The question I am researching is: Are there significant similarities in the 1st and 2nd grade profiles of 3rd grade students at Teague Elementary who failed the 2009-2010 Math TAKS Test?
The purpose of my action action research project is to evaluate the positive influence in the overall performance of our students by incorporating an art program into our curriculum. I started by reading our school Mission Statement and realized that there are many things that we can improve, as an educational community, to better serve our students. I found three statements in our school mission that caught my attention: the importance of providing quality education in all areas, every student should be provided of a positive and safe learning environment, and teachers need to use different techniques to accommodate the different learning styles of all students. The objective of this study is to address these three statements and do whatever is best for our students. I began developing the idea of this action research by simply asking: How important is art in student performance? This idea came from the fact that in recent years, public schools have been pushed to scratch art from the curriculum in order to achieve success in standardized tests. I have a background in art and since I started teaching—5 years ago—I have been incorporating some art into my lessons. However, I have to admit, every year I have been using less and less art in my classroom, mostly because there is not enough time and because we also feel the pressure to obtain good results on standardized tests.
The goal of my research investigation is to determine the best way to improve reading skills of the bottom quartile of the children at Deer Creek Elementary School. This study will evaluate the effectiveness of the Voyager Passport Ticket to Read program by comparing the progress of first and second grade students that participated in last years’ program with the progress of the third and fourth grade students that will participate in this years’ program.
I've decided to center my project around analyzing whether or not our student TAKS scores improve using the CSCOPE curriculum. 2010-2011 will be our first year to use CSCOPE so the data should be fairly clear. My inquiry utilizes the categories of Curriculum Development and School Performance
Purpose: 1. How will adopting the CSCOPE curriculum impact next year’s 3rd -8th grade TAKS scores in Reading and Math? I plan to use student grade reports and TAKS data gathered after the state assessment has been administered.
2. Can CSCOPE increase teacher content knowledge? Teacher interviews, comments and surveys will be used to gain insight into the teachers’ perspectives on CSCOPE.
3. Are the methods for differentiating for special populations in the regular classroom effective? I plan to use special education student grade reports, TAKS-A and TAKS-M data gathered after the state assessment has been administered, as well as, information from the Special Education teachers concerning their ability to manipulate CSCOPE into a usable curriculum. There has been significant discussion about whether or not CSCOPE can be used in Special Education to the extent CSCOPE claims it can be used.
My action research topic is “What impact will Interactive Whiteboards have on student achievement?” My goal is to look deeper into the integration of Interactive Whiteboards (IWB) at the only school in my district that has an IWB in each classroom and how they relate to student achievement. My blog is deannthompson75.blogspot.com.
The goal of my action research is for the advancement of the economically disadvantaged students of my school in the area of math. The students will benefit with higher math grades, greater confidence in their math skills, and therefore the opportunity to enroll in higher level math classes. Higher level math classes could lead to more career opportunities than they may have otherwise had. The school and teachers will benefit from student improvement, higher standardized test scores and possibly a higher school rating. Parents and the community will benefit with higher achieving, better educated members.
My action research project is to find out how the implementation of cross-curriculum instruction will help our students make connections between the core subjects and help the overall comprehension of the students on my middle school campus. My blog is located at:
Throughout my action research project I will be working with What is the relationship Between Assigning Homework and Student Measures of Achievement at School?
Homework is an unique educational practice. Of all learning strategies a teacher may use, it is the only one that crosses the boundary separating school and home, encompassing the two worlds of school and home that all children inhabit. Given the complexity of family life and the diversity of students today, it is no surprise that the practice of homework is challenging-and in some communities, controversial. (Vattererott, 2009).
After meeting with my principal and reviewing and discussing disaggregated TAKS data, my action research project will be focused on the small subset group of African American students in our school in the subject area of mathematics; this particular subset group of students is performing significantly lower than any of the other subset groups in mathematics. We are choosing to complete an inquiry in order to better understand why there is a significant achievement gap in mathematics concerning this particular subset group and how we can work to close this gap in order to ensure that learning is successfully taking place in all students and that all learning community members are successfully learning and growing in the changing times. The inquiry is based on the following question: What can we do to help close the achievement gap in mathematics for African American students and improve our practice in teaching mathematics? My personal weblog is at http://belsimonestidbits.blogspot.com/
The purpose of the study is to determine how the method utilized to demonstrate subject matter competency of teachers to meet the definition for highly qualified under NCLB affects Alvin Independent School District (AISD) 7th and 8th grade students’ math TAKS test scores.
Provide feedback on my blog at: http://msmorales-actionresearchanalysis.blogspot.com
I am researching to see if there is a relationship between economically disadvantaged students' academic achievement and their involvement in extra-curricular activities.
The goal of my action research study is going to focus on the effective strategies that teachers can use to help economically disadvantaged students be successful on TAKS. I guess this can really go under 2 categories this one and individual performance. I chose this topic because it seems to be a recurring event when looking at data from benchmark scores and also TAKS test. At first I was looking at doing an overall picture, meaning all subject areas, but I now after speking with my principal, I fell that I will be working more in the subject of Reading. Please provide feedback on my blog: http://staceysactionresearch.blogspot.com/2010/07/action-plan-for-stacey-thompson-project.html
My Action Research Project is based on our Game Design and Simulation Workforce Education Program Performance. Below is a description of my project. Here is the link to my blog which has a link to my Action Research Plan; please go check it out and post your comments:
The future life of the Game Development and Design program at LSC - Kingwood is based upon several factors compiled into a report; the most important being Student Retention and Success. The college currently offers both an associate's degree and certification in the program. Student Success is measured by whether a student completes the program and finds employment in the industry or continues to a 4 year university. Student perception of the program and how it can be improved as well as tracking students who move on from the program will increase the Student Retention and Success rates on the report which is crucial to it's survival.
My target population is potential students entering into the program, current students in the program, and students who have moved on from the program.
The sample for my Action Research will consist of GAME 1303 students entering in Fall 2010 (40 students), GAME 1304 students who have already been in the program for 1 year (20 students), and past GAME students that can be contacted by existing student records (currently consisting of 12 students).
