The Next Step...

Action Planning Template
School Vision: To become THE Premiere Middle School in Dallas ISD.
Goal: a) To increase students’ academic achievement in Science through integration   of technology           b) To increase student participation through interactive journals and lessons           c) To increase student and teacher knowledge and application of technology           d) To decrease dependency of worksheets
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Conduct classroom observations. Focus should be on instructional strategies and implementation of technology.      (Pre Action Plan)	Amaya Science Teachers	October 2011- May 2012	Access to teacher classrooms,	Evidence will be shown through journal entries of classroom observations.
Review lesson plans for instructional strategies and assess how much hands on learning is happening.      (Pre Action Plan)	Amaya Associate Principal Science teachers	October 2011- May 2012	Lesson Plans Computer, Microsoft Office Excel	Evidence will be shown by calculating the amount of times technology was being used and classify them into types. (teacher vs. student) Create a chart of data to represent amount and type of usage.
Analyze assessment data, sorting data by ethnicity, gender, at-risk/low socioeconomic.	Amaya Associate Principal Science teachers Testing Coordinator	May 2012- July 2012	Assessment scores, computer with access to my data portal	Evidence will be shown through the collection of data for students in 8th grade science. Charts will be created by subgroups for each assessment: Interim assessments, ACPs, and STAAR assessment.
Identify and categorize intervention plan and strategies.	Amaya 8th grade science teachers	May 2012- July 2012	Interview with teachers, access to 8th grade intervention plan	Evidence will be shown through the analysis of the intervention plan and strategies used to increase student achievement in the 2011-2012 school year. Categorize types of intervention strategies into traditional vs. technology implemented.
Identify previous Professional Development in technology	Amaya Associate Principal 8th grade science teachers	June 2012	Interviews/ questionnaire	Evidence will be shown through completion of interviews and questionnaires for teachers.
Research information on types of technology in the classroom	Amaya	June 2012- Aug 2010	Computer, internet, library	Evidence will be shown through the identification of technology items available for the classroom.
Research information on the implementation of technology in the classroom and the success.	Amaya	June 2012- Aug 2010	Computer, internet, library	Evidence will be shown through the identification of schools with successful implementation of technology in the classroom.
Create a teacher survey on types of technology needed/ wanted in the classroom	Amaya Science Teachers	Aug-Oct 2012	Computer, paper, survey-monkey or a survey making website	Evidence will be shown through the implementation of suggested technology in the science classroom.
Professional development (PD) for interactive journals	Amaya Principal Associate Principal 8th grade science teachers	August- September 2012	Power point, projector, computer, presentation, journal samples	Evidence will be shown through the implementation of interactive journals in classrooms.
Professional Development for technology such as SMARTBoard, SMART interactive software, CPS clickers, and DELL board.	Amaya Associate Principal 8th grade science teachers	August- October  2012	Computer, SMART Board hardware and software, DELL hardware and software, CPS clickers	Evidence will be shown through classroom observations of the implementation of technology.
Review and analyze of lesson plans requiring submission of interactive lessons using technology daily (Post PD)	Amaya Associate Principal 8th grade science teachers	August 2012-May 2013	Lesson Plans Computer, Microsoft Office Excel	Evidence will be shown through an analysis report for every teacher/class showing percentage of time interactive lessons were used.
Conduct classroom observations, focus should be on instructional strategies and implementation of technology.      (Post Action Plan)	Amaya Science Teachers	October 2012- May 2013	Access to teacher classrooms,	Evidence will be shown through journal entries of classroom observations, student interviews and student notebooks.
Monitor implementation and add/remove technology needs as needed	Amaya Science Teachers	September-May 2013	Lesson Plans Computer, Access to teacher classrooms,	Evidence will be shown through informal observations and feedback from teachers and students about their implementation of technology.
Collection, review, and analysis of interim, ACP, and STAAR assessments divided into subgroups (gender, ethnicity, at risk/low socioeconomic).	Amaya Associate Principal 8th grade science teachers	August 2012-May 2013	TAKS, STAAR Benchmarks, ACPs, and any standardized test taken during 2012-2013 school year, , Computer, Microsoft Office Excel direct observation	Evidence will be shown through comparative analysis showing differences between 2011-2012 and 2012-2013.
Create a technology driven intervention plan for students who are failing	Amaya Associate Principal 8th grade science teachers	August 2012-May 2013	TAKS, STAAR Benchmarks, ACPs, and any standardized test taken during 2012-2013 school year, , Computer, Microsoft Office Excel	Evidence will be shown through the creation and implementation of the intervention plan.
Analysis of student survey (end of 1st year of implementation)	Amaya Associate Principal 8th grade science teachers	May- June  2013	Computer, paper, survey-monkey or a survey making website	Evidence will be shown through the collection and analysis of end of course surveys to identify usage and satisfaction of technology implemented.
Analysis of teacher survey (end of 1st year of implementation)	Amaya Associate Principal 8th grade science teachers	May- June 2013	Computer, paper, survey-monkey or a survey making website	Evidence will be shown through the collection and analysis of end of course surveys to identify usage and satisfaction of technology implemented.

