Week 5 - Research Class’ Reflections

This course, “EDLD 5301 Research for Teachers“, have empowered my knowledge and increased my skills in creating my Action Research Project.  During this class, we have used many valuable resources such as: videos, lectures, readings, discussions board, and blogs. 

·         Videos provided the attention getter to keep students engaged and motivated in learning.

·         Lectures and Readings provided examples and information about how to use and implement new tools learned.  Our books provided rich information defining new topics; idea, clarifications, empowerment and accomplishment to reach our goals. The most important part for me was the detailed analysis and reasoning provided through real examples.

·         Discussion board and blogs were one of the most powerful practices in our professional development. It allowed many users to share expressions, thoughts, opinions, ideas, as well as receiving feedback from other professionals about their experiences and knowledge. 

All resources used have contributed in one way or another to acquire the knowledge required designing a professional project looking for Educational benefits.

After all inputs received, we were encouraged to use our new knowledge and deal with different assignments, discussions and creating our own blog. The output received was successfully used to write an Action Research Project with the main goal of “Implementing Technology in a Classroom”.  Nothing could be properly joined together without the proper intervention of our Instructional Associate; Mr. Creighton Gann and our Course Professor Dr. Sheryl Abshire.

 
I'm so glad for the opportunity to learn this knowledge to improve my professional career and make an impact in education.  The next school year is already challenging for me being a leader as we add another Spanish Teacher to our team.  As I complete this course, I am very excited and anxious to implement the plans at our campus.  All this knowledge would have been impossible to implement without the support and guidance of several important people.  My Site Supervisor, Mrs. Hoa Le, provided many different ideas, experiences, opinions and was continuously sharing her knowledge with me.  My Professors provided valuable feedback on this enormous research plan. In addition, I gain confidence in drafting my ideas and putting them on the final papers.  I also really appreciate all those who participated in the blogs and chats because it helped me to understand different perceptions.  Lastly, I am just happy to have completed this course and ready to take all this knowledge and put it into action!

Week 4 - Site Supervisor Conference and Consensus on Action Research Plan - Week 4

During the conference with my site supervisor, we reviewed the Action Planning Template (format based on Tool 7.1 from Examining What We Do to Improve Our Schools) and SIP/PIP.  The following was discussed:

1. Include all staff members (Elementary, Middle, and High School) in the Action Research Plan looking for Implementation of technology in the classroom because the available technology is the same for all levels; Mimios and Smart boards.
2. Create a special format for monitoring implementation of technology.
3. Prepare and create more activities to provide practical resources that are easy to use to implement in classrooms.  Provide a directory of educational websites; videos, songs, hands-on-activities, reading, and games, create a weekly/monthly “Technology News” showing easy and different ways or tips for implementation of technology in the classroom.  Invite people from Region 4 for additional training. They are a recognized Educational Institution who provides great staff development and resource guidance for all topics in every subject matter. Create a quick sample template using technology (links, websites, etc.) and identify the necessity for:

ü  Provide modifications and accommodations for target population settled in activity “A” because our school will be investing time and money in trainings and different resources to meet the main goal which is learning to use available resources regardless of previous educational levels.

ü  Create activity “B” in Action Planning Template and SIP/PIP of a form to evaluate teachers. This form will be able to be used with different grade levels and different teacher’s skills to provide valuable information in measuring results achieved in each Progress Report Form.

ü  Addition in activity “C” because in order for changes to occur, teachers must to be actively engaged with technology improvements to encourage high standards of quality in a curriculum presentation.

We agreed upon:

• Activity “A” - Include all school teachers (Elementary, Middle, and High School) in the Action Research Plan to provide training looking for Implementation of technology in the classroom with the exception that the sample selected to measure results will be only students in 6^th and 7^th grade level.
• Activity “B” - Creating a special format for monitoring implementation of technology. First, I need to research information from the Internet then continue to the interview process to determine what is specifically required when implementing technology. Next, I would gather all the information to begin preparations for training.   
• Activity “C” – Creating good technological resources to share with teachers and facilitate the process of getting confidence toward technology implementation. We will conduct meetings on an as needed basis because too much information may lead to overload and/or confusion.

Week 3 - EDLD 5301 Research - ACTION RESEARCH PLAN

The Harmony School of Discovery is a Charter School that offers higher education and college preparatory courses to students in grades Kindergarten through 10^th grade.  Our campus is three years old and will continue to add one grade level until we are complete with our High School.  Although we are affected by the budgetary restrictions like many other districts, we are fortunate to be building of our High School as an extension to our existing building.  In addition to the facilities, we already have two existing computer and science labs on campus.  As far as technology, we do have Smart Boards, Mimios with clickers, and projectors are among the resources we have on campus.  However, some resources are not being utilized in the classrooms by both teachers and students due to lack of knowledge and/or training.  This is definitely an area where we want to improve. With the new facilities plus additional funding and grants, we will be adding new technological advancement needed to implement a plan of action to incorporate more trainings and support to encourage the use of technology connecting to higher learning. 

