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Action Research Defined:

Action Research Defined:. Investigations conducted by and for the people taking the action,. on their own action. to inform their future actions. Compact for Continuous Improvement. Covenant “Why we’re here”. Charter

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Action Research Defined:

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  1. Action Research Defined: Investigations conducted by and for the people taking the action, on their own action to inform their future actions.

  2. Compact for Continuous Improvement Covenant “Why we’re here” Charter “How we make decisions” Teaching and Learning Critical Study “What informs our decisions”

  3. TWO TYPES OF ACTION RESEARCH • DESCRIPTIVE STUDIES (understanding what is) • QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES (testing theories)

  4. FOUR STAGE PROCESS Clarify Your Vision/Targets Articulate Your Theory(s) Implement Your Theory Reflect on Results

  5. A Leadership Mantra • What specifically do you hope to accomplish? • Specifically, how do you plan to accomplish this? Why? • How will you monitor your progress? • How will you report what you’ve learned?

  6. Stage #1 Clarify Your Vision/Targets What improvements in student or school performance would you like see?

  7. Professional Learning Communities: • Successful schools will have learning rather than teaching as a focus. Teachers will work together to analyze student work and consider best practice. • Instructional decisions will be based on data, emphasizing formative as well as summative data.

  8. Professional Learning Communities: • Collaborative conversations will be a part of the regular school day for teachers. • There will be a focus on results and staff will hold themselves accountable. • Professional learning teams will function successfully on a variety of levels leading to improved student achievement.

  9. Professional Learning Communities: • SMART goals will be understood and used meaningfully. • Action research or principal/teacher inquiry will inform practice. • Students who are experiencing difficulty will be supported. Learning is for all students.

  10. Professional Learning Communities: • Students will do better on a variety of assessments. They will feel more confident about literacy and numeracy and develop a stronger love of learning.

  11. An Achievement Target

  12. Targets as Dependant Variables: Generating Rating scales

  13. The purpose of the target (when doing quasi-experimental research): By stipulating a dependent variable (your achievement target), you are saying: “If my intervention has a positive effect on the target, it will validate my hypothesis.”

  14. Two Types of Variables: • Dependent variables: What we want to see changed • Independent variables What we will be doing

  15. Targets /Dependent Variables For each target you are investigating you will need: • To locate a valid/reliable assessment, or • Develop your own quality assessments

  16. Criteria for Building a Rating Scale • Basic: This is the minimum level of performance that could be considered a demonstration of this skill. • Developing: This is a good level of performance. I would be pleased if all my kids were here. • Fluent: This a truly remarkable demonstration of proficiency.

  17. Developing and Using a Theory of Action

  18. Stage #2 Articulate Your Theory(s) What actions do you think would/could produce the desired results?

  19. Surfacing the Critical Independent Variables: The Priority Pie

  20. Identifying the Variables PRIORITY PIE List the most significant factors under our control that we will need to attend to if we are to succeed with/on this achievement target: Factor: __________ __________ __________

  21. Identifying the Variables PRIORITY PIE List the most significant factors under our control that we will need to attend to if we are to succeed with/on this achievement target: Factor: Percent: __________ _____ __________ _____ __________ _____ __________ _____ Total: 100%

  22. The Graphic Reconstruction: Your Implementation Roadmap

  23. Columbus’ Hypothesis If I sail due west from Europe, for about 4,000 miles, then I should land on the East Coast of Asia. If I am correct, the ocean route will prove to be more efficient (than the overland route) for importing goods from East Asia.

  24. The Graphic Reconstruction: Your Road Map for Implementation • This will be a visual outline of the route you believe you should take. • If followed you truly believe it will take you to the desired destination. • It clearly reflects your understanding of the order of activities and events which will need to occur if you are ultimately to achieve success.

  25. Drawing out your theory…. • 1) Brainstorm on a separate post-it note, every factor, variable, issue, phenomena or force that you feel influences performance in this area and/or ought/could/might come into play as you endeavor to improve performance. • 2) Arrange the post-its in a manner which will illustrate a clear, direct and detailed route to the desired destination. • Your road map should illustrate: • 1) What problems exist • 2) What needs to be done • 3) In what manner it needs to be done • 4) What combination of things need to occur, and • 5) In what sequence they ought to occur

  26. Purposes of the Graphic Reconstruction • It clarifies and provides you with direction for the implementation of your “theory of action.” • When shared with your students, it helps make the the mysteries of the instructional process more understandable and coherent.

  27. Purposes of the Graphic Reconstruction, con’t • If it works satisfactorily, others will be able to “walk your walk” • If it doesn’t work as planned, you can retrace your steps to determine when and where things went wrong.

  28. 3 Generic (ACR) Research Questions: • What did you actually do (action)? • What improvement(s) in performance occurred on your targets (change)? • How and in what way did your actions influence the noted changes in performance (relationships)?

  29. Stage #3 Implementation/Data Collection How will you know if your actions are producing the desired results?

  30. DATA COLLECTION PLAN What did we actually do? What improvement occurred on our targets? How did our actions influence these changes?

  31. Some Sources of Data • EXISTING SOURCES --Student work (portfolios) --Documentary evidence (archival data) • TOOLS FOR CAPTURING EVERYDAY LIFE --Diaries, logs, journals --Tapes (audio/video) --Photographs --Shadowing --Observation checkists • TOOLS FOR QUESTIONING --Interviews --Surveys --Tests --Focus groups

  32. Trend Analysis: Analyzing Historical Data

  33. Trend Analysis P E R F O R M A N C E TIME/ACTIONS

  34. Conducting Rate of Growth Assessments

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