Action Research Plan

Action Planning Template Goal: To implement a new teacher mentoring program to help teacher retention. Action Steps(s): Person(s) Responsible: Timeline: Start/End Needed Resources Evaluation Meet with site supervisor and come up with foundation for this program. Get list of new teachers from the following year when there was no new teacher mentor program and see how many teachers returned as well as get list of teachers new to campus. Sarah Hesson. Becky Martin August 2013. Site supervisor List of teachers who were new to the campus last year with the number of teachers who returned List of new teachers for this next school year Outline of how the program will be ran as well as a print out with names of new teachers on it. Percentage of new teachers who came back from last year. Interview Principals, AP’s, counselors, librarian, head lunch lady, security, etc. find out everything they specifically want new teachers to know or want new teachers to the campus to know in which they can be of assistance Sarah Hesson August 2013 Set of guided questions for interviews. Everyone who is in charge of a major area in our school or knows a great deal on resources offered. Results based on interviews. Give out survey to new teachers in order for me to gauge where their concerns are Sarah Hesson August 2013 Survey questions. Reviewing data after surveys are completed to see where our focus needs to be in order to make new teachers feel more educated with school procedures Create a quick go to guide with references, information from the people interviewed above and important information they can quickly find. Also, create Facebook page for new teachers. Sarah Hesson Becky Martin August/September 2013 Material collected from interviews. The packet or book created with that information. Computer. Number of new teachers who are a part of the Facebook book page. Hold meeting and give an overview of new teacher mentoring program. Pair every new teacher with a returning teacher (after giving returning teacher expectations) Sarah Hesson August 2014 Power point Results of surveys Goals of program Pass every new teacher their “go to guides”
	Survey teachers at the end of the year to see how they feel the mentoring program has helped them. Ask them if they feel involved, included, and successful. See if their concerns have changed.	Sarah Hesson.	June 2014	Survey Reflection Journal	Take feedback from new teachers and see what adjustments should be made or implemented in the mentoring program.
	At the beginning of the following year compare number of returning teachers when mentoring program was introduced to the previous year when there was no new teachers mentoring program.	Sarah Hesson	August 2014	Data from two different school years of new teachers who returned.	Collect percentage of new teachers who came back and compare it with the previous year when there was no new teacher mentoring program.

How Educational Leaders Might Use Blogs

Educational leaders can use blogs to communicate with teachers, parents, and fellow administrators. Blogs give educational leaders the platform to express their views on educational issues, trends, and current events. Blogs also provide administrators an effective means of sharing positive events that occur on their campuses daily.  If educational leaders can find the time to actively blog, it can build community support and a greater sense of family within the school and even within the district.

Action Research

This week I have learned that action research is a reflective process that allows for inquiry and discussion as components of the research. When it comes to action research often one is searching for solutions to everyday, real life problems experienced in schools, or looking for ways to improve instruction and increase student achievement. Action research allows one to address those concerns closest to them. Concerns in which they can display some influence and make change. Action research is a nonstop process that requires one to actively reflect on all their duties/responsibilities, related issues/problems, and connection to the overall vision and goals. The end result of action research, can allow administrators the ability to implement solutions that address specifically to his/her campus and then actively monitor and measure outcomes. Overall, action research is a tool that can allow a principal the ability to create a learning community that actively focuses on school improvement, monitors, and meets campus goals and eventually allows the principal to become an instructional leader whose vision is shared by all stakeholders. I would use action research exactly like I illustrated the process above. I think it is a beyond important process for real beneficial change to occur.