TOPIC- What types of support help new teachers?

Description of context or setting of your study

My action research project will focus on identifying what types of support help new teachers develop quality teaching practices and routines?

Operational definition of target population

I will target a classroom with a veteran teacher and a classroom with a teacher that has less than 3 years experience.  I have the opportunity to focus on either a third or fourth grade team.

How you will select your sample

I have identified 2 teachers with less than 3 years experience that receive instructional support from campus and district specialist. I have selected 2 veteran teachers with more than 15 years experience who repeatedly have students in their self contained class that meet or exceed performance standards.

Brief rationale for your sample size

I would like to compare the students in each self-contained classroom

Brief description of how you will conduct your research

I will collect data from the classrooms by completing observations, taking field notes from planning sessions, using weekly planning sessions to compare strategies and procedures, and working with students in each classroom.  I will rely on district benchmark assessments and the STAAR test results to compare the two groups. I will compare the assessments from each classroom to see if student growth is made more in classrooms were teachers receive support from instructional coaches and district specialists.

I hope to be able to identify the most crucial needs that new teachers have when starting their teaching career.

Action Research Plan

Action Steps	Person(s) Responsible	Timeline Start/end	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Campus Improvement Plan – review data and determine a need for the campus	Kathy Shealy, Michael Bushnell, and Karri Bergeron	Start May 2011 End October 2012	Previous campus TAKS data CBA data from current school year, administration field notes, instructional support observations and notes
Teacher Survey – survey the participating teachers during the year regarding their feelings about curriculum and instructional support and their confidence	Karri Bergeron	November 2011 and May 2012	Survey	Does the teacher’s opinions of curriculum and instructional support and their confidence increasing as the year progresses.
District Benchmark Assessments –Students will take the 1st and 2nd  administrations of the DBA	Wendy Gustafson and Karri Bergeron	December 2011 February, March, and May 2012	District Benchmark  Assessment #1 and # 2 Campus Online	Results of DBA
Disaggregation of data by teacher experience - compare teacher data	Kathy Shealy, Michael Bushnell, Katharine Holmes, and Karri Bergeron	December 2011 February, March, and May 2012	Campus Online DBA reports	Assessment data
STAAR Test – students will take the STAAR test	Students in the new and veteran teacher’s classroom	June 2012	STAAR test	Data results
Disaggregation of data– compare teacher data	Kathy Shealy, Michael Bushnell, Katharine Holmes, and Karri Bergeron	May 2011	Campus Online STAAR reports	Assessment data
Professional Learning Committees –monthly meeting to share strategies learned and support professional learning.	Karri Bergeron New and veteran teachers that are participating in action research	November 2011- June 2012	Team meeting agenda and schedule District Scope and Sequence Planning resources	Evaluate team meeting agendas for collaboration and learning opportunities.

Defining a Topic

As this week's adventure began, I wondered what matters the most to me!  After reading about the nine areas of "passion", I jotted down some ideas. What topic should be the recipient of my time and effort? I knew that there was bound to be something that I would enjoy and benefit from researching. I've decided to focus on- What types of support help new teachers develop quality teaching practices and routines?

Action Research

I would define action research as teachers and/or administrators acquiring answers to questions that they pose themselves. It is beneficial because teachers and administrators can work collaboratively to conduct and collect data from their own classroom or campus. Action research done from the perspective of an administrator can lead to a positive impact on the campus and staff.  When administrators have identified a situation that needs to be resolved or improved, they choose a method to collect data that will elicit specific results that pertain to the identified area. There are many methods that serve as data collection tools. Interviews, field notes, portfolio artifacts, videos and assessments are helpful in the collection of data. By gathering current information and being an invested researcher, the data collected will serve as a tool of improvement. By implementing action research as a part of the staff’s professional development, members of the campus are reflecting on their effectiveness and finding alternatives to improve areas not as effective.  The use of the collected data will provide a clarified focus of what the teachers and administrators strive to accomplish on a daily basis at their campus.

Educational leaders can use blogs for a variety of reasons. Leaders can use blogs to share their own opinions, research findings, and pose questions to fellow blog readers. Blogs allow for easy interaction between people who have varying or similar opinions and experiences.