EDLD 5326 Action Research Progress

My action research project is coming along. It just seems like I have so much to do, and so little time to do it. I am finding that completing the action research project and the internship hours are difficult. So far with regards to my action research project, I was able to develop a questionnaire to send out to the Pre-K and Kindergarten Teachers. The questionnaire asked the Pre-K and Kindergarten Teachers to identify concerns that they have with regards to the lack of a Professional Learning Community between grade levels. Many of the Pre-K Teachers felt that they really did not know what concepts the Kindergarten Teachers wanted them to focus on to prepare students for kindergarten, and the Kindergarten Teachers felt that there is a lack of communication between each grade level.  Many of the Kindergarten Teachers also felt that the Pre-K teachers do not inform them about issues or concerns about students, and strategies that they may have used in Pre-K that worked for a particular student. Once I analyzed the questionnaire, I sent out a summary to each teacher, and allowed the teachers to change or revise the answers. At the end of the school year, I presented the results at a staff meeting. The staff meeting went really well; however, when we returned after summer break, the attitudes about the PLC across grade levels had changed. Many teachers felt overwhelmed because our school has a new Vice-Principal, and a new curriculum. They feel that we do not have the time for another PLC because they are using the extra time to learn and prepare for the new curriculum and Writer’s Workshop. Luckily, I was able to convince the teachers of the importance of a PLC across grade levels to help students be academically successful, and to reduce the amount of students being referred for Tier 2 assistance. In order to organize the PLC, we decided that we would only use 20 minutes of the staff meetings for PLC across grade levels, so that teachers would not have to take time away from their work, or stay late after school. The first PLC meeting is not scheduled for another week, so hopefully it will go well.

Action Research Project

Finally, I am able to implement Professional Learning Communities between the Pre-K and Kindergarten Teachers. My Action Research Project has been a diificult tasks to complete. On my campus, we have a new Vice-Principal, new curriculum, and a new RTI program which makes it very difficult to focus on my action research project. Hopefully, I will find the time to complete the other componenets of the project in a timely fashion.