Staff Development Team Action Research Plan

This is my initial overview and rough draft of my Action Research Plan. This is basically extracted from parts 1 & 2 of Week 3's assignment. What you see here is pre-alterations, and definitely still has things that need to be worked on. I know what some of them are, but I have omitted them so I can get your opinions without my own ideas influencing yours. All comments and suggestions are appreciated. Enjoy!

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A common complaint from teachers on my campus, as well other campuses, is that the staff development sessions are boring, irrelevant to their position, impractical, or too ideological. A common complaint or reason for these sentiments is that the sessions are being developed and/or delivered primarily by individuals or groups that are not working in the classroom. They feel like they are putting in district and state mandated hours and not getting anything useful out of the time spent there. A Staff Development Team consists of the staff’s peers and coworkers and the sessions are primarily delivered by them as well. The purpose of this study is to discover how a Staff Development Team impacts the effectiveness of a campus’ professional development sessions, and if it more positively affects student learning and achievement. Below are several research questions that will help guide this study:

Wondering: In what ways will having a campus Staff Development Team (SDT) in charge of our campus’ professional development sessions improve the campus staff’s learning, attitudes toward, and personal development from those sessions, and how does this team’s involvement affect student learning?

Sub-wonderings: What are the positive and negative aspects of having the principal (and other administration) solely responsible for campus professional development sessions, what are the positive and negative aspects of having a campus SDT, and how do they compare to each other?

What individuals should be included/represented on a campus SDT?

What are the staff’s attitudes and opinions about sessions developed by the SDT in comparison to other staff development sessions that they have attended on campus?

What is the correlation between teacher’s attitudes toward sessions developed by the SDT and changes being implemented in the classroom, and how are these changes benefiting the students?

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The goals of this action research will be to (1) implement the use of a campus Staff Development Team (SDT), (2) analyze it’s positive and negative aspects, (3) determine how this team influences the attitudes and learning of those in attendance at the development sessions, and (4) determine how the team’s influence on the development sessions and those in attendance is having an impact on student learning and achievement. The following table contains various steps and activities that will take place throughout research, what resources are needed, a timeline for completion of each activity, who is responsible, and how achievement of each activity and goal will be monitored.

