EDLD 5352

This is my final week for EDLD 5352.  

5.1

    I attended several of the web conferences.   The week two conference did not go very well because the audio kept cutting in and out for me.  Dr. Jenkins did his best to answer most questions through the chat box.  The week three conference reminded me more of a regular university class than the others which were more of a question answer type of conference.  In the week three conference Dr. Benavides touched a bit on the assignment that was due at the end of the week, but after that the discussion focused on live binders and the ways that we would be able to use online tools in our classrooms or on our campuses as administrators.  What I enjoyed and got the most of was the first hand accounts from my classmates detailing the web tools they have used and how they have impacted there class performance.  Firsthand accounts by people who are in the trenches just like me are very powerful when it comes to helping me make a decision on whether to try something or not with my students.  Dr. Benavides did a great job of showing us what a student centered discussion should look like.  He did this by prompting us with questions and then letting us continue the discussion among ourselves with just a little prodding by him every now and then. 

5.2

  In EDLD 5352 I found that technology can be used effectively for working on collaboratively on a project, specifically the use of Google drive and Google documents.  One of the great things about using Google is that it is free.  With the budgetary constraints that schools face every year, finding free resources that can enhance student achievement is very important.   I have always felt that the best way to learn something is by doing it.  The assignment for this class taught me how to teach my students and staff how to use an online tool to create a collaborative project.  The days of not being able to complete a group project because there is not time to meet at the library or pretty much over.  I have learned that with online tools a group of students can get together, plan, and create a group project even though they are hundreds if not thousands of miles apart.

     Through the collaborative project I found how a personal website such as a Google site can be used to keep parents up to date on the happenings of your classroom.  That same site can also be a place where students can go to see recordings of past lessons or even step by step instructions on how to solve a problem.   Other online tools such as Edmodo and Dropbox can help a teacher or administrator cut back on the amount of paper used in the classroom.  For example with Dropbox a teacher can upload all handouts and notices to their account.  Students and parents that have been included in the teachers account would be able to view those documents from any computer, tablet, or smart phone. 

     I am about 80% complete with my campus supervised activities.  The few that I am lacking will be completed within the first two grading periods of the year.  These include starting a recycling program on my campus and creating a fitness/wellness club for parents and staff members.  I should also be completing my action research project as well.  All that is required for completion is one more grading period of activities, gathering data, and my final conclusions. 

Action Reseach Progress

My action research project got off to a rough start.  I would ask teachers for vocabulary lists that they would be using for the week and it was like pulling teeth to get those list delivered.  For the older grade levels I would ask the students for their list and would simply have my assistant copy them down for me.  At first I was not allowed access to the School City, the program that the teachers use to monitor student progress. This made it difficult for me to do my performance comparisons.   Once that was cleared up I was able to see where the students were in academic terms. Some teachers have reported that they have seen an increase in the student’s use of the vocabulary terms since I began using and creating activities using those words. One example that comes to mind was a student asking his teacher for permission to get hydrated because she was thirsty.  My campus testing strategist has been very helpful and supportive of my project as has been the campus administrators. They have been very impressed with the activities that I have created such as “Basketball Spelling” and “Vocab Relay”. With my campuses AYP status anything that looks like it might bring up our students test scores is welcome. The students themselves have been very good and actually like the activities. I was hoping to be done with my project at the end of this year but I may have to extend the time frame to the first and second six weeks of the 2013-2014 school year.  While not originally planned for it will allow me to get a better comparison of how my project has affected the student’s performance.

Action Reseach Progress

My action research project got off to a rough start.  I would ask teachers for vocabulary lists that they would be using for the week and it was like pulling teeth to get those list delivered.  For the older grade levels I would ask the students for their list and would simply have my assistant copy them down for me.  At first I was not allowed access to the School City, the program that the teachers use to monitor student progress. This made it difficult for me to do my performance comparisons.   Once that was cleared up I was able to see where the students were in academic terms. Some teachers have reported that they have seen an increase in the student’s use of the vocabulary terms since I began using and creating activities using those words. One example that comes to mind was a student asking his teacher for permission to get hydrated because she was thirsty.  My campus testing strategist has been very helpful and supportive of my project as has been the campus administrators. They have been very impressed with the activities that I have created such as “Basketball Spelling” and “Vocab Relay”. With my campuses AYP status anything that looks like it might bring up our students test scores is welcome. The students themselves have been very good and actually like the activities. I was hoping to be done with my project at the end of this year but I may have to extend the time frame to the first and second six weeks of the 2013-2014 school year.  While not originally planned for it will allow me to get a better comparison of how my project has affected the student’s performance.

http://prezi.com/9vzu4fnqecy7/david-carrera-5326/?kw=view-9vzu4fnqecy7&rc=ref-35721249

Research Template

All I can say is WOW, what a week.  My wife walks in while I am thinking of all the things that are due and how overwhelmed I feel and she says WTF? (Why the face?) (modern family season 1 episode 1) hope I cited that correctly.  Anyway it has been a long week but it is winding down. Here is my research template that I  think I did right.  It is a blue print or a guide so to say, so is there really a wrong way to do it? Much like my weekly lesson plans, the template is there as a guide for me or anyone who wants to know what I am doing and what materials are needed to carry out that lesson. for those that are interested I will be blogging (ha ha I like that word) some of the actual activities that I will doing with my classes to carry out my research.

