Action Research Project

action research and me

2005-06-22T22:46:00.000-07:00

My journey started several years ago and has followed a story line that illustrates my development as an educator and leader. I recognized a problem regarding resource use at Millikan high school that I used to my advantage on numerous occasions. I spent time looking through storage cabinets to find resources that can be used to teach chemistry and physics topics. During my browsing I came across package after package of unused resources and equipment. I was thrilled to find new things that I could use to teach various concepts and skills. Why were these unused resources going unnoticed? Most of the unused items were less than two years old. This usually means that a grade level team ordered the supplies but for some reason, failed to implement. Due to our limited funds, supply orders are only for necessary items. There must have been a foreseen benefit in purchasing the never used resources. I began to wonder about the effectiveness of science instruction that is void of material resources. I also wondered why these resources item were shelved and what I could do help science staff use the “things” of science to teach science.

I believe the importance of using resources in the teaching of science is primarily about shaping the thinking of the learner. Using resources is part of the path for a student to begin to think like a scientist and solve problems like a scientist.

I have noticed from experience that there is a fissure between knowledge and application. Students can use mathematical relationships in science to solve seemingly simple problems. I have noticed the gap when students are asked to act on what the math results indicate. An example of this pertains to a simple dilution problem where students are asked to determine the final volume of a solution after it has been diluted. There are students who can come up with an answer but are unable to perform the same dilution in a lab setting. The numbers do not translate into action. A resource can be a bridge between knowledge and deep understanding. At the least, I believe a resource may help uncover deficiencies by bringing to light what students can and cannot do.

Using resources brings an element of risk to teaching and learning. Students may stumble upon things that intrigue them. What a student is able to see in a resource or do with a resource is out of the control of the teacher. I think we limit our students or place them into molds that they may not fit if we do not give them a chance to explore.

My beliefs about science instruction led me to discover ways in which I could help staff use the “stuff” of science to teach science. I wanted to help the staff see that there are other options besides the prepackaged lab activities that are more about verification of a rule or law of science than they are about inquiry, exploration, and discovery.

My first action included the inventory and organization of our storage facility. My goal was much more than just giving a list of the resources with location to each staff member. This was a step in the right direction. A resource cannot be used if it cannot be found. My goal was to help the staff see how they could use resources to enhance their teaching. This action fell short of that goal.

While reflecting on the outcomes of my action, it became clear to me that my focus on material resources neglected people as resources. I broadened my focus to help nurture the sharing of expertise between staff members. It was my hope that staff would begin to dialogue about what they excel at and what they need help with. After failed attempts to unite a group of 18 educators I shifted my focus to three educators. . My workings with two educators joined together in a smaller learning community produced the kind of results that I believe will impact the students and staff at Millikan high school. We became a community focused on producing a learning environment that encourages the exploration that leads to learning science with depth and complexity.

Integrated science

2005-06-08T16:13:00.000-07:00

The freshman, sophomore, and junior level teachers within the QUEST smaller learning community expressed concern regarding the lack of integration within the three science courses that each QUEST student is required to take. This resulted in the planning and development of curriculum that allows students to connect physical science with life science. This step was taken to serve two purposes. One step is to enhance student learning. The other is to be a model for other vertical teams. I believe this is momentum in the positive direction for our science department.

Integrated science has many positive sides to it. First of all, I believe an integrated approach to teaching science gives a student an appreciation for the central themes of science. One of the these themes is energy. Integrated curriculum gives more students an opportunity to see how connected mechanical and chemical energy are to their lives. The curriculum in integrated science is more relevant to the lives of students than traditional science. Students have opportunity within each class to explore something of interest. Students may dislike chemistry and be placed in that class for a whole year studying nothing but chemistry. Integrated science allows for students likes and dislikes (if they have any) to blend together. Hopefully this results in more appreciation for all science.

I believe it is very difficult to teach integrated science. The instructor needs to have an understanding and appreciation for the physical and biological sciences. I believe that it takes time to teach integrated curriculum. Students cannot be told that all branches of science weave together. The need to discover this truth. This discover does not happen when instructors rush through curriculum. Teachers need to deliver discovery type lessons that enable students to have the "ah-ha" moments that occur when they no longer see nuclear, chemical, mechanical, electrical energy as completely distinct entities.

This cycle has brought one team within the science department to a place where dialogue and the sharing of expertise occurs. This cycle has produced a community with a focus on enhancing student learning by providing students explore areas of interest and understand how intertwined are the disciplines of science.