Activities	Resources Needed	Timeline for Completion	Person(s) Responsible	Monitoring of Achievement
1.) Administrative meeting to determine who we would like to invite to be on the SDT. Once the individuals have been chosen, they will be asked to join and commit for the school year	None	- This meeting should take place during the last day of the beginning of the year staff development week. This gives administration a chance to observe the teachers	- All members of the campus administrative staff	- All administrators will have their own form to jot down teacher and staff member names and reasons why they would be good for the team - Principal will e-mail all administrators throughout the week to remind and ask about progress on their pre-meeting form
2.) Invite those chosen staff members to join the SDT. If a chosen staff member declines the opportunity, the administrative team should determine if they would like to replace that person, or form the team without a replacement.	- A form of explanation and invitation to be given to each chosen staff member	- This should happen during the first week of classes	- The administrative team will divide up the names evenly and individually invite each person for whom they are responsible	- The forms will be given to the administrators on Monday, and they will have to have extended the invitation by Tuesday. - Each administrator will report on the results to the principal by Thursday
3.) First SDT meeting. This meeting will be to discuss the purpose of the SDT, the individual roles and responsibilities of the members, and to establish goals and expectations for the remainder of the school year.	- A 3-ring binder and other supplies for each team member to keep for use in the meetings and in their function as a member of the team	- This meeting should happen by Friday of the first week of school	- All those who accepted to participate on the team will be responsible for attending. - The administrative secretary will purchase the needed supplies	- An e-mail will be sent out to each invited member as a reminder of the meeting - The principal will be leading the meeting, and will be monitoring to make sure that the goals of the meeting are achieved
4.) Planning meeting. This meeting will be to discuss the upcoming staff development day in October. The team will determine the theme and topic(s) of the day, give assignments, and determine what the frequency of meetings will be building up to the presentation	- Campus reports - Campus Improvement Plan - Campus needs analysis - A space and/or supplies that aid in drawing out ideas and plans	- This meeting should happen by the 3rd week of school in order to give the staff enough time to gauge the campus’ needs, but also have time to adequately prepare for the presentation	- The administrative secretary will print out and provide all of the data and documentation - The whole SDT should be in attendance - The administrative team will do the needs analysis	- All team members will be given a form during those weeks to make notes or ideas concerning themes and needs - An e-mail will be sent out to remind everyone of the meeting - The SDT monitor will help direct the meeting to achieve its goals
5.) Periodic meetings. These meetings will be to discuss the progress towards the individual assignments	None	- The frequency of these meetings will be determined by the SDT and the principal	- The entire team	- E-mails will be sent out as reminders of meeting times and assignments - Administrators will contact individual members to provide support if needed
6.) Practice Presentation. This will be a dry run to make sure that the presentation will run smoothly and the team is prepared for the staff development day.	- Supplies or equipment requested by team members for their presentations	- This should occur by Wednesday of the week of the presentation. This will allow for any adjustments	- The entire team	- All members will have to send their portions of the presentation to the principal and the rest of the team by Monday of that week
7.) Staff Development Day. The SDT will make their first presentation to the campus staff. A survey will be completed by each attendee at the end of the meetings.	- All supplies and equipment required for the presentations	- Friday before Columbus Day	- All SDT members - SDT secretary will create teacher survey and make copies to hand out	- Each SDT member will have specific assignments and roles to play to make sure the meeting runs smoothly and on time
8.) Post-presentation meeting. The SDT will meet after the presentation to discuss feelings and opinions of how it went, and review teacher surveys to see what they thought of the presentations. Their responses will be reviewed.	- Completed teacher surveys	- Immediately following the staff development session	- The entire team will participate in reading and sharing responses and opinions	- The principal will gather the SDT following the meeting and conduct the review of the day
9.) Meeting to reinforce implementation of the concepts presented. The SDT will discuss and implement strategies to encourage teachers to use what was learned during the sessions.	None	- 1 week after the sessions take place	- Each team member will have assignments - Administrators will do CWT’s	- Administrators will observe and take note of the concepts during their CWT’s and report their observations to the SDT members
10.) Mid-year meeting to discuss progress toward achievement of team goals and objectives. Analysis of progress in student achievement.	- Campus reports and test data	- Beginning of 3rd 6 weeks	- Administrative secretary will print out data and reports to hand out	- E-mail will be sent out regarding the meeting - Administrators will conduct analysis of progress and goals prior to the meeting
11.) Repeat activities 4-9 in preparation for the next upcoming campus staff development session	- As previously mentioned	- As previously mentioned (Friday before Martin Luther King Jr. Day substituted)	- As previously mentioned	- As previously mentioned
12.) End of year meeting. This will be to discuss and observe if and how the concepts taught in the staff development sessions were implemented and how they impacted student learning and achievement. An analysis of the achievement of team’s goals and objectives will be conducted by the principal, other administrators, and the team	- Collection of teacher surveys - Student progress and testing data - Campus reports - Administrator analysis	- Final week of school	- Administrative secretary will print out data and reports to hand out - Team members will bring their conclusions, opinions, and observations	- The team will be e-mailed and asked to fill out a form prior to the meeting to bring their thoughts and opinions - Administrators will conduct analysis of progress and goals prior to the meeting

The milestones and tools that will be used to determine the efficacy of the action research study will be the formation of the SDT, the teacher surveys regarding the staff development days, the administrator analyses of the goals and objectives of the SDT, administrator CWT’s and observations, student test data, and campus reports. All of these will aid in showing whether or not the implementation of the SDT positively impacted the teachers’ professional development, student learning and achievement, and the campus in general.

Research that is Applicable and Intriguing

As I went through this week's study and learning of action research, I felt like there were two main themes about the topic that kept coming up. The first one that I noticed was, when choosing what to do as a study, make sure that it is something that is applicable or needed for your current situation. Unlike most research papers you did in high school or your undergrad, action research is meant to make a difference now in what you are doing. For example, researching how the education of students characterized as having a low socioeconomic status is affected by their adverse living conditions, is a great and noble topic for action research. However, it would not really be practical for you to embark on that study if you worked in a school that serviced students who come primarily from middle to high class families. With how much is already required of educators, doing research on something that cannot immediately have a positive impact on the students that you are currently working with, is of little help to anyone other than yourself. There is nothing wrong with learning for the sake of learning, but that is not the purpose of doing these types of inquiries. There should always be one primary purpose in your mind, and that is to positively impact the learning of the students you are working with.

