Week 1 Assignment - EDLD 5363

EDLD 5363 - Week 1

I decided to do a promotional video showcasing the achievements my district has had in extracurricular activites.  I talk a little bit about the town we live in, its history and stuff.  I put pictures from all the activities I talk about, and show the progress we have made after the passing of our bond. 

The Wink Wildcats have an 85 year tradition of pride and excellence. Wink-Loving ISD located in Wink, Texas serves southwestern Winkler County and Loving County.  Wink schools currently serve over 400 students from kindergarten through twelfth grade. Wink Independent School District was organized in 1929. Thanks to the oil boom Wink had the distinction of being the largest city ever built in two years.  During that time Wink’s population grew from around one hundred to six thousand.  Wink, is the hometown of music legend Roy Orbison.

            The wildcats have enjoyed success in academics and athletics.  The wildcats compete in the University Interscholastic League.  In UIL Academic competitions Wink students have excelled winning at the district, regional, and state level.   

            The Wink Wildcat football team have qualified for the playoffs 34 times and won the 1952 state championship. In volleyball, the Lady Cats have won two state championships and qualified for the state tournament two of the last three years finishing as state runner-up in 2010.  In basketball, the Wildcats and Lady Cats have made the playoffs the last five years and in 2012 the Lady Cats qualified for the regional tournament for the first time in school history.  The Wink track program won the 1959 state team championship and has had students win 13 individual state championships in its history. The wildcat golf teams won back to back state championships in 1959 and 1960 and finished third in 2012 and fourth in 2010.  The tennis program has had team members qualify for the state tournament the last seven years. 

            The wildcat band have been a sweepstakes winner and qualified for the state marching contest in 2007. 

Wink-Loving ISD has its eyes on the future.  In May of 2012, the district passed a $32 million bond to build a brand new high school, industrial arts center, and renovate the football stadium.  Renovations to wildcat field were completed in November 2012.  The renovations included the building of two concession stands, installation of synthetic playing surface, a new track, and a  new scoreboard with a graphics screen.  Groundbreaking for the new high school will be in February 2013. 

            This is an exciting time for everyone in Wink-Loving ISD.  The future looks bright for wink wildcats.  Pride inside. 

Week 5 Reflection

At the beginning of this course I was concerned when reading the assignment overviews that this course was going to be tough.  I did not expect to have to start thinking about an action research project at this stage in the program.  I thought with all of my teaching and coaching duties that I would not be able to finish an action research project.  But quickly I learned that this course was a step by step “instruction manual.”  The first week’s assignment was meant to teach us why action research projects are needed.  I thought the book by Nancy F. Dana was good at explaining the reasons for action research. I liked that she had real life examples of action research projects done by others that share our position.  I found those particularly helpful in searching for a topic for my action research project.  The creation of a Blog was new for me, but I found those helpful in meeting people from the class and gaining input from them and also providing input as we go forward in this program.  I find that the weekly reflections that we post on our Blog and our assignments are fun to write and kind of ease the pain after a stressful filled week.  In the EDLD 5311, I was only able to take part in one of the weekly video chat sessions, but for this course I found them extremely helpful in explaining the parts of the assignments that I did not understand.  I was able to make the first three video chats this course but because of out of town games I wasn’t able to take part in the fourth chat.  The weekly discussion question really helps us understand what is going one and also gain feedback from others in the class.  I liked week two because the assignment wanted us to look at the examples from the readings and find real work situations for each common research topic.  I thought that week 3 was the toughest of the entire course because we had to develop a preliminary outline for our action research project.  I later determined it was the most important assignment because it made us develop the plan that we would use throughout our action research project.  Week 4 wrapped up the project by having us learn about how to share our project and reach a consensus once we are able to put our plan into practice.  It also offered us a chance to make revisions to our action research plan if our original plan was not what we intended it to be.  I really liked this course, and it has really taught me about the action research process.  I liked the way that each weekly assignment guided you through the process and offered you a chance to get outside feedback to help you gain information from others that might have some expertise or some experience in your chosen topic.

Week 4 Reflection

I was a little stressed this week that I had to alter my action research project.  But after meeting with my site supervisor and discussing the changes I felt a little better about the project.  I still would like to conduct the original study sometime in the future.  I feel it would not only benefit the students but will also prove the districts investment in Odyssey was the right choice. 

CARE Model Planning Tool

Tool 8.1 CARE Model: Planning Tool

Identify Concerns that must change (look to the future)

(Assign points to concerns from 1 to 3 in the order of the most important issues to consider.)

1. Scheduling students to attend the RtI lab to log onto Odysseyware, 

2. Not enough Odysseyware licenses, we only purchased enough during summer school for those students enrolled in summer school.

3. Having students be successful and not wanting to attend the RtI lab before the end of the action research project. 

Identify Affirmations that must be sustained (look to the present)

(Assign points to affirmations from 1 to 3 in the order of the most important issues to consider.)

