UpdateSeptember26th

For my action research, I have not been able to do much since May 2013.  Therefore, I had not put anything into my blog. 

At the end of May, I was part of the Campus Needs Assessment Team.  Within this team, I was able to conduct my first parent survey to determine the way they most liked to be communicated with.  Phone was the top choice, and then email fell close behind.  The agenda communication, which we are trying to reduce the amount used, was the last.  This was an expected reaction from the parents.  Therefore, the action research is on its way. It took awhile to collect all of the surveys and data, but I was glad to have that first opportunity.

During the summer, I researched various articles, periodicals, and journals within the Lamar Library online.  I was able to find various pieces to back up my efforts I am putting forth to determine how effective parent communication avenues can be when negative behavior is occurring at school.  These articles are saved in my computer, have been used for a presentation made with teachers and will be used for my final action research paper.

Most recently, I presented and met with my team of teachers at school.  These teachers were willing to work with me in collecting data.  I created a data collection tool for them to use and will be putting it in a folder for them to have easy access.  They were very supportive and willing to help.  Their data collection tool will reflect the students demographics, avenue of communication, how long the negative behavior improved, and how effective they believe it was.   I have collected a team from various grade levels and special education.  I am eager to see what they collect.  Their collection will begin as soon as possible.  I waited to begin this collection process until the teachers felt comfortable with the new school year. 

So, that is where I am right now with my action research project and look forward to its findings.

Excerpt from my final reflection with my Action Research Class...
One of the greatest learning opportunities I had was with my site supervisor.  Looking into three significant issues that she feels needs to be addressed in the next year really opened my eyes to different things going on at my school.  When I told her my final decision on my action research, she was thrilled to hear what I chose.  This was due to her extreme passion for making the parent communication more positive all around concerning negative student behavior. She does not want any more students feeling so down about taking home their agendas with a book of negativity.  That wears and tears on children and should not be a source of detriment.  Therefore, I am glad to be in the first stages of my action research to help ease my principal’s concerns.  We did the first initial step of it just yesterday by looking at parent surveys that were returned for the end of school.  It was very apparent that parents overwhelmingly preferred to be spoken with on the phone over email and agenda-writing concerning negative behavior.  The percentage that preferred the agenda (the highest form of communication when it comes to student misbehavior) was extremely low.  Therefore, we see that we need to make efforts to distinguish when the agenda comes into place…then, decide if email or phone calls are pertinent to the communication needed for the parent and student to get effective results.

How can teachers more effectively communicate with parents to improve negative student behavior?

 

So, the goal or objective of this question would be to determine which way would be the most effective communication tool to use to improve student behavior.  We have found continuous effort with only one form of communication with parents that has not proven to be effective. So, we want to try different ways to connect with parents to help these students succeed in the classroom.

Action Planning Template
Goal: More effectively communicating with parents to improve negative student behavior.
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Parent Survey	Site-Based Decision Making Team Campus Needs Assessment Team	April- May 2013	Survey Scoring Tool	The surveys will be evaluated and analyzed based on the comments from parents concerning the way they prefer to be communicated with.
Observation/Data Notes After a contact has been made, teachers will document how they communication affected the student’s behavior and how long it helped.	Teachers	September 2013-April 2014	Observation Tool	Determine progress made on behavior based on the contact made.
Interview/s- Interview parents, teachers and students to determine the effectiveness of the current communication effort.  The administration will be interviewed to determine if the communication is positively affecting the number of office visits and office referrals.	Action Research Team	September 2013-April 2014	Interview Question Tool	The interviews will be conducted throughout the year to determine how the communication is positively affecting the student/parents relationship with the teacher.  Also, the teacher will be sharing how they believe the communication is working and what types they have used. Interviews with administration will determine if progress has been made pertaining to visits to the office and referrals.
Tracking which form of communication used and the reason.  The tool will indicate a positive or negative reaction from the parent concerning the communication made.	Teachers	September 2013-April 2014	Tool for Record of Communication	The tracking tool will keep up with what forms of communication the teachers have used and how effective they have been.
Parent Survey	Site-Based Decision Making Team Campus Needs Assessment Team	April- May 2014	Survey Scoring Tool	The surveys will be evaluated and analyzed based on the comments from parents concerning the way they prefer to be communicated with.

This week, I was able to pinpoint what my action research project will be! It is going to be such an eye-opening experience for my campus as a whole.  I am looking forward to looking back into the Ruby Payne studies I learned from two summers ago and use her findings to support my knowledge!

Also, while reading the Dana text for my assignment, I got some really good ideas for future action research topics when I eventually have my school as a principal.  Having a schoolwide meeting once a week was implemented in one of the schools I student-taught at.  I did not think anything of it at the time, but an event we did every Friday morning.  Now, after reading, I understand it had the purpose of unifying the school.  Now, I see it as a great tool to bring all of the classes together to have one vision and goal for the week/end of the week.  I am looking forward to implementing this in the future! Can't wait!

• Write a description of what you have learned about action research and how you might be able to use it.

Action Research is a great avenue for improving a school and its community. By conducting action research, something an educator is wondering about can be researched thoroughly for best practices, tried out in the school, and then analyzed afterwards for effectiveness. It is a great avenue to implement the most research-based strategies into a school to determine which would be best for the school. Looking into this research can be very enlightening, as well as putting it into action. It can truly open eyes and enable the school to put in the most effective approaches for a healthy school.

At my school, I am going to be able to put action research into effect to try to improve communication between home and school. As I spoke with my principal, she sees neverending commenting on student behavior in children’s agenda with no improvement on behavior.  So, the goal of the action research to see what can be done to improve how the families can be more effectively communicated with so that students have the best opportunity with support from their school and home community.  There are still some questions I have for the complete outcome of the action reseach, but as I dig deeper into the research, I will be able to answer my own questions.

• Next write an analysis of how educational leaders might use blogs – 25 words or more are recommended.

Educators can use blogs to keep an online journal of what they have experienced.  It is a wonderful spot where they can keep up with all of these reflections and questions they have as they continue through with all research and implementation conducted.  Also, within the blog form, others who are experiencing action research can look into what others are doing and either get answers to their questions or ideas for their own research.  For both the author and the audience, it can be very enlightening.

Welcome!

Hello all! This is my first blog, so I am glad I am able to utilize it for my Lamar Action Research! If you have any suggestions at any time, please feel free to let me know! We are all learning together to be the best leaders we can be! Good luck to everyone as we begin Action Research!