and by whom?
· How will we determine if we have been successful (evaluated)?
· Will it be difficult to make modifications and improvements if necessary to the plan if problems arise?
· How will we make sure the plan is ongoing or sustainable (if successful)?

7. Taking action for school improvement
I will work with the SBDM committee mentioned above to develop a template (or use the one from section 2) to assign responsibility to steps, a timeline, resources necessary and how the step will be evaluated. We will also work together to prepare a summative evaluation once the plan is finished and present this information to the stakeholders.

8. Sustaining improvement
Working with the SBDM Committee we will identify successes of the program as well as pitfalls. We will share the results with the stakeholders as well as other interested colleagues that were involved in the research. We will also determine how the anti-bullying program will continue and remain sustainable. We would also evaluate the entire action research process and see what would be changed or duplicated for the next action research project.

The Purpose and Significance of My Action Research

The purpose of my proposed action research study:
I plan on researching bullying in schools. I would like to find out more about successful anti bullying programs in other similar schools. How did they get started? What techniques do they use that have made them successful? What obstacles have they run into? How do they differentiate anti bullying tactics for physical, emotional, and cyber bullying?

The significance of my proposed action research study (who will benefit and how will they benefit):
The information gathered from this research will benefit most of the stakeholders of the school, most importantly the children. I would like to implement a program that is deemed most likely to have success with the bullying problem at my school. Hopefully the children at the school will be taught ways to deal with bullies and bullying and alternatives to being a bully. I realized that bullying has existed in schools since the beginning. I just feel at this point our school isn’t doing anything about it and some type of program is better than nothing.

How Educational Leaders might use blogs

Blogs are a very effective tool for educational leaders. They can be used to write about issues at their school as well as any action research they are doing to improve their schools. The blog format allows other educational leaders to post comments and provide feedback and create a professional learning community.

Action Research and How educators can use it

Administrative inquiry or action research is a process that administrators undertake to somehow improve a certain aspect of their profession. They can do this in a variety of ways- by researching literature, interviews, observations, or any other means that might shed more light on the area they are investigating. Another component of action research is the administrator or researcher takes action to make the necessary changes based on what they learned from their research. “Whether you are studying to be a school administrator or are a veteran administrator with years of experience but faced with new educational challenges every day, administrator inquiry becomes a powerful vehicle for learning and school improvement” (Dana 2009).

Something that I found interesting about action research is that it is something that has been happening in schools for the last several years. As teachers have moved from a more traditional teaching model of standing in front of a class and lecturing, to being a facilitator of learning, they have been teaching students how to use action research to further their own education. Teachers have also been using action research in their own professional development to improve the quality of their teaching. Now it has moved on to administrators to use action research in their world.

I might use action research in any area of the school that might need improvement. I would spend time reflecting on the problem to define the issue. I would then review the professional literature to see how other administrators deal with the issue. I would then formulate and implement an action plan for my school on how to improve this issue. Finally I would use and share the results.

Dana, N.F. (2009). Leading with Passion and Knowledge: The Principal as Action Researcher. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Week 5 assignment

What outcomes had you envisioned for this course? Did you achieve those outcomes? Did the actual course outcomes align with those that you envisioned?

I was very excited to take this course, because there is such a need to implement more technology into classrooms. I had envisioned walking away from this course with more tools, websites, and knowhow to be able to upgrade the school I work to become a 21st century digital school. I did achieve many of these outcomes, especially in the area of more ideas. The course outcomes did align with what I had envisioned. Everything that was listed in the syllabus was covered. It was a lot of information crammed into five weeks, but also very necessary. I feel the area of technology is limitless and the instructors did a good job sorting through and selecting appropriate material for the course.



To the extent that you achieved the outcomes, are they still relevant to the work that you do in your school? Why or why not?

The outcomes I achieved from this course are very relevant to the work I do in the school. The main thing I wanted to achieve from this course was to walk away with much more information about implementing technology into the school where I work. It was a bonus for me to learn so much about the safety issues regarding internet use and the pros and cons of using different types of technology in the classroom. I was very happy with the information we learned about how to implement blogs in the classroom. I would have liked more specific tips on how to integrate other types of technology in the classroom.



What outcomes did you not achieve? What prevented you from achieving them?

I don’t think there were any outcomes that I did not achieve during the course. When the course was beginning I expected there to be more specific tips or activities that had to do with students involving technology. We learned a lot about blogs, podcast, word processing, power point, excel, websites, rss feeds, and wikis. I was thinking I would like to learn even more about using technology with the students. However I realized that even with all of the technological advances there is still only so much you can do with a class of 25 who are sharing one or two classroom computers or reserving time in a shared computer lab.


· Were you successful in carrying out the course assignments? If not, what prevented or discouraged you?

I was successful in carrying out the course assignments. I was able to set up my blog and post all the assignments. I had a little bit of difficulty posting my power point presentation to the blog. However, after switching to the second recommended program, it worked out without any major difficulties. I did have quite a bit of problems with the course software (Brighten). The internal dates were messed up and it didn’t allow me to post assignments. The software later did not allow me because it said I was no longer actively enrolled. After contacting tech support they instructed me to post the assignment online, which took care of the problem.



What did you learn from this course…about yourself, your technology and leadership skills, and your attitudes?

I learned quite a bit from this course. What I learned about myself is that technology is something that I am very interested in. I also learned that although I am not starting from zero, I have an incredible amount to learn. To be able to learn more about technology one must dedicate time. My technology (at the school and my home) is not a complete dinosaur, but should go through constant upgrading. As a leader of technology I feel like I still have a lot to learn, before I am an example for others. I feel like I have a very positive attitude about technology. It is not something I am afraid of, but something I am intrigued by.



What is the educational value of blogs and blogging to the 21st century learner?

Blogging has become a huge part of academic and social world of today’s society. Blogging has taken over what could only be found 15 years ago in certain trade magazines or specialized newsletters. This has allowed information to be so much more widespread and instantaneous. The education world is no exception. Educators can now use blogs to exchange ideas and information with each other. They can also use blogs to communicate with parents- write daily homework, up-coming events, information about projects and general classroom news. They can also use blogs to communicate and interact with students- post homework, read student responses, post quizzes, post power point presentations, podcast, videos etc. I think blogs are here to stay and huge support device for using technology to work with students.




What are the concerns of blogs and blogging in education?

As I have mentioned, blogs are a great benefit to education. However, there are certain security concerns one must keep in mind when using blogs. Unfortunately, sexual predators often use blogs and chat-rooms to find their victims. Cyber-bullies also use blogs and chat-rooms to find out information about their victims. We must educate children on proper safety measures when using blogs and chat-rooms. Children and Adolescence should never post too much personal information. They should use screen names and avoid using their address, name of school, age, etc. Parents and schools need to communicate and work with children and adolescence so they understand the proper safety procedures when blogging or chatting



How can you use blogging to communicate with school stakeholders?

Blogging can be used to communicate with school stakeholders in many different ways. Administrators can use blogs to communicate with teachers, parents, students, board members, and the community where they are located. These stakeholders can be kept abreast of current school events and school related issues and have a place to provide feedback. One of the benefits of the blog is that it allows users to give information as well as receive feedback from readers. It basically provides a forum when participants can bounce back school related ideas that is operational 24 hours a day, 365 days a year; so participants can post information/feedback on their own schedules.