After some researching and brainstorming, I have concluded that I would like to create a survey in which the questions are unique to my school. New Jersey offers districts the opportunity to use approved generic surveys or create their own. I feel that students and teachers would greater benefit from an original survey that uses language that pertinent to our school. I just think that a generic survey will feel like a state exam to the students and leave them feeling apathetic to the process. My plan is to integrate the language from the school's mission statement into the questions. Also, questions will identify the school's website and the school's online grading system by name. Furthermore, I would like the survey to have an open ended question (or two). For example something like... " Describe a specific lesson that you liked. What was being taught? Why did you enjoy it?"  I want the students to understand that purpose of the survey is to have an immediate impact on teacher instruction and hence on their education. This is not something that when completed will be sent to the state and dropped in a drawer.

 I have proposed this to my Vice - Superintendent and am waiting for her feedback. I will keep you posted....

 

Before I finalized my action research plan, I decided that it would be interesting to recruit 5 teachers to participate in my project who had varying years of experience. I think by adding this variable the project would serve as a more truer reflection of how the student surveys would influence the breadth of the faculty.  

Action Planning Template- Should Students Grade Their Teachers?

Goal: To successfully develop, organize and facilitate a pilot program in which students will complete teacher evaluation surveys as a means of improving classroom instruction.

Action Step(s)	Person(s)	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
1. Recruit five fellow teachers with varying years of experience who are willing to participate in my action plan. Facilitate a meeting to greater inform them about the purpose of my action plan.	5 participating teachers	April/May 2012	Research on the Teacher Tenure Reform Act (New Jersey) Research from the MET program	Teachers will complete a reflection regarding their initial concerns about allowing their students to evaluate their classroom methods. Post summary and reflection of teacher reactions  on http://actionrp12.blogspot.com/
2. Introduce my action research plan at the first professional development day. Include published research (background information, the teachers participating, the process, and the ultimate goal of the plan.	High school faculty, administration	August 2013	Research on the Teacher Tenure Reform Act (New Jersey) Research from the MET program	Teachers will complete a questionnaire regarding questions, concerns, and what they would like to know more about concerning the action research plan. Post summary and reflection of faculty reactions  on http://actionrp12.blogspot.com/
3. Meet with the five participating teachers. Collaboratively construct a survey	5 teacher participants	September 2013	Research from the MET program	The collaboratively constructed student survey. Post summary and the constructed survey on http://actionrp12.blogspot.com/
4. Teachers will inform students about the survey and its purpose. The teachers will then administer and collect the student survey	5 teacher participants, students	November 2013	Teacher evaluation survey	Teacher evaluation survey
5.Meet with each of the 5 teacher participants to discuss the student survey results.	5 teacher, participants	November /December 2013	Completed student surveys Reflection questions	Teachers will complete a reflection sheet. Post summary and reflection of teacher meetings on http://actionrp12.blogspot.com/
6.Meet with a focus group of 15 students(3 students per teacher, all in different classes)  to discuss the survey process	15 students	December 2013	The initial student survey Reflection questions	Students will complete a reflection and suggestion sheet. The will also note any change in teacher instructional methods. Post summary and reflection of student meetings on http://actionrp12.blogspot.com/
7.Teachers will administer and collect student surveys	5 teacher participants, students	April 2014	Teacher evaluation survey	Teacher evaluation survey
8. Individually meet with participating teachers to discuss the results of the recent surveys.	5 teacher participants	April 2014	Teacher evaluation survey, Reflection questions	Teachers will complete another reflection sheet on how/if the student surveys affected their instructional performance. Post summary and reflection of teacher meetings on http://actionrp12.blogspot.com/
9. Collectively meet with the participating teachers to discuss their experience	5 teacher participants	April 2014	Teacher evaluation survey, Reflection questions, Research from the MET project	Teachers will compare their experience to the research presented by the MET project. Teachers will complete reflection/suggestion sheet. Post summary and reflection of teacher meetings on http://actionrp12.blogspot.com/
10. Present the action plan results and data to the entire faculty and administration. Highlight the results from the student focus group and the reflections of participating teachers. Based on the research offer Recommen-dations for using student surveys as a means of evaluation .	High school faculty, Administration	May 2014	Research from the MET project, Results from my action research	The final presentation will present the complied data, results and reflections from the research plan. Based on these findings, final recommendations will be made to improve the student survey process. Faculty will complete reflection questions on the presentation. Post summary and reflection of faculty meeting on http://actionrp12.blogspot.com/

Week 2 Reflection

Week 2 Reflection- After navigating through week two, I have been impressed with two important lessons. First, I learned that active research is a critical obligation for an administrator. This week’s readings and videos were full of examples of how various administrators used the research process to improve their schools. Many administrators stress how important doing research and collecting data is when instituting improvements to their school. In fact, many administrators stressed that research and data analysis is arguably the most important responsibility their position demands.

 

Secondly, a simple yet valuable lesson I learned was that when beginning a research plan an administrator must practice practicality. It is easy to be enamored by the newest theoretical academic practices. However, an administrator must closely examine and listen to the immediate needs of his or her school. When an administrator decides on a research plan, it must be a practical one that  ultimately addresses the specific needs of their school.