This sample reflects all of the considerations that will affect the Student Retention and Success rates by identifying incoming perceptions of the program, current perceptions by student already in the program, and students who have left the program.
A database will be set up to track student information not currently being kept such as where they moved on to - job, 4 year university, etc. An alumni group will be set up on Facebook for further tracking of past students within the Gaming program which will also provide a means of connecting and sharing with other students about their experiences after LSC - Kingwood. All 3 groups will be surveyed through the use of Survey Monkey to determine the perceptions of the Game Design and Development program to gather data on the effectiveness of the program and curriculum currently being used and how relevant it is to their future plans. The data will be compiled and analyzed to see what improvements could be made to the program and curriculum to keep students in the program and attract more students in the future.
My action research is to determine the effectiveness of Saturday School. Last year was the first year to implement it for the 3 months leading up to the tests. I want to see how students who attended fared on the exam and if their was improvement over the previous year. I also want to compare the results to the general population. There were two groups involved that I also want to compare. The first group was voluntary and the second was attending for detention time. Detention hours were not credited if students did not participate. In other words, they couldn't put their heads down on the desk and sleep during the classes.
Goal: To identify if the integration of technology in classrooms increase time-on-task and performance? Activities: Specifically choosing a set number of students that struggle in a specific academic area without the integration of technology. Gather data before integration. Integrate a variety of technology programs to implement the academic areas being taught and gather data to evaluate progress. Resources: Smart board; video/picture camera; voice recorder; computers (internet access); computer software Draft timeline: 18 school weeks Persons responsible: Classroom teacher and myself Process for monitoring: Grades; teacher input; testing data Assessment instruments: Student/teacher surveys
The purpose of my action research study will be to investigate the effect of Sandcrab Monday Night (after school weekly tutorials) on our TAKS math results for ninth-grade students and the retention rate for the Algebra 1.
This study will be significant for all of the math teachers in our department. If regular use of Sandcrab Monday Night (SMN) weekly tutorials yields positive results in the area of ninth-grade TAKS math scores and passing rates, then more teachers will be likely to participate. The study would also have implications for all of the other math classes as well as the core classes who need improvement with TAKS scores or failure rates. Sandcrab Monday Night is a three hour tutorial session in the library from 4 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. The tutorial sessions are staffed by teachers who are paid for their time. Sending students to SMN is currently voluntary for teachers to use at their own discretion. Students can be assigned SMN if they are missing homework or test grades and they are allowed to leave when they have completed the work. Students who need transportation are allowed to ride the late athletic bus if they choose. The teachers who have bought into this program have reported positive results in an informal manner but an actual research study would make all of the results incontrovertible. Before initiating this program in January 2010, we studied a similar program done on a larger scale (five nights a week) at another school and we soon decided that the budget would not stretch that far. Our principal would be able to use this action research study to justify the money that is currently spent on SMN and even ask for additional funds to include more evenings if the results indicate the need.
When schools, families, and community groups work together to support learning, children tend to do better in school, stay in school longer, and like school more. (Henderson and Mapp, 2002) The biggest problem in some lower performing schools is the lack of parental involvement. I want to research strategies that not only help educators to improve student success without any or very little parental support, but also strategies that schools and/or districts can implement that encourage parental support. In my opinion and personal experience, parental involvement can help students to feel more confident in their learning. This will ultimately lead to more success in our schools.
The goal of my action research project relates to instructional tutors. Goal: What impact does instructional tutors have on struggling students when providing classroom instructions during tutorial pull-outs? I chose this as an action research topic because last school year we had several instructional tutors on campus providng classroom instructions to students as if they were the classroom teachers. When the subject was presented by the administrator, she felt that we had tried as many instuctional programs over the years. Instead of buying into another program, she believed that the students would be better served by having small group studies that focused on the layering of instructions. Student instructions given by the teacher, then followed up by the instructional tutor. Please feel free to check out my blog and let me know what you think. The web address is as follows: http://4marti2lrn.blogspot.com
Goal: Retention is an ongoing problem in college preparatory classes. The drop rate is at an unacceptable level at this time. The college has decided to pilot a new product within its Blackboard environment that is marketed as a tool to assist in alerting, tracking, and communicating with students exhibiting signs they may be close to dropping these courses. In what way will implementing the Starfish Retention Solutions product within San Jacinto College’s Blackboard system help increase student retention in college preparatory classes?
Please visit my action research blog and let me know what you think.
My action research deals with small group test settings for state and district assessments. My wondering is:
Do small group settings, provided for students on state and district assessment days, truly increase a student’s academic success or are the small group test administration settings used more to ease individual classroom teacher’s test day tension when specific students are not tested in their classroom?
I want to know if all of these numerous small groups and 1-on-1 test administration settings really are necessary because the frustration and tension levels associated with coordinating all of those various groups is rather high.
The goal of my action research project is to improve student learning through active use of technology tools. I will train our teachers on using today’s technology, including Web 2.0 tools, document cameras, flip video cameras, podcasting, and others. I will also demonstrate to the teachers the effectiveness of using these tools in their lessons while providing them the literature and documentation of the success that has been shown through using technology in education. The principal will require all teachers to use technology on a regular basis and we will collect data through surveys, interviews, observations and samples of student work. Teacher training will be ongoing throughout the school year. By integrating technology into our classroom lessons, we hope to keep our students actively engaged in their learning and therefore, completing high school. My entire action research plan is outlined on my blog. The address is: http://psummers.blogspot.com
My action research topic overlaps into two several categories: Staff development, school performance and Individual student
I want to discover how the integration of 21st Century Skills impact student achievement and how we can motivate teachers to create this environment in their teaching and learning.
My action research topic is to evaluate the effectiveness of using introductory topical video clips and vocabulary support to improve science TAKS scores for my school's 8th grade ESL students.
I want to encourage the teachers to use the technology equipment they received (MacBooks, Netbook computers, and iPod Touch devices) from two separate grants to engage the learners, activate background knowledge, stimulate interest, and enable them to synthesize new learning in order to achieve higher test scores and overall better comprehension.
