I Do CARE!

Picture By USAID Afghanistan

In Action Research there are many models and methods to evaluate the forward movement of the project.  The CARE Model is one way to evaluate what needs to be improved but also keeps in sight those things that are currently being done well. CARE stands for Concerns, Affirmations, Recommendations, and Evaluations. Concerns are what a person would like to improve. Affirmations are what should not change at the school, it is what is being done well. Recommendations are the how the Concerns are going to be addressed. Evaluations are how all of the progress is going to be measured. The CARE model will be of great use in my Action Research plan. This plan appeals to me personally because of the Affirmations. It is important to keep in mind that we are doing many things right. We should not lose sight of that when starting to make improvements.


Examining What We Do to Improve Our Schools Sandra Harris, Stacey Edmonson, Julie Combs

Tool 8.1 CARE Model: Planning Tool

Identify Concerns that must change (look to the future)
(Assign points to concerns from 1 to 3 in the order of the most important issues to consider.)

1. Students need to know how to use the technology used in College and the Workforce.
2. Teachers need to know how to help students learn how to use the technology.
3. Teachers need help in becoming comfortable with technology and how to use it in their lessons.

Identify Affirmations that must be sustained (look to the present)
(Assign points to affirmations from 1 to 3 in the order of the most important issues to consider.)

1. Most teachers are concerned about what is best for the students.
2. Staff members are very supportive of each other.
3. There is an environment of looking for the good in students.

SMART Recommendations that must be implemented:
(Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Timely)
(Assign points to recommendations from 1 to 3 in the order of the most important recommendations to implement.)

1. Mini-lessons (30 to 60 min) will be offered after school once a week on how to implement technology and web 2.0 tools into teacher's lessons.
2. Mini-lessons will be limited to one tool at a time.
3. The covered tool will be expected to be used in a class lesson within the following two weeks.

EVALUATE – Specifically and Often
(Identify the best ways to evaluate the implemented recommendations.)

1. Surveys on the mini-lessons will be available after each mini-lesson.
2. Pre and Post ISTE-T test will help determine if teachers know more about how to utilize technology in their classrooms by the end of the year.



Thank you for taking the time to read this post.  It would be of great benefit to my project if you took just a moment more and made a comment.  Thank you!

(Un)Foreseen Challenges

Photo by Anthony Doudt

As I contemplate on my Action Research, I find myself thinking about everything that could go wrong.  I know this is not the best utilization of my brain power.  After all, I do consider myself a pretty good positive thinker.  However, I think this may be a good exercise to undertake so that I can at least try to be prepared for those things which I think might be most challenging.

• It may be difficult to find three to five people at my campus who will be willing to be part of the Technology Leadership Team (TLT).
• Mini-lessons will be offered.  Scheduling after school may prove to be difficult.  Our campus has K-12.  K-8's end of the day is at 2:50 while 9-12's end of the day is at 3:45.
•  Days of the week may be difficult to schedule for the mini-lessons also because of the myriad of commitments families have.
• Attendance will not be mandatory and therefore may be low.
• Frustration at having to learn new ways of doing things may be high.
• Frustration at slower learners from those people who already know the tools may be high.

These are just some of the challenges that I can foresee.  I know many more challenges will poke their heads out at me while I am in the middle of this process.

What suggestions do you have to minimize these challenges?  Are there any challenges that I am missing?  All (constructive) comments are welcome!

Thanks in advance for your help!

Here's the Plan. . .Part 2

And now for the timeline to make it all happen. . .

Action Steps	Person(s) Responsible	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
1. Form a Technology Leadership Team (TLT)	Kubala	Start: 11/01/12 End: 11/05/12	People	3 – 5 People who are interested in helping other staff learn more about technology.
2. Survey Staff using ISTE's NET-T plus additional questions created by the TLT	Technology Leadership Team (TLT), All Staff on Campus	11/05/12 11/15/12	ISTE's NET-T	Goal of 75% of staff returns completed survey
3. Evaluate Survey, Set Goals for Technology Use	TLT	11/15/12 12/07/12	Completed Surveys	Set no more than 3 goals for campus technology use
4. TLT will meet to plan implementation of mini-lessons during January.	TLT	11/15/12 12/14/12		Plan at least 3 mini-lessons for the month of January
5. TLT gives at least 3 mini-lessons each month	TLT	01/07/13 05/10/13	TLT	Surveys will be handed out at the end of each mini-lesson to determine the effectiveness of that particular lesson
6. TLT will meet at least once per month to determine upcoming lessons for the month	TLT	01/07/13 04/10/13	TLT and surveys from each mini-lesson	Have plans setup for the next month
7. Survey Staff using ISTE's NET-T plus additional questions created by the TLT	Kubala	05/10/13 05/24/13	TLT and completed ISTE's NET-T
8. Review Results of all Surveys and plan for the following year	TLT	05/10/13 06/01/13	TLT	Have a plan in place for next school year with improvements in place from lessons learned this school year.
9. Report Findings	Kubala	07/01/13	Information gathered from TLT	Share data with Site Coordinator, Staff, District, and all interested parties.

Form used from:

Harris, Sandra, Stacey Edmonson, and Julie P. Combs. "Examining the Work: Taking Action for School Improvement." Examining What We Do to Improve Our Schools: 8 Steps from Analysis to Action. Larchmont, NY: Eye on Education, 2010. 85. Print.

Here's the Plan. . . Part 1

WOOOHOOO!!!!  I've made a plan and here it is.  I have to tell you that I am really excited about implementing this on my campus!

