"No man is an island....."

"No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.”  John Donne

This journey we are on is reminiscent of a travelogue.  We are sharing with each other and collaborating on assignment clarifications.  The ripples are landing all across the field of education.  At first, I was extremely hesitant to share and post my assignments in fear of rejection.  In my past, education had a one right answer for the teacher type of instruction.  Opening my writing to my colleagues as empowered my thoughts and also allowed me to reflect deeper on the research. 

My audience will be special education teachers in the secondary area who are trying to use handheld electronic devices to engage students and increase student achievement.  I am beginning to gather the appropriate background information about the iPods and their use in secondary schools.  

I hope to be able to share my research through the blog, the campus I am working with, and possibly through others in the field.  In my current position as a consultant, I am accustomed to oral presentations and feel extremely confident when asked to present information orally.  But, when it comes to presenting in a written form, I remain hesitant.

It is my desire to achieve confidence in participating in the Masters program which requires sufficient amount of writing and reflection. 

Week Three Assignment Reflections

Wow, I never that I would have so much trouble posting my assignments to my blog!  I have learned today I need to save them as Rich Text Format when I am working on my laptop.  In the past, I worked on my husband's Mac and there had not been a problem.  I am surely growing synapsis today!

Working through the action steps made me aware of the process the SIP and CIT teams go through when a school in in corrective action.  It makes me think!  What if we follow this process when we have an area that is disfunctiona, whatever it may be?  I feel that all involved would look at the situation from a great advantage point.  They would be able to research what is already happening in the field of education.  Learn from others.  Collaborate with other schools that have "been down the same road."  Yet, I find, we try to solve everything with a quick fix.  We want a program or a person with the next best thing to sweep into our schools and get us to exemplary in a year.

When schools and district make action plans without going through the 8 Steps that S. Harris, S. Edmonson, and J. Combs identifies in, Examining What we do to Improve our Schools:  8 steps form analysis to action.  Larchmont, NY: Eye on Education, their decisions will be made on impulse instead of research and data.  Realizing the time involved in the process, I can see why larger school districts have a Research person on staff for the district like we heard from Dr. Timoth Chargois, Director of Research, Planning and Development in Beaumont ISD. 

I have also been reminded of the collaborative effort that this Masters program is incubating.  Colleagues that have never met are working collaboratively together.  This sense of community will be a treasure I will hold dear throughout this journey.

Week Three Assignment, Part 3 - Steps to Follow in My Action Research Plan

8 Steps to Follow in My Action Research Plan

How to increase student engagement and achievement with the use of iPod Touches?

1. Setting the Foundation: I decided to research the use of iPod Touches when I was visiting with my mentor about my internship plan for EDLD 5306.  Since I was working toward a Masters in Educational Technology Leadership, I felt the need to lead San Marcos High School in the implementation of the use of iPod Touches in the Co-Teach classrooms.  The iPod Touches have been on the campus for almost a year and a half without being used.  The students at San Marcos High School are “digital natives” and will embrace the technology before the educators. 

2.  Analyzing Data:  Currently, I am researching schools that have already implemented the use of iPod Touches.  I will examine the strengths and weaknesses of their programs in order to glean information the implementation.  I will collect data from surveys, attendance, and grades. 

3.  Developing a Deeper Understanding:  To develop a deeper understanding of the use of iPod Touches during Co-Teach classes Ito research what apps should be imported to the iPods and how to empower students to independently research lesson topics.  I will conduct a pre and post survey to collect additional data on student engagement.    In addition, I plan to conduct informal classroom observations during lessons using the iPod Touches

4.  Engage in Self-Reflection:    After I have researched the use of iPod Touches in the classroom and other schools that have implemented this technology, I plan to compile my findings in a report to my mentor and the high school special education teachers involved. As I begin this journey, I will admit I am a little fearful.  Can I do this?  Do I understand the action research fully?  Can I change?  Will I be able to lead the teachers in the most effective and time efficient ways to include iPod Touches in the classroom?  I’m sure I will answer all those questions along the journey

5.  Exploring Programmatic Patterns:  During the next couple of weeks, I will need to spend the majority of my tie research the appropriate apps we should use at the beginning of the year.  I do not want to make all the decisions on which apps because I want to involve the teachers in researching which apps would work with their curriculum projects.  I know we need to create a set of guidelines for the usage and check out procedures.  My goal is to increase student engagement and achievement through the use of the iPod Touch.  This I will need to keep in mind throughout this project. 

