Week 5 Final Reflections:

1. Lectures- During week two, I got to listen to 3 different school leaders being interviewed. The two that stand out the most are Dr. Johnny Briseno, Principal of Rancho Isabella Elementary in Angleton ISD and Dr. Kirk Lewis, Superintendent of Pasadena ISD. Dr. Briseno made a couple of key points during his interview, the first being to find out what exactly is the problem encountered in a school and what is the source of the problem. An example he gave was if a teacher came to him with a problem he/she is experiencing with a second grade class and their behavior, not necessarily academically, he will have that teacher collaborate with other teachers to try to find out what type of learners these students are and compare different strategies that work in other classes. Another statement that he said was to use different search engines, like Google, to find answers to questions you may have. Look at other individual’s researches and findings; don’t try to re-invent the wheel. “Others success can be your success” (Dr. Briseno).
Dr. Kirk Lewis has had the opportunity to be part of a brilliant program called “Expectation Graduation”. In this program, Pasadena ISD gets their 9th graders in classes in such a way, that it guarantees almost all students to graduate. With this program, teachers are able to look at specific data to work with issues that individual students struggle with. Like Dr. Briseno, Dr. Lewis also recommends that we look at data and research that others have done and figure out what we could apply to our district to help with certain similar issues. Even though every district is unique, we could always find some similar patterns to compare the two. One main concept that Dr. Lewis mentions stands out the most for me, “base your action research on something that is practical”. You want to research something that the outcome will benefit your campus and apply it directly to student learning to ensure student success.

2. Readings- The one reading that stands out for me the most, is the four critical tasks that one must perform when sharing my inquiry/action research plan with others. The four tasks are 1) Providing Background Information: in sharing my action research plan with my colleagues I must provide them with as much background knowledge as possible to set the premises of what and why the action research is taking place and how they too can be a part of it. 2) Sharing the Design of the Inquiry (Procedures, Data Collections, and Data Analysis): in this process, I will conduct formal and informal presentations with the involved participants to share the action research project and how they can help in collecting the necessary data. I will provide to them the necessary questionnaires, journals, literatures, strategies, etc. to help conduct the study. 3) Stating the Learning and Supporting the Statements with Data: it teaches us that we must actively look for literature that will support our findings and share with the involved participants. I must provide proof of why I state certain findings in order to have more credibility in my action research project. 4) Providing Concluding Thoughts: throughout this process, it is important to have periodic meeting to discuss the progress of the plan and disseminate our finding. Usually, our findings will lead to more research and not necessarily a “final” conclusion.

3. Searches- During the process of searching for an action research question, I considered and researched a few topics before finally choosing one. I considered some topics that affect some of our teachers at our campus and after careful examination I decided to pursue the topic of “what else can we do as educators to motivate our students”. After making my topic decision, I searched as many search engines as possible to find different strategies on how to motivate students in the classroom. This search process is on going, so I expect to learn something new everyday.

4. Assignments- The one assignment that definitely had my interest right from the beginning was creating my own blog. Never had I thought that I would have my own blog, I have to admit that I like it. At first, I was hesitant as to why I needed to have a blog and thought that it was going to take too much time and effort to keep up with it. After creating it and learning how to use the blog, it really is a great benefit for networking. If ever I have a question in regards to my action study, I get the chance to ask other classmates and get almost immediate responses. It is an extraordinary source of communication, especially in this day and age of technology.

5. Discussion Board- The discussion board is another great source of communication. Since we don’t have the opportunity to meet face-to-face with our classmates, we use the discussion board to answer weekly questions and give one another feedback on our answers. We had the opportunity to talk about our topic of choice for our action research and got tons of information and feedback from my classmates. The discussion board is a great resource for immediate feedback and receiving classmate’s suggestions and recommendations.

6. Blogs- The blog is a great way to communicate with fellow colleagues and classmates. Having such a great source of communication at your fingertips is very helpful. It has come in handy when I have had to travel out of town and needed to get ahead on my assignments. I am able to get into my blog and seek the assistance of other classmates with questions I may have in regards to my assignments. I am grateful that I have had the opportunity to get introduced into the world of “Blogs” during this Research course.

Final Action Research Plan

After meeting with my site supervisor, we got some questions answered, but the plan remained the same as I originally posted. As soon as I can figure out how to post my plan as one of our classmates has posted, I'll attach it in the same matter. It is a lot easier to read :-)

Thank you all for your questions, suggestions and comments!!! I REALLY appreciate it!

Wish you all good luck with your Action Research Project!

Detail Action Research

Action Research Project:

Intrinsic versus Extrinsic motivation: What motivates students in the classroom, both in the special education and the regular education classrooms?

Setting of your study:

The population at my school consists of approximately 1000 students in grades PreK - 5, included Early Childhood, attend our elementary school. This population is ethnically divided into 77% Hispanic, 9% Asian/Pacific Islanders, 12% African-American, and 3% White. Approximately 81% of our students qualify for the free or reduced breakfast/lunch program. Due to the high percentage of students qualifying for the free or reduced breakfast and lunch programs, our school continues to qualify as a schoolwide Title I school. Our instructional programs include special education (ECH, Resource, & Speech), bilingual, ESL, gifted and talented classes (including gifted bilingual programs) and after-school tutorials and clubs.

