Study Steps of Action - Assignment Part 3

Here is what I have for Part 3 of this week's assignment.  It is a little more detailed summary of the steps I will take in the study...using the 8 step model and the cell phone study example.

Setting the Foundation

Through collaboration with site mentors and members of the Above and Beyond (Safe and Civil Schools) committee the issue of bus behavior and students perception of their personal safety on the school bus was identified as a concern.    The focus of my student revolves around this question:  What was the number of bus discipline referrals written within the time period of August 2012 – January 2013 and in what way can positive behavior incentives affect student behavior and the number of bus referrals received by students who ride school buses?

Analyzing Data

I will use data from the Fall School Climate Survey, school bus disciplinary referral records as well as electronic searches on the topic of bus discipline and related incentive plans. 

Some findings from my research include: There are solutions/reactions to discipline problems on school buses that are punitive in nature.

There are solutions/reactions to discipline problems on school buses that revolve around positive incentives.

This study will explore the latter in the hopes that positive incentives can reduce disciplinary problems and referrals on school buses.

Developing a Deeper Understanding

Key stakeholders, i.e. students, bus drivers will be interviewed throughout the study to gain deeper understanding into the pros and cons of the incentive plan developed.  I will randomly ride buses both going to and coming from school observe the known behavioral expectations and types of misbehavior occurring on the buses.  I will use the time on the school bus to interview both the bus drivers and bus riders to probe deeper into their perspectives and opinions of the incentive plan.

Engaging in Self-Reflection

The data will be continually analyzed as the study progresses.  If I notice that the students are not earning the incentives in a timely manner, I may have to survey the students to determine a potential revision of the plan; perhaps the incentive chosen does not hold value with the students or the bus driver’s attitude towards the students could affect their behavior. 

Exploring Programmatic Patterns

Staying in constant contact with my site mentor, the bus duty monitors and bus drivers will assist in keeping the study on track.  The bus duty monitors witness the students as they depart the bus in the mornings and enter on the buses in the afternoon.  Their observations of student attitudes could be valuable to the overall success of the study.

Determining Direction

The purpose of this study is to determine if positive incentives will have an impact on student behavior on our school buses.  The main goal of this study is student safety and their perception of their safety.  When a bus is chaotic and disruptive student’s sense of safety is diminished.  As the study progresses we will look at the effects of the each step and evaluate them to determine if any tweaking is necessary in order to provide the information desired.  Collaboration and communication are vital to ensuring this study is effectively completed.  These areas will be closely monitored and any part of the plan can be revised and improved based on these observations.

Taking Action for School Improvement

A small committee consisting of the site mentor, bus duty monitors, bus drivers and myself will be established to complete this action research study.  The Harris et al. text, Tool 7.1 Action Planning Template, p. 85 will be used to guide the implementation of the research project and to help stay on track. 

Sustain Improvement

A summary report will be created outlining the results of the action research project and the summary report will be shared with the members of the Above and Beyond (Safe and Civil Schools) committee, the school bus drivers and the teachers on our campus.  Should the study yield the positive results expected, the bus behavior incentive plan will be implemented for the 2013-2014 school year. 

Action Planning Template

Action Planning Template
Goal: Reduce the disciplinary problems on campus school bus runs and the resulting number of bus referrals
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Examine the School Climate Survey; specifically noting the % of students who feel unsafe on the bus	Charlene Hefferin	12/7/12 – 1/28/13	School Climate Survey	Results of survey in specific area of bus discipline and student sense of safety on buses
Research bus referral data for first half of 2012- 2013 school year	Charlene Hefferin, Ilich Ramirez	1/31 – 2/5/13	Discipline data from district ESP program	Actual referral data
Research bus discipline papers/incentive suggestions	Charlene Hefferin	1/25 – 2/5/13	Internet to perform research	Literature review to get sample ideas of incentives
Determine appropriate incentive	Pam Bruner, Ilich Ramirez, Charlene Hefferin	2/5/13	Collaboration	Incentive choice
Determine appropriate requirements to earn incentive	Pam Bruner, Ilich Ramirez, Charlene Hefferin	2/5/13	Collaboration	Specific requirements needed to earn incentive
Create Bus Calendars to document progress	Charlene Hefferin	1/28 – 1/31/13	Computer, calendars for each bus run for each month February – June 2013	Completed calendars
Meet with Bus Drivers to inform/discuss incentive plan	Ilich Ramirez, Charlene Hefferin	2/4/13 – 2/8/13	Meeting room, Information packets	Bus Driver response and commitment
Meet with campus Bus Duty monitors to inform/discuss incentive plan	Ilich Ramirez, Charlene Hefferin	2/4/13 – 2/8/13	Meeting Room, information packets	Bus Duty monitors response and commitment
Announce incentive plan to students	Pam Bruner, Ilich Ramirez	2/15/13	Video delivery system	Announcement Made; student response
Track results as students work towards meeting incentive requirements	Charlene Hefferin, bus duty employees	2/18 -  6/6/13	Tracking forms, clipboards, monthly calendars for each bus run	Data on calendars
Reward incentive to students as earned	Pam Bruner, Ilich Ramirez	ongoing	Free dress passes or other incentive	Free Dress Passes given to students
Analyze and compare bus referral data for second half of 2012- 2013 school year to previous data	Charlene Hefferin, Ilich Ramirez	6/7/13 – 6/21/13	Discipline data from district ESP program	Comparing actual data; data results

Reflection

This week we had a lot of readings and several videos plus we had to meet with our mentors to discuss our action research study topics.  After watching the videos and completing the weekly readings in our Dana text many new topics and wonderings started to pique my interest.   Acquiring so much new information about action research questions made it difficult to choose just one action research topic.  My mentor and I discussed the possibilities for our campus and decided we needed to scale the list down to a reasonable number of topics to consider.  Some of the topics considered were eliminated because they were too broad and it was difficult to narrow them down to be a focused and feasible question. Other topics only benefited a few stakeholders.   I knew I really wanted to focus on who would benefit from my plan so my final choice was one that would benefit the most key stakeholders on my campus.  I also wanted to be able to extend the study further, if possible.  I chose an action research topic related to bus discipline.  It is a topic I feel is important to many stakeholders students, teachers, bus driver, administrators, community members and last but certainly not least, parents. 

How educational leaders can use blogs

Educational leaders can use a blog to notify parents and the community on the latest happenings at the school.  Information on the blog can range from lists of test dates, upcoming concerts or assemblies, and the current breakfast/lunch menu to school accountability data from the latest state standardized test.  Teachers could also have the ability to create posts…perhaps to remind parents of the requirements for their big school project or give shout-outs to students who have done something "shout worthy" (only first names to ensure student privacy!).  I believe a personalized school blog would get more traffic than the outdated school website.