The plan of action will start with collecting data, analyzing needs, drafting proposal, and implementation.  This will require all of the participants to be dedicated throughout the entire process.  We will use different ways to gathering information and analyzing the data collected.  To begin, interviews will be conducted which is the most informative technique because it provides a baseline for initial screenings as well as continued feedback which reinforces the steps necessary for implementing technology in the classroom.  The use of many different Questionnaires, Classroom Walk-Throughs, Formal and Informal Observations will be very beneficial for the success of this project.

We will meet and update often in order to effectively and efficiently implement the use of technological advancement in the classrooms to enhance student learning.  This will allow all participants to evaluate the challenging curriculum, assess individual student learning, provide support to ensure student academic progress, ensure a safe learning environment, and enhance communications between staff, parents, and students.

During the implementation process of the project, we will be sharing and providing information about all the relevant updates to our staff members.  At the end of the project, we will present the information and results to show students their progress with the implementation of technology in the classroom.  The results will show that technology directly increases student knowledge, outlook, and eagerness in learning of all subject matters.  Staff input, feedback, and recommendations will be collected to improve the overall project.  All of these steps will build camaraderie, team work, confidence, and collaboration among staff members.

Technology is constantly changing. Our main goal is to implement the use of technological advancement that directly impacts student learning in the classroom. Students are going to be required to use multimedia in their jobs and exposing them now will help student to be more prepared for the future.

Action Planning Template Goal: “Implementation of Technology in the Classroom” Action Step (s) Person (s) Responsible Timeline: Start/End Needed Resources Evaluation 1. Gather Data Monica Gudiel Hoa Le Laura Mattingly Zhanibek Makhym August – September Project Leader Project Mentor Staff & Students What technology is available on campus? Which documentation should be provided? 2.Brainstorm Monica Gudiel Hoa Le Susannah Ahlhorn Celil Basol September – October Project Leader Project Mentor Team Members How do we use the existing technology? What other technological resources do we need? 3.Proposed Plan Abdullah Zorba Monica Gudiel Hoa Le Isabel Williams September – October Project Leader Project Mentor Team Leader Mentor How do we incorporate everything into our plan? 4.Monitoring Monica Gudiel Hoa Le Susannah Ahlhorn Jacklyn Worthy October – June Project Leader Project Mentor Team Members How do we determine progress? What are the necessary steps? What needs to be changed or modified? 5.Edit & Revise Monica Gudiel Hoa Le Jacklyn Worthy October – June Project Leader Project Mentor Team Members How do we detect when something needs to be changed? 6.Evaluate Monica Gudiel Hoa Le May – June Project Leader Project Mentor How can this plan be improved for future use?

SIP or PIP  (SCHOOL or PROFESSIONAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECT) PLAN OF ACTION SCHOOL VISION Harmony’s vision is to lead our students from the classroom into the world as productive and responsible citizens... and even Nobel laureates. GOAL                                        “Implementing Technology in the Classroom” OUTCOMES ACTIVITIES RESOURCES /RESEARCH TOOLS  NEEDED Responsibility To address Activities Timeline Benchmark assessment Revisions to SIP/PIP based on monitoring  and assessments Information about available technology in campus Meeting with IT Manager and Principal Inventory of Technology available including software and programs Monica Gudiel Hoa Le August 2012 Grades of Students Students progress report of each six weeks during all school year to measure improvements Copy of 6th and 7th grade Student  progress Monica Gudiel Hoa Le September thru May 2012 Progress Report Form Completion of the Progress Report to Monitor implementation Completion of the 1st Progress Report (Mandatory) Monica Gudiel Hoa Le September 2012 Trainings schedule Prepare and Organize schedules for teachers to be trained Select Leaders and Trainers according to tech. available Monica Gudiel Hoa Le October & November 2012 Preparation and Implementation of technology in classrooms Help & Teacher support to  implement technology  Technological devices ready in classrooms and proper creations of technology activities  Monica Gudiel Hoa Le Jackly Wortht Isabel Williams November & December 2012 Classroom Walk-Through (CWT) and Observations Follow the timeline created with CWT and Observations Timeline and taking notes of progress observed Monica Gudiel Hoa Le IT Mangater November 2012  thru June 2013 Interview to students, teachers and parents Gather opinions on benefits of technology implementation Interviews, Students, Teachers, Parentes Monica Gudiel Progress Report Form Completion of the Progress Report to Monitor implementation Completion of the 2nd Progress Report (Mandatory) Monica Gudiel Hoa Le January 2013 Observations Formal observation to supervise students’ interaction using technology Timeline Hoa Le Monica Gudiel Dates according to timeline scheduled Progress Report Form Completion of the Progress Report to Monitor implementation Completion of the 3nd Progress Report (Mandatory) Monica Gudiel Hoa Le May 2013 Sharing results with Staff Presentation of the Project implementation and analysis of the benefits Questionnaires to gather feedback and recommendations from teacher to improve same project Monica Gudiel Hoa Le Principal IT Manager May 2013 Review of Data to improve project. Tabulate information from teachers Questionnaires Monica Gudiel Monica Gudiel June 2013