Week 4 Presentation

Action Research Plan - Revised

Action Planning Template
Goal: To identify factors that affect academic performance, averages, and grades of athletes’ in-season versus out of season and to create an academic support network that maximizes academic achievement throughout the entire school year.
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Meet with Athletic Coordinator and campus Rank One manager to collect student athletes sports	Heather Damron, Bill Howard, Eric Maxey	June 2013	List of athletes by sport for the past school year	Site supervisor approval
Meet with PEIMS clerk to collect student athletes grades	Heather Damron, Katy Tindell	June 2013	List of grades by six weeks for student athletes for the past school year	Site supervisor approval
Review grades for each six weeks athlete was in-season and out of season	Heather Damron	June & July 2013	List of athlete grades and sports for the past school year	Comparison of grades when sport was in-season and out of season
Create online survey for student athletes	Heather Damron	July 2013	Internet survey tool	Coaches collaboration
Create online survey for coaches	Heather Damron	July 2013	Internet survey tool	Coordinator and site supervisor collaboration
Issue survey link and/or arrange set time in computer lab for conducting survey to identify factors that affect athlete academic performance	Heather Damron, student athletes	August 2013	Survey tool and athletes	Administrative approval of survey questions and executing survey with student athletes
Issue survey link to identify methods and procedures in providing academic support	Heather Damron, coaches	August 2013	Survey tool and coaches	Administrative approval of survey questions
Research academic support strategies, tools and methods for athletes used by other campuses	Heather Damron,	September 2013	Internet, email / phone contacts	Identify successful strategies, tools and methods
Examine results of surveys and research then compile data	Heather Damron	October & November 2013	Data	Identify both positive and negative repetitive factors as well as methods that are suitable to our stakeholders
Present data collected and results of findings to Athletic Director and Principal to devise a plan that helps to achieve academic success in both seasons / throughout the  entire school year	Heather Damron, Kyle Craighead, Virdie Montgomery	December 2013	Data and analysis	Discussion, collaboration, and problem-solving

Steps to Implement Action Research

Examining the Work: Setting the Foundation

Through meetings and collaboration with all of the stakeholders on campus who work closely with and/or teach student-athletes the issue of student-athlete grade variation from season to season is identified as a concern and the need for an academic support system for athletes is suggested.

Analyzing Data

Look at student-athlete grades for each six weeks and academic performance in / out of season.  Use results of surveys and research to determine positive factors identified by both students and staff.  Interview students and staff as needed to clarify findings. 

Developing a Deeper Understanding

Initial review, survey, and research have potential to reveal additional factors and re-occurring tendencies that vary with gender and age.  I will probably need to interview student-athletes and compile data based on gender and grade level within sports and their seasons.  Discussions with personnel and campuses that currently have procedures which provide academic assistance to student-athletes will be beneficial in getting a better understanding of how to best provide a support network for our student-athletes.

 

Engaging in Self-Reflection

As a current coach and hopeful athletic administrator, I am excited about this research and being able to discover ways to help our student-athletes be successful academically throughout the entire school year.  I am confident that I will be able to gather the information necessary to reveal the elements influencing academic achievement for student-athletes and steps to providing a support network for them.

Exploring Programmatic Problems

Speak with coaches, athletic coordinator, administrators, and site supervisor to discuss and gather various opinions of increasing positive factors and decreasing negative factors.  Also, collaborate with them to determine the pros and cons of different methods of an academic support network to weed out procedures that would not benefit our stakeholders.

Determining Direction

I will need to make adjustments in my timeline as needed in order to acquire and analyze all needed data.  As other factors are revealed, I may need to subgroup research information as well as create plans of intervention and assistance that are more specific to each subgroup.

Taking Action For School Improvement

I will utilize groups such as coaches to assist me in my action research project.  I will submit the information gathered to athletic director, Kyle Craighead, and principal, Virdie Montgomery, for review before implementation.

Sustained Improvement

Results will be shared with the entire coaching staff to show the specific factors that have an effect on our student-athlete grades, and how and why averages differ from season to season with them.  Also, results of how academic support networks have helped in improving student-athlete performance throughout the entire school year and how implementation of such on our campus can benefit the culture and climate of our school.