Blog: http://techpasture.blogspot.com/ (Look for entries beginning with LU)
The purpose of my research is to investigate the effect of a reading first 3 tier model of instruction as applied to a math TAKS class for students not attaining a passing rate on their math TAKS the previous year. The research investigation will determine if this model provides greater student achievement than the model previously in place.
My Action Research is to develop the School Testing Program and I will make statistics of the benchmarks and other tests.
I think that this Action Research if important because teachers did not have results of the student's performance on time (benchmarks or weekly tests) in the past school year. So, students did not receive intervention properly. By the third six-week period, I started processing the tests using the Scantron scanner, so teachers had results during the next 24-48 hours after tests. By knowing these results earlier, it allows teachers to have enough information to implement the personalized that students need.
My Action Research Goal : To find out if the Teacher Advancement Program will improve student achievement, raise staff morale, and increase teacher retention. Will the TAP program improve student achievement? Will it raise staff morale, and will it increase teacher retention in my school? • The very nature of the TAP program is based on the use of data to drive instruction. So, I as a Master teacher will be using data on a weekly basis with my cluster. • My PLC will consist of my cluster of teachers. The cluster will consist of all of the EC, Pre-K, Kinder, and 1st grade teachers. I will also have 2 mentor teachers, one being a Kindergarten teacher, and one a first grade teacher. I, as the master teacher will be responsible for the entire cluster’s professional development, amongst other responsibilities. • I will have 14 teachers total in my cluster. I will support the instructional practices that the cluster will be learning about in our weekly meetings, through lesson modeling, peer observations, conferencing and PLC meeting collaboration.
To see if student performance is increase due to the use of technology (Smartboard, Smart Airliner, Smart Student Response System, document camera, digital projector, and student computer workstations) in the classroom. I hope with positive results more teachers in my campus will be more willing to have and use technology in their classrooms.
Action Steps:
1. I will be using two 4th grade teachers, one teaches Science and Social Studies and the other teaches Reading and Language Arts. Both teachers are in the same rotation pod and see the same 4 sets (groups) of students. Both teachers will have two groups of students in the study, one set will have total access to all classroom technology and the other set will not. All of the students in the study will come from different ethnic backgrounds and social-economical settings. Each group will have students with many different learning situations such as ESL, LEP, general education, and special education.
2. Before the start of the school year I (campus technologist) will be thoroughly training both study teachers in all technology that would be used. Before they introduce any piece of technology to the students they would have become proficient users.
3. Once the students start the school year the teachers will take the first few days to introduce the different technologies to the students in the study who will use it, while the others will not receive such instruction.
4. As the year progresses the students will be given instruction with either technology or not and given bi-weekly common assessments in the various subjects. 5. I will also be sending out bi-weekly surveys to the study teachers on how they feel the students are responding to the technology being used as well as their interpretation of the action research procedures, timelines, and student predicted and actual outcomes.
Person(s) Responsible:
I (Albert Guia) will be the main teacher in charge of the study and my campus supervisor will be Assistant Principal Ms. Ransom. The two teachers who will help in the study will be Ms. Beley (Science/Social Studies) and Ms. Catchings (Reading/Language Arts).
Timeline/Start/End:
The study will begin when school starts for the students on Aug. 24, 2010. The training for the teachers involved in the study will take place Aug. 18-20 from 3:30 pm-5:00 pm and ongoing through the course of the study on as need basis. The studies bi-weekly common assessments will begin on Sept. 3 during regular school hours and then every other week from that point until the end of the Master’s program for me in mid/end of October.
Needed Resources:
Both teachers in the action research study will have exclusive assess to a Smartboard, Smart Airliner, Smart Student Response System (class set of 25), document camera, digital projector, and a 4 student computer work center. I will also need access to one of the school’s computer labs to conduct the teacher training as well as tracking/graphing the student’s data.
Evaluation: Both teachers will give bi-weekly common assessments to all students in the study and I will track and graph all data.
Project question: In what ways can our school develop methods to increase our science TAKS scores with our lower performing students without affecting the quality of the scientific experiences needed to promote lifelong understanding and appreciation of the sciences in all students?
My action research project is about determining whether the take home reading program in first and second grade is helping with the third grade reading TAKS.
In what ways will the availability of a safe District Web 2.0 environment help increase student achievement in K-5 classes.
At the elementary level we have had many teachers asking to be allowed to use current Web 2.0 tools in their classrooms. Some of these teachers have been given special permission to use these tools but the district has been nervous to open the doors for safety reasons. After two years of research into how to provide these tools to teachers in a safe manner where students can use them without the fear of their postings being “public” we have finally purchased a Web 2.0 solution. Our superintendent refers to it as a “Walled Garden”. It will be rolled out in a pilot phase this August. I am curious as to which tools teachers will gravitate towards and how they will use them. In the pilot phase we will be asking teachers to identify an area of weakness where they feel these tools will benefit student achievement. My action research project will be to provide them the tool to help them collect this data and allow them to reflect on and comment on their findings, struggles and achievements as they discover the possibilities these environments provide.
My action research project relates to encouraging core teachers to incorporate technology into their curriculum. Many core teachers are not familiar with the current ways that students use technology and do not feel comfortable incorporating technology into their projects. If they do incorporate technology, many times they have no idea how to assist or troubleshoot student issues. My plan involves peer tutoring using teachers that are comfortable with technology and pairing them with teachers that are not as comfortable with technology. A lesson plan form will be designed to allow for troubleshooting and curriculum planning. Another aspect of the research will be technology training for core teachers by technology specialists.
Goal: Determine the effectiveness of classroom performance system technology when consistently utilized in instruction. Compare standardized test scores where the technology was and was not utilized.
Goals: To determine the areas of weakness in each grade level, find ways to enrich those areas, and research information about the RTI math process and how it can help.
Outcome: All teachers on every grade level will be aware of the areas of weakness and be implementing the instructional strategy and interventions decided on by the math PLC. All teachers will be more aware of the RTI math process.
Inquiry Questions: What are the areas of weakness in each grade level in math? How will we enrich those areas in each grade level? In what ways can we use the RTI math process to monitor student progress in math?
