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Action research is an important component when implementing a new plan or system. You want to know if what you are doing is working and you need to see the data to make any further decisions. What makes action research different from any other research is the reflection stage. After completing data collection and analysis, it is important to reflect- How did the project work? What can I do better for next time? As teachers, we are always reflecting daily in our work and trying to get better every day, every lesson. Reflection is a key component in advancing and growing. In my Assessing Digital Learning and Instruction course at Lamar University, I was able to begin the planning stage of my Action Research plan for my Innovation Project. Below you will see these beginning stages and my work thus far. You will also see below the "Action Stage", I have included a projected timeline & under the "Developing" and "Reflecting" stages I have left room to add my results, findings and share reflections after completing my action research. Please check back as I continue my work on this research.
My coworker, Andera and I are lucky to be able to work together towards our innovation plan. We are both Kindergarten teachers in a low income, 80% EL school district. We are hoping to implement STEAM into our classrooms daily, and to influence other teachers to do the same. We want to do this because we want our students to be happy, hard working, innovative, problem solvers prepared for their futures beyond the classroom. Together Andrea and I have been researching the benefits of STEAM education as well as developing a plan to implement our innovation project. We have decided to complete action research in 2 different areas to learn more about the impact of STEAM education. We will be researching:
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These are the plans I have for this stage of action research.
These are the plans I have for this stage of action research.
IMPLEMENTING THE PLAN:
The Action Stage is where I will collect data to assess how our innovation plan is working. Currently, administration would like for our building to stick to the curriculum as is. I have created a projected timeline of implementation and action research for the following year in hopes of implementing STEAM into our classrooms daily for the 2019-2020 school year.
The Action Stage is where I will collect data to assess how our innovation plan is working. Currently, administration would like for our building to stick to the curriculum as is. I have created a projected timeline of implementation and action research for the following year in hopes of implementing STEAM into our classrooms daily for the 2019-2020 school year.
COLLECTING & ANALYZING THE DATA:
I plan to collect data through student surveys and interviews. I will be asking students the following questions: Do you feel like you help other students in class? How? Do you feel like other students help you in class? How? Do you feel like a team in this class? Do you like hard tasks? Why? What do you do when you feel like something is a challenge? Do you like STEAM time? What do you like about it? I will then take the results from this data and look for trends to see if teaching STEAM has improved student views of our classroom environment.
I will also be making student observations at the beginning, middle and end of the school year to check for 6C skills. I will be using the following rubric from Golinkoff & Hirsh-Pasek, (2016) from their book Becoming Brilliant. This is a rubric our district has seen before and is familiar to administration and employees.
I plan to collect data through student surveys and interviews. I will be asking students the following questions: Do you feel like you help other students in class? How? Do you feel like other students help you in class? How? Do you feel like a team in this class? Do you like hard tasks? Why? What do you do when you feel like something is a challenge? Do you like STEAM time? What do you like about it? I will then take the results from this data and look for trends to see if teaching STEAM has improved student views of our classroom environment.
I will also be making student observations at the beginning, middle and end of the school year to check for 6C skills. I will be using the following rubric from Golinkoff & Hirsh-Pasek, (2016) from their book Becoming Brilliant. This is a rubric our district has seen before and is familiar to administration and employees.
Using the data collected through observations I will compare growth scores of student 6C skills using a line graph in excel to view trends. I will also make connections to student 6C skills and their responses on classroom environment. I will complete a report of the trends I have noticed using the student interviews and surveys.
The 2018-2019 school year I will be collecting data of students who are not receiving STEAM integrated lessons into our daily schedule. The 2019-2020 school year, I will be collecting data of students who are receiving STEAM integrated lessons daily. I will be doing a side-by-side analysis of the data, using both the reports in trends and the graphs to look for the effects STEAM integration has on the 6C skills and classroom environment.
The 2018-2019 school year I will be collecting data of students who are not receiving STEAM integrated lessons into our daily schedule. The 2019-2020 school year, I will be collecting data of students who are receiving STEAM integrated lessons daily. I will be doing a side-by-side analysis of the data, using both the reports in trends and the graphs to look for the effects STEAM integration has on the 6C skills and classroom environment.
DEVELOPING THE ACTION PLAN:
Once data has been collected I will next develop a plan and share that plan in the developing stage below. If data shows an increase in student 6C skills and an improved classroom environment, I will take these results to my principal and work togehter to come up with our next plans. I will also work on continuing and reflecting on thoughtful STEAM integration as well as work on influencing others to implement STEAM into their classrooms daily. If I see a decline or the similar skill development between the 2 school years, I will look at how students, even if they did not get the STEAM integrated lesson, learning the 6C skills in a different way. I will also look to see if there are any other benefits from STEAM integration that I may not have noticed when first completing my research and innovation plan.
SHARING AND COMMUNICATING MY RESULTS:
Once data has been collected and analyzed, I will create a presentation to share the data with administration and staff. I will include the graphs and reports on trends. By sharing the results, my goal will be to influence others to integrate STEAM activities into their schedules daily as well. One way I can share this presentation is through Professional Development days. Professional development will need to be well thought out, helpful and inspiring to others to promote change in their classrooms.
REFLECTING ON THE PROCESS:
As I am assessing these skills, I will be making reflections on STEAM integration, what I am noticing and ways that I can make this process better. This reflection will be shared on this page under "the reflecting stage". I will write a post at the beginning, middle and end of each school year to share what I am finding between the 2 classes (STEAM and non-STEAM), record pictures of what we have been working on in class and reflect on the stages I am at in my action research plan. When finished with data collection, analyzing, planning and sharing I will reflect on the process of my Action Research by creating a report of all I have learned, and plans I have to change and improve in my teaching career to be better for students.
Once data has been collected I will next develop a plan and share that plan in the developing stage below. If data shows an increase in student 6C skills and an improved classroom environment, I will take these results to my principal and work togehter to come up with our next plans. I will also work on continuing and reflecting on thoughtful STEAM integration as well as work on influencing others to implement STEAM into their classrooms daily. If I see a decline or the similar skill development between the 2 school years, I will look at how students, even if they did not get the STEAM integrated lesson, learning the 6C skills in a different way. I will also look to see if there are any other benefits from STEAM integration that I may not have noticed when first completing my research and innovation plan.
SHARING AND COMMUNICATING MY RESULTS:
Once data has been collected and analyzed, I will create a presentation to share the data with administration and staff. I will include the graphs and reports on trends. By sharing the results, my goal will be to influence others to integrate STEAM activities into their schedules daily as well. One way I can share this presentation is through Professional Development days. Professional development will need to be well thought out, helpful and inspiring to others to promote change in their classrooms.
REFLECTING ON THE PROCESS:
As I am assessing these skills, I will be making reflections on STEAM integration, what I am noticing and ways that I can make this process better. This reflection will be shared on this page under "the reflecting stage". I will write a post at the beginning, middle and end of each school year to share what I am finding between the 2 classes (STEAM and non-STEAM), record pictures of what we have been working on in class and reflect on the stages I am at in my action research plan. When finished with data collection, analyzing, planning and sharing I will reflect on the process of my Action Research by creating a report of all I have learned, and plans I have to change and improve in my teaching career to be better for students.
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