Shirin Omidvar’s Action Research Plan
Goal: To determine the relationship between 7th grade math students who receive tutorials during the school day via a program called SOAR (Students Outstanding Achievements Recognized) because of low performance on in-class benchmarks and their STAAR test scores at the end of 7th grade. If there is not a strong enough positive relationship, what changes need to be made to the SOAR tutorial program?
| Action Step(s) | Person(s) Responsible | Timeline: Start/End | Needed Resources | Evaluation |
| Meet with site mentor (principal) for final tweaks or revisions to the action research plan | Shirin Omidvar | August 2012 | Action research plan | Shirin Omidvar, Principal |
| Conduct a literature review on the benefits of during-school tutorial programs | Shirin Omidvar | Sept 2012 – Oct 2012 | Internet resources, Lamar Library, books written tbd | Shirin Omidvar |
| Collect and separate data from students’ 3-week benchmark tests | Shirin Omidvar | Ongoing every 3 weeks Sept 2012 – April 2013 | Access to Aware may need to be provided by principal or department head | Shirin Omidvar, Department Head, Principal |
| Collect the names of students who are receiving during-school SOAR tutorials due to low benchmark performance | Shirin Omidvar | Ongoing every 3 weeks Sept 2012 – April 2013 | SOAR tutorial sign-in logs | Shirin Omidvar, Department Head, Principal |
| Conduct student surveys about their opinions of the effectiveness of the SOAR tutorial program | Shirin Omidvar | November 2012 | Survey Monkey | Shirin Omidvar |
| Conduct staff surveys about their opinions of the effectiveness of the SOAR tutorial program | Shirin Omidvar | November 2012 | Survey Monkey | Shirin Omidvar |
| Meet with 7th grade SOAR teacher for insight into how the program is running and any suggestions for improvement | Shirin Omidvar | December 2012 | Meeting Time | Shirin Omidvar |
| Reflect on the data results received thus far, including survey results | Shirin Omidvar | December 2012 | Tutorial sign-in logs, previous state test scores, benchmark results, survey results | Shirin Omidvar |
| Obtain 5th grade TAKS and 6th grade STAAR scores for every student who received during-school SOAR tutorials due to low benchmark performance | Shirin Omidvar | April 2013 | Access to Aware may need to be provided by principal or department head | Shirin Omidvar, Department Head, Principal |
| Obtain 7th grade STAAR scores for every student who received during-school SOAR tutorials due to low benchmark performance | Shirin Omidvar | June 2013 | Access to Aware may need to be provided by principal or department head | Shirin Omidvar, Department Head, Principal |
| Build a spreadsheet by student name that includes the number of weeks of SOAR tutorials received, 5th grade TAKS score, 6th grade STAAR score, 7th grade score | Shirin Omidvar | July 2013 | Previously obtained and recorded data, Excel software, laptop | Shirin Omidvar, Department Head, Principal |
| Analyze the results and report findings in a final paper | Shirin Omidvar | July 2013 | Excel spreadsheet | Shirin Omidvar, Department Head, Principal, School Board, Course professor |
I like the way you are collecting data from all the test scores for the students within both programs. But I would recommend somewhere in there to try and discuss with your principal, department heads, teachers, etc. on strategies that could be used for the students within both programs that will help improve student achievement. Trying out a couple of strategies is a start that , success, and learning. Anything that will help guide you in furthering and gathering more strategic strategies to improve all students in both programs and the school. Try something out. If you have a lesson that you know works for you and your students, why not share it with both programs. (Programs meaning Students receiving tutorials during school vs. Students in SOAR.)
ReplyDeleteIt looks like you have a very organized action research plan. You have a lot of good data you will be collected through the tests and also with surveys. Good Luck!
ReplyDeleteI am interested in finding out about the data you collect. Will you share this report with your principal? Will you also look at a sample of students who don't attend SOAR tutorials and see what methods they use to improve their grades?
ReplyDelete