Melba Havard Gilbert Lamar University EDLD 5301
Saturday, September 25, 2010
EDLD 5363 Week 5 Reflections
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
EDLD 5363 Week 4 Post
Sunday, August 29, 2010
EDLD 5363 Week 1 Reflection
Thursday, August 12, 2010
EDLD5301 Week 5 Reflection
Reading postings on the Discussion Board has been very interesting. I have learned that most of my cohorts are in various stages of learning regarding technology. Regardless, we have all benefitted from the research class because the class has required that we focus on an action research topic and fine tune the topic until we reach a viable query. Tammy Foreman’s energy and enthusiasm in her posts is contagious. She always seems to be the first to jump in with her discussion thread. The web conferences have been a great deal of help. Steve Jenkins had prompt answers to all of our questions. I realized that many of my cohorts had the same question, and a very short answer from the professor was all that was needed to jump start me back into completing the weekly assignments.
My goal is to use the blog I created in a previous class, and added to in this class, to increase communication with other educators. As Dana stated, “… blogging can be a wonderful way to share your research with colleagues that are 1,000 miles or more from your school.” (Dana 2009) There are no students in my cohort within a 100 mile radius, so blogging has been an excellent method of keeping up and learning from their research.
The Internet has been a wealth of information as I try to zero in on my action research topic. Much has been written about my topic, but I realize that the actual results will be unique to my campus because all school districts have a different student body makeup. Through the Internet, I have been made aware of additional statistics that might affect the outcome of my action research, and have added them to my plan.
Dana, Nancy Fichtman (2009). Leading with Passion and Knowledge the Principal as Action Researcher. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Week 3 Blog EDLD5301Research ET8021
Background information I would share about my action research topic is that during my teaching career, I have noticed that those students who are actively engaged in extracurricular activities tend to be more actively engaged in the classroom. I thought this might be simply a coincidence one year, but I noticed the same trend year after year. That observation led me to question if indeed there was a direct positive correlation between student achievement in the classroom and student involvement in extracurricular activities, and if there is a positive correlation, then why isn’t more funding channeled their way? Regarding the Design of the Inquiry, my first step will be to meet with the PEIMS clerk in order to get a list of 10-12 grade enrolled students. I will then filter this information to identify those students involved in extracurricular activities. I need to stop at this point and find a ratio between students involved and students not involved in extracurricular activities. I will need to meet with the PEIMS clerk a second time to generate a confidential list of student grade point averages. This information will not be shared outside of this action research, but is crucial information for my action research. I will then compare the gpa’s of the active group to those of the uninvolved students to see if my action research topic is true. During this phase of my research, I will also conduct a student survey. The survey will poll all 10-12 grade students and ask if they are involved in any extracurricular activities, and if not, why not. Are there barriers in their lives such as transportation or funds that limit their activity, or do they simply choose not to participate? This survey might further divide my findings of students who choose not to participate with a subset of those who cannot participate. Once I collect all the data, I will be able to determine if my topic is accurate. In summary, I will most likely end up with three outcomes – those students who participate in extracurricular activities, those students uninterested in participating in activities, and those students who, for reasons out of their control, cannot participate. I believe the gpa’s of the actively involved student might be similar to those of the students who are unable, not unwilling, to participate. |
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Melba Gilbert Lamar EDLD 5301 Action Research Blog
Saturday, July 17, 2010
MelbaHavardGilbert LamarU EDLD5301 Action Research Blog
Currently, my campus utilizes Professional Learning Communities as a way for teachers to meet on a regularly scheduled basis and discuss concerns such as failure rates, tardies, excessive absences and lack of motivation on the part of the students. Although our subject areas may differ (I teach a technology elective, and those teachers in my PLC, although not directly teaching my same course, struggle with some of the same student / learning issues), the teachers in my PLC all have the same goal: to raise the success rate of our students, be it in the classroom, or in their lives in general. Through my campus PLC, I have learned that raising questions, seeking solutions, and sharing ideas with colleagues, in other words, Action Research, is a useful tool.