Week 4 Updated Research Plan

Action Plan Template - REVISED

Goal:  Improve the quality of instruction for, and academic success of, ESL learners through technology integration.

Action Steps	Person(s) Responsible	Timeline:  Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
1. Secure principal and teacher approval for research project.	Intern, Internship mentor, ESL Coord., Principal, Teacher	November 2011 / May 2012	MS Word, research plan proposal	Signatures of principals and teacher.
2.  Secure parental permission for sample population of students.	Intern, Teacher	11/1/2011	MS Word, permission form	Signed release form from parents.
3.   Share details of study with students.	Intern, Teacher	11/4/2011	Research plan proposal	Student meeting held; attendance sheet.
4.  Address Technology Applications TEKS integration.	Intern, Teacher	11/1/2011	Technology Applications TEKS	Review TEKS
4.  Develop pre-test	Intern, ESL Coord., Teacher	11/1/2011	Rosetta Stone, Pearson PASeries	Test instrument
5. Administer pre-test	Intern, Teacher	11/4/2011	Pearson PASeries	Test results
6.  Select reading passages for 3-week interval assessments	Intern, Teacher	11/4/2011	Class textbook	Passages selected
7.  Develop reading assessment rubrics	Intern, Teacher	11/1/2011	MS Word, Assessment form	Review of rubric
8.  Develop podcast lessons	Intern, Teacher	11/1/2011 – 4/1/2011	GarageBand, PhotoStory, MovieMaker,  i-Tunes	Recorded lessons
9.  Develop student surveys to be given at 3 week intervals	Intern, Teacher	11/1/2011	Eduphoria online survey	Review of survey instrument
10.  Develop teacher survey to be given at 3 week intervals	Intern	11/1/2011	Eduphoria online survey	Review of survey instrument
11. Deliver 3-week assessments	Teacher	11/4/2011 – 5/30/2012	Class textbook	Teacher observation, Assessment results
12.  Conduct student surveys	Intern	11/4/2011 - 5/30/2012	Eduphoria	Survey results
13.  Conduct teacher survey	Intern	11/4/2011 - 5/30/2012	Eduphoria	Survey results
14.  TELPAS test given	Teacher, State of Texas	3/7/2012 - 4/8/2012	TELPAS test from State	Test results
15.  STAAR test given (if applicable)	Teacher, State of Texas	Spring 2012	STAAR test from State	Test results
16.  Prepare spreadsheets and charts from assessments and surveys	Intern	6/15/2012	Excel, Current year’s assessments Previous years’ assessments from Eduphoria, disciplinary records	Analyze collected results from spreadsheets and charts
17.  Share collected periodically results with stakeholders	Intern, teacher, principal, parents, students	Monthly	Reports, meeting space	Comments/ suggestions from stakeholders

Week 3 Research Action Plan Template

Goal:  Improve the quality of instruction for, and academic success of, ESL learners through technology integration.

Action Steps	Person(s) Responsible	Timeline:  Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
1. Secure principal and teacher approval for research project.	Intern, Internship mentor, ESL Coord., Principal, Teacher	November 2011 / May 2012	MS Word, research plan proposal	Signatures of principals and teacher.
2.  Secure parental permission for sample population of students.	Intern, Teacher	11/1/2011	MS Word, permission form	Signed release form from parents.
3.   Share details of study with students.	Intern, Teacher	11/4/2011	Research plan proposal	Student meeting held; attendance sheet.
4.  Develop pre-test	Intern, ESL Coord., Teacher	11/1/2011	Rosetta Stone, Pearson PASeries	Test instrument
5. Administer pre-test	Intern, Teacher	11/4/2011	Pearson PASeries	Test results
6.  Select reading passages for 3-week interval assessments	Intern, Teacher	11/1/2011	Class textbook	Passages selected
7.  Develop reading assessment rubrics	Intern, Teacher	11/1/2011	MS Word, Assessment form	Review of rubric
7.  Develop podcast lessons	Intern, Teacher	11/1/2011 – 4/1/2011	GarageBand, PhotoStory, MovieMaker,  i-Tunes	Recorded lessons
8.  Develop student surveys to be given at 3 week intervals	Intern, Teacher	11/1/2011	Eduphoria online survey	Review of survey instrument
9.  Develop teacher survey to be given at 3 week intervals	Intern	11/1/2011	Eduphoria online survey	Review of survey instrument
10. Deliver 3-week assessments	Teacher	11/4/2011 – 5/30/2012	Class textbook	Teacher observation, Assessment results
11.  Conduct student surveys	Intern	11/4/2011 - 5/30/2012	Eduphoria	Survey results
12.  Conduct teacher survey	Intern	11/4/2011 - 5/30/2012	Eduphoria	Survey results
13.  TELPAS test given	Teacher, State of Texas	3/7/2012 - 4/8/2012	TELPAS test from State	Test results
14.  STAAR test given (if applicable)	Teacher, State of Texas	Spring 2012	STAAR test from State	Test results
14.  Prepare spreadsheets and charts from assessments and surveys	Intern	6/15/2012	Excel	Analyze collected results from spreadsheets and charts
15.  Share collected periodically results with stakeholders	Intern, teacher, principal, parents, students	Monthly	Reports, meeting space	Comments/ suggestions from stakeholders

Reflections on EDLD 5301 Week 2 Learning:

From the lecture, I learned that there are four elements to an effective purpose for a research project. The first element is to clearly state what you will do or look at. Second, the purpose must be focused on a specific issue or topic. The purpose should also be reasonable or feasible. Finally, the purpose must be ethical and follow FERPA laws and a code of ethics.

