EDLD 5326-Action Research Project Update

Action Research Project Title: Student Athletes and IneligibilityNumber of AR Project Documented Hours: 5 hours

AR Project Summary:

 

My action research plan is still what I would consider a work in progress.  It is a work in progress due to the fact that I believe that it can be better organized that how it is currently.  The title I have currently is very vague and I would like to have a title that explains what I am seeking.  The campus that I am at has grading checks every three weeks rather than six weeks.  After every three weeks the athletic director sends out a report of the student athletes that did not meet the necessary grading requirements.  This makes it easier for me to view which students are ineligible but it does not show me which sport(s) the student athletes participates. 

 

In my action research plan there are some phases of teacher inquiry.  Some teachers/coaches were asked a couple of intro questions that deals with student athletes and ineligibility.  Most of the individuals asked believed that sports give the students an extra push to perform at a passing rate.  The others believed that some of the student athletes are not fazed by the aspect of being ineligible.  This in turns makes it harder to redirect off task behavior from the student athletes.   What I have decided to do with my athletes is to do a 2 week grade check so that the athletes are constantly being reminded of how important grades are. 

 

What I also have decided to do is seek more insight from others that are not on my campus.  The question I will present: what is the ratio of ineligible student athletes on their campus and how they seek to reduce their ineligibility? What also is the punishment process for ineligible athletes?

My Thought on EDLD 5301

Another course down and another step closer to graduation.  This course was........hhhhmmmm.  I am thankful for this course due to I now understand what an action research plan is.  From this course I learned the meaning of the following: action research plan, traditional education research, inquiry, and many others.  I am looking forward to the remaining courses ahead of me.  

Week 4 Recap

Man I tell ya I will be so happy when I finally have an action research plan that I am settled on.  My action research plan is truly a work in progress.  I am grateful for the advice that has been given to my and have internalized them and made the proper adjustments.  Advice was given that I should use a control group and I do agree with that advice but I just have yet to decide on a control group.  By week 5 I definitely have to have this action research plan complete.

Well here is another week of grad school down!!!!

Action Research Plan Revision 1

Hello all...Here is my 1st revision to my action research plan.  There are still some points to my action research plan that I am still unsure about and have yet to make decisions on.  I am hoping soon I can finally have a finished action research plan.  Any comments good or bad are greatly appreciated.

Action Research Plan
Goal: To reduce ineligibility in student-athletes
Objective Determine the percentage of ineligibility between each sport Determine where the peaks of ineligibility are by reviewing the data Collaborate on methods to decrease ineligibility Determine where the majority of the ineligible student-athletes are
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Form relationships with teachers and coaches	Jaquenta Richard	8/14/2013-6/6/2013	Teachers Coaches	Introduce myself and build relationships with those on campus
Pre-Interview: Coaches, Teachers, and Athletes	Jaquenta Richard	9/2/2013-9/6/2013	Coaches teachers Athletes	Questions: What percentage of student-athletes do you believe are ineligible during season/during off season? Why do you believe in your percentage? What can be done to improve eligibility?
Monitor/Data Collection	Jaquenta Richard Teachers Coaches	8/26/2013-10/4/2013	Student grades	Receive average grade from each sport. (1st 6 weeks)
Monitor/Data Collection	Jaquenta Richard Teachers Coaches	10/7/2013-11/8/2013	Student grades	Receive average grade from each sport. (2nd 6 weeks)
Share Data with Teachers/Coaches:Mid-Interview	Jaquenta Richard	1/7/204-1/8/2014	Teachers Coaches Students	Questions: Do you still believe your percentages are accurate?
Monitor/Data Collection	Jaquenta Richard Teachers Coaches	1/7/2013-2/21/2013	Student grades	Receive average grade from each sport. (4th 6 weeks)
Monitor/Data Collection	Jaquenta Richard Teachers Coaches	2/24/2013-4/17/2013	Student grades	Receive average grade from each sport. (5th weeks)
Monitor/Data Collection	Jaquenta Richard Teachers Coaches	4/21/2013-6/5/2013	Student grades	Receive average grade from each sport. (6th 6 weeks)
Receive and review data from teachers/coaches.	Teachers Coaches	6/5/2013-6/6/2013	Students grades and demographics	Form a chart of ineligible student-athletes
Share Data with Teachers/Coaches:Mid-Interview:Final Interview/Data Review	Jaquenta Richard	6/7/2013-8/2013	Teachers Coaches	Share cumulative data with teachers/coaches. Question: Did the final results coincide with your assumptions?
Collaborate with Teachers/Coaches	Jaquenta Richard Teachers Coaches	6/7/2013-8/2013	Teachers Coaches	Question: How can we reduce the number of ineligible student-athletes?

Week 3- Review

Well week 3 for me was very interesting due to the fact that I have been in Dallas at a conference.  My day was full of meetings and I had to juggle a lot this week to squeeze in time to finish my assignments.  This was a learning experience for me on how things will be once school day with full days and having to manage my time.

My action research is basically a draft because I know for sure I will need to tweak it in some form or fashion.  The topic has me real excited to begin this journey: student-athletes and off season/in season athletics.  Through my years as a coach I have witnessed athletes pass during the season of their sport but can't seem to make the grades when it is the off season.  So this research will provide me with the data to support my concerns.

