IEP Development -2nd Week Assignment for School Law

This assignment required me to dig deeper into IDEA and into the process of planning an IEP.  I have a better appreciation for the diagnostician at my school.  She mentioned that her number one job requirement is to stay current on Special Education laws.  Just reading the laws for this assignment is a little overwhelming.  I couldn't imagine being responsible in making sure all the teachers in the building and parents of special education students are current on the laws.   

EDLD 5344- School Law

I'm taking my 3rd master's class (in Administration).  There are many things to learn.  I have heard of Section 504 and IDEA (now IDEIA), but didn't know that there have been ammendments to them. And  this is my 6th year to teach.  Where is the lack of communication coming from?  If I'm required to follow the laws (IEPs are a legal document), shouldn't it be a requirement to let teachers know when something has changed?  I'm feeling a little frustrated at this point.

One Change to Plan/Insights about EDLD 5301 Course

Change to Action Research Plan- I met with my site supervisor and one change to my plan has occurred.  I replaced the second box in the action plan with a more relevant step.  We discussed the fact that it would be very difficult to contact former teachers, but I still needed a sample to compare my other data to.  I'm no longer planning to contact former teachers, but instead will contact teachers that are not involved in PLCs. 

Select a group of teachers that are not involved in PLCs.

myself, Site Supervisor- Mr. Johnston a selected group of teachers that overall represent the campus

March 11, 2011- March 31, 2011

the willingness of teachers  to participate

This sample will give me other viewpoints besides those that are directly involved in campus decision making.  Will those not involved in PLCs still have a sense of community?

Insights- This intense course explains how to do action research (steps and templates), who to involve (staff members, student, etc.), what to focus on (based on the researcher’s passion and wonderings), where to conduct research (campus), when to ask questions (timeline), and why to pursue this type of research (fixing issues to better the future of the campus).  This course was not at all what I expected from a research class.  I truly enjoyed learning how to focus on issues that affect me and my campus.  This type of research is much more personal and relevant to my teaching and administrative careers.

Action Research Plan Not Reposted Yet

As part of the 4th Week Assignments, I was asked to repost the agreed upon action research plan.  However, since it is Spring Break and all network systems were down (email, Skyward, and Blackboard) for maintance purposes, I wasn't able to talk to my site supervisor.  My site supervisor and I will look over the plan again soon. 

Action Research Plan

ACTION  RESEARCH PLAN Wonderings: How can my campus become a better, working community within the school and what benefits would result?  Is there a correlation between being involved in PLCs (Professional Learning Committees) and feeling a sense of belongingness? Goal:  Examine the purpose of PLCs (Professional Learning Committees) and whether teachers will become more connected once involved in such committees. Action Steps(s): Person(s) Responsible: Timeline: Start/End Needed Resources Evaluation Compile a list of committees and participants in my campus’ PLCs. myself, Secretary – Mrs. Ornelas, Principal – Mr. Guillen March 11, 2011- March 31, 2011 list of committees and list of participants Is each list current and up-to-date? If committee members change, how will that affect my research? Ask for a list of teachers that have left the campus for other careers. myself, Principal- Mr. Guillen a few chosen teachers from the list March 11, 2011- March 31, 2011 permission from principal to contact former teachers, participation from chosen teachers By obtaining this information, will a connection be made between being involved and staying in the teaching field or leaving due to not being involved in any PLCs? Reflect in my blog weekly. myself March 11, 2011- December 15, 2011 time set aside (weekly), computer Will my reflections help me better comprehend the purpose(s) for this action research? Prepare interview and survey questions. myself, Site Supervisor- Mrs. Johnston March 31, 2011- April 5, 2011 time, questions, survey monkey Will the questions give me a better understanding of how PLCs benefit my campus? Will the questions enhance my action research? Teacher interviews and surveys. myself, and selected teachers (participants and non-PLC participants- to compare data) April 5, 2011- May 15, 2011 time, interview questions and survey Will the teachers allow me to ask questions without reacting defensively? Observe committees and fill out my own questionnaire. myself, and each member of each committee March 21, 2011- December 15, 2012 time, observation, and observation questionnaire Will the teachers allow me to observe them? Will the observations be a true picture of how the meetings go? Compile teacher data and my observations. myself, Site Supervisor-Mrs. Johnston December 15, 2012- December 20, 2012 time, systematic way of compiling data Will the data help me get a sense of how the teachers feel? Do they feel more connected to the campus and campus’ vision? Create report. myself, Site Supervisor-Mrs. Johnston December 15, 2012- December 20, 2012 PowerPoint By analyzing the data, will I have a better understanding of PLCs? Is there a correlation between being part of a PLC and feeling a sense of belonging? Share findings. myself, Principal- Mr. Guillen campus staff January 1, 2012- January 15, 2012 conference or meeting time, blank copies of questions, survey, observations, and PowerPoint Will my findings help others to decide whether or not to join PLCs in order to feel part of the campus community? Identify wonderings and explore new action research topics. myself, Site Supervisor-Mrs. Johnston March 11, 2011-January 20, 2012 reflect on wonderings (blog) Will my blog reflections reveal new findings? Format based on Tool 7.1 from Examining What We Do to Improve Our Schools (Harris, Edmonson, and Combs, 2010)

Lessons Learned From Week Two Assignments

The readings for this week have opened my eyes to two important aspects of action research.  One- my "wonderings" will most likely change along the way.  Two- I need to research a topic that interests me.  It was a light-bulb moment for me when I combined these two revelations. 

I was leaning towards inquiring about the effectiveness of Saturday School. Although the topic is important for my campus, I truly wasn't interested in it.  I decided to totally change the direction of my action research topic (after reading that the topic needs to interest me).  The current topic for my action research topic is to find out how my campus can become a better, working community within the school and to investigate the benefits that will result when my campus is on the same page. 

The middle school (6th- 8th grade) campus I work in has over 1,300 students and over 55 teachers and I feel that we are disconnected.  When students bring up a teacher from other grades, it is somewhat embarrassing to say I don't know them.  And this is my 6th year to teach at this campus.  I want to find ways to connect to other teachers within the same building.

It feels like I come to work, shut my door, and do my job without having opportunities to get to know other teachers that are possibly feeling the same way.

What I Have Learned About Action Research

Action research is an in-depth, structured way of analyzing issues and solutions that affect the researcher.  In the book, Leading with Passion and Knowledge: The Principal as Action Research, Nancy Fichtman Dana states "inquiring professionals seek out change and reflect on their practice by posing questions or "wonderings", collecting data to gain insight into their wonderings, analyzing the data along with reading relevant literature, making changes in practice based on new understandings developed during inquiry, and sharing findings with others" (p. 3).  This type of research allows the researcher to take ownership of the whole process from identifying the situation that needs improving to carrying out the solutions.  It is different than traditional research in the way of actually developing the plan instead of using someone else's plan.  During the process of action research, sources can be found (other articles) to help steer that action research in a certain direction but it is not the only component.  Reflection is also important aspect of this type of research.  If the researcher can put in writing how he or she feels and discuss what is working (or not working), then it is easier to process the research as a whole.  Also researchers can share their ideas with others and get feed back.  In this way, different perspectives can be given which will enhance the research.

Educational leaders can use blogs in several ways.  They can post their brainstorming ideas; they can post the actual research plan, and post the difficulties of implementing the solutions discovered by creating their action research.