Revised Action Research Plan

Below is my revised Action Research Plan with the following changes:

• Offer incentives for teacher participation in the study (Flip video camera, ActivArena, ActivTablet, or ActivRemote).
• Provide substitute teachers for training and planning sessions.
• Add budgeted costs for incentives and substitute teachers.
• Change teacher interviews to a focus group. This will promote discussion among the teachers, which will provide better feedback at the conclusion of the study. 

Any suggestions are welcomed and appreciated!

Get Activ, Get Engaged? Action Research Study on Impact of ActivClassroom Ashley M. Coffman
Goal: To investigate the impact of the ActivClassroom on student engagement and achievement in the classroom. In what ways do student response systems and interactive boards/slates promote student engagement? What effect do these interactive technology tools have on student achievement?
Action Step(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Research Approval Secure approval from district administration for study.	Ashley Coffman, Project Lead	December 2010	n/a	Correspondence from district administration will reflect approval of study.
Procure Equipment Secure 2 classroom sets of ActivExpression student response systems from Promethean or campuses.	Ashley Coffman, Project Lead	January 2011	n/a	n/a
Order Software Order SPSS software to be used for data analysis.	Ashley Coffman, Project Lead	January 2011	$200 Instructional Technology (411) Funds	n/a
Training Conduct ActivExpressions training for teachers.	Ashley Coffman, Project Lead	January 2011	ActivExpressions ActivInspire installed on training lab computers $180 (4 teachers x $45/half-day for sub costs) Extreme Makeover: High Tech Edition (313) Training Funds	Sign-in sheets for training sessions will indicate that all participating teachers attended training.
Plan Research Unit Work with teachers to select targeted TAKS objectives, plan units of study, and select class sections for control and experimental groups. Design pretest and posttest.	Ashley Coffman, Project Lead Classroom teachers	February 2011	$180 (4 teachers x $45/half day for sub costs) Extreme Makeover: High Tech Edition (313) Training Funds	Teachers participating in the study will create lesson plans that document alignment of lesson objectives and TAKS objectives.
Administer Pretest Students will be tested on selected objectives prior to instruction.	Classroom teachers	February-March 2011* *teachers will select 2-week unit of study for research	Data form to record pre-test scores along with demographic information for each student.	Results of pretest will include a data set for each student in both control and experimental groups.
Teach Unit Administer pretest and posttest with a control group and experimental group.	Classroom teachers	February-March 2011	ActivBoard/ActivSlate ActivInspire software Classroom set of ActivExpressions	Lesson plans will reflect completion of units of study.
Observation A single lesson that utilizes the interactive technology will be video recorded in the experimental and control groups.	Ashley Coffman, Project Lead	February-March 2011	Video camera Tripod Computer	Analyze video to evaluate and compare level of student engagement between control and experimental groups using PDAS Domain I criteria for student engagement.
Administer Posttest Students will be tested on same objectives after the unit is complete.	Classroom teachers	February-March 2011	Data form to record post-test scores along with demographic information for each student.	Compare average gain from pretest to posttest scores between control and experimental groups.
Teacher Survey Teachers will complete a brief online survey regarding their professional background and their use of Promethean technology.	Ashley Coffman, Project Lead	March 2011 (at completion of research unit)	Zoomerang online survey program	Survey results will indicate 100% participation among teachers.
Student Survey Students in both the experimental and control groups will complete a survey.	Ashley Coffman, Project Lead	March 2011 (at completion of research unit)	Classroom set of ActivExpressions ActivInspire software	Likert scale will be utilized to assess students’ feedback on unit of study. Survey results will indicate participation rate of over 90% among students.
Interviews Follow-up interviews will be conducted with each teacher.	Ashley Coffman, Project Lead	April 2011	Interview questions Form to record interview notes	Interview notes will reflect completion of follow-up interviews with each teacher.
Focus Group A focus group composed of 5-7 students from the experimental group will be formed.	Ashley Coffman, Project Lead	April 2011	Focus group questions Form to record focus group notes	Purpose is to solicit qualitative feedback from students on the effect of interactive technology on their learning.  Notes will reflect completion of focus group interviews.
TAKS Analysis Analyze scores on the TAKS objectives that were covered during the research unit.	Ashley Coffman, Project Lead	July 2011 (upon release of TAKS scores)	TAKS Report	Compare TAKS objective scores between control and experimental groups.
Presentation Present results of research study at Technology Leadership Team meeting.	Ashley Coffman, Project Lead	August 2011	n/a	n/a

