Significance

Various people at my campus could benefit from my action research project and the following is a list of those people and how they will benefit from the study:

1.      At risk students: Students who are struggling and are in a Tier I and/or II intervention setting will benefit directly because there will be a careful analysis of the instruction they are receiving and there will be frequent documentation to monitor their progress.

2.      Teachers: The study will help highlight areas of instruction that are strong for example, lesson delivery and will also illustrate areas of improvement like objective development.  I also hope that through this study, we can help scaffold objectives and goals better so that we maximize the student’s potential to narrow their achievement gap for good.

3.      Paraprofessionals: Since paraprofessionals are responsible for lesson delivery during the intervention, they will benefit by learning the areas of strength and areas of improvement mentioned above.  However, because paraprofessionals lack the level of training of certified teachers, learning the why behind the intervention’s goals (that are set by the classroom teacher not the paraprofessional) and the how will be key in helping our paraprofessionals better their delivery of the intervention they are providing.  I hope that my action research helps shed light in to effective goal setting and lesson delivery.

4.      The Problem Solving Team: This project could help us finally focus on what we have been wanting to do for quite some time now… analyze the effectiveness of our RTI process at our Tier I and II levels.  By doing so, we can gain insight that will potentially lead to better decision-making by our team.

5.      Principal: Our principal is feeling much pressure on her right now since she is new to this role. This action research can help her by analyzing the effectiveness of the decisions of her PST and the instruction given at Tier I and II interventions.  By doing so, there is a great potential for increasing student achievement which will be reflected in our school’s data.

Action Research Topic

I have been wondering about the effectiveness of the interventions we give our students at the Tier I and II levels.  Are they really working?  Why are some students perpetual RTIers?  Doesn't that mean we are not narrowing their achievement gap?  If so, why?  What are we doing right for those that never come back to the Tier II intervention but more importantly, how can we replicate this for other students so they don't need to move to a Tier II intervention again? 

That is why my action research project will focus on the effectiveness of our tier I and II interventions at my campus.  I'm still not quite sure how to present the final leading question.  I'm hoping that my meeting this week with my Problem Solving Team (PST) will help narrow it down.  In the mean time here are a few questions I've come up with:

1. What is the effectiveness of our Tier I and II interventions and how can that effectiveness be measured?

2. How can we measure the effectiveness of our Tier I and II interventions?

3. Are our interventions at the Tier I and II levels effective and what is the evidence that proves or disproves their impact?

I'd love to hear which you think is best or your suggestion on a better leading question. :)

Getting Started

What I’ve learned about action research:

Administrative inquiry or action research is a systematic investigation by the principal with the intent to study his/her won administrative practice and takes action for change based on his/her findings of such inquiry.  By utilizing this powerful vehicle for learning and school improvement, administrators, “gain deeper insights into their practice as administrators and their leadership role in school improvement efforts” (Fichman, 2009).  The key to this inquiry is its systematic nature and constant reflection and adaptation to theories, plans or ideas about the topic.

Although very similar, action research differs slightly from practitioner inquiry because it refers to, “research intended to bring about change of some kind usually with a social justice focus” (Fichman, 2009).  However, practitioner research’s goal is to, “examine a practitioner’s practice to improve it or better understand what works” (Fichman, 2009).

I’ve also learned that the field of education is ripe with opportunities for action research.  One of these is found in monthly administrative team meetings where campus leaders move away from the traditional formats which consist of long announcements and move toward dedicating the entire meeting, or a portion of it, to collaboration amongst principals who engage in active research (Fichman, 2009). 

Another area where action research could be applied is at the campus leadership team.  Leadership teams should be collaborative in nature so that all members share the responsibility of the decision-making.  As part of this collaboration, “one vital component for the success of the team is its ability to engender learning” (Fichman, 2009).  When teams learn, so does the organization and for educators, that means the potential for increasing student achievement.

Professional learning communities is yet another area where action research makes a great impact in the education field.  Nancy D. Fichman (2009) defines it as, “small groups of faculty who meet regularly to study more effective learning and teaching practices, with their time together often structured by the use of protocols to ensure focused, deliberate conversation and dialogue by teachers about student work and student learning.” The nature of the PLC is one of inquiry an often cultivates a community of inquirers.  The responsibility is shared by the staff and/or stakeholders on this committee which collaboratively designs the goals of the study so implementing them is usually effortless.  Goals are specific to the needs of the campus so interventions and teaching plans are tailored to provide the greatest support possible for the children in the study group. In doing so, the opportunity to yield positive student achievement results increase which helps to motivate the PLC to repeat the process of the action study by applying it to a new area of concern.  

The greatest benefit to action research is that it requires that you practice reflecting on your teaching and thought process that influences your actions. Action research takes time so it forces you work systematically through a well-defined problem.  The four phases illustrated in Action Research an Effective Instructional Leadership Skill for Future Public School Leaders by

How blogging can help me with my action research:

Educational leaders can use blogs as a tool to reflect on their own thought process.  I, like many others, have not become accustomed to thinking that my thinking matters.  However, journaling through a blog can help me gain insight into my own thinking and administrative practices.