Vision Implementation:
My action research project is being implemented daily in my classroom. The strategies I have found to work with my students are being implemented into my curriculum on a daily basis while I have observed their classroom behavior. I have studied how they interacted with other students and the effort put into their classwork from September to Feburary which was before any new strategies were tried. Then I also noted behavior from February to May when new strategies were put into effect. Other faculty members also noted their GT student’s behavior before and after implementing the new strategies. These new strategies including giving the GT students a Tic,Tac, Toe board or 1,5,8 List to choose certain assignments to complete on their own. Students are given approximately four weeks to complete choosen assignments and present to the class.
Steward the Vision:
The shared motivation for my project is that this is a campus need. Our GT students at each grade level are only seen for one hour of enrichment each week so it is up to the regular education teacher to provide additional classroom enrichment. When I approached my site supervisor about my project he was very excited to find some new strategies. Other teachers that I have shared information with have also been very receptive. I have been able to revise and evaluate my strategies as I implement them through classroom observation.
Promote Community Involvment in the Vision:
I held a program evaluation of the Gifted and Talented program on our campus during May 2011. One teacher from each grade level on campus was invited as well as parents of the GT students to communicate their ideas about the program. I was able to involve the community as the parents voiced their ideas and concerns at the meeting. The parents and teachers collaboratd with everything including the new schedule for the 2011-2012 school year and noting the curriculum used in the GT program. The survey of teachers on campus who have the GT 30 hour professional development hours was also discussed. Findings and recommendations were suggested for the 2011-2012 school year by the conclusion of the program evaluation.
Manage Resources:
Managing my human resources to support my action research had much strategic planning. I kept in close contact with my administrators and site supervisor so I knew of any meetings or concerns that delt with the Gifted and Talented students at our campus. I also learned of meetings at the district level that could effect the GT program at my campus. I made made contact with the district curriculm development corrdinator as well as the Assistant Superindendent of Curriculum and Instruction to ensure I was able to manage my time and the human resources effectively and efficiently.
Mobilize community resources:
School resources as well as my own time and energy were used to support the vision of the action research project. My research project is focused on a campus need so my principal was very happy for me to use campus time or allowed me to interview campus personel to find a resolution. Also the GT students in my class were observed on a daily basis from February to May using the new strategies in the classroom. The campus administrators and parents knew that I was implementing new strategies to improve my instruction to the GT students.
Promote positive school culture:
My GT action research project has defaniently inspired others and attributed to a positive campus culture. As I have approached campus personel about my project they see that the only purpose and goal is to improve the GT program and the success of the GT students. I have found books that give suggestions for differentiated instruction that I brought to the attention of my administrators and two sets of the four books were immediately ordered. I have shared my information with others and found that others were intrigued by the strategies used with the GT students. Also, during the GT program evaluation held at the end of the schoo year members were pleased that there was even an evaluation of the program that they were able to contribute their feelings and thoughts.
Provide an effective instructional program:
The results and conclusions drawn from my research as well as the GT program evaluation are as follows:
- need a new GT pull-out schedule for GT students on campus
- students from multiple grade levels should be grouped together for additional quality enrichment time with their GT teacher
- teachers should also provide differenientiated instruction to all students so the GT student have additional enrichment time in the regular education classoom
Note: The strategies found for the regular education classroom that provide the most stimulation as well as giving the GT students the most choice are the Tic,Tac, Toe Board and the 1,5,8 Lists. The students are able to choose any three from nine assignments on the Tic,Tac, Toe Board as long as they are “in a row”. On the 1,5,8 List the students can choose which assignments they want to complete as long as the assignment points they choose add up to at least 10 points. The first category assignments are worth 1 point, the second category assignments are worth 5 points, and the final category are worth 8 points. Students can choose two 5 point assignment to add up to 10 points or any other combination they choose. Student have approximately 4 weeks to complete the assignment.
Influencing the larger context:
Meeting the needs of the GT students is a campus wide need, so providing concluding thoughts will be communicated through blogs, but also written up as a report and shared. With the help of campus administration as well as my site supervisor I will be holding a presentation at the beginning of the 2011-2012 school year to campus staff members as well. My site supervisor and the members of the GT program evaluation are advocates of the findings and recommendations of my project so holding a staff meeting to present the information and strategies used they feel would be a benefit for the other campus members. I will be holding the presentation in an informal setting where questions about the inquiry will be a positive moment where other teachers can gain knowledge from my action research. Information from a colleague versus an “outsider” can be a powerful influence. Teachers on campus could use strategies that proved beneficial in my research.
Design a comprehensive professional growth plan:
For the faculty to successfully realize the vision of my action research plan more campus personel need to attend the 30 hours of professional development to be GT “certified”. This will allow all teachers to be able to meet the needs of the GT students in their regular education classroom while the students are only receiving one hour of enrichment with their GT teacher. Also, teachers need to be trained more extensively on differentiation in the classroom. The use of the Tic, Tac, Toe boards and 1,5,8 List also need to be communicated so that teachers have additional tools in their “toolboxes” to use to improve the education of the GT students.
Key Words, Phrases or Terms describing your Action Research Project:
GT Students
Gifted and Talented Students
Regular Education Classroom
Differentiated Instruction
No comments:
Post a Comment