Revised 12/11/2010

Challenges Faced

1. Participation and cooperation of teachers: I need to find four enthusiastic teachers that are willing to participate in the action research project. Their part in this project will be quite extensive – they will be required to go to additional technology training, plan a complete lesson that will be taught with two different modes of instruction, teach the lesson strictly adhering to the plan, participate in surveys and interviews, and get parental permission for their students to be surveyed and interviewed. I would like to offer the participating teachers some type of reward, possibly additional Promethean technology for their classroom, to compensate for their time and effort. Also, I would like to bring the teachers in during the school day for training rather than require them to use their personal time. Of course, I will need to talk to my site supervisor about the viability of these proposals since it will require a financial obligation.
2. Validity of research: After I recruit teachers to be part of this research project, my next challenge will be ensuring the validity of the study. The teachers must meticulously follow the procedures outlined in the plan, i.e. use only interactive technology with the experimental group, administer pretest and posttest, limit the effect of other variables. To ensure the validity of the study, I will need to create a detailed plan with step-by-step procedures for the teachers to follow. Also, I need to maintain an active part of the research, meeting with the teachers before, during, and after their lesson. Communication will be key to success!
3. Time to properly implement: A huge challenge is going to be TIME. In order to analyze TAKS scores as part of this study, teachers must complete the lesson prior to TAKS testing in April. To address the time challenge, I will make sure that I do not procrastinate! Once we return from break, I will immediately start to implement the research, recruiting teachers and scheduling a training date. My goal is to have recruiting, training, and planning complete by February 1st. That will leave us a full six weeks before Spring Break to complete the lessons.
4. My demanding work schedule: In the next few months, I have many different training sessions, implementations, and major projects scheduled, as well as a week out of the office for TCEA. I’ll need to make sure I balance this project with my many work duties and personal obligations. I realize I’m taking on a huge action research project…I just hope it’s not too much!

Action Research Plan - Draft

Get Activ, Get Engaged? Action Research Study on Impact of ActivClassroom Ashley M. Coffman
Goal: To investigate the impact of the ActivClassroom on student engagement and achievement in the classroom. In what ways do student response systems and interactive boards/slates promote student engagement? What effect do these interactive technology tools have on student achievement?
Action Step(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Research Approval Secure approval from district administration for study.	Ashley Coffman, Project Lead	December 2010	n/a	Correspondence from district administration will reflect approval of study.
Procure Equipment Secure 2 classroom sets of ActivExpression student response systems from Promethean or campuses.	Ashley Coffman, Project Lead	January 2011	n/a	n/a
Training Conduct ActivExpressions training for teachers.	Ashley Coffman, Project Lead	January 2011	ActivExpressions ActivInspire installed on training lab computers	Sign-in sheets for training sessions will indicate that all participating teachers attended training.
Plan Research Unit Work with teachers to select targeted TAKS objectives, plan units of study, and select class sections for control and experimental groups. Design pretest and posttest.	Ashley Coffman, Project Lead Classroom teachers	February 2011	ActivInspire installed on training lab computers	Teachers participating in the study will create lesson plans that document alignment of lesson objectives and TAKS objectives.
Administer Pretest Students will be tested on selected objectives prior to instruction.	Classroom teachers	February-March 2011* *teachers will select 2-week unit of study for research	Data form to record pre-test scores along with demographic information for each student.	Results of pretest will include a data set for each student in both control and experimental groups.
Teach Unit Administer pretest and posttest with a control group and experimental group.	Classroom teachers	February-March 2011	ActivBoard/ActivSlate ActivInspire software Classroom set of ActivExpressions	Lesson plans will reflect completion of units of study.
Observation A single lesson that utilizes the interactive technology will be video recorded in the experimental and control groups.	Ashley Coffman, Project Lead	February-March 2011	Video camera Tripod Computer	Analyze video to evaluate and compare level of student engagement between control and experimental groups using PDAS Domain I criteria for student engagement.
Administer Posttest Students will be tested on same objectives after the unit is complete.	Classroom teachers	February-March 2011	Data form to record post-test scores along with demographic information for each student.	Compare average gain from pretest to posttest scores between control and experimental groups.
Teacher Survey Teachers will complete a brief online survey regarding their professional background and their use of Promethean technology.	Ashley Coffman, Project Lead	March 2011 (at completion of research unit)	Zoomerang online survey program	Survey results will indicate 100% participation among teachers.
Student Survey Students in both the experimental and control groups will complete a survey.	Ashley Coffman, Project Lead	March 2011 (at completion of research unit)	Classroom set of ActivExpressions ActivInspire software	Likert scale will be utilized to assess students’ feedback on unit of study. Survey results will indicate participation rate of over 90% among students.
Interviews Follow-up interviews will be conducted with each teacher.	Ashley Coffman, Project Lead	April 2011	Interview questions Form to record interview notes	Interview notes will reflect completion of follow-up interviews with each teacher.
Focus Group A focus group composed of 5-7 students from the experimental group will be formed.	Ashley Coffman, Project Lead	April 2011	Focus group questions Form to record focus group notes	Purpose is to solicit qualitative feedback from students on the effect of interactive technology on their learning.  Notes will reflect completion of focus group interviews.
TAKS Analysis Analyze scores on the TAKS objectives that were covered during the research unit.	Ashley Coffman, Project Lead	July 2011 (upon release of TAKS scores)	TAKS Report	Compare TAKS objective scores between control and experimental groups.
Presentation Present results of research study at Technology Leadership Team meeting.	Ashley Coffman, Project Lead	August 2011	n/a	n/a