My action research plan is to discover in what ways can the inclusion of resource students into the regular classroom in preparation for the on level testing be successful based on a co-teach approach?
My action research plan will address the following questions: How many hours of sleep does a teenager need and how does that relate to start times? Do students learn better when school starts at 7:30 versus starting at 9:30? In what environment do student achieve at their best?
Action research question: Does reading "above grade level" science articles, with facilitated discussions, increase students' vocabulary and on-grade level reading comprehension on district and state assessments?
This is a question our science teachers are very interested in; district and state tests continually pose unfamiliar vocabulary words that stump students. If we need to increase our commended rates, then we need to increase our common vocabulary – words that may not be direct science vocabulary, but words that support science. If we have students read above grade-level research news articles in class every day as a warm-up, highlight unknown words and facilitate group discussion, can we improve overall science reading comprehension? The idea here is that we need to teach students the skills to figuring out a word's meaning in context, even though they may not know the exact meaning of the word. By using sentence indicators, root words and/or prefixes, latin meanings, etc. then the vocabulary becomes less of an issue as long as the overall comprehension increases; we’ll call this “reading for meaning.”
From Luis Alba My research question is: how does modeling technology use during professional development sessions would entice teachers to try with a group and individual follow up sessions and how the integration increases student achievement?
This question could be broken down into several subwonderings: •How to make sure that interested teachers do apply technology into their classroom? •Do this integration really affect possitively into the student achievement? •Do school has the resources for the teacher to use technology in the classroom?
Drew Brown My action research is going to examine the effects of implementation of formative assessment and standards based grading in the fifth grade Science classroom.
It is my intention that my inquiry will answer the following questions:
1. What can teachers do to improve the math achievement of our students on free/ reduced lunch? 2. Are the supplemental math materials used for intervention aligned with the TEKS and TAKS objectives?
The objective of the research investigation is to see how the students who received intervention for their math courses in 6th-8th grades are performing once they reach high school, where there are no intervention programs.
The following questions will be addressed:
What type of math classes are the students taking? PreAP/AP/IB How are these students performing in their mathclasses? How are these students performing on TAKS and EOC? How are these students performing on SAT/ACT tests? What post-graduate program are these students looking to do (junior college, 4-year university, work force)?
My action research project is how to improve performance on bilingual prekindergarten students in terms of tracking attendance, reasons for often absences, dismish pull outs due discipline referrals and how is the impact of parent involvement. Achievements will be reflected on Taks scores on third grade. Comments and suggestions are welcome on my blog:
The title of my blog is Mrs. Lewis' Classroom, and the URL is http://mrslewismusicroom.blogspot.com .
My action research topic is how involvement in the 4th grade Choir affects attendance and tardy rates for our 4th grade student. A secondary topic is to investigate other clubs or school activities (co-curricular) that would motivate students to participate.
My action research study is looking at what motivation factors influence students to succeed on TAKS benchmark tests. Benchmark tests are used to identify areas of weakness in our students' knowledge base. They enable teachers to reteach and incorporate topics of concern into future lessons. In the past, our students have performed extremely well on the TAKS test, achieving Exemplary status this past year. I am interested to see what factors can be used to motivate our students to perform on the benchmark tests so that we don't have a big discrepancy between benchmark performance and TAKS.
The action research I have chosen to conduct is how to improve student achievement through a Science Inquiry Lab Tutorial. The inquiry lab takes place during a non-high school credit elective for the targeted student. If a student does not meet the expectations on a science district exam, they will be brought in to the lab to reteach the matierial in using inquiry style teaching. After a series of tutorials the student will be reassessed to check for understanding of the concepts. Check out my blog at: cyndycoxactionresearch.blogspot.com
My action research topic is evaluating the factors that allow students to graduate on time with their peers. I will be focusing on the at-risk students. I will be conducting student and staff interviews as well as analyzing data from PEIMS, AYP, and an internal database used by my district to track at-risk students from 9th grade on. I will be using my past experiences working with students in the Opportunity Center, a community designed to help students recover credits, and my work as a coordinator in that setting. I will then compile my findings and share them with my Small Learning Community. Based on my findings, data, and input from my colleagues, I will then present a report to my site supervisor.
Topic: Is the new grading policy adopted by Irving ISD school district equitable for students. Should formative grades be used to show that students can be compliant and adhere to deadlines?
After conferencing with my site supervisor, I was encouraged to narrow down my research to include only one or two factors affecting the graduation rate. I know this will be difficult because their are many factors to consider. She told me that another administrator at school was focusing on effects of teen pregnancy. I am going to zero in on at-risk students only. This should make my research more workable.
The question I am researching is: Are there significant similarities in the 1st and 2nd grade profiles of 3rd grade students at Teague Elementary who failed the 2009-2010 Math TAKS Test?
ReplyDeleteThe purpose of my action action research project is to evaluate the positive influence in the overall performance of our students by incorporating an art program into our curriculum. I started by reading our school Mission Statement and realized that there are many things that we can improve, as an educational community, to better serve our students. I found three statements in our school mission that caught my attention: the importance of providing quality education in all areas, every student should be provided of a positive and safe learning environment, and teachers need to use different techniques to accommodate the different learning styles of all students. The objective of this study is to address these three statements and do whatever is best for our students.
ReplyDeleteI began developing the idea of this action research by simply asking: How important is art in student performance? This idea came from the fact that in recent years, public schools have been pushed to scratch art from the curriculum in order to achieve success in standardized tests. I have a background in art and since I started teaching—5 years ago—I have been incorporating some art into my lessons. However, I have to admit, every year I have been using less and less art in my classroom, mostly because there is not enough time and because we also feel the pressure to obtain good results on standardized tests.
The goal of my research investigation is to determine the best way to improve reading skills of the bottom quartile of the children at Deer Creek Elementary School. This study will evaluate the effectiveness of the Voyager Passport Ticket to Read program by comparing the progress of first and second grade students that participated in last years’ program with the progress of the third and fourth grade students that will participate in this years’ program.
