to inform

their future actions.

Action Research Defined:

Investigations conducted

by and for the people

taking the action, on

their

own action

Compact for Continuous Improvement

Coven

ant

“Why

we’

re h

ere”

Charter

“How

we m

ake decisions”

Critical Study“What informs our decisions”

Teachingand

Learning

TWO TYPES OF ACTION TWO TYPES OF ACTION RESEARCHRESEARCH

• DESCRIPTIVE STUDIES

(understanding what is)

• QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES

(testing theories)

FOUR STAGE PROCESSFOUR STAGE PROCESS

Clarify Your Vision/Targets

Articulate Your Theory(s)

Implement Your Theory

Reflect on Results

A Leadership Mantra• What specifically do you hope to accomplish?

• Specifically, how do you plan to accomplish this? Why?

• How will you monitor your progress?

• How will you report what you’ve learned?

Stage #1

Clarify Your Vision/Targets

What improvements in student or school performance would you like see?

Professional Learning Communities:

• Successful schools will have learning rather than teaching as a focus. Teachers will work together to analyze student work and consider best practice.

• Instructional decisions will be based on data, emphasizing formative as well as summative data.

Professional Learning Communities:

• Collaborative conversations will be a part of the regular school day for teachers.

• There will be a focus on results and staff will hold themselves accountable.

• Professional learning teams will function successfully on a variety of levels leading to improved student achievement.

Professional Learning Communities:

• SMART goals will be understood and used meaningfully.

• Action research or principal/teacher inquiry will inform practice.

• Students who are experiencing difficulty will be supported. Learning is for all students.

Professional Learning Communities:

• Students will do better on a variety of assessments. They will feel more confident about literacy and numeracy and develop a stronger love of learning.

An Achievement Target

Targets as Dependant Variables:

Generating Rating scales

The purpose of the target (when doing quasi-experimental research):

By stipulating a dependent variable (your achievement target), you are saying:

“If my intervention has a positive effect on the target, it will validate my hypothesis.”

Two Types of Variables:

• Dependent variables:

What we want to see changed

• Independent variables

What we will be doing

Targets /Dependent Variables

For each target you are investigating you will need:

• To locate a valid/reliable assessment, or

• Develop your own quality assessments

Criteria for Building a Rating Scale

• Basic: This is the minimum level of performance that could be considered a demonstration of this skill.

• Developing: This is a good level of performance. I would be pleased if all my kids were here.

• Fluent: This a truly remarkable demonstration of proficiency.

(fi gure 5.1)

Rati ng ScaleIMPROV ING “I NFER ENTIA L COMPRE HENSION ”

BASIC(1) (2)

DEVELOPING(3) (4)

FLUENT(5)

After reading a grade-level appropriate essay,the student canaccurately restate themain idea.

After reading a gradelevel appropriate essaythe student canaccurately retell theauthor’s thesis.

After reading a gradelevel appropriate essaythe student canaccurately retell andsupport the author’sthesis with multipledetails from the text.

After reading a gradelevel appropriate essaythe student canaccurately retell andsupport the author’sthesis with multipledetails from the textand can draw logicalinferences about theauthor’s point of view.

After reading a gradelevel appropriate essaythe student canaccurately retell andsupport the author’sthesis with multipledetails from the text,can draw logicalinferences about theauthor’s point of viewand the student canpersuasively supportthose inferences byreferencing thelanguage andvocabulary used by theauthor.

Rating Scale WorksheetBASIC

1 2DEVELOPING

3 4FLUENT

5

Developing and Using a Theory of Action

Stage #2

Articulate Your Theory(s)

What actions do you think would/could produce the desired results?

Visual Depiction of Relationship of Vision/Targets and Theory

Current Situation (A)

Now

Where you and your

students are now

Visual Depiction of Relationship of Vision/Targets and Theory

Current Situation Vision/Outcomes (A) (C)

End ofProcess

Now

Where you and your

students are now The "Promised Land"

Visual Depiction of Relationship of Vision/Targets and Theory

Current Situation Intended Action(s) Vision/Outcomes (A) (B) (C)

End ofProcess

Now

Where you and your

students are now Your Theoretical Perspective The "Promised Land"

Visual Depiction of Relationship of Vision/Targets and Theory

Current Situation Intended Action(s) Vision/Outcomes (A) (B) (C)

End ofProcess

Now

Where you and your

students are now Your Theoretical Perspective The "Promised Land"

Surfacing the Critical Independent Variables:

The Priority Pie

Identifying the Identifying the VariablesVariablesPRIORITY PIE

List the most significant factors under our control that we will need to attend to if we are to succeed with/on this achievement target:

Factor: __________

__________

__________

Identifying the Identifying the VariablesVariables

PRIORITY PIE

List the most significant factors under our control that we will need to attend to if we are to succeed with/on this achievement target:

Factor: Percent:

__________ _____

__________ _____

__________ _____

__________ _____

Total: 100%

Priority Pie

The Development of Editing Proficiency

15%

15%

25%

15%

5%

25%

Word Processing

Vocabulary

Motivation

Comfort/criticism

voice

Usage rules

(figure 5.4)

Building Motivated Learners

15%

15%

30%

15%

25%

Belonging Affiliation

High Academic Self-

Image

Internal Locus of

Control

Being Needed Valued

Optimistim

We believe that there are five factors which contribute to student resiliency and enhancemotivation. The most critical of these being an internal locus of control (30%). Possessing astrong academic self-image, feeling a sense of affiliation and belonging at school and feelingneeded are equally important factors (15 % each). Finally, we believe that holding anoptimistic view of the future is the second most powerful factor (25%)

The Graphic Reconstruction:Your Implementation

Roadmap

Columbus’ Hypothesis

If I sail due west from Europe, for about 4,000 miles, then I should land on the East Coast of Asia.

