Final Reflection. . . .

When I first began this course I was somewhat apprehensive about it and what was to come.  I did not totally understand what an "Action Research" project was because I've never had to do something like this before.  My first impression of the class was that it would be a lot of research and writing of papers.  I must say that I was totally wrong and I am glad that I was.  I really did enjoy the class and I feel that I learned a lot about doing an Action Research project and it has really helped me to lay the groundwork for my project.  The readings from the text were very helpful and there are many ideas that I learned from it.  The book was very thorough as well as informative and I enjoyed the assigned readings because I felt that it made really dig deep into my thoughts.  I also enjoyed creating the blog.  I've always heard of people doing blogs and I thought it was something difficult or time consuming to do but once I created it I enjoyed being able to go back in and update it every once in a while.  It was also good to be able to see what other individuals had to say concerning the information that was posted on my blog site.  The information and feedback from some made me consider if I was heading in the right direction and even helped me with my action research project as far as adding or taking away from it.  As for my actual action research project, I really enjoyed the way I had to think of situations that were currently occurring on my campus that I could possibly help to fix.  I truly felt that I was able to come up with some great ideas and concepts for my campus and I am looking forward to implementing some things and hopefully from my action research project I will be able to help and improve certain situations.  The discussions were also very informative and engaging because the feedback from the others in the class was always positive and professional.  One other important aspect that I took from the class was the many ways that Administrators can examine themselves to see if they are doing the right things for their campuses.  I learned that in order to be a great leader you sometimes have to take a step back and examine yourself to make sure that you are doing the right thing.  Reflection is very important and it should be done often to ensure the success of everyone.  One of my favorite assignments that I enjoyed the most was Assignment four.  Each part offered something that I can take and use in my future as an Administrator.  I really enjoyed being able to meet and conference with my Supervisor.  It is always good to speak to someone that is in a position that I am striving to be in because they can lead me and guide me with great advice to be the best possible leader that I can be.  Overall, I must say that there were many positives in this course and I hope that all of the other courses that follow are as intriguing as this one.

The conference between my Supervisor and I went really well.  I spoke with my Supervisor and he offered some suggestions that I did not have in my action research plan that may be very beneficial.  His overall feedback was very positive and he agreed with my action research plan template.  One of the first suggestions he offered was about adding Intervention into the plan.  He felt that it was necessary to add this as a step to ensure that it was something done within the discipline process.  Sometimes when there is an intervention with students, further disciplinary actions may not be necessary.  Another suggestion he offered was concerning staff development training to equip the staff with the tools to deal with misbehaving students.  He stated that some teachers at times may not know exactly how to deal with behavior issues and with proper training this may give them the security they need when dealing with behavior incidents firsthand.  One of the last suggestions he offered aligns somewhat with the staff development which is classroom management.  He stated that it was very important for teachers to understand classroom management techniques, especially new teachers, because some have a hard time handling a classroom of students and this could create problems if there is no classroom management.  Overall, he felt very good about my plan and he looks forward to seeing the ending results.  I have updated my action research plan by adding the training as well as Intervention into it.  

Action Planning Template
Goal: To determine if stronger discipline procedures will increase student achievement and decrease the amount of discipline problems.
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Gather discipline records over a two year time span at the High School to review discipline issues as well as consequences assigned.	Administrators and Counselors	August 2013 to September 2013 (1 Month)	Data such as number of discipline incidents.  Discipline records from previous two years.	Evaluate discipline issues and determine what consequences were given. Did the consequence deter other referrals?  Was the consequence stern enough?
Look at student achievement in reference to grades as well as standardized testing scores.	Administrators, Counselors and Team Leaders	September 2013 to October 2013 (1 Month)	Data from students (e.g. Race, SES, etc.)  Report Cards and Test Scores	How were students grades during this time period?  What were the test scores like from the previous school year?
Examine discipline procedures.  Determine strengths and weaknesses of current plan.	Administrators	October 2013 to October 2013 (2 Weeks)	Discipline Plan currently in place.	Evaluate the current discipline plan to determine its strengths and weaknesses.  Is the discipline plan age appropriate?  Are procedures being correctly followed?
Make necessary changes to current discipline plan.	Administrators and Teachers	October 2013 to October 2013 (1 Week)	N/A	Look over information gathered concerning strengths and weaknesses to rewrite discipline plan.
Conduct Teacher trainings on discipline as well as classroom management.	Teachers	October 2013 to October 2013 (2 Days)	N/A	Ensure that teachers are properly trained on discipline procedures and on how to handle specific situations
Implement new changes with discipline procedures. Also make sure that Intervention is in place and available to students.	Administrators and Teachers	November 2013 to March 2014 (5 Months)	N/A	Monitor discipline issues and classroom performance over 5 month time period.
Examine student achievement/progress.  Review current number of discipline issues that are occurring under new discipline plan.	Administrators and Counselors	May 2014 to May 2014 (1 Month)	Semester grades, Report cards and Test Scores	Analyze data from previous school year and discipline plan and compare with new discipline plan procedures.  Review number of referrals as well as student achievement in the classroom and on Standardized test scores.