Friday, March 15, 2013

New and Improved Plan!



Action Research Planning Template









Question: What characteristics make for an effective math after school tutoring program, with effectiveness determined by results of district math test results?









Action Step
Person Responsible
Time Line Start/End
Needed Resources
Evaluation

1
Looking at the fourth graders who failed the 2012 November district math benchmark, divide students into two groups, those that were assigned to and participated in after school tutoring, and those that were not. 
M. Vasquez
March 2013 - April 2013
Benchmark data, Tutoring rosters
Creation of two study groups, one group that did receive after school tutoring as an intervention and one group that did not.

2
Determine an average score for each of the two groups, using the 2012 November math benchmark results.  Then, determine the average score for each of the groups, using the 2013 March math CBA.  Scores will be compared to determine the baseline effectiveness of our current after school tutoring program.
M. Vasquez
March 2013 - April 2013
Benchmark data,  CBA Data, selected student groups
Baseline scores will be  determined to calculate the effectiveness of the 2012-2013 after school math tutoring program as compared to the effect of no tutoring, at fourth grade.

3
Look at students who have participated in after school math and reading tutoring in grades 3, 4, and 5 this year.  Using the same benchmark and CBA data for each grade level, pinpoint which tutoring teachers have had the most success with raising the test grades of their students.
M. Vasquez
March 2013 - April 2013
Benchmark data,  CBA Data, Tutoring rosters
Target teachers will be identified based on their success with raising tutoring students test grades.

4
Meet with targeted teachers, asking what they did with their tutoring groups. I.E. activities, computer programs, lessons, etc.
M. Vasquez, B. Wickel
April 2013-May 2013
Target Teachers
Minutes from the meetings.  A list of what successful tutoring teachers did during tutoring this year.

5
Look at tutoring attendance sheets for the targeted teachers and determine the average number of minutes, per week, students received tutoring services.
M. Vasquez
March 2013-May 2013
Tutoring attendance sheets
Determine an average number of minutes per week needed for successful tutoring.

6
Research after school programs that have been successful.  Focus on size of groups, activities presented, and duration of tutoring sessions.  Use this information, along with the results from the targeted teacher group, to create a tutoring model to be used during the 2013-2014 school year.
M. Vasquez, B. Wickel
June 2013-August 2013
Articles, journals, and interviews
Tutoring program to be used for the 2013-2014 school year.

7
Meet with principal to discuss the tutoring plan proposal.  Outline all aspects of the program and cite sources to support the decision made in the creation of the plan. 
M. Vasquez
August 2013
Tutoring plan, principal
Receive approval from principal to go forth with implementation and training.

8
Inservice 5th grade math tutoring teachers on the after school tutoring model that will be utilized for the 2013-2014 school year. 
M. Vasquez, B. Wickel
August 2013- September 2013
Tutoring Plan, principal, 5th grade teachers that will tutor
Teachers will be informed about the tutoring program. Agenda from the training.  Outline of program that is provided to teachers.

9
Looking at the fifth graders who fail the 2013 November district math benchmark, divide students into two groups based on whether or not they will be assigned to after school tutoring as an intervention. 
M. Vasquez
October 2013- November 2013
Benchmark Scores
5th grade math tutoring groups to be seen in accordance with the developed after school tutoring plan.

10
Determine an average score the two groups, using the 2013 November math benchmark.  Then, using the same two groups, determine the average score for each of the groups, using the 2014 March math CBA.  Scores will be compared to determine the effectiveness of our newly created after school tutoring program.
M. Vasquez
February 2014- March 2014
Benchmark data,  CBA scores
Comparison of Fall scores to Spring scores, to rate overall effectiveness of after school tutoring to no tutoring at all.

11
Evaluate the effectiveness of the new after school tutoring model, as compared to the old, by looking at the change in test scores for the monitored groups between the Fall benchmark and the Spring CBA. 
M. Vasquez
March 2014- April 2014
Testing Data, principal, 5th grade math teachers
Evaluate the effectiveness and begin making modifications to improve for the next year.

12
Present findings and recommendations for future changes and possible building-wide implementation to principal, administrative team and then the Campus Improvement Committee. 
M. Vasquez
May 2014
Principal, Admin Team, CIC
Revised plan and minutes from CIC discussion.

5 comments:

  1. Your action research plan looks great. You picked a great topic to research.

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  2. You have a very thorough and detailed plan. I think that you have outlined your research well. I see that you have decided to narrow your focus - a hard thing for me to do, as well. I think that you will find that by narrowing your focus, your plan will be more practical and easier to manage.

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  3. EXCELLENT changes! I really like this, and I think that by narrowing the study, you will get better results. Can't wait to see more! Just from a formatting standpoint, the tables are hard to follow on the black background. Is it possible to get some white lines in there? Do you have lines on the form you are submitting for a grade? Just something simple, I know.

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  4. I love your topic!! As a 4th grade teacher, I have done my fair time of tutoring. I like that your plan will allow teachers to see what other teachers are doing and what's working for them. I also viewed your previous plan, and I agree that narrowing your focus, has made it more practical and realistic to get better results. Looking forward to seeing your results!

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  5. Great job! Your plan is coming together nicely. Way to narrow it down and continue to refine it. It is a monumental undertaking, with huge amounts of data to collect. I wish you luck and I will be borrowing through networking some of the ideas that you posted and relating those to my topic.

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