My Action Research Proposal

     After meeting with my site supervisor and my principal, it has been determined that my action research project will focus on several areas of our discipline management program called Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS).  This is the second year we have had PBIS at our campus, and I would like to know how/if it is working for our campus.  We have just over 1,300 students, Pre-Kindergarten thru Fifth Grade at our campus in Houston, Texas. 
     I have 5 "wonderings" I wish to address.  They are as follows:

1. What is the correlation between the implementation of PBIS and the number of office referrals written in the past two school years?
2. What is the largest behavior issue for the following groups?
• Gender
• Ethnicity
• Socioeconomic background
• Grade level
• Overall at my campus
3. Where are the most office referrals occurring?
4. What are the effects of PBIS on the “Red” students?
5. What is the staff’s perception on the strengths and weaknesses of the PBIS program

     In order to answer these wonderings I will be comparing the discipline data from the past 2 years.  I will be breaking the data down into the above listed groups to compare and analyze as well.  We have a very diverse population and I would like to see how the behavior issues are breaking down so that our staff can focus on best practices for meeting the needs of that specified group.  With this data information I can determine the most common behavior issue as well as where the most discipline issues are occurring at our campus. 

     In PBIS there are 3 types of students.  Green students make up approximately 80% of your school.  They are the students who have little to no discipline issues and are usually your highest achieving students.  Yellow students make up approximately 15% of your school.  They have some discipline issues, but their good behavior tends to outweigh their bad behaviors.  Red students make up approximately 5% of your school.  These are the students who constantly cause class disruptions. They tend to have more poor behavior choices than good.  They spend quite a bit of time outside the classroom dealing with behavior problems end missing out on instruction time.  The goal of PBIS is the “Grow the Green.”  If I am able to determine patterns with the “Red” students, I may be able to find ways to combat the cycle they have gotten into and move them into yellow and eventually green.

As PBIS is expected to be a shared vision by all employees and students at my school, I would like to survey the staff on 2 separate occasions on some of their perceptions or beliefs in the program.  Do they feel it is working, or not working?  What are some of the good things? Bad things?  Any changes they would like to make?  Do they feel like PBIS is natural for them, or are they having to work hard to keep it going in their classroom?  Do they believe in the PBIS model?  There are several questions that I will frame much better upon using the survey.  But the overall goal is to find out if we are all still on the same page with PBIS.

With this information, I will be able to present to my administration and staff what data I found as well as some possible solutions on where the campus can make some improvements.  I plan to present this information in the fall at the start of the 2013-2014 school year during the first week in-service.  With that information at the time, we can make adjustments (if needed) in how our PBIS model works to push to keeping students more attentive and off task less.

I know that was a lot in digest, but I feel there is a lot I can do with this information. Please let me know what you think my friends.  I really do value your input and insight. Thanks

      -Nick-

Week 2 Reflections

This week, we were asked to read about the 9 main categories of action research.  Those topics are Staff development, Curriculum development, Individual teacher(s), Individual student(s), School culture/community, Leadership Management, School performance, and Social justice or equity issues.  One thing I found interesting was that it seemed several of these topics overlapped in some ways.  For example, if I am looking at improving the reading levels for a group of my students, that could be listed under individual students as well as social justice and school performance.  Not that it really matters which one we really use, but I found that to be an interesting fact. 

We were also asked to look through our internship plans to find 3 topics that could lead to a possible action research project to be conducted by us during this masters.  After meeting with my site supervisor, I believe I have nailed down what I am going to do for my project.  I just need to form my Wondering question as well as get the details together.  Just so happens, that is our assignment for Week 3. Woohoo!    

I hope everyone else is found a project they feel near and dear to as well, and I look forward to hearing about them next week.  Enjoy the rest of your weekends!

                       -Nick-

Action Research Dilemma

I am having trouble nailing down exactly how I would like to go about my Action Research project, and I would appreciate some feedback if possible.....
I have a passion for Discipline Management, and I was very involved in getting PBIS or Positive Behavior Intervention and Support to our campus last year.  I would like to do something that involves PBIS.  I can break down all the data on student referrals from the previous year and this year to make comparisons and find areas of weakness, students who are repeat offenders, and so on.  I really want to know how effective the program is overall because I feel some teachers have started to revert to older methods.  I want to know how I can make this program more successful or if it needs to be "tweeked" in any way.  There are so many angles I feel I could look at this from.  I can survey staff on the opinions of the program, students as well.  I can break down data to find the more common offenses, and more common areas and times for these offenses to take place.  I can break it down by grade level and teacher and compare this data with answers from the survey and present to my staff on the findings as well as collaborate with the current administration on any possible needs or changes to continue on the road to success.  Any suggestions or opinions are appreciated as I just want to make a mark when I am done and not do a project for the sake of fulfilling an obligation to Lamar University.

How Educational Leaders might use Blogs

     Blogs can and are used in every area of life.  Whether it be for business, leisure, or research, anyone and everyone with an internet connection has the opportunity to share or talk about something of interest to them.
     In an educational setting, blogs allow Educational Leaders or even the common teacher or paraprofessional to opportunity to share their experiences, research, knowledge, or just funny stories about incidents in their classrooms with others who may find joy in that information. Blogs can be a way to vent about issues that may be out of the control of the blogger, or solicit ideas from other like-minded individuals who may have dealt with the same situation. 
     The possibilities are endless for how a blog can be use for anyone let only Educational Leaders.   If you can dream it, it can be shared on a blog.  Enjoy!  -Nick-
  

What have I learned about Action Research?

     This is my first blog post on what I have learned about action research and how I might be able to use it.  After completing all the readings for week one, I found that action research seems like a strategy I unconsciously use to solve everyday classroom issues.  The only difference is that action research is on a much grander scale.
     I believe action research is a great tool to be utilized for many reasons.  First of all,  collecting the information needed to solve a problem or issue on your own will always lead to better outcomes.  When I read articles, or attend professional developments, I hear lots a great ideas and theories about how to solve a particular issue.  The problem is that often there are factors that hinder my ability to carry out those ideas whether they financial, time, participation, or support.  
     Another great advantage I see to action research is in completing the research or observation yourself will help you to become more invested in succeeding in finding the best outcome for your campus.  When you have a sense of belonging or being needed to fix something or solve something you are more motivated and driven to reach the best outcome.
      The last real advantage I see is the ability to use the process of reflection to better your solution.  With this opportunity, the inquirer is able to go back and look at how far they have come toward solving their issue, and make changes if needed to create more success.
     The only real downfall I see to action research is the amount of time it takes to successfully put together an action research project.  It is not something that can be done in a matter of days or weeks.  In most cases it takes months and after those months, it is best to reflect on the success and pitfalls of the generated solution to make better changes.  This leads to more months of analysis.  Being able to devote the time needed to create a successful action research project is not something one would enter into lightly.  But the sacrifice of time is well worth the positive end outcome in my opinion.   -Nick-