Week 3 Action Research Plan

Goal: To discover the relationship between a strong library program that is vertically aligned within the school district and its influence on positive student achievement

Objectives/Outcomes: To create a vertically aligned library curriculum that encourages collaboration among teachers and librarians while positively influencing student achievement

Action Steps	Persons Responsible	Timeline Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Determine if there is a library curriculum that has been vertically aligned.	Valerie Loper	July 2010	Access to district shared drive Library folder; speak with District Coordinator for Library Services	If documents exist, this is done, (but none do)
Determine what skills can be taught in the library. Create a skills chart to track at what grade level skills are introduced, reinforced, and mastered.	Valerie Loper, one high school librarian, two middle school librarians, and four elementary librarians to be determined by volunteer basis	August 2010	List of skills commonly taught in libraries (document exists for students in Library Science fields).	Document created.
Match these skills to 21st Century Learning Skills, TEKS and TAKS objectives.	Ty Burns, Valerie Loper, and above committee	September 2010	See ALA’s 21st Century Learning Skills document; TEKS and TAKS objectives	Document created
Start with high school and middle school: look at TEKS objectives frequently covered by the library lessons for the core courses. Create a chart of TEKS and TAKS objectives that can be taught in the library.	Valerie Loper, 3 other HS librarians	September-October 2010	TEKS objectives for 9th-12th grades in curricular areas of English, Math, Science, and Social Studies	Document created Ask other high school librarians to evaluate document; make changes as suggested.
Look at elementary lessons in shared district drive: what exists? Poll librarians for common lessons that are taught. Find TEKS objectives that align with those lesson plan ideas and create stronger lessons that are TEKS and TAKS objective-based. Create a chart of these objectives that can be taught in the library.	Valerie Loper, 7 librarians, all levels	September-October 2010	Common lessons taught; TEKS and TAKS objectives	Document created. Ask other elementary librarians to evaluate document; make changes as suggested.
Post all charts on local shared drive so that all librarians may access.	Valerie Loper	November 2010	All created documents	Documents are posted for use
Post all lessons created on local shared drive so that all librarians may access.	Valerie Loper	November 2010	All created documents	Documents are posted for use
Provide a list of specific TEKS and TAKS objectives/skills that the librarian taught any given class to each classroom teacher after instruction to her class.	Valerie Loper Each librarian	December 2010-May 2011	Previously created documents	Documents are posted for use
Create a questionnaire for students that will determine skills learned. Ask students whose classes frequented the library often as well as students whose classes did not come to the library as often (for high school and middle school students; ask the ELA teachers to distribute questionnaire in May).	Valerie Loper, two other HS librarians, one MS, and one ES librarian	January 2011	List of skills taught at various grade levels	Document is posted for use
Determine if the classes who came to the library more frequently were able to answer the questionnaire more accurately than those classes who did not come to the library often.	Valerie Loper, 3 other librarians	Late May - June 2011	Completed questionnaires	Based on the answers provided, determine if students whose classes visited the library more frequently had stronger skills than students whose classes did not visit the library.

Week 2 Action Research

In reading the assigned reading this week, I realized that I had not really ever thought of what the "passions" of teaching or education might be. Having Dana list the nine areas of passion for education was really quite eye-opening to me. I have to say that I do agree with the list that was created, and appreciated the examples of action inquiry research that were provided with each passion. Trying to come up with an example of action inquiry for each of the nine passion areas also opened my mind to what I could possibly use for my assignment, as well as what areas are common focus areas of action inquiry research. This realization will definitely help me focus on needs when I become an actual administrator, as well as how to move through action inquiry research.

EDLD 5301 Wk 1: Action Research and What I've Learned

Action research...sounds redundant--isn't all research for some action, to find an action, to find out what an action does? Apparently not. Some research is stagnant and does little to move mankind forward. Educational research is steeped deep in theory, with very little practical use at all. But action research, well, it's to help create an action on the part of an educational leader. Action research has several differences from traditional educational research. Traditional education research is usually quite lofty in its goals and what it's trying to discover; action research is usually based on a real-life dilemma and needs real-life solutions. Traditional education research can focus on myriad issues related to education, even in its most vague element. Action research tends to focus on social justice. Traditional education research can be used to be reactionary; action research tends towards the proactive change needs. Traditional education research does not usually require reflection; have a question, find various ways to answer it, compile those answers, create a solution in a "dream" educational setting. Action research research requires reflection--once you have the data, what do you do with it? how do you proceed forward? what changes will be or can be brought about based on the data found? Action research's demand for reflection allows for a more purposeful movement towards change.

Educational leaders could use blogs for a variety of reasons and to achieve many goals. Since so many people have access to online media, blogging by educational leaders provides a forum for parents, students, staff, and educational leaders to share ideas, input, comments, complaints, and solutions in a manner that is convenient for many to access. Educational leaders of brand new campuses can use blogs to share the progress of the physical campus, to share the mission and vision statements, to post photos of the campus before students have access. Educational leaders can use blogs to share trends they have discovered in their own schools with other educators, and muse on what these trends mean for their campus, their district, their stakeholders. Educational leaders can use blogs as a discussion board among staff members to share thoughts on educational literature for a professional learning community. The extent educational leaders can use blogs to share information with parents, students, and staff, just regarding immediate issues on campuses, in policies, on culture of the campus, on traditions, on programs available to the public is immense. Blogs have moved the educational leader out of her office and into the parents', students', and staff's living rooms (or offices, bedrooms, dining rooms...wherever the Internet is available).