Action+Research+Plan+&+Action+Inquiry

[|Action Research Blog]



The purpose of my action research will be to assess the roadblocks that stand in the way of teachers at SMS working together as a sharing, cohesive body of educators. Additionally, as a strategy to break down those barriers, I plan to create a school blog for the purpose of teacher and staff communication and collaboration. My research will evolve from these questions: How can I assess the lack of collaboration and climate of disjointedness between teachers at our middle school and provide a unstructured, nonthreatening forum (i.e., a school blog) where teachers will engage in communication and begin to see the benefits of sharing ideas, advice, teaching strategies, etc.? Along that same vein, How can I persuade teachers that their participation in collaborative work will improve the overall climate of the school, lessen the stress level of teachers working independently, and, ultimately, improve student moral (a trickle-down effect of improved communication of their leaders)?

The creation of the blog will be provided as a voluntary alternative to formal, grade-level and subject-specific weekly meetings and presented as a non-structured "meeting place." In lieu of the weekly meetings, teachers will be asked to commit to a weekly post of a positive -- i.e., a teaching strategy that went well this week -- and to comment on two other teachers' ideas, strategies, etc. (Can you tell that I like the pattern of this Discussion Board?)

This school blog will provide all staff the opportunity to: share lesson plans across the curriculum, give and receive advice, engage in conversation about teaching strategies that do or do not work, and in any other way communicate with fellow teachers (something that is currently not going so well).

I will begin my action plan with a survey to gather feedback about the faculty's perception of a lack of cohesiveness as a body of educators, to gauge what their attitudes are toward holding the newly-mandated, grade-level and subject-specific meetings, and to ascertain whether faculty would view the blog as an attractive means of "meeting" informally, at their convenience, as opposed to weekly meetings after school.

The stated purpose of the school blog will be to provide an attractive alternative "meeting place" for teachers; however, I will use the blog as the base of my study to monitor its effect on communication and collaboration throughout our school. Additionally, I will use surveys intermittently to assess teacher attitudes toward their capacity to teach effectively coupled with their perceptions of student ability to learn.

My goal is to transform teacher attitude from the lackluster and solitary approach to teaching (as it presently exists) to a body of educators working in one accord for the same purpose: to raise awareness of our need for one another and the strength that our unity affords us; to boost the moral of teachers by changing the climate of the school from compartmentalized, disjointed, and uncommunicative to a climate where the common mindset is that "we" are "working as a team"; to address teachers' perception of their successes or failures, specifically that it is not based on individual teaching ability but on the whole body of teachers succeeding or failing together; and, as a trickle-down effect, transform teacher perception of students' ability to learn -- as teachers grasp the idea of collaborative learning and model this concept for our students -- into one that embraces the idea that "our students can all achieve academic success," through communication and collaboration, as the cornerstone of education in the 21st century.

I believe the time is ripe for addressing the lack of communication and collaboration at our school and that it will be fruitful to embark on an journey to shape our approach to teaching based on the groundwork that we will appreciate one another and find fulfillment in working together as a team.

I believe creating a school blog for the purpose of communicating and sharing will achieve several goals:

1. Teachers will see the blog as a non-threatening, informal place to share (as opposed to “mandated” meetings). 2. Teachers will begin to see the benefits of working together – albeit, at an “arm’s length,” so to speak, through this blog – and begin to develop a concept of a “unified and cohesive approach” to teaching and, thereby, acquire an appreciation for how working together will help lessen individual burdens. 3. Teachers will begin to conceptualize how helping one another will strengthen our body of teachers and help us prepare to transition into the future world of teaching, where the “lone ranger” approach to teaching is no longer an option. 4. Teachers will view collaboration as a positive, enabling, facet of our school and a means to not only undergird our faculty but to realize a trickle-down effect to our student body, as an atmosphere of discord transforms into a climate in which the norm is appreciation for each person's contributions to the body of educators as a whole. 5. Teachers will individually, as a result of this study, find other ways to continue to contribute to the team atmosphere and bring the staff together in a more cohesive and unified body with one common vision of where we are headed academically.