Reaction to Action

This week's assignment led me to reflect on my own teaching and learning. Since I finally chose a topic for my action research plan: Technology in the Science Classroom, I was able to think about the current problems our school is facing in regards to student achievement. How can we expect students to do well on TEKS that are not covered in the current grade level? For example, in science, the 6th and 8th grade curriculum is aligned, but 7th grade focuses on humans and their systems. What happens if the teacher skips it or doesn't teach it thoroughly?

How can we increase retention of TEKS between grade levels? As I tutored 8th grade science students last week, I noticed that some students didn't even know the difference between a food web and a food chain! Seriously! That's a concept from 3rd grade and these kids looked like they've never seen it before!I'm hoping that bringing technology into the classroom will help increase student achievement by making learning fun again. Hopefully students will participate and interact at a higher level of rigor.

Blog, Blog, Blog....

     Have you ever sat in a meeting and thought it was a waste of time? Sitting there thinking that you could be doing a million things if you had access to the internet. We push our students to be technology savvy but reprimand them when they are addicted to their phones, ipods, and computers. We use the internet for basic needs, but how could we use this to increase parental involvement or student participation?
     As we continue to move in this 21st century world, where classes, important meetings, and even dates can all be held online, we fail to see all the benefits that the internet has to offer.  Educational leaders can use blogs as a bridge between parents and educators. When some parents cannot attend PTA meetings or special events, teachers can blog about their upcoming projects or even webcast a live performance!  Teachers can have students blog their school assignments, where teachers can provide instant feedback. Educational leaders can communicate internationally with members in the field of education and collaborate about the latest research or educational practice.
     The internet is everywhere and can be accessed by virtually anything. Now more than ever, we can say that the world is at our fingertips!

What's your Action, Jackson?

If you want to know what’s happening at a school, why not ask the principal? That doesn't sound like rocket science, right? You wouldn't ask an artist how to cure a cold or a doctor how to fix a car. For many years, the field of education was devoted to following the advice on "experts" who conducted research about how schools "should work". But, what did they know? Were they in the classrooms when little Johnny clowned around? Were they in your classroom as students sat lifelessly not understanding anything that you were saying? Then why would you listen to “experts” who had little experience in what the real classroom looked like?

If you need something to change, why not go to the expert in that setting? Administrators can gauge what the problems of their school are, based on recommendations, conduct their research, and implement a plan of action in order to see improvements. As we know, when one problem is fixed another arises, and so the cyclical process begins. Although problems might continue to arise, the administrator is better prepared and is proactive, rather than reactive (Dana, 2009, p. 14).

 Action research can be beneficial to administrators as they collaborate with leadership teams to reflect on their administrative practices in order to improve the quality of their school community. They can assess what needs to happen and create plans in order to address those issues.