Action Research Plan

Porter High School Classroom Management Research Analysis
Goal: We will educate our staff on classroom management techniques that help increase on-task behaiors.
Action Step(s)	Person(s) Responsible	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
1. Investigate current research/theories on effective classroom management strategies.	James Anderson	Aug 1, 2010 Aug 15, 2010	Internet access	List of strategies generated.
2. Present research project to the teachers of Porter High School, and seek volunteers to participate in the project.	James Anderson Dr. K.H. Hodgkinson	Aug 19, 2010	Time during staff development	Teacher volunteers identified.
3. Conduct observations of teachers managing their classes.	James Anderson Volunteer Teachers	Aug 24, 2010 Sept 24, 2010	None
4. Identify all management strategies used regardless of effectiveness.	James Anderson Volunteer Teachers	Sept 24, 2010 Oct 1, 2010	Meeting time with volunteer teachers.	List of management strategies used by each teacher.
5. Generate a report of all discipline referrals produced by the volunteer teachers.	James Anderson Assistant Principals	Sept 24, 2010 Oct 1, 2010	Administrator Access to discipline referral software program to generate reports.	Number of discipline referrals from each teacher participating in the project.
6. Compare strategies used by teachers to the number of discipline referrals generated.	James Anderson	Oct 2, 2010 Oct 10, 2010	None	Strategies ranked by perceived effectiveness.
7. Observe teachers, again. Noting off-task behaviors during instructional time. Video 2nd Observations.	James Anderson Volunteer Teachers	Oct 15, 2010 Nov 15, 2010	Video Camera	List of off-task behaviors seen in each class.
8. Analyze second observations for correlation between management strategies and off-task behaviors.	James Anderson	Nov 16, 2010 Dec 1, 2010	None	Strategies ranked from highest to lowest effectiveness, based on our data.
9. Share results with the volunteer teachers and discuss effective/ineffective strategies.	James Anderson Volunteer Teachers	Dec 2, 2010 Dec 10, 2010	Video from 2nd observation, Strategies from initial research.	List of most effective strategies identified and agreed upon by volunteer teachers.
10. Allow volunteer teachers to implement the effective classroom management techniques.	Volunteer Teachers James Anderson	Dec 15, 2010 Feb 15, 2011	Support from James Anderson	Strategies implemented.
11. Video a 3rd observations of the teachers.	James Anderson Volunteer Teachers	Feb 15, 2011 Mar 1, 2011	Video Camera
12. Generate a report of all discipline referrals produced by the volunteer teachers, after implementation of new strategies.	James Anderson Assistant Principals	Feb 15, 2011 Mar 1, 2011	Administrator Access to discipline referral software program to generate reports.	Number of discipline referrals from each teacher participating in the project.
13. Analyze off-task behaviors, from 3rd observation, and discipline referrals, versus the newly implemented techniques.	James Anderson	Mar 2, 2011 Apr 1, 2011	Video from 3rd observation.	Effectiveness of new strategies compared to initial effectiveness results, and strategies re-ranked.
14. Build presentation for sharing results with entire staff.	James Anderson	April 1, 2011 Aug 1, 2011	PowerPoint, Video from all observations	Presentations prepared and reviewed.
15. Train all PHS teachers on the effective strategies developed through this action research project.	James Anderson Dr. K.H. Hodgkinson	Aug 15, 2011 1 day during teacher staff development	Computer, Projector, hand outs of strategies and results	Teacher surveys of training session.

Week 2

This week we examined a variety of action research topics. We listened to three interviews to analyze the different topics discussed. Then we read about 9 different passions that can drive action research. Part of the reading assignment was for us to discuss the research topics related to each passion and the importance of those topics. This week's assignment concluded with us interviewing our site supervisor about possible topics for our research project.

Here are the purpose and significance I posted to our discussion board:

The purpose of this research project is to increase on-task behaviors by training our staff on the best classroom management techniques.

This research project will have a positive impact the students, parents, teachers, and school administration of Porter High School.

Educational Leaders and Blogs

Today's educational leaders can use blogs as part of their action research methods to share their ideas and experiences. They can turn the blog into a forum for exchanging information with other leaders. The blog opens a line of communication with other leaders, and they are able to discuss progress, suggestions, successes and failures.

What is Action Research?

As educators we try to develop our students into life-long learners. We want them to appreciate the benefits of learning and continually seek new knowledge. We, too, must be life-long learners. As part of our learning process we must evaluate and study our practices. We must make the effort to examine our techniques and methods to ensure their effectiveness. After we examine our processes we can then make changes in order to improve our effectiveness. This process of self-evaluation and change is action research. When conducted by administrators of a school it would be classified as administrative inquiry.

The action research method allows educators and administrators to make decisions based on information that is specific to their situation. In traditional educational research an outside researcher gathers data and develops new processes and/or procedures. The drawback is that the researcher is far removed from the classroom and the specific situation the administrator is facing.

Action research can take a variety of forms. These forms range from very general (college coursework) to very specific (professional learning communities). This method allows data to be collected at the classroom level by the people that will have to implement those decisions. The proximity that action research provides creates much more effective results.