You are welcome to visit my other blog, TeachEduTech.
It was started as part of my course work but I've added some other related entries.
http://teachedutech.blogspot.com/
Monday, August 30, 2010
Action Research Project Idea
I will be doing a action research project. Since my degree is in technology leadership, I'm pursuing ideas in that area.
At the campus level and at least, the classroom level, there is a disproportional emphasis placed on the technology TEKS as compare to Content TEKS. It seems that few teachers know of the Texas Long Range Plan for Technology. If they do know of the LRPT, less urgency is placed on the implementation of those TEKS than content TEKS. There are probably several reasons for this, one being that our success on the technology TEKS is not at such high stakes when compared to content TAKS.
Unfortunately many educators are missing valuable opportunities to help their students with content TEKS by deemphasizing or ignoring the technology TEKS. If teachers get a vision for how the technology TEKS support TAKS and enhance instruction, they will begin facilitating the use of technology in their classes. The issues of technology infrastructure reliability and teacher technology training are central; however, the magnitude of these issues cannot be addressed within one action research project.
I'd like to study technology implementation at my school. The STAR Report would be a place to start but an action research project would need to define the understandings that teachers are working with. Our 1 to 1 computers, Classmates are being issued to teachers for use in their classes. Last year they were issued to each student and they were to carry them to their classes and to their home each day. For reasons currently unknown, a very large portion of the students did not meet the expectation. Consequently, many teachers were not able to incorporate Classmate usage into their classes.
With this change, a practical action research project could address this years implementation of the classmates. Through teacher questionnaires, information could be collected pertaining to last years use of the classmates. Many questions could be explored.
How often were the Classmates used in classes last year?
How did teachers use the Classmates last year?
Do teacher know their technology TEKS?
Did last years methods affectively support the technology TEKS?Did last years methods affectively support content TEKS?
With the new format of issuing Classmate class sets to teachers, are they being used more often?
Are the methods being used this year supporting the technology TEKS?
Are the methods being used this year affectively supporting content TEKS?
Is technology in general being used more by the teachers or by the students?
How do the methods being used compare to research pertaining to high affective strategies?
What problems impede teacher and/or student use of technology?
I think that I could provide qualitatively and quantitative data that could be used to measure growth. Is this a reasonable action research study? Is this a meaningful action research study? Could this topic satisfy the requirements of an action research study?
I invite your insight and discussion on this topic.
J. Keith Cummings
At the campus level and at least, the classroom level, there is a disproportional emphasis placed on the technology TEKS as compare to Content TEKS. It seems that few teachers know of the Texas Long Range Plan for Technology. If they do know of the LRPT, less urgency is placed on the implementation of those TEKS than content TEKS. There are probably several reasons for this, one being that our success on the technology TEKS is not at such high stakes when compared to content TAKS.
Unfortunately many educators are missing valuable opportunities to help their students with content TEKS by deemphasizing or ignoring the technology TEKS. If teachers get a vision for how the technology TEKS support TAKS and enhance instruction, they will begin facilitating the use of technology in their classes. The issues of technology infrastructure reliability and teacher technology training are central; however, the magnitude of these issues cannot be addressed within one action research project.
I'd like to study technology implementation at my school. The STAR Report would be a place to start but an action research project would need to define the understandings that teachers are working with. Our 1 to 1 computers, Classmates are being issued to teachers for use in their classes. Last year they were issued to each student and they were to carry them to their classes and to their home each day. For reasons currently unknown, a very large portion of the students did not meet the expectation. Consequently, many teachers were not able to incorporate Classmate usage into their classes.
With this change, a practical action research project could address this years implementation of the classmates. Through teacher questionnaires, information could be collected pertaining to last years use of the classmates. Many questions could be explored.
How often were the Classmates used in classes last year?
How did teachers use the Classmates last year?
Do teacher know their technology TEKS?
Did last years methods affectively support the technology TEKS?Did last years methods affectively support content TEKS?
With the new format of issuing Classmate class sets to teachers, are they being used more often?
Are the methods being used this year supporting the technology TEKS?
Are the methods being used this year affectively supporting content TEKS?
Is technology in general being used more by the teachers or by the students?
How do the methods being used compare to research pertaining to high affective strategies?
What problems impede teacher and/or student use of technology?
I think that I could provide qualitatively and quantitative data that could be used to measure growth. Is this a reasonable action research study? Is this a meaningful action research study? Could this topic satisfy the requirements of an action research study?
I invite your insight and discussion on this topic.
J. Keith Cummings
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Action Research Defined
Educators work in a complicated environment that is influenced by dynamic variables. Success can be illusive. Attempts to duplicate success from one school to another can have very unpredictable results. Practitioner inquiry provides a problem solving process that is reflective that provides solutions that are tailored specifically to a school or even a class. As a method, it can be simple described as ongoing spirals of reflection and action. Practitioner inquiry helps a professional or group of professionals reflect on the dynamics of the environment, create solutions specifically tailored for their environment, and evaluate the results of the solution.
Specifically, practitioner inquiry involves (1) diagnosing/understanding a problem that needs to be resolved, (2) designing action that is based on data and literature, (3) implementing the action, and (4) evaluating the effectiveness of the action to identify areas needing improvement. This is very similar to what science teachers facilitate their students to do. The scientific method tests theories and poses more questions for study.
Marjorie Ringler describes this process, also called action research, as cyclical and as having four steps. They are as follows; (1) define an Issue to study, (2) review of professional literature, (3) take action, and (4) use and share results.
Traditional research paradigms are linear, leading from a problem and ending with the implementation of a solution. Educators are applying a solutions provided by “outside experts,” typically from a university. Practitioner inquiry is different from traditional educational research. It shifts the defining of a problem and the formation of the solution to the problem from an outside source to an inside source. An educator’s unique perspective provides the best vantage point for defining a situation and forming a solution that is tailored specifically for that situation. Additionally this perspective provides an added insight. Available and applicable resources are best realized by those from within the institution.
One tool in accomplishing action research are blogs. Professional communities using action research can use a blog as a forum. Blogs are ideal for sharing reflections, defined problems, pertainent literature on problems and for share the general result. Another useful tool for conduction a specific action research are wikis. They provide the needed control and alerts to foster communications in an efficient way.
Specifically, practitioner inquiry involves (1) diagnosing/understanding a problem that needs to be resolved, (2) designing action that is based on data and literature, (3) implementing the action, and (4) evaluating the effectiveness of the action to identify areas needing improvement. This is very similar to what science teachers facilitate their students to do. The scientific method tests theories and poses more questions for study.
Marjorie Ringler describes this process, also called action research, as cyclical and as having four steps. They are as follows; (1) define an Issue to study, (2) review of professional literature, (3) take action, and (4) use and share results.
Traditional research paradigms are linear, leading from a problem and ending with the implementation of a solution. Educators are applying a solutions provided by “outside experts,” typically from a university. Practitioner inquiry is different from traditional educational research. It shifts the defining of a problem and the formation of the solution to the problem from an outside source to an inside source. An educator’s unique perspective provides the best vantage point for defining a situation and forming a solution that is tailored specifically for that situation. Additionally this perspective provides an added insight. Available and applicable resources are best realized by those from within the institution.
One tool in accomplishing action research are blogs. Professional communities using action research can use a blog as a forum. Blogs are ideal for sharing reflections, defined problems, pertainent literature on problems and for share the general result. Another useful tool for conduction a specific action research are wikis. They provide the needed control and alerts to foster communications in an efficient way.
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