ReplyDeleteI've decided to center my project around analyzing whether or not our student TAKS scores improve using the CSCOPE curriculum. 2010-2011 will be our first year to use CSCOPE so the data should be fairly clear.
ReplyDeleteMy inquiry utilizes the categories of Curriculum Development and School Performance
Purpose:
1. How will adopting the CSCOPE curriculum impact next year’s 3rd -8th grade TAKS scores in Reading and Math?
I plan to use student grade reports and TAKS data gathered after the state assessment has been administered.
2. Can CSCOPE increase teacher content knowledge?
Teacher interviews, comments and surveys will be used to gain insight into the teachers’ perspectives on CSCOPE.
3. Are the methods for differentiating for special populations in the regular classroom effective?
I plan to use special education student grade reports, TAKS-A and TAKS-M data gathered after the state assessment has been administered, as well as, information from the Special Education teachers concerning their ability to manipulate CSCOPE into a usable curriculum. There has been significant discussion about whether or not CSCOPE can be used in Special Education to the extent CSCOPE claims it can be used.
My action research topic is “What impact will Interactive Whiteboards have on student achievement?” My goal is to look deeper into the integration of Interactive Whiteboards (IWB) at the only school in my district that has an IWB in each classroom and how they relate to student achievement. My blog is deannthompson75.blogspot.com.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThe goal of my action research is for the advancement of the economically disadvantaged students of my school in the area of math. The students will benefit with higher math grades, greater confidence in their math skills, and therefore the opportunity to enroll in higher level math classes. Higher level math classes could lead to more career opportunities than they may have otherwise had. The school and teachers will benefit from student improvement, higher standardized test scores and possibly a higher school rating. Parents and the community will benefit with higher achieving, better educated members.
ReplyDeleteMy action research project is to find out how the implementation of cross-curriculum instruction will help our students make connections between the core subjects and help the overall comprehension of the students on my middle school campus. My blog is located at:
ReplyDeletehttp://cross-curricularlearning.blogspot.com/
Throughout my action research project I will be working with What is the relationship Between Assigning Homework and Student Measures of Achievement at School?
ReplyDeleteHomework is an unique educational practice. Of all learning strategies a teacher may use, it is the only one that crosses the boundary separating school and home, encompassing the two worlds of school and home that all children inhabit. Given the complexity of family life and the diversity of students today, it is no surprise that the practice of homework is challenging-and in some communities, controversial. (Vattererott, 2009).
After meeting with my principal and reviewing and discussing disaggregated TAKS data, my action research project will be focused on the small subset group of African American students in our school in the subject area of mathematics; this particular subset group of students is performing significantly lower than any of the other subset groups in mathematics. We are choosing to complete an inquiry in order to better understand why there is a significant achievement gap in mathematics concerning this particular subset group and how we can work to close this gap in order to ensure that learning is successfully taking place in all students and that all learning community members are successfully learning and growing in the changing times. The inquiry is based on the following question: What can we do to help close the achievement gap in mathematics for African American students and improve our practice in teaching mathematics? My personal weblog is at http://belsimonestidbits.blogspot.com/
ReplyDeleteThe purpose of the study is to determine how the method utilized to demonstrate subject matter competency of teachers to meet the definition for highly qualified under NCLB affects Alvin Independent School District (AISD) 7th and 8th grade students’ math TAKS test scores.
ReplyDeleteProvide feedback on my blog at:
http://msmorales-actionresearchanalysis.blogspot.com
I am researching to see if there is a relationship between economically disadvantaged students' academic achievement and their involvement in extra-curricular activities.
ReplyDeleteThe goal of my action research study is going to focus on the effective strategies that teachers can use to help economically disadvantaged students be successful on TAKS.
ReplyDeleteI guess this can really go under 2 categories this one and individual performance.
I chose this topic because it seems to be a recurring event when looking at data from benchmark scores and also TAKS test. At first I was looking at doing an overall picture, meaning all subject areas, but I now after speking with my principal, I fell that I will be working more in the subject of Reading.
Please provide feedback on my blog:
http://staceysactionresearch.blogspot.com/2010/07/action-plan-for-stacey-thompson-project.html
My Action Research Project is based on our Game Design and Simulation Workforce Education Program Performance. Below is a description of my project. Here is the link to my blog which has a link to my Action Research Plan; please go check it out and post your comments:
ReplyDeletehttp://carolinechamness.blogspot.com/2010/08/my-action-research-project-plan.html
The future life of the Game Development and Design program at LSC - Kingwood is based upon several factors compiled into a report; the most important being Student Retention and Success. The college currently offers both an associate's degree and certification in the program. Student Success is measured by whether a student completes the program and finds employment in the industry or continues to a 4 year university. Student perception of the program and how it can be improved as well as tracking students who move on from the program will increase the Student Retention and Success rates on the report which is crucial to it's survival.
My target population is potential students entering into the program, current students in the program, and students who have moved on from the program.
The sample for my Action Research will consist of GAME 1303 students entering in Fall 2010 (40 students), GAME 1304 students who have already been in the program for 1 year (20 students), and past GAME students that can be contacted by existing student records (currently consisting of 12 students).
This sample reflects all of the considerations that will affect the Student Retention and Success rates by identifying incoming perceptions of the program, current perceptions by student already in the program, and students who have left the program.
A database will be set up to track student information not currently being kept such as where they moved on to - job, 4 year university, etc. An alumni group will be set up on Facebook for further tracking of past students within the Gaming program which will also provide a means of connecting and sharing with other students about their experiences after LSC - Kingwood. All 3 groups will be surveyed through the use of Survey Monkey to determine the perceptions of the Game Design and Development program to gather data on the effectiveness of the program and curriculum currently being used and how relevant it is to their future plans. The data will be compiled and analyzed to see what improvements could be made to the program and curriculum to keep students in the program and attract more students in the future.
My action research is to determine the effectiveness of Saturday School. Last year was the first year to implement it for the 3 months leading up to the tests. I want to see how students who attended fared on the exam and if their was improvement over the previous year. I also want to compare the results to the general population. There were two groups involved that I also want to compare. The first group was voluntary and the second was attending for detention time. Detention hours were not credited if students did not participate. In other words, they couldn't put their heads down on the desk and sleep during the classes.