My "Master Plan"---Jaquenta Richard's Action Research Plan

Well...here is my I think the best way to say it is rough draft.  I say rough draft due to the fact that I know for a fact I will be changing some aspects (wordage, etc) of this action research plan.  I will say that I am excited about this action research and what will reveal itself though this action research.  Another reason why this may change is due to a shift in my job location which means change in site supervisor.  Here is my plan:  Please make comments as you see fit.

Action Research Plan
Goal: Compare and contrast ineligibility in sports and ways to reduce the percentage of ineligible athletes.
Objective Determine the the percentage of ineligibility between each sport Collaborate on ways to decrease ineligibility
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Form relationships with teachers and coaches	Jaquenta Richard	8/14/2013-6/6/2013	Teachers Coaches	Introduce myself and build relationships with those on campus
Pre-Interview: Coaches, Teachers, and Athletes	Jaquenta Richard	9/2/2013-9/6/2013	Coaches teachers Athletes	Qustions: What percentage of student-athletes do you believe are ineligible during season/during off season? Why do you believe in your percnetage? What can be done to improve eligibility?
Monitor/Data Collection	Jaquenta Richard Teachers Coaches	8/26/2013-10/4/2013	Student grades	Receive average grade from each sport. (1st 6 weeks)
Monitor/Data Collection	Jaquenta Richard Teachers Coaches	10/7/2013-11/8/2013	Student grades	Receive average grade from each sport. (2nd 6 weeks)
Mid-Interview	Jaquenta Richard	1/7/204-1/8/2014	Teachers Coaches Students	Questions: Do you still believe your percentages are accurate?
Monitor/Data Collection	Jaquenta Richard Teachers Coaches	1/7/2013-2/21/2013	Student grades	Receive average grade from each sport. (4th 6 weeks)
Monitor/Data Collection	Jaquenta Richard Teachers Coaches	2/24/2013-4/17/2013	Student grades	Receive average grade from each sport. (5th weeks)
Monitor/Data Collection	Jaquenta Richard Teachers Coaches	4/21/2013-6/5/2013	Student grades	Receive average grade from each sport. (6th 6 weeks)
Final Interview/Data Review	Jaquenta Richard	6/7/2013-8/2013	Teachers Staff	Review cummulative of data collection

The wonderings of School Leaders----Week 2

School leaders have many responsibilities that they have to deal with daily. In the book The Passions That Drive Your Journey the author Nancy Dana describes nine areas that school leaders wonder. Staff development, curriculum development, individual teacher(s), individual student(s), school culture/community, leadership, management, school performance, and social justice or equity issues are the nine areas. (Dana, 2009, pg. 30)

What I want to speak on is staff development. Staff development is an important aspect in education. Teachers want to feel important, respected, and valued. Whenever there is a concern teachers want to feel that they can go to their administrator and receive the support that they are in need of. With staff development the leaders on the campus can provide the needed support or guidance. If the teachers are constantly growing the thought is then they will trickle down their knowledge to the students. The key word is development which is defined as growth. Teachers and administration don't need to be stagnant but needs to continuously grow not in size per se but in knowledge.

Dana, N. (2009). Leading with passion and knowledge. (p. 30). California: Thousand Oaks.

25 years from now...Educational Leaders and Blogs

Hhhhmmm 25 years from now seems so far away. Technology will be much more advanced in 25 years so I'm sure everyone will be more adapt to using technology.

How do I believe Educational Leaders will use blogs in 25 years?
As an educator/educational leader we have to change with the times of our students. We are now in the technology era and majority of everything is done with technology. My belief is that Educational Leaders will do their action research and then blog their findings and actions they will take following their findings. Instead of writing down their results of their inquiries they will blog about them. Not only can educational leaders blog about their results of findings but they can blog about questions or issues that may arise during the year.

Blogging is a new inventive way to stay in contact with others so that one may be able to voice their opinions on certain events. In the future I do believe blogging will grow. Technology continues to grow and I believe computer programmers will continue to make technology easier to use. Once individuals witness the pros of what blogging can bring it will only be a matter of time before everyone is blogging.

Action research and how I will use it!!!!

Research...Research?  NO!!!  To be honest when I hear the word research I start to hyperventilate.  During my time of reading the text my heart rate started to mellow out and I became calmer. 

Action research is the process of forming an inquiry then engaging in a study of his/her own practices and taking action for change based on what he/she learned from the inquiry.  This is an awesome way to gauge the status of effectiveness of a given practice.  Instead of solely basing an opinion on an outsiders research you can use action research to form your own opinions.


What I have learned from the text about action research is that it is actually freedom research.  There may be a specific area in the school that needs to be analyzed on its effectiveness in the school and action research can be used as a gauge.  I deal mainly with special education and my action research will be geared toward special education and the inclusion setting.  As an educator it is my responsibility to find different teaching methods that will be the most effective.  For my action research I will try different teaching methods and from the responses will gear my teaching method accordingly.  Administrators should use action research to determine what methods work best in their particular school rather than depending on what someone wrote in a book, journal, article, blog, etc.

Action research may be my new best friend!!!!