Action Research Plan Update

 I started the year off with students walking to my classroom located away from the school building.  I was more strict on the tardy policy and tardies were slightly reduced.  I was not happy with the resulst and still had to deal with many esxcuses of why students could not make it on time.  After speaking with my site supervisor we came up with a plan to meet at a central locatin in the main school building .  We decided that the weight training class would meet there and dress out before moving to the weight room.  This tweak in the plan was brilliant.  Since I have started meeting the students in the school building I have reduced tardies down to almost none.  It has also helped in more kids dressing out by providing a better space for them to change.  It has helped with discipline issues in a few ways as well.  First off it has eliminated tardies and any repricussions that come from talking with students about them being tardy.  Meeting in the building forces the kids to change quickly and walk to the weigh room so that the students have enough time to finsh their workout.  The set up of the class now with changing quickly, walking to the weight room, lifting and then walking back to the school to change back keeps the gets involved in something for the duration of the class.  Any down time has now been cut out and the student is active resulting in better participation in class and reduction of discipline issues.

Action Research Plan

Action Planning Template
Goal: Effectively get students to class on time so they are not in unsupervised areas
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Determine percentage of tardies for the final 9 weeks of the 12-13 school year for weightlifting classes	Jeff Oliver	4th 9 Weeks	Tardy Reports	Analysis of reports
Follow through with accurate documentation of student tardies	Jeff Oliver	Start of 13-14 School Year through 1st Semester	Tardy Logs
Analyze and Compare Data from 12-13 year and 13-14 year	Jeff Oliver James Dristas	End of 1st Semester 13-14 School Year	Tardy Reports	Analyze and Compare Tardy Reports
Present Findings	Jeff Oliver Off Campus Teachers Principals	End of 1st Semester 13-14 School Year	Tardy Reports

5301 Week 2 Reflection

I learned that there are many action research topics are out there to be researched and taken action upon.  Through videos watched this week I've learned that data is imperative to effective action research.  Without data educators are just grabbing at straws.  The data drives the research and leads to effective answers.

How Educators might use blogs?

Educators could have many uses for blogs.  Blogs could be a means of keeping in touch or networking.  It could also be means of passing information along to help solve problems that they might be encountering.  It can be a valuable tool this way.  Educators and Administrators both could post problems they've had and solutions that might have worked for them are even ones that did not work.  Blogging could create a network of valuable information being passed back in forth from many people and many places to help all people reading grow in their experience and knowledge.

Action Research

Action research is a continual process of identifying, analyzing and solving problems.  While up front it looks daunting and time consuming it can be an invaluable tool that all teachers and administrators should have and use to their advantage.  Action research should take place all year identifying problems as the present themselves.  The problems should then be analyzed and researched and data should be collected and talked about.  A solution created and implemented immediately.  This process can identify problems more readily and solve them.  I have learned that this approach will not only benefit the student it will also benefit the teacher as well.  It can help the teacher better educate his or her students based on their learning needs.  Action research can be used in many facets of the educational setting.  It can be used in the classroom to help teacher and student get on the same page.  It can be used to make professional development a more effective and long lasting resource.  From top to bottom action research can help the school building.  Central Administration all the way to the classroom all can benefit from such a tool if they are willing to put the effort into the process.