ReplyDeleteAction Research Plan
ReplyDeleteGoal: To identify if the integration of technology in classrooms increase time-on-task and performance?
Activities: Specifically choosing a set number of students that struggle in a specific academic area without the integration of technology. Gather data before integration. Integrate a variety of technology programs to implement the academic areas being taught and gather data to evaluate progress.
Resources: Smart board; video/picture camera; voice recorder; computers (internet access); computer software
Draft timeline: 18 school weeks
Persons responsible: Classroom teacher and myself
Process for monitoring: Grades; teacher input; testing data
Assessment instruments: Student/teacher surveys
The purpose of my action research study will be to investigate the effect of Sandcrab Monday Night (after school weekly tutorials) on our TAKS math results for ninth-grade students and the retention rate for the Algebra 1.
ReplyDeleteThis study will be significant for all of the math teachers in our department. If regular use of Sandcrab Monday Night (SMN) weekly tutorials yields positive results in the area of ninth-grade TAKS math scores and passing rates, then more teachers will be likely to participate. The study would also have implications for all of the other math classes as well as the core classes who need improvement with TAKS scores or failure rates. Sandcrab Monday Night is a three hour tutorial session in the library from 4 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. The tutorial sessions are staffed by teachers who are paid for their time. Sending students to SMN is currently voluntary for teachers to use at their own discretion. Students can be assigned SMN if they are missing homework or test grades and they are allowed to leave when they have completed the work. Students who need transportation are allowed to ride the late athletic bus if they choose. The teachers who have bought into this program have reported positive results in an informal manner but an actual research study would make all of the results incontrovertible. Before initiating this program in January 2010, we studied a similar program done on a larger scale (five nights a week) at another school and we soon decided that the budget would not stretch that far. Our principal would be able to use this action research study to justify the money that is currently spent on SMN and even ask for additional funds to include more evenings if the results indicate the need.
When schools, families, and community groups work together to support learning, children tend to do better in school, stay in school longer, and like school more. (Henderson and Mapp, 2002) The biggest problem in some lower performing schools is the lack of parental involvement. I want to research strategies that not only help educators to improve student success without any or very little parental support, but also strategies that schools and/or districts can implement that encourage parental support. In my opinion and personal experience, parental involvement can help students to feel more confident in their learning. This will ultimately lead to more success in our schools.
ReplyDeleteThe goal of my action research project relates to instructional tutors.
ReplyDeleteGoal: What impact does instructional tutors have on struggling students when providing classroom instructions during tutorial pull-outs?
I chose this as an action research topic because last school year we had several instructional tutors on campus providng classroom instructions to students as if they were the classroom teachers. When the subject was presented by the administrator, she felt that we had tried as many instuctional programs over the years. Instead of buying into another program, she believed that the students would be better served by having small group studies that focused on the layering of instructions. Student instructions given by the teacher, then followed up by the instructional tutor.
Please feel free to check out my blog and let me know what you think. The web address is as follows:
http://4marti2lrn.blogspot.com
My action research deals with retention.
ReplyDeleteGoal: Retention is an ongoing problem in college preparatory classes. The drop rate is at an unacceptable level at this time. The college has decided to pilot a new product within its Blackboard environment that is marketed as a tool to assist in alerting, tracking, and communicating with students exhibiting signs they may be close to dropping these courses. In what way will implementing the Starfish Retention Solutions product within San Jacinto College’s Blackboard system help increase student retention in college preparatory classes?
Please visit my action research blog and let me know what you think.
http://marthasellsactionresearch.blogspot.com/
My action research deals with small group test settings for state and district assessments. My wondering is:
ReplyDeleteDo small group settings, provided for students on state and district assessment days, truly increase a student’s academic success or are the small group test administration settings used more to ease individual classroom teacher’s test day tension when specific students are not tested in their classroom?
I want to know if all of these numerous small groups and 1-on-1 test administration settings really are necessary because the frustration and tension levels associated with coordinating all of those various groups is rather high.
The goal of my action research project is to improve student learning through active use of technology tools. I will train our teachers on using today’s technology, including Web 2.0 tools, document cameras, flip video cameras, podcasting, and others. I will also demonstrate to the teachers the effectiveness of using these tools in their lessons while providing them the literature and documentation of the success that has been shown through using technology in education. The principal will require all teachers to use technology on a regular basis and we will collect data through surveys, interviews, observations and samples of student work. Teacher training will be ongoing throughout the school year. By integrating technology into our classroom lessons, we hope to keep our students actively engaged in their learning and therefore, completing high school.
ReplyDeleteMy entire action research plan is outlined on my blog. The address is:
http://psummers.blogspot.com
My action research topic overlaps into two several categories: Staff development, school performance and Individual student
ReplyDeleteI want to discover how the integration of 21st Century Skills impact student achievement and how we can motivate teachers to create this environment in their teaching and learning.
Blog: http://peggyhale.blogspot.com/
My action research topic is to evaluate the effectiveness of using introductory topical video clips and vocabulary support to improve science TAKS scores for my school's 8th grade ESL students.
ReplyDeleteI want to encourage the teachers to use the technology equipment they received (MacBooks, Netbook computers, and iPod Touch devices) from two separate grants to engage the learners, activate background knowledge, stimulate interest, and enable them to synthesize new learning in order to achieve higher test scores and overall better comprehension.
Blog: http://techpasture.blogspot.com/
(Look for entries beginning with LU)
The purpose of my research is to investigate the effect of a reading first 3 tier model of instruction as applied to a math TAKS class for students not attaining a passing rate on their math TAKS the previous year.
ReplyDeleteThe research investigation will determine if this model provides greater student achievement than the model previously in place.
My Action Research is to develop the School Testing Program and I will make statistics of the benchmarks and other tests.
ReplyDeleteI think that this Action Research if important because teachers did not have results of the student's performance on time (benchmarks or weekly tests) in the past school year. So, students did not receive intervention properly. By the third six-week period, I started processing the tests using the Scantron scanner, so teachers had results during the next 24-48 hours after tests. By knowing these results earlier, it allows teachers to have enough information to implement the personalized that students need.
