Action Research Plan

Action Steps	Person(s) Responsible	Timeline: Start/ End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Survey	Discipline and Foundations Committee	last 6 weeks of school	Surveys Manpower to compile data	Collected survey results from the departments committee members
Identify common target areas	Discipline and Foundations Committee	Last 3 weeks of school	Committee members	Come to a consensus on the identified target area
Research	Discipline and Foundations Committee chairs	One day	Money for training. Trainer and training information	Did the seminar give us enough information to develop a plan?
Develop plan and procedures	Discipline and Foundations Committee	3 days Day of training and 2 days to write procedures	Manpower to develop a plan	Have an initial draft of our procedures
Present the proposed procedures for staff input	Discipline and Foundations Committee chairs	1 hour during staff development	Presentation materials, Survey sheets	Received input from all departments concerning the procedures
Finalize Procedures	Discipline and Foundations Committee	2 hours	Completed survey sheets	Have a final draft of our tardy procedures
Train staff	Discipline and Foundations Committee	2 hours during staff development	Conflict resolution material, Supervisor Procedures	Have attendance records to ensure all staff members have been trained
Train students	All teachers and staff	First three weeks of school	Manpower to supervise halls	General observations by administrators for the first 3 weeks
Draft a consequence ladder	Discipline and Foundations Committee	First three weeks of school	Manpower	Have a feasible, agreed upon plan
Collect data after implementation	Discipline and Foundations Committee members	Span the whole school year. Compile data every 3 weeks	Manpower, Weekly attendance reports, Surveys	We will collect school data reports
Reflection	Discipline and Foundations Committee members	Span the whole school year. Reevaluate plan every 3 weeks	Manpower and data sheets	Compare the tardiness rate data reports throughout the year and look for progress
Presentation of data	Principal	End of the year faculty meeting	Final data sheets	Final survey from teachers and students

Ask Now

After talking to an assistant principal and the principal, the time is right to ask about action research. They are busy looking at the year and all the things that need to be changed in order to be more successful. They are also looking for help in these areas. When I talked with them briefly ( I mean very briefly), they both had a look of relief in their eyes. They are looking for help and are very willing to help guide you. We all want the year to be better for all parties involved.
So, go pick their brains and give them your ideas now.

How leaders can use blogs

Blogs may be used by educational leaders as ways to share information with peers that have schedules that are just as busy. Blogs are an open forum of information. Leaders can give and receive input about various topics that they may encounter in their community. The best part about them is they are user time friendly. You can access them at your leisureinstead of trying to lockdown a certain time in a day that is already packed.

Action Research Musings

Action resaerch is a process that lends itself to promoting progress. It does this through reflection and action. It flows along with a similar process that I know well called the scientific method. However, it takes this problem solving process one step farther by adding in the aspect of reflection. Action research lends itself to collaboration in the fact that it is a grassroots type decision making process. It comes from the people who are in the middle of those situations, who have firsthand knowledge about the importance and limitations that exist. It is also a great organizational and focusing tool. In the hectic day of a principal, it can slow you down and force you to focus on one situation at a time rather than dedicating partial efforts in many different directions. The most important part of action research for me is that it can be used as a self evaluation tool. It makes you look at your practices and methodologies and evaluate them from within. This is important because it is the driving force behind you not just being a leader, but being the head learner as well. You model the behaviors that are required by everyone, including staff and students, who desire to be more successful.