Operational definition of your target population:

As educators, I believe it is a constant struggle to motivate our students. For this reason, I think we turn to external motivators to get our students to acquire some desire to complete tasks. During my study, I want compare data with other teachers and determine who are the intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivated students and research ways of moving our extrinsic students to intrinsic motivators. I also believe that there is a correlation to intrinsic motivated students to parent involvement, and I would like to research this believe some more.

Sample:
My sample will include students in the regular ed and special ed and parent data. My class consists of grades 3-5 Life Skills and I would like to include one 1st grade class and one 5th grade class as well in the study. I will provide the involved teachers with a handout summarizing my action research project. I will provide them with a checklist that they will use when identifying the intrinsic and extrinsic motivated students and a list of motivation strategies to apply during instruction. During the process of data collection, I will ask the teachers to keep a journal on what they observe during the action research project. We will have periodic meetings to review our collected data.

Description of how I will conduct my data:

The main questions I would like to have answered at the end of my study are:
1. Is there long-term positive or negative results in applying extrinsic motivation?
2. How can we change the desire from extrinsic motivation to intrinsic motivation?
3. Are intrinsic and extrinsic motivated students given the same opportunities in the classroom?
4. Is there a correlation between the intrinsic or extrinsic motivated student and demonstrating appropriate behavior in the classroom?
5. Will the expectation of a reward that is contingent upon performance decrease intrinsic motivation?

The selected teachers and I will use a checklist and a daily journal to document our findings during the action research project study. I would also like to determine if there is a correlation in students grades and whether they are intrinsically or extrinsically motivated.

Draft Action Research Plan

Goal: Teacher(s) will use a variety of motivating strategies to determine how our students are motivated, intrinsic or extrinsic.

1. Action Steps 2. Persons Responsible 3. Timeline Start/End 4. Needed Resources 5. Evaluation
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1. The teachers involved in the action research will receive on-site in-service on motivational strategies. 2. Mrs. Ortiz-Thibodeaux, Reg. ed. teacher selected by site supervisor. 3. 11/2010- 4/2011. 4. Scheduled time for professional development, TARGET framework of motivation. 5. Follow up professional development to review mid-year collected student data.
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1. Identify the intrinsic students and extrinsic students. 2. Mrs. Ortiz-Thibodeaux, Reg. ed. teacher selected by site supervisor. 3. 9/2010- 12/2010. 4. Teacher classroom observation checklist. 5. Checklist identifying students as intrinsic or extrinsic learners.
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1. Identify research based strategies on how to motivate our students. 2. Mrs. Ortiz-Thibodeaux. 3. 8/2010- ongoing. 4. Literature, Journals, Articles, Workshops. 5. Student interviews, teacher interviews, student work, student assessments.
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4. Model and implement the motivating strategies. 2. Mrs. Ortiz-Thibodeaux, Reg. ed. teachers selected by site supervisor. 3. 9/2010- 12/2010. 4. Collegial planning for sharing strategies and how to implement. 5. On-site professional development, periodic feedback
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5. Develop a school wide, student centered, motivational program to encourage personal respect, positive classroom behavior, quality class work, as well as enhance social skills and responsibility. 2. Mrs. Ortiz-Thibodeaux, site supervisor. 3. 12/2010- 5/2011. 4. Behavioral motivational program materials. 5. Student referrals, student assessments, student interviews, and teacher interviews.

Reflection on Week 2

After listening to Dr. Lewis in the interview for week 2, I definitely reconsidered possible action research topics I had in mind. He advises to research what is practical. Conduct a specific research and find out what I need to know in order to apply directly to student learning in a specific environment. I will look closely at a topic that affects my classroom presently or an issue affecting my school. The outcome of my research should benefit the environment in which I am in and benefit the students in my campus.

Educational leaders using blogs

We live in a society where technology seems to change everyday. As a future educational leader, I want to make certain that I stay up to date with this changing technology and make it work to my benefit. Blogs are a great way to stay informed in the changes occurring around us before it even gets mentioned at the next "faculty" meeting. They are a great source for communication between colleagues to discuss any problems that may be occurring and seek their input and knowledge. A Blog is an ocean of resourceful information, you just need to dive in and fish out what you need....

Action Research: What I learned and how I can use it

In all honesty, upon starting this research class and noticing such an emphasis on action research, I had no idea what to expect. It is a term that I had not heard being used before. After reading Leading with Passion and Knowledge (Dana), Examining What We Do To Improve Our Schools (Harris), and the article Action Research an Effective Instructional Leadership Skill for Future Public School Leaders (Ringler) it offered a more in-depth study of what action research is. The first thing that came to mind when reviewing action research was that I typically apply action research to my everyday classroom setting. For instance, if one of my students is encountering difficulties understanding a concept that I have explained in various different teaching techniques, I will self analyze by asking myself several questions on how to approach this problem. Then I will consult with the other special education teacher, seek her knowledge and ask how she would teach the concept and also search on-line for support. After exploring other ways of how to present the concept I will pull the student one to one and start new. Once the student has had a chance to acquire this knowledge via a new method of instruction, I will administer a classroom-based assessment to determine if the student demonstrated understanding. Having the technique of action research as part of my everyday life has definitely helped me resolve some problems in my classroom. At this point, what I would like to strengthen would be applying the same concept of action research in the leadership field.