Reflecting: Action Research Plan

To be honest, I have not been that successful with the Action Research Plan as I thought I would have. Mainly, because I wasn't getting the buy-in that I needed to get the project up and running. There was so many things going on this school year that it was very difficult. We did host a Vanguard showcase but, it was not the way that it should have been. So due to that happening, maybe I will have more people on board with my action research plan. All my dates will change to be conducive to the upcoming school year. I did create a video that showed Vanguard Students working on projects throughout the school year and it was presented to the parents at the Vanguard Showcase. I will definitely have to create a master plan before I meet with the Vanguard Cluster so, I can have an immediate buy-in.  We don't have a lot of time to plan and meet up, so I think I may have to do all preparation to make the process go by faster and to avoid stagnation of the implementation process. The magnet coordinator has stressed a strong desire to have a better Vanguard showcase for the 2013-2014 school year, so this may be the push that we all need to get this plan in action. I will definitely start my planning during the summer while I am off and have some time which will allow me to revamp my plan.

Here is the Vanguard Showcase Video:

Vanguard Showcase from Devin singleton on Vimeo.
Below is the original action plan:

Action Research Project

Process Overview: How can the Vanguard Department, work together to implement a unified project for all grade levels in the Vanguard program to promote College Readiness, Community Involvement/Support and Culturally Diverse learning appreciation for the upcoming school-year 2013-2014?

Setting the Foundation:

Through our special department meeting (Vanguard) earlier this year, Mrs. Rosa the magnet coordinator spoke about us doing a project for the TPSP. I felt that this project could have more of a meaning to all those involved if it was interconnected to all core subjects. If this was done, then the community could also be involved as well to make the project feel more significant to the students who would then take more ownership of it. Our goals and objectives are the following:

• To improve the services that we provide for our gifted/talented population.
• To promote college readiness by providing necessary skills for productive research and intellectual curiosity through analyzing and synthesizing.
• To provide the skills necessary for public speaking and presentations.
• To make all core subjects learning interconnected with the project at hand.
• To get the community involved and to support our GT population educational endeavors through the Expo held at Burbank at the end of the school year.
• To integrate technology and our cultural diversity into the grade level project/department-wide program.

Analyzing Data:

Use of variety of data gathering methods such surveys, excel spreadsheets and electronic searches over TPSP type of projects can help improve any ideas on making this a successful endeavor. So that students are successfully conducting research as well as fulfilling the intellectual mind. These findings will hopefully give us examples of other schools that have successful planned out the necessary steps to carry out the implementation of school-wide project based learning goal by using the following:

• Computer Labs and Library
• Survey Monkey for Surveys
• Excel to gather and organize data
• HISD Online Resources such as Pro Quest, Thomson Gale, World Book Web and ect
• Create a Graph (Website)
• Interviewing relevant sources

Develop Deeper Understanding:

Initial data gathering will lead to more ideas for implementation as well as questions on how we can make this process more efficient and more conducive to our overall goals as a Vanguard Department. This will eventually lead us to reflect on what we could have done better or done without and still get the same outcomes or better outcomes in some situations.

Engage in Self-Reflection:

• Did we communicate effectively our goals and objectives as a collective whole?
• Did we include our student’s interest when formulating the Project Expo?
• Did we provide all the necessary resources needed for the students to be successful?
• Did we stay on track with the deadlines needed for the successful planning for Project Expo to be implemented efficiently?
• Was everyone input validated in regards to Project Expo creation?
• Was the data used in a timely manner to drive further phases of the implementation of Project Expo?

Exploring Programmatic Patterns:

Miscommunication can cause a big problem, so staying on top of the deadlines will eliminate a lot of things from falling underneath the rug, so to speak. So e-mailing and face to face conversations will assist in that matter. Also making sure everyone has a schedule and weekly reminders of what will be coming will also be helpful. Review the goals weekly to make sure we are staying the course and updating each other when we see a conflict arising so, we can be proactive. By following this tentative schedule should help us stay on the course:

• December 17^th- 21^st 2012 (Hold a small meeting with all parties involving the Vanguard Department about the proposed plan and the expectations and the goals we are trying to achieve as a team)
• January 14^th-18^th 2012 (Another meeting to discuss our project ideas and how we will implement the project deadlines, judging and expectations)
• January 21^st-25^th 2012 (Survey will be sent out for students on interest level on certain topics and project ideas)
• Week of January 28^tht  (Survey will be sent out via e-mail to all parties involved in the Vanguard Department to confirm on the finalize Project concepts and tentative due dates)
• Week of February 11^th (Vote on grading policies/rubrics, research paper criteria, sources cited criteria for example How many primary and secondary sources should a student have? And materials/supplies that will be needed for each core subjects in order for the students to be successful via e-mail
• Week of February 25^th (Bring all information gathered and collected to Hernandez for final approval before I compile the material into a packet for the Guidelines for Burbank’s Vanguard Project Expo)
• Week of March 25^th (All parties will view the document for the final time, to see if any changes need to be made or corrected via e-mail)
• Week of April 8^th (Send schedule for lab time or library time needed for the next school year to Carranza and Gonzales for preparation of Project Expo, those proposed schedules need to be sent to me as well)
• Week of  May 27^th (Meeting for the Finalization on all loose ends of the Project Expo and explanation of what we will be doing for each of our core subject in details which will be videotaped)

Determining Direction:

In order to launch my action research, I need to make sure everyone attends the 1^st meeting face-to-face, so everyone understands the goals and expectations of Project Expo. I need to make sure everyone has their input because I need buy-in from everyone and everyone has to do their part in order for this to be a successful event.

• Students will be given a calendar of deadlines that they are to meet as they complete their project throughout the school year
• Periodically throughout the school year, the students will take surveys on their feelings of their progress on their project, how they think it’s going and even concept questions for each core subject question to check for understanding
• Students who have a little more difficulty focusing will have a mentor, just like in a college for those who need a little more support and guidance.
• Vanguard teachers will take survey periodically to evaluate the success of the Project Expo and note suggestion along the way for implementation for the next school year.

I need to make sure everyone have the necessary resources to be effective which will include a tentative schedule of things to come. Also using the following criterion for grading students products will come from the following:

The use of the scoring dimensions of TPSP:

• Content Knowledge/Skills
• Analysis and Synthesis
• Multiple Perspectives
• Research
• Communication
• Presentation of Learning
• Effective use of survey to organize our data and using that data to drive our next plan of action
• Effective use of deadlines to keep on track for both students and teachers

Taking Action for School Improvement:

All parties of the Vanguard Department will be assisting in this endeavor. Each person will have a role to play but, the main persons are the following:

• Hernandez for approval for actions taken in regards to Project Expo
• All Vanguard teachers implementing ideas and approval for the overall set-up of Project Expo
• Rosa/Perret for making sure all resources are provided for us and the students and assisting when necessary
• Carranza for Technology
• Gonzales for Library Services
• Singleton for organizing, putting together and overseeing that everything runs smoothly and to communicate all new information to everyone via email or during face-to-face meetings and to put the Project Expo Guideline Booklet together

Sustain Improvement:

Even though Project Expo is focusing on just Vanguard Department at this point, I would like to include the Dual Language as well as Excel to participate to make this a whole school event. This will help promote a more positive school climate/culture which is promoting education and college readiness. This is allowing everyone to have the same opportunities and not just a select population.