From the lecture, and also from the interviews, I learned that researchers should choose topics that they are interested in so that they maintain motivation and focus. In the interview with Dr. Kirk Lewis, he stressed the importance of making sure that the research is for a practical, rather than theoretical, purpose and that educators can use the information gained to improve the learning of their students.

From the Dana text, I learned that there are nine passions that drive the researcher’s wonderings and questions about practice. They include staff development, curriculum development, individual teacher(s), individual student(s), school culture/community, leadership, management, school performance, and social justice. There were also cautions against choosing a topic that you already know the answer to, and topics focused on controlling others’ behaviors. “If you find your wonderings beginning to focus on controlling or changing teacher behavior, try reframing them in ways that help you understand teacher behavior and allow you to discover what you can do as an administrator with those new understandings” (Dana 2009).

In all of the assignments, we were encouraged to think about the schools’ stakeholders and who will benefit, potentially, from the information gained from the study.

Reference


Dana, Nancy Fichtman. Leading with Passion and Knowledge: the Principal as Action Researcher. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin, a Joint Publication with the American Association of School Administrators, 2009. Print.

Action Research Project Proposal

This week, we learned about action research or administrative inquiry and how it differs from traditional educational research. Administrative inquiry begins with asking a question, collecting data to help answer the question, analyzing the data along with any relevant literature, making school improvements based upon the findings, and sharing what has been learned with others (Dana 2009). The main difference between administrative inquiry and traditional research is that in administrative inquiry the practitioner is involved in the process, rather than just a technician who implements a prescribed curriculum. As a result of what I have learned and what I expect to learn in this class, I will be able to conduct my own research during the internship phase of this program.

I have chosen to study the effect of technology integration on second language acquisition. I would like to know whether the use of technology can assist in speeding the process of second language acquisition. Furthermore, I would like to know specifically what kinds of software and equipment may be effective, and for what type of learner, and how to integrate the technology.

As an instructor for Texas A&M Extension Service, I occasionally have international students in our Fire Officer Development program. These students register for the courses with the understanding that they will need to have a good grasp of the English language in order to be successful in the course. However, public school children are expected to learn a new language at the same time that they are learning the same essential skills that other students are learning in the content areas.

When I think of our students who are not native English speakers, I am reminded of Marc Prensky’s article on digital immigrants. According to Prensky, our students are no longer the people our educational system was designed to teach (2001). Prensky was referring to the fact that our students have grown up speaking the language of technology (digital natives), and that teachers are digital immigrants, who struggle to “catch up”. In the same way that digital immigrants struggle, our non-English speakers can’t understand what the natives are saying. Can technology be used to speed up language acquisition? In the same way that the development of computer games has been used to teach engineering students, can language acquisition software engage students and help them to learn English faster?

If a positive relationship between the use of technology and accelerated language acquisition can be determined, then curriculum can be developed to take advantage of the technology, assisting students to acclimate to gain confidence, improve English proficiency, retain information, and master the content better. As a result, English Language learners will have more success in the standardized testing scores should improve.

References

Dana, Nancy Fichtman. Leading with Passion and Knowledge: the Principal as Action Researcher. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin, a Joint Publication with the American Association of School Administrators, 2009. Print.

Prensky, M.. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants. On the horizon, 9. 5, Retrieved from http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf.

How Educational Leaders Might Use Blogs

Blogging can be used for reading and writing, conversations around topics, communicating with a larger audience or sharing examples from learning portfolios. It can be an effective venue for networked learning. Reading and commenting to one another creates a dialogue that requires persuasive writing and critical thinking. Blogging is a conversation. Comments in a blog should encourage further discussion and be connected to the subject matter. Comments can have a variety of ideas: sharing additional links or resources, making a connection with a new idea, sharing a new perspective or even challenging or debating a topic. Blogging is great opportunity to teach about digital citizenship. Blogs are a tremendous tool for getting students, teachers, and parents involved in educational discussion and inquiry. They provide a simple straightforward platform that promotes involvement and higher level thinking. Students that may be shy in the classroom often open up in the blogging environment. Blogs have the ability to be utilized for multiple purposes. From introductory thinking, to complicated research, a blog has both usefulness and purpose. Blogs can immerse the reader with ideas, interact with an audience, and inspire people to change.