EDLD 5326 Action Research Plan Progress

Activities related to participating in my campus research project, which is to meet with the special education inclusion department to review and possibly revise the current SPED Teacher Inclusion program, have included monthly meetings which include my Assistant Principal over special education, myself, the special education team leader, and the special education inclusion teachers. Initially we began polling our current staff to see what we are doing as inclusion teachers in the classroom. We have then transitioned into now discussing what is working for us.  To date, this had been the extent of our meetings. The meetings have not been as productive as I would like. Our meetings begin on a positive note; however they soon become a time for complaining about current legislative and administrative issues which impede our progress in the classroom. I find we are having to quickly redirect and refocus on our purpose. We have gathered a lot of data regarding what is woring in the inclusion classrooms on our campus; although I feel we have addressed this issue, the AP has continued to want to gather more input. I believe it is time to move to the next phase of inquiry which is to discuss what we believe is not working in our current inclusion program.

 

My role in these meetings is to work with our Assistant Principal over special education and to help design the process for which we will work on this project, report to her the findings, devise a plan of attack to modify the proceedings, and then to analyze the results of our findings. After this, we will then work collaboratively with a team of inclusion teachers to determine what we can do to: a) be more effective in the classroom, and b) modify the program to increase student performance.

Reflections on week 4

Thank you to those who have posted comments and questions. There were two questions posed I appreciated and thought I would address here:

Question: “I'm with Juanita it is very hard as a special ed teacher to find my niche in a classroom that belongs to a general ed teacher and help the special needs students. Do you plan to include training for both? I'm not real sure I get the idea, is it to provide more inclusion or less?”

Response: Yes training is essential. There is a fantastic training provided by The ARC of Texas (an association for children with intellectual and developmental disabilities) called “Inclusion Works.” It is geared for regular and special education teachers, and I recommend anyone working in an inclusion classroom attend this conference. I also think it is essential for experienced teachers, both special and regular education, work as mentors to provide direction and ideas on how to work collaborative as well as provide instructional strategies to our staff.

Question: “I think your research plan is interesting? I may have missed it but are you addressing whether inclusion should be on a voluntary basses. I think that would be an interesting question, because I am finding that so many general education teachers do not like to share their rooms. Some teachers have to be reminded that the special education teachers are teachers. As a special education inclusion teacher I am having a hard time finding my place in the classroom. That is way I am so interested in your plan.”

Response: Due to No Child Left Behind and our current laws regarding IEP’s and student placement, students must be served regardless of classroom availability or teacher approval, which is why a good inclusion/co-teach model must be “bought-in” by our staff. It becomes incumbent upon administrators to “sell” the benefits of the program to the teachers by showing them how it is beneficial to them as well as the students to work collaboratively in this effort.


I appreciate the comments and hope you continue to follow and post comments. They do help in the reflective process in considering points I didn't prioritize or give merit to.

I also like the suggestive methods presented in this week's readings of how to conduct my group inquiry. Initially I considered using the Nominal Group Technique; however after considering time and the nature of my inquiry, I believe utilizing the Delphi method would be more effective to attain the results desired.

Reflections of Week 3

The following is a reflection of my week 3 assignment to include my action research plan, finding, and recommendations:

Week 3 lesson and readings have helped me to formulate a game plan and organize my thoughts in a more cohesive manner. I feel more comfortable now knowing where to begin as well as the process to proceed.

Action Planning Template
Goal: To increase special education inclusion student achievement by improving the current inclusion program in our school.
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Modifying the delivery of instruction in the classroom	Regular and special education inclusion teacher	August 2012/May 2013	Inclusion training for special education and regular classroom teachers	Classroom observation, Surveys, Interviews
Special education inclusion teacher and/or paraprofessional in the classroom	Building principal, Assistant Principal of Special Education, Personnel Dept	August 2012/May 2013	Money for salaries, teachers	Observation
Establish joint planning period for regular and special education teacher	Assistant principal, regular, and special education inclusion teacher	June 2012/May 2013	Scheduling time	Lesson plan review, interview, surveys
Inclusion of technology in the classroom for inclusion student use	Building principal, special education director, director of technology	August 2012/May 2013	Money for equipment	Observation of equipment use in each classroom, student interviews, teacher/inclusion teacher interviews
Classroom access to personalized supplemental aids allowable to be used for state assessments for each student	Special education department, Assistant Principal	August 2012/May2013	Money for materials, inclusion teacher to demonstrate and promote use of materials	Classroom observation

Format based on Tool 7.1 from Examining What We Do to Improve Our Schools

(Harris, Edmonson, and Combs, 2010)

Action Research Project

To increase special education inclusion student achievement by improving the current inclusion program in our school.

