Draft Action Reserach Project Progress Report

Draft Action Research Project Progress Report

Title:  Strategies to Improve Grades for Absent Students

 

My district grading policy states “Late work will be accepted for a grade until the end of the day on the day before the last day of the grading period in which the assignment was made.”  Due to this policy students, especially frequently absent students, have a tendency to wait until the last day of the grading period to make up missing work.  This has placed a burden on teachers as they are still grading papers when grades are due.  I also noticed that students who are frequently absent have a much lower grade average and their assignments, especially those turned in late, receive low grades.  This late work tends to me sloppy, incomplete, and shows a lack of knowledge in the material.  This raised a lot of questions for me.  What strategies can help improve the grades for chronically absent students?  What tools can be utitlized to improve the learning on missed material for absent students?  How can teachers interpret the grading policy to ensure students turn late work in a timely manner?  Through surveying teachers at my school, I found that many other teachers have the same problem, and many of us do not know how to break this cycle nor have we developed strategies to help our absent student learn the missed material and improve their grades.  

My vision is that I will find the best strategies to improve the grades of our frequently absent students and consequently, increase the student learning especially on the missed material.  My plan is to implement a few strategies, such as Remind101 service, weekly parent contact, and decreased number of days to complete work, to measure the improvement of grades in the classroom for frequently absent students and help the workload of the teacher at the end of the grading period.

So much research is completed concerning the effects of chronic absenteeism on student achievement.  A study in the Redwood City School District showed that the number of days a student was absent had a substantial negative effect on the California Standards Test in math and English Language Arts for 3^rd through 8^th graders.  The study also noted the negative effect on Grade Point Average in high school students, and for the higher achieving students, there is a great risk of academic decline due to chronic absence (Sanchez, 2012). All studies I found definitely state that missing school plays a role in student academic outcomes.  Many provide suggestions on how to improve attendance or reduce absenteesim, but many do not state what to do right now for chronically absent students and their acheivement.  Through the research, “being chronically absent in one year may be an indicator of being chronically absent in subsequent years” (Sanchez, 2012).  As many attendance habits are formed well before they enter high school, I want to target my current 10^th & 11^th grade students and how I can help them now.  Therefore, I am researching strategies to improve grades in my classroom and increase the learning of the missed material.

When my action research project is complete, I plan to share my findings in the form of my blog, a power point, and a summary of my action reaserach project to teachers and administrators at my school.  I would like to present my research to a large group or in smaller specific groups during a staff development session or PLC meetings.  If I am unable offer a presentation, I can email or post my findings on our school’s network drive.  I can also post my results on my teacher webpage and my class NetSchool page for other teachers, students, and parents for viewing.  Offering the information in various locations will provide many opportuntities for people to view and use my research.

After the first semester, I was able to identify my chronically absent students using 6-weeks attendance reports.  At the beginning of the second semester, I implemented the following new classroom procedures:  Remind101, weekly parent contact, and reduced number of days to make up tests.  My plan is to compare the grades of chronically absent students before and after implementation of new strategies concerning make-up work.  Using dates of when students turned in work and the grade received, I can determine if the new strategies are helpful in improving the grades and preventing failures of my frequently absent students.  I want to identify the best practices and strategies now to help the students currently enrolled in my class to improve student achievement and learning.

Once the research is complete, I plan on sharing this data and my recommendations with my fellow teachers.  While I do not predict any conflict amongst the teachers, there may be some resistance with administrators that teachers are following the district grading policy.  However, there is a stipulation in our district guidlines that if the teacher has made personal contact with the parents regarding a late assignment, then the student has only 1 additional day to turn in the work.  Using this stipulation will help with any problems regarding obeying the district grading policy.

My action research project should not only improve grades and student achievement, but may also decrease the workload for teachers at the end of the grading period.  If I find success in my research, these strategies can be used to create a stricter late work policy and therefore, teach students a life-long lesson of the importance of deadlines and taking responsibility for their own learning. 

 

 

References

Sanchez, Monica. Truancy and Chronic Absence in Redwood City. John W. Gardner Center for Youth and Their Communities. Palo Alto, Calif. April 2012

Updated on Action Research Project

Time management has been a struggle already now that school has started.  Juggling my responsibilities as chemistry team leader, a coach, my district’s expectations, master’s coursework, and my own classroom has kept me from working on my Internship Plan and Action Research Project.  As far as my action research project, I have discussed with many teachers on their best practices for obtaining missing assignments and make-up tests in a timely manner.  This summer, I attended Flipped Classroom training and will be implementing these videos into my classroom during the spring term.  I have also signed up to use a free online reminder service called www.Remind101.com, which can send out text messages to students reminding them to study for tests or when assignments are due.  The end of the grading period is October 5.  At that time, I will be able to pull reports identify frequently absent students and compare their grades.  I still have a long way to go, and I hope that time will no longer be an issue once school is in full swing. 

