Identifying a school-wide need
In his book Guiding School Improvement with Action Research (2000), author Richard Sagor breaks down what action research needs to accomplish, the three purposes for action research and the action research process.
Action Research
If ever there were a time and a strategy that were right for each other, the time is now and the strategy is action research! This is true for a host of reasons, with none more important than the need to accomplish the following:
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Three Purposes for Action Research
Action research can be engaged in by an individual teacher, a collaborative group of colleagues sharing a common concern, or an entire school faculty. These three different approaches to organizing for research serve three compatible, yet distinct, purposes:
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The Action Research Process
Educational action research can be engaged in by a single teacher, by a group of colleagues who share an interest in a common problem, or by the entire faculty of a school. Whatever the scenario, action research always involves the same seven-step process. These seven steps, which become an endless cycle for the inquiring teacher, are the following:
Educational action research can be engaged in by a single teacher, by a group of colleagues who share an interest in a common problem, or by the entire faculty of a school. Whatever the scenario, action research always involves the same seven-step process. These seven steps, which become an endless cycle for the inquiring teacher, are the following:
- Selecting a focus.
- Clarifying theories.
- Identifying research questions.
- Collecting data.
- Analyzing data.
- Reporting results.
- Taking informed action (Sagor, 2000).
Step OneAs a teacher leader within your school, it is your job to help facilitate change within your school. When you are looking at introducing a new school wide initiative, the first place you should start is with your schools vision and mission statement. The vision and mission statement will help you identify what is important to you school. For you imitative to be successful, you will have to make sure that these values align with change you would like to see made.
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Step TwoYour next step is to identify the data that supports a needs for your change in your school. "Research has shown that using data in instructional decisions can lead to improved student performance," (Wayman, 2005; Wayman, Cho, & Johnston, 2007; Wohlstetter, Datnow, & Park, 2008). Your data should show a clear path to what your school and students are really missing in your current system. Once your change is identified it is important that it is public to all stakeholders involved. This will help ensure there is the buy in needed to make your new initiative successful.
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Step ThreeAfter you have the data needed to make a decision, your next step is to create an action plan on how you will be implementing and tracking the change you want to see in your school. Action plans are a great resources for tracking your next steps in your implementation process. There are many different action plans available but the most important thing to remember it is a working document. This document is an opportunity for you to have a plan that can change and be molded to fit your program.
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Take Action -- action plan template & Example
Below is an action plan template that can be downloaded and utilized. This word document can also be altered to fit the specific needs of the action plan. Click on the "Action Plan Example" to see an action plan example pertaining to Growth Mindsets.
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