Examining the work: Setting the Foundation – The need to increase special education inclusion student grades, decrease failing rates, and increase the number of inclusion student passing rates on statewide assessments.

Analyzing Data – Examining the quantitative measurement of student achievement via progress reports, grades, and standardized test scores.

Developing Deeper Understanding – Utilizing qualitative data such as classroom observations, student and teacher surveys and interviews, regular and inclusion teacher meetings, and meeting with the special education staff.

Engaging in Self-Reflection – What additional training does our special and regular education staff need in working in a co-teach model? What additional funding is required to staff co-taught classrooms for the four core subject areas? How motivated is our staff to work collaboratively to fulfill the vision of improving our inclusion program? What can I do as the team leader to motivate and provide my experiential insight to work towards the successful implementation of this endeavor?

Exploring Programmatic Patterns – Are the causes of poor student achievement as measured quantitatively an academic or qualitative issue? Are the issues of low scores a result of inadequate instruction, lack of time for student processing, student programming/placement, lack of classroom special education support, or lack of access to supplemental technology or materials?

Determining Direction – My research topic is clear and concise, and I am clear on the goal set forth. I have adequately addressed the skills necessary to proceed and the method to which I will approach my research. I have been given direction and permission to develop an inclusion team consisting of regular and special education teachers to include four core teachers and four inclusion teachers.

Taking Action for School Improvement – I have utilized the Tool 7.1 Action Planning Template (Harris, Edmonson, and Combs) to organize the research and guide me through the steps of my project. I will be working in collaboration with other staff through an inclusion team committee to research, analyze, implement, evaluate, and reflect on the progress of the project.

Sustaining Improvement – This action research project will be an ongoing endeavor to maintain the effectiveness of the program. Reflection, continued data collection, analysis, and constant program monitoring will need to continue beyond the scope of the timeline set forth to maintain the integrity and viability of improving the inclusion program in our school. Results and ongoing progress updates will be shared via my Blog and online discussions to not only update but seek recommendations, information, and ideas outside the scope of the committee thinking.

As this project is a collaborative effort via an inclusion team committee consisting of special education inclusion teachers and regular classroom teachers, all aspects of research, data gathering, analysis, evaluation, and reflection will be shared among team members throughout the entire process of the steps to action research. We will report to the assistant principal over special education and our building principal as we progress through each phase of the action research project. In addition, all core teachers as well as special education teachers and paraprofessionals will be routinely apprised of the results of developments and discussions as a result of committee meetings to maintain communication and cohesiveness between committee members and staff integral in implementing the program.

It is imperative too to inform all staff, students, and parents as to the justification of pursuing this endeavor. I feel it will provide an opportunity to gain input from those stakeholders as to additional information we, as a committee, may not consider. It also provides them with the feeling of unification and involvement in the improvement of another facet of our school and district. This will bring the community together and alter the climate of our school to not only recognize but embrace our special population as well as notice the effort we are making to improve the lives and achievement potential of that particular population of students.

Providing Background Information: Special education inclusion programs vary from school to school and district to district in their design and how they provide accommodation and instruction, and regardless of the different approach they each may take, they all strive to achieve the same goal: To help their students learn, achieve their maximum potential, and perform well in school and society. My work experience, interest in this project topic, need for change in our inclusion program, and dialogue with my assistant principal is what has prompted my participation in this action research project.

Sharing the Design of the Inquiry: The inclusion team committee will work collaboratively to collect data, discern the findings, and share the results. We will then work to formulate a process to implement change to the current program based on data and reflection of information disseminated.

