Reflection

I would have to say one topic of greatest interest that I have gained from this course, would be the idea of always researching actively ways to improve. Through speaking with my mentor throughout this course I have learned about several different avenues in which teachers and administrators are always looking for new ways to improve. This is usually done through action research, and when these improvements are not put in place things remain the same without growth or positive change. I would say the researching actively to make improvements was a very mind opening experience.

I want to learn more about how to implement these changes in schools and how to group committees to help us better our schools. I read where one of my classmates had stated she could not have imagined gathering all of this information during the school year while leading a team of 11 teachers. I would agree with her strongly, and in agreeing I would like to find better ways to organize these plans while managing my time well. Improvement always needs to take place, improvements lead to growth, and when we do not grow we find ourselves stabilizing. I do not want to be an administrator or a teacher at a stabilizing campus, however I will need to know how to continue to group teachers and to "pump them up in order to keep us growing.

In order to continue growth in this area, I will continue to work with my principals in order to see how I can help our current campus, that way, I will have experience when I become an administrator at a different campus or a campus of my own. I will also learn new ways and new avenues that schools and districts are using through looking up current information, reading journals, and attending conferences. These ideas can be brought back to my own campus and modified to fit our school demographics and needs.

Research Action Plan

Action Planning Template
Goal: To increase parent involvement in our schools and ultimately decreasing negative behaviors and increasing academic performance. In the location where I teach the parent involvement is very minimal and I am interested in “turning the tables” in order to do what is best for our students.
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Introduction of the plan to staff members Data collection on how many students will be involved	Kelli Love	8/20 – 8/31 * cannot begin until the 20th with data collection for school doesn’t start until the 27th	Tracking sheets for classes (to be created prior to) Teacher Time Email	Initial interview Data collection
First 2 weeks of data collection and initial meetings with the students	Kelli Love/ Grade level staff	9/3 – 9/14	Tracking Sheets Teacher Time/ observations  Survey Monkey Email	Teacher interviews Data Collection
Continuous collection of data through class work, participation, parent involvement increase or decrease, and district benchmark data	Kelli Love/  Grade level staff	9/24 – 5/3	Tracking Sheets Teacher Time/ observations Survey Monkey Email	Teacher Interviews Data Collection Benchmark Data
Present Findings and Reports from the research	Kelli Love	June 2013	All Resources used Computer Software and data collected from tracking sheets, observations, and survey monkey	All Data Collected

Format based on Tool 7.1 from Examining What We Do to Improve Our Schools

(Harris, Edmonson, and Combs, 2010)