9/27/10 - Back Into Action

It's been over a month since my last posting, but my Action Plan hasn't been active at all since that time. That, however, is about to change. My assistant principal and I will be meeting this week to change the very long and often confusing chart we have for the RtI process into a more user-friendly packet where each student is documented separately and blank documents are easily obtained from our e4 site. Since this document will be requested when meeting with SST, each student needs a separate one. It is possible that each packet will be filled out to a different spot depending on how the student responds to intervention strategies.

I keep going back to something on the discussion board regarding the RtI process: "Teachers don't always know the difference between re-teach and intervention." SST needs to keep that in mind when meeting with teachers. We need to make sure we provide support so that teachers learn the difference.

Stay tuned!

Response to Intervention Action Research Plan

Frustrations with Posting Plan

I've made multiple attempts to post my action plan today, with zero success. I've had 2 other people try to help me (one of them has a Master's in Technology), and they have both been unsuccessful. I am now posting in Mozilla Firefox. I have tried removing everything but my words, but I am still unable to post. I am now wondering the following:

Is Windows 7 preventing me from being successful? I know there have been issues on my discussion board - people haven't been able to read my attachments.

Is my plan too big?

Any suggestions would be appreciated. Needless to say, I am very frustrated!

RtI Action Research Plan

Here is my action research plan.

7/19 - Passions and Wonderings

After reading chapter 2 in Dana's text (pp 29 - 68), and meeting with my site supervisor, I am feeling confident the topic I initially thought of to create an action plan for will definitely be beneficial to me: it will help me in my internship project and it will benefit my campus. I have to admit that tackling the issue of streamlining our Response to Intervention process was tending to overwhelm me. I was unsure of what steps to take - I could see the final goal in general terms, but was unable to clearly see the end result or how we were going to achieve it. With what I have learned so far, I think the action plan will clarify the issue, provide a process, and ensure the successful result - that of supporting teachers as they work to provide struggling students with continuity from grade level to grade level, provide quality interventions and strategies and create comprehensive documentation that will allow various teachers, the Student Success Team and possibly specialists to have a clear picture of each student.

One area of concern for me has been trying to figure out which "Passion" my topic falls under. Dana (2009) states, " In some ways, each of the nine passions overlap each other, but they are presented as distinct entities to help you view an array of different possibilities for finding and defining your first wondering." (p 31) Therefore, I am feeling it doesn't mean I have to pigeon-hole my wondering into just one passion, that she provides these passions to help beginners with their first attempt at action research. Getting hung up on which passion RtI falls under can only serve to derail me from focusing on my topic - RtI.

Dana, N. F. (2009). Leading with passion and knowledge: The Principal as action researcher. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin A SAGE Company

What I've Learned about Action Research So Far

I really had to shift paradigms about this "Research" class when I began reading about Action Reasearch. I struggled with my definition of research and what the readings and lecture were telling me. Then I read the statement from Nancy Fichtman Dana (2009) about choosing to use the word "inquiry" instead of "research" and things began to make more sense. Dana (2009) also defines administrator inquiry as referring, "to the process of a principal engaging in systematic, intentional study of his/her own administrative practice and taking action for change based onwhat he/she learns as a result of the inquiry." (Dana, N.F. (2009). Leading with passion and knowledge: The principal as action researcher. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin, A SAGE Company) So in my mind, Action Research has become Adminstrator (or Principal) Inquiry. It also helped when administrator inquiry was compared to teacher research - that a process I am familiar with: studying students' learning related to my teaching, reflecting on my instructional practices and seek out other ways (usually in a form of Professional Development) to improve student learning. (Ringler, M. C. (2007). Action research an effective instructional leadership skill for future public school leaders. AASA Journal of Scholarship and Practice, 4 (1). Retrieved from http://lamar.epiclms.net/resources)

I am now very interested in the process of "wondering" and inquiry that can lead to additional support for my staff and continued instructional growth/success for all students in my school. I can see how valuable making the time for the inquiry process can be. The examples provided in both Dana (2009) and Ringler's (2007) writings led me to the following: on my current campus issues dealing with our Response to Intervention (RtI) process and supporting our economically disadvantaged students and students with special needs are areas of concern I am already "wondering" about. Addressing any one of these issues on my campus through action inquiry would result in more support for teachers and more success for students.

Honestly, I never thought about educational leaders using blogs. I am relatively new to blogs, never seeing their value. However, after the weekly discussion board postings and responses through my Master's classes so far, I can see how a blog would allow educational leaders the opportunity to network with others all over the USA. Getting other leaders' perspectives on issues and concerns; reading about fresh, new ideas helps educational leaders make those contacts others around the country who are experiencing similar situations, reducing professional isolation and allowing administrators to collaborate with peers (Dana pg. 11).

I am looking forward to not only posting on my blog but reading my Master's Candidates' blogs as well.