Friday, July 30, 2010

Action Research Plan- Week 3

SCHOOL VISION: Students, teachers, parents, administrators and community partnerships of our wider school community have created a shared responsibility to create a safe and happy environment for all, free from all forms of bullying.

GOAL: To promote and implement an Anti Bullying Policy supported by the Campus Improvement Plan which has a goal for a secure, safe learning and workplace environment which promotes respect, tolerance, cooperation and self esteem among all students and the beliefs contained in the staff, parents and student’s codes of conduct.

ACTION STEPS:

1. The campus must come up with a definition of bullying and the different forms of it. This will help to define for the school community what is perceived as bullying by the school. This should cover relational, physical and cyber-bullying.

2. Teachers, volunteers and other individuals must get comprehensive professional development and training in bullying. Everybody associated with the campus must know the Anti-bullying policies, strategies and responsibilities.

3. Increase Data Management- Gathering accurate information on the prevalence of different types of bullying is therefore a key priority within this strategy, Provide key stakeholders with clear, simple and consistent protocol for recording and reporting instances of bullying.

4. Implement a more effective Policy and Practice- All school, youth and community settings need to develop, implement, monitorand review whole-school/community anti-bullying policies. All stakeholders are encouraged to monitor the effectiveness of their own policy.

5. Better Increase Awareness and Communication- Raise the profile of bullying in school, youth and community settings; Work with parents to raise awareness and understanding of issuessurrounding bullying.

6. Implement Evidence based Initiatives- All work designed to prevent and challenge bullying needs to be informed by good practice, and all staff working with children and young people need to understand the underlying causes of bullying and have the ability to promote positive life andsocial skills.

7. Involving Children and Young People- It is our collective responsibility to ensure that all children and young people are given the opportunity and encouragement to speak out and have their voices heardon matters that directly affect them.

8. Increase Positive Partnerships with the community- Without partnerships working, we would not be able to deliver a consistent anti-bullying approach, because trusting communicative relationships are essential if families are to work together with school,youth and community settings.

Friday, July 23, 2010

Action Research- Week 2 Reflection

After watching the videos and talking with my supervisor over various action research projects principals are using, I realized how important of a tool action inquiries are. For me to be a effective 21st century adminstrator, i must use action research in helping solve problems or potential problems on my campus. By doing this, it will make my campus climate more positive for all stakeholders. After talking with my supervisor, we came up with 3 great ideas for action research projects. We finally decided to an action research project over bullying at my campus, especially among the girls. We have seen a trend over the past years that bullying among girls is increasing on our campus. I need to review and evaluate our campus's antibullying program to make sure of its effectiveness. I am going to find out if other schools have implemented antibullying programs onto their campus's that have been successful in limiting bullying among girls on their campuses. I am looking forward in doing this project.

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Action Research: What I Have Learned

What I learned about Action Research is that it is a reflective process that allows collaboration among all stakeholders involved to help find solutions to problems that are experienced in school everyday. It gives us the necessary steps to solve those problems and increase student achievement. The purpose of it includes school based curriculum development, professional development, systems planning, school restructuring, and as an evaluative tool. It is a model of professional development that promotes collaborative inquiry, reflection, and dialogue.

Action research is a process in which participants examine their own educational practice systematically and carefully, by using the techniques of research. This is done by the following:
• It allows teachers and principals work together on problems
they have identified at their campus.
• It allows teachers and principals become more effective
when encouraged to examine and assess their
own work and then consider ways of working
differently that might be more effective.
• Teachers and principals help each other by
working collaboratively on all problems
• By working with each other helps teachers and
principals in their professional development

There are usually about 5 steps of Action Research, they include:
1. Identification of problem area
2. Collection and organization
of data
3. Interpretation of data
4. Action based on data
5. Reflection

By participating in Action Research and reflection, it allows administrators and teachers to grow and gain confidence in their work at school. Action research projects influence thinking skills, collaborate, willingness to share and communicate among each other, and attitudes toward the process of change. Through action research, administrators and teachers learn about themselves, their students, their own colleagues, and find ways to continually improve. It provides all educators with an opportunity to better understand what happens in their school. As I go through this Research class, I will be able understand how to use Action Research at my school in a more effective manner, to create a positive school environment. It will be an excellent tool for me to use as a future administrator.

How Educators Might Use Blogs?

Administrators should use blogs because it is a powerful tool to communicate to all stakeholders of the school community. It is a great way to allow collaboration, sharing of ideas, status alerts and community building. By doing this, it allows the school community to view your thoughts and ideas and gives you the chance to have immediate feedback from the everybody. Also a blog allows administrators to send out newsletters, reminders, special events, extracurricular activities, etc. that the school community might what to know about. As a future administrator, i would definitely use blogs as a tool to communicate to all stakeholders.