My Action Research Plan (week 3)

Action Research Plan

How to increase student engagement with the use of a Promethean SMARtboard?

1. Setting the Foundation: I first decided to research using the Promethean SMARTboard as I was developing my Internship plan from EDLD 5306.  I knew that there was this technology at my school but it was not being used.  We had a short inservice on how to use it, but with there only being three of them on a campus of over 30 teachers, no one jumped to take it.  It has been on the campus for over two years, at least.

2.  Analyzing Data:  I plan to do quite a bit of research on the internet to find lessons that will correlate with the curriculum that my school is currently using.  I will also try to plan some lessons using the board and creating the lessons myself.  I will also research student engagement activities and find what is successful at holding their attention longer.

3.  Developing a Deeper Understanding:  To develop a deeper understanding of engaging students during reading and math lessons I plan to research lessons on activities that I feel are the most problematic in class.  There are numerous lessons that are engaging but there are also lessons that are stale and need a boost.  I also plan to conduct a survey to formulate ideas about improving technology at our campus.

4.  Engage in Self-Reflection:    After I have researched lessons and developed some of my own I plan to incorporate them into my lesson plans.  I will use self-reflection to look back over the same lessons from previous years and see how I have improved them or not.  I also will use my past years annual evaluations by my principal and compare them with this year’s evaluation.  I will look at several areas; the use of technology, student participation and active engagement.

5.  Exploring Programmatic Patterns:  Research will probably require the biggest amount of time for me to get started.  I can already see that a problem with getting more technology will arise due to budget cuts that all districts are experiencing.  I also fear that some students will still be off task during the lessons no matter what types of technology I use.  The goal is to at least increase the number of students who are actively engaged during the lesson.

6.  Determining Direction:  My first step is to receive instruction on how to use the board.  Secondly, I will do research and develop lessons to correlate with my current curriculum.  Next, I will conduct the lessons using the Promethean SMARTboard.  After the lessons are over, I will review the student’s performance.  I will also review their journal writing about the lessons.

7.  Taking Action For School Improvement:  This process of action research has lead me in a direction that I had been wanting to go in but was never quite sure how to.  Since taking these past two classes I have learned so much technology that will improve my skills as a teacher.  The use of the Promethean SMARtboard is just one step that I am taking. 

8.  Sustain Improvement:  I will continue to do research on lessons and to improve on them.  Hopefully, this will be an ongoing action research plan that I will always do.  Curriculum is always changing and it will take time for me to be able to incorporate the Promethean board into my everyday lessons.  As students get used to seeing the lessons and become comfortable with using the technology I will be able to allow them to do more with it.