Stating the Learning and Supporting the Statements with Data: As we present our intent to improve our inclusion program to stakeholders, we will strive to present the need for our inquiry and justify it with current data to include standardized test scores, classroom observations, students’ grades, and teacher reports. We will also present our plans to revise the current program with examples of action plans towards the modifications of what is currently in place. Support for our presentation will include examples illustrated in the formalized action plan.

Providing Concluding Thoughts: As I mentioned earlier in this week’s assignment, working to improve the special education inclusion program is a continuous effort. Once research, data collection and analysis, conclusion of changes to be made, and implementation of change have occurred, the committee will need to reflect and evaluate the program continually to assess its effectiveness and make changes as needed. The change to any programming in education is not conducted in a vacuum, nor can it become stagnate. We as a committee will need to continually monitor and adjust as the need warrants.

Action Research Week 2 Reflections

I really enjoyed the videos and reading from week 2. I gained a ton of insight as to where to begin my focus for the action research project I've chosen. Two things that stood out, and were re-inforced by watching the interviews, were the ideas of purpose and significance.

Thinking about the purpose of my research, or more specifically who and what is the target and what will the research do, forced me to narrow my focus. I initially thought I would look at all aspects of my school's special education inclusion program in the attempt to implement a course of action to increase student achievement; however I see the scope of parent involvement, transisiton, literacy, etc... is much too broad. It is not reasonable nor practical to take in account all of those areas. There just isn't enough time, nor is there enough staff to delve so deeply into each area effectively.

I do feel I can adequately look at teacher/inclusion teacher roles with efficiently and effectively enough to see how it impacts student achievement, which is my ultimate goal...

The significance of my project is to look at student achievement and to not only improve student performance but also teacher performance. If our inclusion and regular classroom teachers can improve their role as a team, instruction will improve and student performance will naturally improve.

How educational leaders might use blogs

I'm very unfamiliar with this whole blogging thing; however it really is a great avenue to express my thoughts in a format which will allow me to go back and reflect on what I've written. There are many times I wish I would have jotted down a thought or concern about an issue in my classroom or with one of my students.

Blogging provides me an outlet to do so in a format which also allows others to comment or make suggestions. I can then reflect on what my concerns were and either expand, change, or continue with a thought or resolution. This is an outstanding avenue for educational leaders to do the same. Put thoughts in writing and open the forum for duscussion among other leaders. It promotes professional and intellectual dialogue between colleagues. It allows for ideas to be expressed freely.

As a teacher we learn that the wheel never has to be reinvented. Someone has always been there or done that. I think as educational leaders, the same philosophy should be taken. Issues faced by administrators have been addressed and resolved by someone somewhere, and by opening up discussion on a blog, resolutions to current issues can be shared and discussed.

Action Research: What I've learned

I was a little intimidated by the title of action research. I envisioned tedious reading of "experts" and the constant repitition of information and data that does not address issues faced by me or my students. I think of all the times I have sat through professional development meetings my district felt I needed the first week back after summer break. The information was always the same, and the data was outdated or not relevant to the population of students I served.

I was pleasantly surprised to learn what action research truly means. Professional inquiry is a great term to describe it. I like how inquiry is explained to help administrators look at continual professional development by investigating the needs of staff and students in their building (Dana, 2009). The idea of actively and collaboratively participating in the research pertinent to their student population and needs. Being an active participant in the research affords the opportunity to reflect not only on the process but also the result of implementing a solution. If upon reflection, the issue has not been resolved, it is easy to go back and take another look at the research and try another approach. It is also much easier to evaluate the effect of implementation as the team working on the research is also working with the students firsthand as opposed to an outsider who has limited access and can only rely on assessments without supporting information.

I fully appreciate and will follow the action research method in my project for my Ed Leadership program. I will be working collaboratively with my assistant principal and special education inclusion teachers to address the issue of inclusion student achievement in our school. The model and steps outlined in "Examining What We Do To Improve Our Schools" gives me a very good model of how to conduct my research (Harris, Edmonson, and Combs, 2010, p. 6). My readings have also helped me to understand the action research process and how to apply each phase in my project as well as to appreciate and rely on reflection as a tool to evaluate my research (Ringler, 2007).