Here's the Plan...

Action Research Plan 7.1 Tool

Goal:  The goal of the research will be to help teachers become more effective with ELL students in their classrooms and for the ELL students on our campus to become more successful on the TAKS.

Action Steps              Persons                    Timeline:                 Resources          Evaluation

                                      Responsible            Start/End     

1. Interview teachers regarding ELPS strategies they are using now and types of ELPS training they have had previously	Myself	December 13-December 17 2010	*Send out email regarding questions I will be asking *15-25 minutes of time with each grade level, laptop	List of existing strategies & list of types of ELPS classes teachers have attended
2. Research hands-on activities for ELPS trainings	Myself	December 17- January 5  2011	Computer, Internet access, List of websites	List of activities List of materials needed for each activity
3. Create a detailed list of activities to be used in Professional Development Classes for teachers	Myself	January 5- January 10  2011	Computer, List of activities	Detailed list of planned activities for Professional Development
4. Create surveys and questionnaires to be used to obtain feedback from teachers after Professional Development classes and implementation of lessons/strategies learned	Myself and ELPS Committee	January 10- January 15 2011	Computer, list of activities and strategies, samples of surveys and questionnaires	Surveys and Questionnaires to be used by teachers
5.  Create a Professional Development Calendar for the five ELPS training sessions	Myself, site supervisor, and ELPS Committee	January 5- January 10 2011	School calendar, District calendar	Set calendar for Professional Development sessions to be implemented to the teachers on campus
6. Hold five Professional Development sessions with teachers & present strategies and activities for teachers to use in their classrooms with ELL students	Myself, ELPS Committee	Five sessions to be help between February 2011 and June 2011	Reserved Science Lab, laptops, document camera, projector, list of planned activities, materials for activities	Active discussion during sessions, completed surveys and questionnaires
7.  Monitor teachers progress with new strategies & the ELL students progress with curriculum	Myself, participating teachers, ELPS committee and site supervisor	Ongoing monitoring of progress Completion June 2011	Teacher completed surveys and questionnaires, Benchmark and TAKS scores of the ELL students on campus	Data from surveys and questionnaires, Data from TAKS scores, Benchmarks, teacher observations and feedback

 There may be need to change the timeline as flexibility will be key in working around the many schedules of the people involved. I am looking forward to getting started during the winter break from school.

The Goal

The goal of the research will be to help teachers become more effective with ELL students in their classrooms and for the ELL students on our campus to become more successful on the TAKS.

I will use hands-on activities in monthly meetings to achieve the objective. Teachers will make or create materials they will be able to immediately use in their classrooms to allow them to better serve their ELL students.

I will research literature and internet sites to find the most effective activities to help teachers better understand the issues facing ELL students in our classrooms.

I will hold a one to one and a half hour professional development class after-school every other month that school is in session for a total of six classes. Jan., Mar., May, Aug., Oct., Dec. 2011. I may need to increase the amount of time needed for each class to be able to meet less often a than once a month.

I will be responsible for implementation of the research plan with the assistance of my site supervisor.

The last 20-30 minutes of each professional development class will be used to gather data from the teachers on the effectiveness of the materials used in their classrooms. This will be a time to discuss and debrief concerning the effectiveness of the strategies we are learning and using in the classroom. I will also use a questionnaire the teachers will be able to complete regarding the effectiveness of the strategies and skills they are learning from this plan. I will also be monitoring the Benchmark and TAKS scores of the ELL students on campus to determine is this plan is effective in increasing the scores of these students.

My Plan of Action

How can I help teachers become more successful with ELL students through professional development?

More and more students with language barriers are being serviced in the regular education classroom. Teachers would be able to better provide curriculum to these students if they had extensive and detailed training with more hands-on professional development in the area of ELPS. The ELPS students would benefit from having teachers who understand their need and who have the training to help them understand the curriculum.

I plan to develop a series of hand-on activities to share with the teachers on my campus involved in teaching ELL students. Each teacher will walk away from each session with materials created during the session that they will be able to immediately use in their own classrooms to help reach these students.