Summary of Sept. 16, 2012 Web Conference for EDLD 5326

During the web conference, first, members begin introductory information such as providing district and teaching position.  Students asked questions about TK20 uploading, questions concerning the Week 3 assignment, contact problems with their IA, the Midterm Exam, and the LCE exam.  I also was able to about other Community Relations Projects, and how they varied considerably to mine.  I looked a tutoring program to help out or TAKS/STAAR scores.  Others looked at implementing programs for school supplies, field trips, increased parental involvement, and providing food and clothing for low-income students.  Dr. Jenkins shared a few of his community outreach programs in a previous district working with a priest and the Hispanic population at his school.   A side bar conversation involved the over 600 districts that appealed the AYP standards and how that related to businesses involvement in the decision making.  I asked my mentor about my district’s involvement in the process, and I have found that my district was approved to determine their own standards.  I hope this helps, as my campus did not meet AYP this year and are now under some scrutiny from central administration, which has put a lot of stress on the teachers this year. 

Reflection of Course

    I am so grateful this course only dealt with just creating a solid Action Research Plan.  I did not feel overwhelmed at trying to construct the plan and so glad that time is considered and given to complete such a project.  I am very much a Type ‘A’ personality where planning is a necessity and so far, I am very happy as to how these first two courses have been laid out.  This will keep the stress level low once school begins and my job and other responsibilities come into play.
    Blogging was an awesome tool to learn!  This tool has now become a daily use at my disposal as I have created a blog to chronicle my personal life for friends and family to enjoy.  Other students’ blogs and comments were helpful in identifying issues with my Action Research Plan and will continue to be a resource in further courses in this program.  Blogging is a powerful way to communicate our findings, ideas, and experiences.  I have encouraged my site supervisor to follow my blog so that he can be checking in with my project without having to talk with me personally.  My bog will also be a place for others to challenge my research study, so that I can have the best possible outcome.  There is such a push for our students to become 21^st century learners, and blogging is an instrument for me to do the same.    
   The discussion board prompt this week had a reoccurring theme of how much time our action research project will take.  Through the assignments and discussion board postings, I have noticed that many of the teachers in this program are the teachers that go above and beyond in the classroom and their schools.  I think that we are all concerned about how the quality of our teaching, learning, and course work will be affected once school starts and the action research project begins.  Reading the other students’ suggestions on how to handle time and the assignments will be useful as well.  In the last course, I joined the Facebook page for our program and have found that a supportive tool as well.
   Many of the assignments required us to look at other action research studies.  The Dana text was great at providing examples of inquiry questions, studies, and example experiences to provide a starting point in completing my own project.  This past week’s assignment on quality indicators was helpful in how to begin the data collection process.  Indicator 3 on Principal Research Design provided great questions on what and how to consider information and data (Dana, 2009).  I am very concerned with getting started, as I know I would have a hard time designing and putting together the information for my project without the questions this section provided.
    The most insightful information I discovered during this course was from the conversations with my site supervisor.  We discussed how the biggest hurdle I will face with my action research study is our district’s grading policy.  This policy states that students are allowed to turn in work by the last day of the six weeks grading period.  Due dates have become irrelevant at my school and as such most work is turned in the last week of the grading period.  However, unbeknownst to me was the small print in this policy.  If a teacher clearly communicates the due date to parents and students, work must be turned in by that date.  This guideline will be my driving force to find the best strategies to improve grades of frequently absent students.  We also discussed how our poor school morale and weak student-teacher relationships might be a reason behind chronic absences.  This piece of information was identified in our “We Teach/We Learn” surveys this past year.  I will do my best to create a safe and fun learning environment for students in my classroom that might encourage those frequently absent to attend class more often.