Giving up on the blog

2005-05-30T00:03:00.000-07:00

I have given up on the blog. Staff is not ready to use a web log. Not one staff member is currently using blogger. I dont' thinka substantial number of the staff will in the future. They simply dont' have tme, or can't figure out how to set up an account, or dont' want to post their thoughts about the topic of the week for everyone to see.

I have decided to give up on the blog and focus on dialogueing with a smaller group of almost connected staff members.

The blog is a failure

2005-05-18T18:58:00.000-07:00

I wanted to use the discussion forum host by MHS but it seemed too difficult to navigate. If I had difficulty navigating a discussion forum then my collegues certainly would. I decided to use blogger.com as the tool for reflection, discussing, & sharing. I asked almost half of the staff about using blogger.com to open our communication. Each of the eight said in was a good idea and that they would take part.

Only one person took it seriously enough to set up an account and post. What happened?

I am still trying to figure this one out.

communication

2005-05-10T17:51:00.000-07:00

A letter I wrote to the science staff...

Science Staff,

Due to all of the various commitments and SLC responsibilities, staff rarely has the time or energy to engage in professional dialogue about science instruction. Each staff member has an area or areas where they excel. They also have areas of weakness. However, as a collective group we rarely share our strengths and receive help with our weaknesses. The science staff does a good job of working together on smaller grade level teams, but is deficient in the communication across grade levels. I have been thinking about ways in which science staff could share their expertise with one another as a collective group. One option would be to use the Millikan discussion board. The discussion board can only be accessed at work and it is very difficult to navigate. I found it very difficult to use the MHS discussion board and as a result, this option has been ruled out.

The second option was to set up individual blog sites. The blog will be used as an online journal. A few positive aspects of using a web log as a reflective tool is to see how our teaching has changed over time. Another positive aspect is that we will be able to read other staff entries and post comments.

My plan is to have a question or topic of the week that we respond to on our blog site. We will post a response and read the responses from others. Comment on other blogs if you feel the need.

Each of you will have opportunity to choose the topic of the week. Sean has kicked us off with the topic for this week. If you are interested in taking part, please visit http://hale.pepperdine.edu/~saallen/actionresearch/mhs/blog.htm for more information.

Sincerely,

Scott Allen

Elevator Pitch

2005-05-02T21:43:00.000-07:00

I have noticed from experience teaching science that there is a chasm between knowledge and application. A majority of my students are able to use mathematical relationships in science to solve seemingly simple problems. I have noticed the gap when students are asked to perform what the math results indicate. An example of this pertains to a simple dilution problem where students are asked to determine the final volume of a solution after it has been diluted to a lesser known concentration. There are students who can come up with an answer but are unable to perform the same dilution in a lab setting. The numbers do not translate into action. A resource can be a bridge between knowledge and deep understanding. At the very least, a resource may help uncover deficiencies.

It has been my goal to help the science staff at Millikan high school improve upon their use of resources in educating their students. Using resources brings an element of risk to teaching and learning. Students may stumble upon things that intrigue them. What a student is able to see in a resource or do with a resource is out of the control of the teacher. I think we limit our students or place them into molds that they may not fit if we do not give them a chance to explore. I have realized that the reason why this concerns me is not because I think using resources is the only way to teach science. Nor do I think my staff is entirely deficient in this area. (Although, I think this is an area that needs improvement.) My main concern is to help the science staff improve their teaching practices. The science staff at Millikan high school rarely has opportunities to dialogue about issues in science education that concern them. I believe the "stuff" of science is an appropriate spring board for talking about science instruction.

My first action involved meeting with a few staff members to dialogue about some of the issues and concerns that face us regarding resource use. Because of these meetings, it was determined that our resource use or lack of resource use can be partially attributed to the state of our inventory system. One of the actions taken was to "clean house". We removed and reorganized each storage cabinet with hopes of making resources more accessible. Making resources more accessible is like placing prized possessions behind glass cabinets. I think staff members will see what they are missing by being able to see what they can use.

More importantly, I have discovered what will push us forward will not necessarily be how we use resources. It will be the disscussions and action that follow the "why" of using resources. I had a difficult time nurturing a community of practice around the idea of resource use. Research shows that communities of practice form around what matters to people. The formation of a community of practice cannot be forced.