1. Arrange a schedule to get selected students into the RtI lab to work on Odysseyware.

2. Will teachers allow students to give up some class time or tutorials to work on Odysseyware? 

3. Will teachers want to spend extra time helping me with my action research project?

SMART Recommendations that must be implemented:

(Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Timely)

(Assign points to recommendations from 1 to 3 in the order of the most important recommendations to implement.)

1. Start the action research project this week, by finding all data from those students who have not yet passed TAKS and STAAR End of Course exams

2. Find an evaluation method to use during their time on Odysseyware.

3. Keep our focus on the intended purpose of the research and keep accurate records of performance from now to the end of the year or the Passing of STAAR EOC.

EVALUATE – Specifically and Often

(Identify the best ways to evaluate the implemented recommendations.)

1. View weekly Odysseyware reports to see how students are progressing.

2. Use a pre and post benchmark to evaluate each student at the end of each subject unit.

3. For those students who have not passed the STAAR EOC, compare recent results with previous results to evaluate performance. 

Revised Action Research Plan

Action Planning Template
Goal: The impact of reinforcing classroom instruction with technology for students who failed STAAR EOC Exams by using the Odysseyware program
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Setting the Foundation: Conduct a study to find out if students will benefit by using Odesseyware to reinforce classroom instruction	Lee Sanchez Judy White, RtI Barbara McCallister, Counselor Eddie Boggess, Principal	October 2012	Computer STAAR EOC Data Student Grades Odesseyware Teacher Feedback	Meet with my site advisor to evaluate my plan for using technology to reinforce classroom instruction.
Analyzing Data: I will look at TAKS and STAAR EOC exam test scores Interview Teachers, RtI lab teacher and Principal to identify which students might benefit from reinforcing classroom instruction with technology	Lee Sanchez Judy White, RtI Barbara McCallister, Counselor Eddie Boggess, Principal	October 2012	Computer STAAR EOC Data Student Grades Odesseyware Teacher Feedback	Collect data from previous TAKS and STAAR EOC exams  and find which students to use in action research project. Look at STAAR EOC Data
Develop Deeper Understanding: Studying the data and looking for improvements in TAKS and  STAAR EOC Scores.	Lee Sanchez Judy White, RtI Barbara McCallister, Counselor Eddie Boggess, Principal Students	October 2012
Engaging in Self-Reflection: Post reflection of action research project in my blog Check timelines and ensure that all data is up to date. Ensure that original goal is being pursued and that results are being recorded.	Lee Sanchez Eddie Boggs, Principal	Monthly – October 2012 – May 2013	Grade Reports STAAR EOC Scores Data Collected During Action Research.	Meet with site mentor and determine If project is meeting goals we set.
Exploring Pragmatic Patterns: Do students have have problems outside of school that are affecting performance on the state standardized tests.	Lee Sanchez Judy White, RtI Barbara McCallister, Counselor Eddie Boggess, Principal	Monthly – October 2012 – May 2013	Grade Reports STAAR EOC Scores Data Collected During Action Research.	See if there are problems that are causing these students to fail the state standardized tests
Determining Direction: Meet with site supervisor, RtI lab, counselor, to determine if Odesseyware has helped students enough to release them from study ( Passed STAAR EOC) Interview Students, Teachers to determine if using Odesseyware and Study Island helped them achieve their grades goals.	Lee Sanchez Judy White, RtI Barbara McCallister, Counselor Eddie Boggess, Principal Students	Monthly – October 2012 – May 2013	Grade Reports STAAR EOC Scores Data Collected During Action Research.	Meet with Site advisor, RtI, and counselor to share reports of students who have taken the STAAR EOC re-test to determine if improvements were made by using Odesseyware
Taking Action for School Improvement: Propose using Odesseyware and Study island to reinforce classroom instruction for all struggling students as part of our tutorial program.  Present data to site supervisor every three weeks Survey teachers if they would be interested in using and study island as a tutorial program	Lee Sanchez Judy White, RtI Barbara McCallister, Counselor Eddie Boggess, Principal Classroom Teachers	Monthly – October 2012 – May 2013	Grade Reports STAAR EOC Scores Data Collected During Action Research.	Meet with Site advisor, RtI, and counselor to share my findings on the use of Odesseyware to reinforce classroom instruction.
Sustaining Improvement: Share the data that I have collected with those involved in the Action Research project.  Examine the date to determine if Odesseyware actually reinforced classroom instruction and grades did improve because of it.	Lee Sanchez Judy White, RtI Barbara McCallister, Counselor Eddie Boggess, Principal Classroom Teachers	May 2013	Grade Reports STAAR EOC Scores Data Collected During Action Research.	Meet with Site advisor, RtI, and counselor to share my findings on the use of Odesseyware to reinforce classroom instruction.