Updated Action Research Plan

Goal:  What strategies can be used to improve grades and prevent failures of frequently absent students?
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Discuss research plan with site supervisor and obtain permission to complete project.	Brooke Hughes/ Bobby Morris/ Jason Childress	August 21, 2012 – August 27, 2012	Action Research Plan, Internship Plan	N/A
Define frequently absent students.	Brooke Hughes	August 28, 2012 - September 4, 2012	Texas Education Code	N/A
Obtain NISD policy attendance, grading, and make-up work policies.	Brooke Hughes	August 28, 2012 - September 4, 2012	NISD Student Handbook	N/A
Obtain course syllabus and present my current classroom procedures for make-up work to all students.	Brooke Hughes	August 28, 2012 - September 4, 2012	Course Syllabus	N/A
Identify frequently absent students in my current classroom students.	Brooke Hughes/ Twana Roadman	August 28, 2012 – December 18, 2012	eSchool Attendance Reports	N/A
Research the relationship between academic success and chronically absent students.	Brooke Hughes	August 28, 2012 – December 18, 2012	Professional journals, articles, and books	Literature Review Paper for Action Research Paper at the end of the project.
Monitor 6-weeks grades for target population.	Brooke Hughes	August 28, 2012 – December 18, 2012	eSchool Six Week Grade Reports	Applying the current make-up work policy, collect data, graph data, and draw conclusions from reports.  Look at when assignments were turned in and grades made on assignments.
Collaborate with other teachers on strategies that are successful in getting students to turn in make-up work on time.	Brooke Hughes/ Willing Teachers	August 28, 2012 – December 18, 2012	Classroom Rules and Procedures	Compare and Contrast these strategies with current classroom policy and district guidelines.
Implement new strategies.	Brooke Hughes	January 3, 2013 – June 7, 2013	Updated Classroom policy, NetSchool page, Teacher Webpage, Flipped Classroom videos, student work	Enforce new strategies. Compare and contrast new strategies with previous ones.  Draw conclusions from qualitative data.
Monitor 6-Weeks grades for target population.	Brooke Hughes	January 3, 2013 – June 7, 2013	eSchool Six-Week Grade Reports	Compare and contrast previous semester grades as well as students that are present daily.  Collect data, graph information, and draw conclusions based on new strategies.   Look at when assignments were turned in and grades made on assignments.
Survey students in target group.	Brooke Hughes	June 3-7, 2013	Student surveys, NetSchool	Survey students on which strategies they found most helpful.
Write paper based on collected data, generated reports, and evaluations.	Brooke Hughes	June 7, 2013 – August 16, 2013	Professional literature, generated reports, and evaluations	Answer research question, “Did implementing new strategies improve grades and prevent failures for frequently absent students?”
Share research action project to school administration and faculty.	Brooke Hughes	August 20, 2013 – August 26, 2013	Copies of research paper	Feedback from teachers and administrators.
Write a Self-Reflection.	Brooke Hughes	August 26, 2013	Research paper, Feedback, Blog	Reflect on research, experience, and findings.   Implement new strategies into new school year’s class.

Action Research Plan

Goal:  What strategies can be used to improve grades and prevent failures of frequently absent students?
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Discuss research plan with site supervisor and obtain permission to complete project.	Brooke Hughes/ Bobby Morris/ Jason Childress	August 21, 2012 – August 27, 2012	Action Research Plan, Internship Plan	N/A
Define frequently absent students.	Brooke Hughes	August 28, 2012 - September 4, 2012	Texas Education Code	N/A
Obtain NISD policy attendance, grading, and make-up work policies.	Brooke Hughes	August 28, 2012 - September 4, 2012	NISD Student Handbook	N/A
Obtain course syllabus and present my current classroom procedures for make-up work to all students.	Brooke Hughes	August 28, 2012 - September 4, 2012	Course Syllabus	N/A
Identify frequently absent students in my current classroom students.	Brooke Hughes/ Twana Roadman	August 28, 2012 – December 18, 2012	eSchool Attendance Reports	N/A
Obtain Parent Permission for students to be used in the research.	Brooke Hughes/ Parents	August 28, 2012 – December 18, 2012	Parent Permission Slips	N/A
Research the relationship between academic success and chronically absent students.	Brooke Hughes	August 28, 2012 – December 18, 2012	Professional journals, articles, and books	Literature Review Paper for Action Research Paper at the end of the project.
Monitor 6-weeks grades for target population.	Brooke Hughes	August 28, 2012 – December 18, 2012	eSchool Six Week Grade Reports	Applying the current make-up work policy, collect data, graph data, and draw conclusions from reports.
Collaborate with other teachers on strategies that are successful in getting students to turn in make-up work on time.	Brooke Hughes/ Willing Teachers	August 28, 2012 – December 18, 2012	Classroom Rules and Procedures	Compare and Contrast these strategies with current classroom policy and district guidelines.
Implement new strategies.	Brooke Hughes	January 3, 2013 – June 7, 2013	Updated Classroom policy, NetSchool page, Teacher Webpage, Teacher created videos, student work	Enforce new strategies. Compare and contrast new strategies with previous ones.  Draw conclusions from qualitative data.
Monitor 6-Weeks grades for target population.	Brooke Hughes	January 3, 2013 – June 7, 2013	eSchool Six-Week Grade Reports	Compare and contrast previous semester grades as well as students that are present daily.  Collect data, graph information, and draw conclusions based on new strategies.
Survey students in target group.	Brooke Hughes	June 3-7, 2013	Student surveys, NetSchool	Survey students on which strategies they found most helpful.
Write paper based on collected data, generated reports, and evaluations.	Brooke Hughes	June 7, 2013 – August 16, 2013	Professional literature, generated reports, and evaluations	Answer research question, “Did implementing new strategies improve grades and prevent failures for frequently absent students?”
Share research action project to school administration and faculty.	Brooke Hughes	August 20, 2013 – August 26, 2013	Copies of research paper	Feedback from teachers and administrators.
Write a Self-Reflection.	Brooke Hughes	August 26, 2013	Research paper, Feedback, Blog	Reflect on research, experience, and findings.   Implement new strategies into new school year’s class.