Action Research Plan

Action Planning Template
Goal: To identify factors that affect academic performance, averages, and grades of athletes' in-season versus out of season and to create an academic support network that maximizes academic achievement throughout the entire school year.
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Meet with Athletic Coordinator and campus Rank One manager to collect student athletes sports	Heather Damron, Bill Howard, Eric Maxey	June 2013	List of athletes by sport for the past school year	Site supervisor approval
Meet with PEIMS clerk to collect student athletes grades	Heather Damron, Katy Tindell	June 2013	List of grades by six weeks for student athletes for the past school year	Site supervisor approval
Review grades for each six weeks athlete was in-season and out of season	Heather Damron	June & July 2013	List of athlete grades and sports for the past school year	Comparison of grades when sport was in-season and out of season
Create online survey for student athletes	Heather Damron	July 2013	Internet survey tool	Coaches collaboration
Create online survey for coaches	Heather Damron	July 2013	Internet survey tool	Coordinator and site supervisor collaboration
Issue survey link and/or arrange set time in computer lab for conducting survey to identify factors that affect athlete academic performance	Heather Damron, student athletes	August 2013	Survey tool and athletes	Administrative approval of survey questions and executing survey with student athletes
Issue survey link to identify methods and procedures in providing academic support	Heather Damron, coaches	August 2013	Survey tool and coaches	Administrative approval of survey questions
Research academic support strategies, tools and methods for athletes used by other campuses	Heather Damron,	September 2013	Internet, email / phone contacts	Identify successful strategies, tools and methods
Examine results of surveys and research then compile data	Heather Damron	October & November 2013	Data	Identify both positive and negative repetitive factors as well as methods that are suitable to our stakeholders
Present data collected and results of findings to Athletic Director and Principal to devise a plan that helps to achieve academic success in both seasons / throughout the  entire school year	Heather Damron, Kyle Craighead, Virdie Montgomery	December 2013	Data and analysis	Discussion, collaboration, and problem-solving

Week Two Reflection

This week we watched various videos and read several pages on the numerous topics of action research in the school setting.  The nine areas of passion did indeed prompt my first wonderings and revealed to me areas I had not previously considered.  The information shared though the videos of the administrators also provided important tips for us as we conduct action research.  When considering the various topics to choose from for my own action research project, the main concepts that stood out to me were in regards to not reinventing the wheel and choosing ideas that are practical and personal to me.  As pointed out, we can always use what others have done as a resource to pick through to find a way to translate portions of it to fit into our own environment.  In keeping it personal to what interests us individually and practical to our setting we can discover the good and bad of methods that others have tried and revamp it to fit our needs.

How Educational Leaders Might Use Blogs

In the technological age in which we live in, blogging is an excellent method to keep students, parents and the community up to date on news and events that are taking place in our classrooms, our school building, and with programs related to our campus.  Blogging is also a great way for educators to journal experiences and share ideas with other educators.  Discussions on topics in which an administrator wishes to learn the perspectives and opinions of the teachers of his / her campus can also be done through blogging.

Action Research: What I've learned so far

Prior to starting this course I had not heard the term action research.  However, I had witnessed others on my campus use this form of research.  I just had not made the differentiation between the types of research.  I know now that action research is a process through which administrators examine their own educational practices and then initiate and proceed with changes based on what is learned from their study.  When situations arise within the school it is a powerful tool in helping educators to find solutions to a specific problem.  It is also helpful in finding methods for improvement and increasing student achievement.  Action research is a process that includes collecting and analyzing data, reviewing relevant literature, implementing changes based upon the inquiry, and then sharing the results with others.  This process is beneficial to administrators in helping them gain a better mental picture and understanding of teaching and practices occurring before them.  I am excited to use action research as I am someone who enjoys finding solutions that not only benefit myself but also those around me.  Knowing that some are resistant to change, what better reason is there to implement change than after gathering data regarding problem areas and solutions to them that are specific to our current situation?