Revisions to Action Research Plan

 I will post an updated action research plan soon.  I am making a few changes based on my meeting with my supervisor and great comments from my peers on the discussion board. 

Week 3 - Action Research Plan

Action research question: In what ways are we incorporating cyber ethics into our curriculum and how can we improve this effort?


I will be conducting action research in the area of cyber ethics for our students. The purpose of this research project is to investigate ways to teach and incorporate cyber ethics into the learning environment in order to promote student safety and responsibility with technology use at home and in the classroom. Students will benefit from this research by learning how to navigate technology in a safe, healthy and responsible way. I believe this is a pressing need, especially with our younger students.

After interviewing our assistant principal, he and I agreed that this was an area of concern for our campus. Our students interact with technology on a daily basis. Research indicates that America’s young people aren’t receiving adequate instruction to use digital technology and navigate cyberspace in a safe, secure, and responsible manner and are ill prepared to address these subjects ("The 2010 state," 2010).

You can access my action research plan in Google Docs here: Action Research Plan


References

The 2010 state of k-12 cyberethics, cybersafety, and cybersecurity curriculum in the u.s. survey. (2010, January). Retrieved from http://www.staysafeonline.org (Accessed July 16, 2010)

Week 2 Reflection

  I think the best information I took away this week came from the interviews and reading. One suggestion about conducting action research I took away from Dr. Chargois was to always ask the question, “Is this going to increase student performance?” I would also extend that question to “How is this going to increase student performance?” We must ask this question if our research is going to be effective and relevant. This also leads right into a suggestion Dr. Lewis had for conducting research. He said that research should always be practical. He said you should ask what is practical for you and what are your campus needs. When those questions are answered it will have a direct impact on your school and your research will be more focused. The research topic will be of interest to you as well because it has direct implications for your campus or district. The interviews provided great questions to ask before conducting action research. Asking those questions will restrict the focus to areas of need at your campus. There was also a huge emphasis on making data driven decisions. In this age of accountability results are the bottom line and data will help us understand where we need to go and how we need to get there. The best advice I received was to be practical. Every school has needs and leaders are charged with the responsibility to make sure those needs are met. Focusing action research on the needs of your campus with the purpose of increasing student achievement through making data driven decisions will guide school leaders as they encounter new challenges in the future.

Using Blogs

  Blogs are so versatile.  Educators can use blogs for a number of tasks.  I think one of the best benefits of blogging is the opportunity educators have to collaborate and learn from other educators.  Blogs open up a huge communication network.  They give us an opportunity to exchange ideas and share best practices.

Action Research

I think the most important thing I learned about action research is that it is a continuous model for improvement and a way to propose and find solutions in the educational setting. Until recently I have always associated research with a literature review on a particular topic or study in a particular field. I see it now as a tool for growth and change. Practicing continuous reflection and making research personal will lead to positive change. The systematic approach to action research helps individuals and groups restrict the focus and take action for change based on the learning that takes place as a result of an inquiry. Conducting action research is a proactive way for an administrator to promote learning and school improvement. This year as a classroom teacher I will be able to use action research to reflect on my instructional practices and to measure the effectiveness of my teaching strategies. Meeting with my collaboration team will give me the opportunity to be a part of a small learning community. We will be able to come together to analyze and synthesize lessons and conduct ongoing action research to measure student outcomes and instructional practices. I will have the opportunity to meet with my collaboration team partner every day as our principal has set aside time in the master schedule for collaboration and action research opportunities. We are working on building a professional learning community to improve student learning. I will also continue using action research as I complete my internship for Lamar.