The second recurring theme that I noticed was that you should choose something that intrigues you. The main reason that I can see for doing this is so that you put your full effort into it. If you are not interested in what you are researching, you will likely only do the bare minimum of what you need to. We want action research to be effective and helpful to our schools, so we need 100% put into the topic. Along with this same idea, while you want to choose something interesting, you also should not choose something that you already know the answer to or are very familiar with. Doing a full action research on something you already know seems like a big waste of time. The only reason I can see someone doing this would be to take the easy way out on something they were asked to do by a superior. Once again, we need to remember that action research is not meant to be busy work, to impress someone, or to be punishment. Do it to help your students and help them now.

Why Use Blogs?

Blogs are awesome and have so many uses, regardless of your position in life. As an educational leader, there are many purposes, uses, and reasons to be a blogger. Here are just 5 of those reasons that I think blogs are great for educational leaders:

1.) You get your thoughts out shortly after you have them. Too often we think of something and then forget about it. We have a flash of brilliance, and then it goes away just as quickly as it struck us. My last principal always carried around a pad and pen, and was frequently jotting things down. I wonder if he was doing something similar. By writing those things down and then blogging them, we put our thoughts out in written form. From there you can look at them and either expand upon and develop them, or decide that your formerly considered flash of brilliance was more likely the result of a lack of sleep or dehydration.

2.) Your blog can serve as your electronic journal. I hate writing lengthy entries by hand. I do not mind typing at all. I do it all the time anyway, why not put it to good use? By creating an online journal, you forge a virtually permanent database of your thoughts and ideas. In "Leading With Passion and Knowledge" (Dana, 2009), the author references the "pensieve" idea from the Harry Potter books. This basically means you can see your thoughts and ideas afterward and consider them from a different angle and perspective. I bet that Albus Dumbledore would have been an excellent blogger.
3.) Be an example. As the supposed "head learners" of your school organization, principals can demonstrate their willingness to also learn and develop themselves by doing two of the main things that we expect our teachers and students to do in the classroom: write and use technology.

4.) Collaboration and networking. By blogging and sharing your thoughts and ideas with the educational world, you can connect yourself with other educational leaders and authorities that you probably never would have met or spoken to otherwise. Blogs, and the internet in general, give us the ability to collaborate with anyone else who is also willing to use the internet and share with others. Make sure you choose wisely who to collaborate with though.

5.) You can help someone. You never know who will read your blog and potentially benefit from your ideas and thoughts. How many times have you or I benefited from the research, brilliance, and thoughts of someone's online posting without their knowing it? I estimate that I am on the receiving end of this on an almost daily basis. By blogging, not only can you help yourself and those you are collaborating with, but you could very well unknowingly aid someone else in their time of need. In a profession where we are encouraged to take what people are willing to give to make ourselves better, we also need to be willing to give.

What I Have Learned (so far) About Action Research

As a newcomer to the concept of action research, I have learned many new things concerning the topic. However, what I like most in regard to what I have learned about action research is that it is an excellent alternative to the less attractive model of traditional research. For anyone who has spent countless hours in a university library, thumbing through tomes of antiquated data and findings, the more current and ongoing approach of action research should also be attractive to them as well. Hopefully that does not sound like I do not value old-fashioned research, for it certainly has its uses and effectiveness. If we do not learn from the past, we are dooming ourselves to repeat those same mistakes as well. No need to reinvent the wheel. However, as a prospective educational leader in a world and time of seemingly instant changes, one hardly has time to sit around and read all day. Nor are we provided the funds to hire someone to do so for us. In addition, I am looking to learn from more recent history. I want to learn from my own history and the choices that I (we) will have recently made at my own campus. By partnering this kind of introspection with a bit of traditional research (data, applicable scholarly articles, etc.), I can develop up-to-date insights and make ongoing decisions concerning my current practices. Action research can help me see that I need to change what I am currently doing, adopt something new, or even further develop or expand upon something that really does work. In addition to using this process as a form of self-diagnostic, action research also has many other benefits and educational applications: professional development, team building, problem solving and troubleshooting, establishing consensus, and others. This is what I like and have learned so far about action research and individual inquiry.