6.  Determining Direction:  After meeting with my mentor, we attempted to meet with the district technology person.  The technology person arranged the meeting and failed to attend due to another meeting she scheduled.  The special education director, my mentor, made the decision to proceed since the de vices were purchased with special education funds.  The next step is a meeting with the special education department chair at the high school.  We will meet in two weeks to review the plan and to assess the equipment that is in the storeroom.  We will schedule monthly meetings with the co-teach team to review progress and address challenges. 

7.  Taking Action For School Improvement:  After studying the process of action research, it has steered me to a deeper understanding of the process.  Everything we do should guide us in the direction of school improvement.  I know that technology and specifically handheld technology devices are second nature for our students we call “digital natives”.  Through this process of analyzing the steps, I am ready to set up the action plan and commit to following through the process.  I know I will make adjustments along the way, but a written plan of action will provide for me a roadmap for the journey.   

8.  Sustain Improvement:  I will continue to stay current in the research through daily monitoring technology and education RSS feeds that I have established.  All through my experiences as an educator, I have been involved in researching and inquiring best practices.  My hope is to extend the program beyond the high school to the two junior highs in our district.

Action Research Projected Plan

Mary Thrasher’s Action Research Plan
Goal: iPod Touches in the Co-Teach high school classrooms will increase student achievement and engagement.
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Meet with mentor/advisor and technology director	Mary Thrasher, Kathy Hutto, Special Education Director, and  Rhonda Stonecipher, District Technology Coordinator	July 26, 2011	Action Plan and Calendar	Determine how to involve the district technology person to facilitate the district’s technology plan.
Determine which special education teachers at the high school will be involved in the project.	Mary Thrasher, Gail Gonzales, Special Education High School Dept. Chairman	July 28, 2011	Class Rosters and teaching assignments	Determine which teachers serve the highest number of special education students in co-teach class sections.
				.
Create a pre-project survey for both the general education students and special education students involved in co-teach sections in this project.	Mary Thrasher, Gail Gonzales, Special Education Dept. Chair, and Michelle Darling, San Marcos High School Principal	August 8, 2011	Surveymonkey.com	Completion of survey ready for submission and approval of high school principal.
Gather iPods and carts	Mary Thrasher and Gail Gonzales, Special Education Dept. Char	August 9, 2011	SMHS library and AV room	Identify the number of available iPods and carts.  Make assignments.
Download Literature to the iPods	Mary Thrasher, Kathy Hutto, Special Education Director, Gail Gonzales, Special Education Dept. Chair.	August 10, 2011	English I, II, III, and IV literature selections on CD, iPods and downloading carts.	All literature selections will be downloaded for all English classes.
Meet with Special Education Department, General Education Teachers, and administrative staff to present the action research plan	Mary Thrasher, Kathy Hutto, Special Education Director, Gail Gonzales, Special Education Dept. Chair.	August, 2011	iPods, carts,  Mac laptops, security codes, and action plan	All concerns will be addressed and clarified.  These will be used in conjunction with the teacher surveys to determine exact future professional development and support needed.
Create a blog for this Action Research Project to use with both students and teachers.	Mary Thrasher	August, 2011	Create a name and set up a blog to be used by both students and teachers during project.	Blog
Pre-project  survey teachers and students	Mary Thrasher, Gail Gonzales, Special Education Dept. Chair, and project teachers.	September, 2011	Surveymonkey.com	80 – 90% completion of survey by those invited to participate.
Introduce the plan and opportunities to the entire SMHS faculty and staff.	Mary Thrasher, Gail Gonzales, and Michelle Darling	September, 2011	iPods downloaded with the PowerPoint Presentation.	Sign-In Sheets of teachers and staff in attendance.
Monthly meetings with teachers involved with project	Mary Thrasher, Gail Gonzales, and iPod Project Teachers	Monthly, September – May, 2012	Agenda, Introductions of new apps, sample lessons	Sign-In Sheets of teachers in attendance.
Monthly classroom observations of iPod usage in the classrooms.	Mary Thrasher, Gail Gonzales, and iPod Project Teachers	Monthly, September – May, 2012	Pre-determined schedule for classroom observations, camera, and iPod/iPad.	Scripted notes, photographs, and videos
Monthly Blog posting for the project	Mary Thrasher	Monthly, September, - May, 2012	Blog site entries	Entries and feedback
Create a post-project survey for both the general education students and special education students involved in co-teach sections in this project.	Mary Thrasher, Gail Gonzales, Special Education Dept. Chair, and Michelle Darling, San Marcos High School Principal	April, 2012	Surveymonkey.com	Completion of survey ready for submission and approval of high school principal.
Post-project  survey teachers and students	Mary Thrasher, Gail Gonzales, Special Education Dept. Chair, and project teachers.	April, 2012	Surveymonkey.com	80 – 90% completion of survey by those invited to participate.
Evaluate surveys	Mary Thrasher, Kathy Hutto, special education director,  Gail Gonzales, Special Education Dept. Chair, and project teachers..	May, 2012	Survey results from wwww.surveymonkey.com	Survey monkey report with data.  Determine the results of implementing the project.
Presentation of  preliminary Action Research Project results	Mary Thrasher	May, 2012	Data collected, surveys, photos, videos, agendas, etc…	Documentation of results of project.
Written Action Research Project Results	Mary Thrasher	August, 2012	Data collected, surveys, photos, videos, agendas, etc…	Documentation of results of project.

