Apologies for multiple reposts!

To those of you who are kind enough to "follow" my site... While updating my plan, I inadvertently hit "Publish," so you received some non-updates. Thanks for your patience while I learn the technology!

A Plan!

After spinning a few ideas around in my head and talking with my site supervisor, I believe I have come to a central question: How does the level of questioning in reading instruction (read alouds, conferencing) impact student comprehension and independent reading level?

I believe that as I raise the level of my questioning, comprehension and application of reading in the content areas will go up - then student level of questioning among themselves in reading groups will go up - which increases engagement - producing higher comprehension scores and independent reading levels. (Do you like how I used dashes to punctuate all that? I was lost in a sea of commas and semi colons, so I diverted to hyphens.)

Tool 7.1 Action Planning Template Goal: To increase student comprehension and independent reading level by increasing the level of questioning in reading instruction (direct instruction and conferencing) Action Step(s) Person(s) Responsible Timeline: Start/End Needed Resources Evaluation 1. Gather initial data Bentrup 8/20-9/30 - 10-11 EOY comprehension scores and IRL - 11-12 BOY comprehension scores and IRL 2. Data Collection (baseline) - student- generated questions - teacher-generated questions Bentrup 8/20-9/30 - Recordings of student discussion of readings - Recordings of read alouds, conferences - Recordings of student discussion of readings - Recordings of read alouds, conferences 3. Examination of data Bentrup 10/01-10/15 Recordings from Step 2 Tally/graph questions according to Bloom’s or RRR Frmwk 4. Reflection - At what level are most of the questions (2 data sets- T/S) - Where/How can we push those questions into a higher level? - Goal setting Bentrup/ Carranza 10/01-10/15 - Recordings from Step 2 - Tally/graph from Step 3 - Bloom’s/ RRR Frmwk reference list of questions/levels 5. Data Collection -implementation of ideas from Step 4 – Record student discussions, teacher instruction Bentrup 10/15-12/20 - Recordings of student discussion of readings - Recordings of read alouds, conferences 6. Examination of data Bentrup 12/20-1/15 Recordings from Step 5 Tally/Graph questions according to Bloom’s or RRR Frmwk 7. Reflection - At what level are most of the questions (2 data sets- T/S) - Where/How can we push those questions into a higher level? - Goal setting Bentrup/ Carranza 12/20-1/15 - Recordings from Step 5 - Tallly/graph from Step 6 - Bloom’s/ RRR Frmwk reference list of questions/levels 8. Data Collection – implementation of ideas from Step 7 – Record student discussions and teacher instruction Bentrup 1/15-3/15 - Recordings of student discussion of readings - Recordings of read alouds, conferences 9. Examination of data Bentrup 3/15-3/30 Recordings from Step 8 Tally/graph questions according to Bloom’s or RRR Frmwk 10. Reflection - What changes, if any, have occurred? Bentrup/ Carranza 3/30-4/30 - Recordings from Step 8 - All tally/graphs 11. End testing data Bentrup May 2012 - TAKS scores - EOY IRL 12. Summary Bentrup May 2012 - All tally/graphs - 11-12 BOY and EOY testing data for my class and other 4th grade classes - Compare growth with growth in other classrooms not following the research plan * Continue literature review throughout research process to find additional opportunities for questioning in instruction (student to student and teacher to student) * Updated 7/31/11

Template from:

Harris, S., Edmonson, S., and Combs, J. (2010). Examining what we do to improve our schools: 8 steps to improve our schools. Eye on Education Press.

Interesting...

After reading about the nine "passions" that drive inquiry outlined by Dana (2009) and watching online videos as assigned in my Research for Teachers class, I have noticed a common thread regarding how to choose my course of inquiry: personal interest.

- At the end of his interview with a University of Lamar professor, Dr.Kirk Lewis’ advice to researchers is to look at what is practical for you. “What do you need to know in order to apply directly to student learning?” He goes on to say that if the research is relevant to what you’re doing, you are more likely to apply it in your instruction.
- In Johnny Briseno's interview with a University of Lamar professor, he suggested that researchers “read in their areas of interest as much as possible.” He went on to say that when you’re struggling with something to go out and see what research already exists that can offer insight to your problem.

Anyone who works in a school building could point out weaknesses that need attention or generate questions regarding improvements they see that need to be made. The process of action research requires enduring, ongoing attention... gathering data, reflecting on data, tweaking the question for inquiry, gathering more data... and on, and on... if a practitioner's heart and focused attention aren't on the research, the data is likely to be incomplete. When choosing a topic of research, an inquirer must sift through all the issues lying before them and locate the one that piques their curiosity and generates an energy within them. The process has to be a priority. With that in mind, researchers need to focus on issues they have a heart for and are willing to not only put the time in to research but are also willing to take the effort to exert the change resulting from the research.

Resources:
Dana, Nancy Fichtman (2009). Leading with passion and knowledge: The principal as action researcher. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

University of Lamar & Briseno, Johnny. Interview retrieved from online course materials.

University of Lamar & Lewis, K. Interview retrieved from online course materials.

Blogs in Educational Leadership

Blogs are a rapidly growing medium in all professional fields and have many uses in education. Through this action research project, this blog will serve as a collaboration forum. As I set about designing my inquiry, my peers, as well as the general public, have the opportunity to comment and offer their expertise to my design. As I go through the data collection process, input from other professionals allows me to see data from different angles. As I reflect and set out to exact change in my classroom, others can benefit from my experiences by applying similar changes to their classrooms or investigating a new question brought about patterns found in my data.

Blogs also offer an excellent opportunity for educational leaders to brag on their staff. Principals can maintain blogs to keep the district and community up-to-speed on the goings-on in their buildings. Pictures and quick blurbs can boast classroom successes and building accomplishments while showcasing teachers and students.

How have you seen educational leadership use blogs?

Action Research??

When I discovered my next class toward my Master’s degree was the “research” class, I prepared myself for five weeks of extensive reading and long hours of writing. As it turns out, my class focuses on “Action Research.” In action research, the researcher “focuses on the concerns of practitioners (not outside researchers) and engages practitioners in the design, data collection, and interpretation around their question” (Dana, 2009, p.5). “Educators study their students’ learning related to their own teaching” (Ringler, 2007, p. 27) with the intent of instructional change toward best practice. This hands-on approach to inquiry makes taking action based on the knowledge generated in the study much easier because you gain expertise in the inquiry that can be applied to the change. Action research is professional development at its best.

My engagement in this spiraling process will give me the opportunity to examine a variety of reading intervention strategies. A benefit of action research is it forces me to take the time to focus on a question, search out a solution, and reflect on the efficacy of that solution. As I do this, my knowledge base of the strategies will deepen, and as a result, I’ll be better equipped to assign the most effective intervention strategies to students based on their needs across subject areas.

Resources:
Ringler, Marjorie C. (2007). Action research an effective instructional leadership skill for future public school leaders. Journal of Scholarship and Practice, volume 4 (no.1), pp. 27-42.

Fichman, Nancy Dana (2009). Leading with passion and knowledge: The principal as action researcher. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.