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.