If I am correct, the ocean route will prove to be more efficient (than the overland route) for importing goods from East Asia.

Visual Depiction of Relationship of Vision/Targets and Theory

Current Situation Intended Action(s) Vision/Outcomes (A) (B) (C)

End ofProcess

Now

Where you and your

students are now Your Theoretical Perspective The "Promised Land"

The Graphic Reconstruction: Your The Graphic Reconstruction: Your Road Map for ImplementationRoad Map for Implementation

• This will be a visual outline of the route you believe you should take.

• If followed you truly believe it will take you to the desired destination.

• It clearly reflects your understanding of the order of activities and events which will need to occur if you are ultimately to achieve success.

Skillful Problem-Solvers

Workshop on Problem Solving

Techniques

Creates a Schedule for Shared Team

Planning

Posts School-wide performance

data

Creates Monthly Late-start Schedule

Attends one meeting of each work group bi-

weekly

Faculty Intranet Discussion

Place Organized Around

School Goals

Practice Problem Solving Skills

Monthly Problem- Solving Faculty Meetings

Post Team Meeting Agendas

Posts Monthly Reports re: Status on

School Goals

Principal

Generate Topics for Monthly

Problem-Solving Meetings

Weekly Team Planning Meetings

Enhancing Problem Solving Capacity (figure 5.3)

Drawing out your theory….1) Brainstorm on a separate post-it note, every factor, variable, issue, phenomena or force that you feel influences performance in this area and/or ought/could/might come into play as you endeavor to improve performance.

2) Arrange the post-its in a manner which will illustrate a clear, direct and detailed route to the desired destination.

Your road map should illustrate:

1) What problems exist2) What needs to be done 3) In what manner it needs to be done4) What combination of things need to occur, and5) In what sequence they ought to occur

Purposes of the Graphic Reconstruction

• It clarifies and provides you with direction for the implementation of your “theory of action.”

• When shared with your students, it helps make the the mysteries of the instructional process more understandable and coherent.

Purposes of the Graphic Reconstruction, con’t

• If it works satisfactorily, others will be able to “walk your walk”

• If it doesn’t work as planned, you can retrace your steps to determine when and where things went wrong.

3 Generic (ACR) Research Questions:

• What did you actually do (action)?

• What improvement(s) in performance occurred on your targets (change)?

• How and in what way did your actions influence the noted changes in performance (relationships)?

Stage #3

Implementation/Data Collection

How will you know if your actions are producing the desired results?

DATA COLLECTION PLANDATA COLLECTION PLANRESEARCHQUESTION

DATASOURCE #1

DATASOURCE #2

DATASOURCE #3

What did we actually do?

What improvement occurred on our targets?

How did our actions influence these changes?

Some Sources of DataSome Sources of Data

• EXISTING SOURCES--Student work (portfolios)--Documentary evidence (archival data)

• TOOLS FOR CAPTURING EVERYDAY LIFE--Diaries, logs, journals--Tapes (audio/video)--Photographs--Shadowing--Observation checkists

• TOOLS FOR QUESTIONING--Interviews--Surveys--Tests--Focus groups

Trend Analysis:Analyzing Historical Data

(8.2)

1

1.5

2

2.5

88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98

Fatalities per 100 Million VMT

(figue 8.3)

1

1.5

2

2.5

88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98

Fatalities per 100 Million VMT

0

20

40

60

80

88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98

Seat Belt Use Rate (%)

PERFORMANCE

TIME/ACTIONS

Trend Analysis

Name________________________ Date:________________

Feedback ReportScale #1

Today

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Why?

Scale #2

Today

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Why?

(figure 7.8)

Name________________________ Date:________________ Name_____________________ Date:_____________

Feedback Summary Feedback SummaryScale #1 Scale #2

10

9

R 8

A 7

T 6

I 5 N 4

G 3

S 2

1

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Date

10

9

R 8

A 7

T 6

I 5 N 4

G 3

S 2

1

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Date

Explain? Explain?

(figure 7.9)

Conducting Rate of Growth Assessments

Rate of Growth ExpectationsReady forCollege Math

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

*

Grade

Ready forAP Calculus

Zero mathSkills

(figure 3.7)

(figure 3.6)

QuickTime™ and aTIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

Creating and Using Mile-posts

• Identify expected proficiency at the end of the term

• Build a task analysis containing every sub-skill between the entry performance of your weakest student and the expected proficiency.

• On the task analysis indicate the “expected entry level of performance.”

• Divide the number of months in the term by the number of sub-skills between the expected entry and exit levels.

• Gaining skills at this rate is the expected “rate of progress.”

week #4

week #12

week #16

week #20

week #24

week #28

week #32

week #36

week #8

Start of School Year

End of School Year

Rate of Progress Tracking Sheet

Student:___________________ Subject:_______________________________

Skill/ELR Date:

Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May June

Shade in a column starting from left to right whenever proficiency is demonstrated

on a required skill

Stage #4

Reflect on Results

In what ways did your “theory of action” prove correct and/or how should it be modified, in light of your findings?

Graphic Graphic ReReconstructionconstructionRevisit your original graphic reconstruction,

asking:

• Is this still an accurate picture of reality as we currently understand it?

• Are there any factors, variables, or significant issues which we should add, delete or modify?

Problems with Columbus’ Theory

• Miscalculation of distance by Marco Polo

• Not knowing about Western Hemisphere

(figure 9.1)

Comparison of Maps 1489 to 1627

SAMPLE SCHOOL POLICY

Given adequate funding, it is our desire to approve all reasonable proposals for program initiatives.

Site-council approval will be based upon the presentation of credible data on effectiveness.

If data is unavailable, approval will be based upon the presentation of a defensible theory accompanied by a workable data collection plan.