My Action Research Goal : To find out if the Teacher Advancement Program will improve student achievement, raise staff morale, and increase teacher retention. Will the TAP program improve student achievement? Will it raise staff morale, and will it increase teacher retention in my school?
ReplyDelete• The very nature of the TAP program is based on the use of data to drive instruction. So, I as a Master teacher will be using data on a weekly basis with my cluster.
• My PLC will consist of my cluster of teachers. The cluster will consist of all of the EC, Pre-K, Kinder, and 1st grade teachers. I will also have 2 mentor teachers, one being a Kindergarten teacher, and one a first grade teacher. I, as the master teacher will be responsible for the entire cluster’s professional development, amongst other responsibilities.
• I will have 14 teachers total in my cluster. I will support the instructional practices that the cluster will be learning about in our weekly meetings, through lesson modeling, peer observations, conferencing and PLC meeting collaboration.
My action research will focus on identifying effective motivational techniques for high school math students.
ReplyDeleteAction Research Plan
ReplyDeleteGoal:
To see if student performance is increase due to the use of technology (Smartboard, Smart Airliner, Smart Student Response System, document camera, digital projector, and student computer workstations) in the classroom. I hope with positive results more teachers in my campus will be more willing to have and use technology in their classrooms.
Action Steps:
1. I will be using two 4th grade teachers, one teaches Science and Social Studies and the other teaches Reading and Language Arts. Both teachers are in the same rotation pod and see the same 4 sets (groups) of students. Both teachers will have two groups of students in the study, one set will have total access to all classroom technology and the other set will not. All of the students in the study will come from different ethnic backgrounds and social-economical settings. Each group will have students with many different learning situations such as ESL, LEP, general education, and special education.
2. Before the start of the school year I (campus technologist) will be thoroughly training both study teachers in all technology that would be used. Before they introduce any piece of technology to the students they would have become proficient users.
3. Once the students start the school year the teachers will take the first few days to introduce the different technologies to the students in the study who will use it, while the others will not receive such instruction.
4. As the year progresses the students will be given instruction with either technology or not and given bi-weekly common assessments in the various subjects.
5. I will also be sending out bi-weekly surveys to the study teachers on how they feel the students are responding to the technology being used as well as their interpretation of the action research procedures, timelines, and student predicted and actual outcomes.
Person(s) Responsible:
I (Albert Guia) will be the main teacher in charge of the study and my campus supervisor will be Assistant Principal Ms. Ransom. The two teachers who will help in the study will be Ms. Beley (Science/Social Studies) and Ms. Catchings (Reading/Language Arts).
Timeline/Start/End:
The study will begin when school starts for the students on Aug. 24, 2010. The training for the teachers involved in the study will take place Aug. 18-20 from 3:30 pm-5:00 pm and ongoing through the course of the study on as need basis. The studies bi-weekly common assessments will begin on Sept. 3 during regular school hours and then every other week from that point until the end of the Master’s program for me in mid/end of October.
Needed Resources:
Both teachers in the action research study will have exclusive assess to a Smartboard, Smart Airliner, Smart Student Response System (class set of 25), document camera, digital projector, and a 4 student computer work center. I will also need access to one of the school’s computer labs to conduct the teacher training as well as tracking/graphing the student’s data.
Evaluation:
Both teachers will give bi-weekly common assessments to all students in the study and I will track and graph all data.
http://guia-guia.blogspot.com/
Project question:
ReplyDeleteIn what ways can our school develop methods to increase our science TAKS scores with our lower performing students without affecting the quality of the scientific experiences needed to promote lifelong understanding and appreciation of the sciences in all students?
Link to my blog:
http://hceactionresearch.blogspot.com/
My action research project is about determining whether the take home reading program in first and second grade is helping with the third grade reading TAKS.
ReplyDeletehttp://shannonsblogforactionresearch.blogspot.com
In what ways will the availability of a safe District Web 2.0 environment help increase student achievement in K-5 classes.
ReplyDeleteAt the elementary level we have had many teachers asking to be allowed to use current Web 2.0 tools in their classrooms. Some of these teachers have been given special permission to use these tools but the district has been nervous to open the doors for safety reasons. After two years of research into how to provide these tools to teachers in a safe manner where students can use them without the fear of their postings being “public” we have finally purchased a Web 2.0 solution. Our superintendent refers to it as a “Walled Garden”. It will be rolled out in a pilot phase this August. I am curious as to which tools teachers will gravitate towards and how they will use them. In the pilot phase we will be asking teachers to identify an area of weakness where they feel these tools will benefit student achievement. My action research project will be to provide them the tool to help them collect this data and allow them to reflect on and comment on their findings, struggles and achievements as they discover the possibilities these environments provide.
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ReplyDeleteMy action research project relates to encouraging core teachers to incorporate technology into their curriculum. Many core teachers are not familiar with the current ways that students use technology and do not feel comfortable incorporating technology into their projects. If they do incorporate technology, many times they have no idea how to assist or troubleshoot student issues. My plan involves peer tutoring using teachers that are comfortable with technology and pairing them with teachers that are not as comfortable with technology. A lesson plan form will be designed to allow for troubleshooting and curriculum planning. Another aspect of the research will be technology training for core teachers by technology specialists.
ReplyDeleteMy blog is http://trvcone.blogspot.com/
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ReplyDeleteGoal: Determine the effectiveness of classroom performance system technology when consistently utilized in instruction. Compare standardized test scores where the technology was and was not utilized.
ReplyDeleteGoals: To determine the areas of weakness in each grade level, find ways to enrich those areas, and research information about the RTI math process and how it can help.
ReplyDeleteOutcome: All teachers on every grade level will be aware of the areas of weakness and be implementing the instructional strategy and interventions decided on by the math PLC. All teachers will be more aware of the RTI math process.
Inquiry Questions: What are the areas of weakness in each grade level in math? How will we enrich those areas in each grade level? In what ways can we use the RTI math process to monitor student progress in math?
