Steps to Follow in my Action Research Plan
Setting the Foundation: The lack of parent involvement over the past five years has created an environment that does not support student’s achievement or teachers in the classroom. Attendance issues at all campuses have also increased. Teachers are trying to keep up with the rigorous curriculum of CSCOPE will preparing students for the new state assessment test STAAR. Our district has failed to meet the requirements of AYP (Adequate Yearly Progress) for one year. In order to shift towards an environment filled with teacher, students and parent success, we must implement a Parent Involvement inquiry and reflect on the outcomes as they take place.
Analyzing Data: I will gather a variety of data from various resources in the community, establish a community, establish a committee of teachers and parents that will plan and implement activities to involve parents throughout the district. I will conduct research on the following web sites. www.aasa.org www.naesp.org www.pta.org
I will be research effective plans to involve parents in their child’s academic success and set goals for creating a district that supports parent involvement at all levels.
Developing Deeper Understanding: Once I have created a Parent Involvement Committee of teachers and staff, I will then with the help of our Parent Resource Center Liaison and interested parents to successfully form a Parent Teacher Association. The PTA will include a teacher representative from all three campuses. Teachers will assist in completing surveys on Euphoria that will indicate the amount of parent participation for any given activity at their campus.
Engage in Self-Reflection: Throughout my inquiry, I will reflect weekly on my progress. For example- Do I have the skills and resources to conduct a successful action research plan on the topic of parent involvement? How I can motivate more parent involvement in our district? In what ways can I utilize the community to assist in supporting parents, students and teachers? What resources will in use to create adequate surveys for teachers and parents? The development of a Parent Involvement Committee will aid in setting guidelines for achieving student attendance and academic support.
Exploring Programmatic Patterns: Once the Parent Involvement Committee has been established, we will meet to discuss further reflective questions that should be included and discussed at future meetings. Regularly scheduled meetings with the Parent Resource Center Liaison will be conducted and emails will be sent to all campuses which will update the inquiry process. After reviewing the research done online and among the different campuses, objectives and goals will be set and a timeline for theses will also be discussed and logged on to Euphoria. I will meet with representatives involved in the District Advisory Committee, to include additional staff in this action research study.
Determining Direction: At this point I should be ready to launch my action research project. To make sure all is ready I will do a double check on my implementation of my action research project. I will ask myself the following questions:
- Am I clear on what I am attempting to solve and is my research question being answered?
- Have I adequately addressed the skills and research questions?
- Have I established a collaborative approach to the issue?
- Are my timelines realistic?
- Do I have a reasonable plan to monitor the project?
- Do I have a reasonable plan for determining the level of success and how will I evaluate the plan for effectiveness?
- How will I revise and improve my plan based on my monitoring and evaluation?
Taking Action for School Improvement: I will organize and create a Parent Involvement Committee that will assist me with my action research plan. I will develop a written plan of action using the template steps to guide the implementation of my research project. I will monitor the project (formative evaluation) and prepare a summary report (summative evaluation) of the results of my action research project addressing the plan that will help motivate an increased parental involvement in our district.
Sustain Improvement: After completing my action research project on increased parental involvement I will be eager to share the results with our district. I will also share the result with online colleagues and I will use the information learned in other areas of my personal professional development.
Parental involvement is so important. Great research topic!
ReplyDeleteLook into WatchDOGS. It's an organization that gets dads involved with school. I like your detailed plan and wish you all the luck!
ReplyDeleteIn your research, have you come across ways to increase involvement at home? I heard from an administrator about research that looked at the affectiveness of at-home, weekly parent discussions and student achievement. There was an increase in achievement just from the basic 5 min discussion on parent expectations in regards to school, peers and their future. I will be interested to see what you implement.
ReplyDeleteNatalie,
ReplyDeleteGreat job with your action research plan. I appreciate the attention to detail, and thoroughness. I'm sure you will enjoyed your research outcome.
Keep it up!
Dr. Abshire