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Friday, August 6, 2010

Input From Site Supervisor

When meeting with my site supervisor about my Action Research Plan I was concerned about what her initial response would be. This is her first year as a campus principal and I could tell that she is overwhelmed with her new responsibilies. I was worried she would not be interested in taking on this project with this being her first year as principal.

I was quite surprised of her immediate interest and support of this project. I think it definitely helped that my plan was very detailed and I was able address many of the concerns that she had. One of her main concerns about taking the 5th graders to an overnight Outdoor Education Program such as Sky Ranch was the cost. She made it very clear that numerous fundraising opportunities must be provided to help lower the cost of the camp for the students. Another concern was parent support. I was prepared with a detailed plan for a parent information night with a camp consultant who would be in attendance to address all the concerns the parents had. She was very pleased to know a consultant from the camp would be available to talk to the parents in person. Overall, she said she sees the planning and implementing of this project as a learning experience for all of us!

After our meeting was over I was very encouraged by her support. I am looking forward to meeting with other teachers who attend camp in our district. I think I will gain a lot of insight on how to make this a successful and fun learning experience for the students on my campus.

Input rom Site Supervisor

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Action Research Plan

My Action Research will target the fifth grade students on my campus and it will determine if students who participate in hands on science lessons and lab activities will have a higher success rate on the Science TAKS Test and an increased number of students will obtain commended performance verse students who learn from more traditional forms of learning.

Because fourth grade does not take a Science TAKS Test I will focus on the fifth graders who failed the district science benchmark in fourth grade. My research will be based on data gathered from report cards, classroom observations and district science bechmark scores. I will use this data to create a variety of hands on labs focusing on and targeting 5th grade Science TEKS. I will closely track bubble students and students who are failing and monitor their progress. The final stages of my action research will be to provide all fifth graders with the opportunity to attend Sky Ranch Camp, an overnight Outdoor Education Program. Lessons will be tailored to meet specific curriculum needs at camp. Also, hands on lessons will be provided and will directly correlate with state and district curriculum and testing requirements at this outdoor education program. I will research other school with similar demographics as my campus, that have attended an O.E.P. and compare TAKS scores as well as percentages of commended performance achieved on the Science TAKS Test. I will present my proposal at the first staff meeting in hopes to gain support of teachers and administrators on my campus.