My action research plan is to discover in what ways can the inclusion of resource students into the regular classroom in preparation for the on level testing be successful based on a co-teach approach?
ReplyDeleteMy action research topic: In what ways will targeting reading fluency affect reading comprehension performance on the Texas Primary Reading Inventory?
ReplyDeleteGoal: The goal of the action research is to increase students’ reading fluency in an effort to also improve students’ reading comprehension.
My Blog Address: http://vvoyage.blogspot.com/
Wendy I would be very interested in following your blog. I am a math resource teacher and Alg. & Geometry co teacher.
ReplyDeleteMy action research plan will address the following questions: How many hours of sleep does a teenager need and how does that relate to start times? Do students learn better when school starts at 7:30 versus starting at 9:30? In what environment do student achieve at their best?
ReplyDeleteAction research question: Does reading "above grade level" science articles, with facilitated discussions, increase students' vocabulary and on-grade level reading comprehension on district and state assessments?
ReplyDeleteThis is a question our science teachers are very interested in; district and state tests continually pose unfamiliar vocabulary words that stump students. If we need to increase our commended rates, then we need to increase our common vocabulary – words that may not be direct science vocabulary, but words that support science. If we have students read above grade-level research news articles in class every day as a warm-up, highlight unknown words and facilitate group discussion, can we improve overall science reading comprehension? The idea here is that we need to teach students the skills to figuring out a word's meaning in context, even though they may not know the exact meaning of the word. By using sentence indicators, root words and/or prefixes, latin meanings, etc. then the vocabulary becomes less of an issue as long as the overall comprehension increases; we’ll call this “reading for meaning.”
From Luis Alba
ReplyDeleteMy research question is: how does modeling technology use during professional development sessions would entice teachers to try with a group and individual follow up sessions and how the integration increases student achievement?
This question could be broken down into several subwonderings:
•How to make sure that interested teachers do apply technology into their classroom?
•Do this integration really affect possitively into the student achievement?
•Do school has the resources for the teacher to use technology in the classroom?
Drew Brown
ReplyDeleteMy action research is going to examine the effects of implementation of formative assessment and standards based grading in the fifth grade Science classroom.
It is my intention that my inquiry will answer the following questions:
ReplyDelete1. What can teachers do to improve the math achievement of our students on free/ reduced lunch?
2. Are the supplemental math materials used for intervention aligned with the TEKS and TAKS objectives?
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThe objective of the research investigation is to see how the students who received intervention for their math courses in 6th-8th grades are performing once they reach high school, where there are no intervention programs.
ReplyDeleteThe following questions will be addressed:
What type of math classes are the students taking? PreAP/AP/IB
How are these students performing in their mathclasses?
How are these students performing on TAKS and EOC?
How are these students performing on SAT/ACT tests?
What post-graduate program are these students looking to do (junior college, 4-year university, work force)?
https://docs.google.com/document/edit?id=1wFNTilt51y0ve_itGiF_xBzmuDScDKJFSJT9sLWc02k&hl=en&authkey=CIWWw4MJ
My action research project is how to improve performance on bilingual prekindergarten students in terms of tracking attendance, reasons for often absences, dismish pull outs due discipline referrals and how is the impact of parent involvement. Achievements will be reflected on Taks scores on third grade.
ReplyDeleteComments and suggestions are welcome on my blog:
http://gloriasattendanceactionresearch2010.blogspot.com/
The title of my blog is Alycea Lewis's Action Research and my URL is:
ReplyDeletealycealewis.blogspot.com
The title of my blog is Mrs. Lewis' Classroom, and the URL is http://mrslewismusicroom.blogspot.com .
ReplyDeleteMy action research topic is how involvement in the 4th grade Choir affects attendance and tardy rates for our 4th grade student. A secondary topic is to investigate other clubs or school activities (co-curricular) that would motivate students to participate.
My action research study is looking at what motivation factors influence students to succeed on TAKS benchmark tests. Benchmark tests are used to identify areas of weakness in our students' knowledge base. They enable teachers to reteach and incorporate topics of concern into future lessons. In the past, our students have performed extremely well on the TAKS test, achieving Exemplary status this past year. I am interested to see what factors can be used to motivate our students to perform on the benchmark tests so that we don't have a big discrepancy between benchmark performance and TAKS.
ReplyDeleteThe action research I have chosen to conduct is how to improve student achievement through a Science Inquiry Lab Tutorial. The inquiry lab takes place during a non-high school credit elective for the targeted student. If a student does not meet the expectations on a science district exam, they will be brought in to the lab to reteach the matierial in using inquiry style teaching. After a series of tutorials the student will be reassessed to check for understanding of the concepts. Check out my blog at: cyndycoxactionresearch.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteThe action research I have chosen is;
ReplyDeleteHow can intervention among Tier II third grade Math students improve TAKS/benchmark scores?
You can find my blogg @:
http://lhenryeducationalleadership.blogspot.com/
My action research topic is evaluating the factors that allow students to graduate on time with their peers. I will be focusing on the at-risk students. I will be conducting student and staff interviews as well as analyzing data from PEIMS, AYP, and an internal database used by my district to track at-risk students from 9th grade on. I will be using my past experiences working with students in the Opportunity Center, a community designed to help students recover credits, and my work as a coordinator in that setting. I will then compile my findings and share them with my Small Learning Community. Based on my findings, data, and input from my colleagues, I will then present a report to my site supervisor.
ReplyDeleteMy URL is http://eo.blogspot.com
Topic: Is the new grading policy adopted by Irving ISD school district equitable for students. Should formative grades be used to show that students can be compliant and adhere to deadlines?
ReplyDeleteAfter conferencing with my site supervisor, I was encouraged to narrow down my research to include only one or two factors affecting the graduation rate. I know this will be difficult because their are many factors to consider. She told me that another administrator at school was focusing on effects of teen pregnancy. I am going to zero in on at-risk students only. This should make my research more workable.
ReplyDeleteTopic: How do absences caused by extra-curricular activities affect TAKS scores and overall student achievement.
ReplyDelete