SCHOOL VISION:  To improve student performance in all areas of instruction.

GOAL:  To improve student performance in the classroom by providing remediation or enrichment of core subjects while having the students engaged in physical activities.

OUTCOMES	ACTIVITIES	RESOURCES/ RESEARCH TOOLS NEEDED	RESPONSIBILITY TO ADDRESS ACTIVITIES	TIME LINE	Benchmarks/ ASSESSMENT	Revisions to SIP/PIP based on monitoring and assessments
Find academic areas that students may be having difficulties mastering.	Collaborate with classroom teachers to find what areas of instruction students could use help in.	Copy of text books for each subject per grade level or written list of concepts as per teacher. TEMS program	David Carrera Brenda Garcia (P.E Aide)	November 5-16 2012.  (start of 3rd six weeks of school year)/ June 5, 2013(end of school year)	Collect student data from previous year through TEMS.	As needed.
Increase student’s scores and understanding of key terms in all core and extra-curricular subjects.	Provide enrichment or remediation to students in the area of Spelling/Vocabulary (in all subjects) while students are engaged in moderate to vigorous physical activity.	Spelling or vocabulary list for each grade level.	David Carrera Brenda Garcia (P.E Aide)	November 19, 2012.  (start of 3rd six weeks of school year)/ June 5, 2013(end of school year)	Weekly exams and oral surveys of students, teachers, and parents.	As needed.
Increase student’s ability to understand,  and implement math concepts successfully.	Provide enrichment or remediation to students in the area of Math while students are engaged in moderate to vigorous physical activity.	Copy of math concepts being taught for the grading period.	David Carrera Brenda Garcia (P.E Aide)	November 19, 2012.  (start of 3rd six weeks of school year)/ June 5, 2013(end of school year)	Weekly exams and oral surveys of students, teachers, and parents.	As needed.
Improve student performance and understanding of concepts and ideas being taught by the Social Studies teacher.	Provide enrichment or remediation to students in the area of Social Studies while students are engaged in moderate to vigorous physical activity.	Copy of Social studies concepts being taught for the grading period.	David Carrera Brenda Garcia (P.E Aide)	November 19, 2012.  (start of 3rd six weeks of school year)/ June 5, 2013(end of school year)	Weekly exams and oral surveys of students, teachers, and parents.	As needed.
Improve student performance in the understanding of key concepts and methods being taught by the Science teacher.	Provide enrichment or remediation to students in the area of Science while students are engaged in moderate to vigorous physical activity.	Copy of science concepts being taught for the grading period.	David Carrera Brenda Garcia (P.E Aide)	November 19, 2012.  (start of 3rd six weeks of school year)/ June 5, 2013(end of school year)	Weekly exams and oral surveys of students, teachers, and parents.	As needed.
Improve student scores on the STAAR test	This will be done by completing all previous activities.	District benchmarks and score data. (School City)	David Carrera Brenda Garcia (P.E Aide) S. Longoria (Testing Strategist)	November 19, 2012.  (start of 3rd six weeks of school year)/ June 5, 2013(end of school year)	STAAR test results from the previous year and current year.	As needed.
Compile data from research project and evaluate gains that can be attributed to research project	Review test scores from previous year with scores from this year.	District benchmarks and score data. (School City)	David Carrera T. Pena (principal) R. Rodriguez (assistant principal) S. Longoria (testing strategist)	June 10-28 2013	STAAR test results from the previous year and current year. District benchmarks and score data. (School City)	As needed.
Staff is made aware of findings	Conduct staff in-service. Disseminate information through emails.	District benchmarks and score data. (School City) Power point.	David Carrera T. Pena (principal) R. Rodriguez (assistant principal) S. Longoria	August 2013 in-service days.	Survey handed to teachers and collected to analyze the thoughts on the effectiveness of the research activity.	As needed.
Other P.E. teachers in the district are made aware of findings and ways to use the activities that were created to help improve their schools performance.	Conduct P.E. teacher in-service. Disseminate information through emails.	District benchmarks and score data. (School City) Power point.	David Carrera J. Sanchez (district P.E. coordinator)	August 2013 in-service days.	Survey handed to teachers and collected to analyze the thoughts on the effectiveness of the research activity. District benchmarks and score data. (School City)	As needed.
Implement activities if research activities prove to be beneficial to students.	Continue with activities in 3rd-5th grade and begin implementation of activities with Kinder -2nd grade students.		David Carrera Brenda Garcia (P.E Aide)	2013-2014 school year		As needed.