1. Examining the work: Setting the Foundation – Through meetings with teachers and my site supervisor it was agreed that teachers could use more technology during their lessons.
2. Analyzing data – Data will be gathered by giving surveys to students about how much they feel like they are engaged in the lessons during a typical day. Teachers will be given ISTE's NET-T as a pre-test and after all the training has been completed near the end of the year as a post-test.
3. Developing deeper understanding – A Technology Leadership Team will be formed and will continually offer ideas for additional training and ways the training can be improved throughout the program. Additionally, surveys will be completed at the end of each training session to evaluate how effective that particular training was.
4. Engaging in Self-Reflection – I will continue to work on my leadership weaknesses throughout this research.
5. Exploring Programmatic Patterns – The Technology Leadership Team will look at identifying data patterns, gaps, and will seek ways to address equity issues.
6. Determining direction – The technology Leadership Team will work collaboratively to address action research questions, monitoring progress, and assessing achievement.
7. Taking action for school improvement – Mini-lessons will be held throughout the school year on various technology topics including technology available on the campus and web 2.0 tools. The topics of the mini-lessons will be guided by the Technology Leadership Team who will take suggestions from all staff.
8. Sustaining improvement – The mini-lessons will continue year after year to address new and emerging technologies. We will also use them as refresher courses to others and give opportunities for other teachers to teach the lessons.
   
   
   Based on the 8 Steps outlined in:
   
   Harris, Sandra, Stacey Edmonson, and Julie P. Combs. Examining What We Do to Improve Our Schools: 8 Steps from Analysis to Action. Larchmont, NY: Eye on Education, 2010. Print.

My "Wondering"

One of the areas in Action Research that is of particular interest to me is staff development as it relates to integrating technology into the classroom.

An article on Edudemic stated, "75% of students said that technology helped them achieve their academic goals, but only 66% felt prepared to use that needed technology when they entered college."  This is just one of many studies that find students more excited about entering a classroom where technology is embraced than a classroom where the latest technology used is a book, paper, and pencil.

Teachers are uniquely placed to demonstrate how to embrace and learn new technology.  They can model to their students how to learn new technology because teachers have to learn how to use it before they can teach it.  This allows students to see lifelong learning in action, not just talked about by their teachers.  Teachers are a powerful role model.  Let's take advantage of that and use it to encourage and excite our students about being in our classroom.

My "wondering" is, "How would student engagement and behavior change if teachers used more technology and web-based activities during instruction?"

The Many Facets of Action Research in Education

I recently had the opportunity to read Chapter 2 of Leading With Passion and Knowledge: The Principal as Action Researcher by Nancy Fichtman Dana.  Dana describes nine areas that are ripe for Action Research.  Dana describes those areas as, Staff Development, Curriculum Development, Individual Teachers, Individual Students, Community/Culture Building, Leadership Skills, Management, School Performance, and Social Justice.

I would have considered Staff Development, Curriculum Development, Individual Teachers, and School Performance as areas conducive to Action Research, however I would not have thought about the other areas.

Dana makes the case for Individual Students on the basis that some students do not fit the mold of the average student.  These students need to be served in the best way possible and Action Research should be done in order to find what ways these students are best served.

Community/Culture Building, before reading the text, I would have thought as being mostly directed by factors that were already present at the campus.  Factors that could not be influenced.  I now see how a positive culture can be encouraged and how to move away from a negative culture on campus.

I believed Leadership Skills and Management were skills that were more of a innate quality, but I now see how those qualities can also be fostered and learned.

The area of Social Justice was one that was never given much thought.  The text enlightened me to several ideas and processes that should be looked at closely as a principal.

All of these areas are important to administrators on campuses.  I look forward to moving on with my own action research ideas and seeing them through to fruition.

Blogging for Educational Leaders

Blogging is a fantastic tool for educational leaders.  Blogging can give insight into what a leader is thinking and why they are taking the actions they are.

Leaders can also introduce new topics for discussion and see what others' opinions are.  It does not require the discussion to happen in real-time so people can read and respond at their leisure.  This would be a great time to link to a particularly good article for discussion or Web 2.0 tool for ideas on how to incorporate it into a lesson.

Teachers can use blogs in their classroom by having their students create one.  Creative Writing, reflection on a current event, a book review, and answering questions about a famous scientist are just a few ideas on how to incorporate blogging into the classroom.

Teachers can introduce new topics before students come into the classroom.  This may be one way to start flipping the classroom.

These are just a few ideas for using blogs in an educational setting, but there are many more.  Check out the following links for more information and ideas:
http://www.emergingedtech.com/2010/08/blogging-in-education-today-a-multipart-series/
http://www.det.wa.edu.au/education/cmis/eval/curriculum/ict/weblogs/
http://oedb.org/library/features/top-100-education-blogs

The best way to learn is to jump in.  Start today!

I hope to see you on your own Journey to Awesomeness

Action Research and its' Uses

Action Research is when a person wonders how a particular practice can be improved. They systematically look at their practices and then make changes based on those observations.

Action Research is particularly interesting to me because I am naturally curious. I am continually trying to improve my craft of teaching and Action Research gives me the best way to implement change in my practice and to analyze how the changes affects the outcome. Change can then be introduced to enhance the outcome.

Through Action Research I plan on evaluating the use of technology on my campus. By analyzing the teachers' interests I hope to bring the use of technology into more classrooms more often. Using Action Research I can make sure that technology is not being used just for the sake of using technology. I hope to introduce ways of communicating between the experienced users and novice users so that a learning community will be formed.

I am looking forward to generating excitement and opening new ways of learning to the teachers and students on my campus. With this blog I will chronicle the journey I am taking on implementing Action Research on my campus.

You are cordially invited to come join me on my quest for awesomeness.