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

(Harris, Edmonson, and Combs, 2010)

5301 Week Two Reflection

During this week's assignment, we looked deeper into our proposed action research topic. There are so many topics that run through my head I would like to explore, but I am hoping one of my classmates will be research the topic or similar topics so I will benefit from their research.
The reason I chose the iPod Touch research was to get those instruments into the hands of the students and to study other schools that have implemented similar projects with the iPod Touches. If we can raise the scores by 10% for our special education students in co-teach classrooms, it will be worth it. Also, if we can increase our special education student's participation by 10% or more, it will be worth it.
I am looking forward to reading and inquiring about this topic as I make my way to the next step in this process.

Educational Leaders and Blogs

"Sharing your inquiry in the form of a blog will help you plan with, develop, and challenge ideas that have developed about your administrative practice as a result of engaging in inquiry." (Dana, p150) Blogging will become a way not only to share your inquiry, but to practice your writing on a regular basis. An educator is required to right in the form of reports almost daily, but to write and reflect on the practices learned is rare. Blogging will allow the administrator to share their inquiry and information beyond their school and district. A community of bloggers can share their insight into each others questions and collaborate together while being supportive of one another. Administrators will also be able to encourage their staff to reflect on their teaching practices through teacher blogging. Together as a community of educators, we can be in charge of our classrooms and schools as we practice action research and inquiry with blogs.

Dana, Nancy Fichtman, (2009) Leading with Passion and Knowledge: The principal as action researcher. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

EDLD 5301 Research Week One Reflection

During this week's assignments, we examined action research and inquiry. This process of examining critical questions one has in regards to improving a situation is quite different from the traditional research I was taught 35 years ago. Action research poses a question and allows you to inquire in literature, surveys, and interviews the data available on the topic. Time for reflection is included as you look at the data in light of your own question as your move toward action. I realized I do this all the time when I am working with school districts in my consulting company. We meet together and discuss their campus and the issues of concern. I usually pose the question, research, and bring a solution. I have learned that it is more empowering to collaborate with the those involved and collectively we should be researching the data. Together we should look at the information discovered and make decisions that will empower the campus. I look forward to implementing this process with one of my elementary campuses in Mississippi this year.