For my second cycle, I set out to uncover ways in which I could open the doors of communication between the 18 science staff members to help the staff uncover what matters to them. I explored using a discussion board hosted by Millikan high school. This idea failed due to the difficulty that staff members have navigating the site. In place of a disscussion board, I introduced each staff member to the blog as a reflective and collaborative tool. I set up a website that contains a "topic of the week" with links to the blogs of staff members. The topic of the week is chosen by the staff. Each staff member posts a response and comments on the blogs of their peers. This action is geared to produce reflective practitioners that share their expertise. Where will this lead?

mhs science blog

2005-05-01T19:18:00.000-07:00

I would like to see the science staff open the doors to communication so that a sharing of expertise can occur. I have noticed that the staff doesn't talk as much as they used to. I think it is because we have taken on more and more responsibilities over the years. I do not want to put more responsibiliy on them to communicate but I do want the staff to communicate. How can I increase communication without adding one more thing for the staff to do?

Answers to tough questions...

2005-04-25T22:25:00.000-07:00

Resources play a central role in teaching and one's growth as a teacher. Why do I think that resources are important? Why did I pick this as a problem? How do I see the links to resources and teaching?

I think the importance of using resources in the teaching of science is primarily about shaping the thinking of the learner. Using resources is part of the path for a student to begin to think like a scientist and solve problems like a scientist.

I have noticed from experience that there is a chasm between knowledge and application. Students can use mathematical relationships in science to solve seemingly simple problems. I have noticed the gap when students are asked to do what the math results indicate. An example of this pertains to a simple dilution problem where students are asked to determine the final volume of a solution after it has been diluted. There are students who can come up with an answer but are unable to perform the same dilution in a lab setting. The numbers do not translate into action. A resource can be a bridge between knowledge and deep understanding.... at the least, a resource may help uncover deficiencies.

Using resources brings an element of risk to teaching and learning. Students may stumble upon things that intrigue them. What a student is able to see in a resource or do with a resource is out of the control of the teacher. I think we limit our students or place them into molds that they may not fit if we do not give them a chance to explore.

I have realized that the reason why I picked this topic is not because I think using resources is the only way to teach science. Nor do I think my staff is entirely deficient in this area. (Although, I think this is an area that needs improvement.) My main concern is to help the science staff improve their teaching practices. I believe the "stuff" of science is an appropriate spring board for talking about science instrution.

I found something that Seymour Papert said during a lecture to Japanese math instructors that I believe pertains to science instruction as well.

"Well, teaching is important, but learning is much more important. And Constructionism means "Giving children good things to do so that they can learn by doing much better than they could before." Now, I think that the new technologies are very, very rich in providing new things for children to do so that they can learn mathematics as part of something real."

where are the painted cans?

2005-04-25T22:20:00.000-07:00

I was asked by a colleague if I knew where the painted soda cans are located. I am almost certain that they were placed on the "to be discarded" table. These items were left out for staff to see so that they could let me know that should not be discarded. Emails were sent on numerous occasions pertaining to our responsibility in checking the discard table for items that are or will be used. Apparently this did not happen for all of the staff.

chemical storage room

2005-04-02T23:15:00.000-08:00

One of the required pieces of equipment for science departments relates to chemical storage safety. I am responsible for lab safety at MHS. It was brought to my attention that our chemical storage room lacks a sufficient "lip" on the storage shelf to protect against chemical containers from falling during an earthquake. One of my orders of business will be to install a "lip" for the safety of staff and the fire department.

Discussions with Science Curriculum Leader

2005-03-23T22:34:00.000-08:00

I was pleasantly surprized by a visit from the Science Curriculum leader for the LBUSD. Our discusion focused on science resources. His intentions were to develope a resource list for all of the high schools. The idea was to give a list of necessary resources to all secondary science personel. This will be helpful for some of our new secondary schools.

Cycle one Story

2005-03-02T21:02:00.000-08:00

Over the past few years, I have been concerned with the way resources are utilized at Millikan High School. I set out to be an instrument of change.

Here is what I did, why I did it, what transpired, and what is yet to come.

I wanted to help the science staff think about the "stuff" of science and improve upon the way resources are purchased and utilized. With the help of other teachers, all resources were inventoried. Three teachers along with myself opened every cabinet to determine the usefulness of the science resources. About half of the resources remained in the cabinet to be inventoried. Half of the resources were removed for potential disposal. The four of us made the decision to keep or discard based on our assessment of the usefulness of the resource. The items that were marked for discard were either damaged, obsolete, or collecting dust for the past five years. Staff was given a chance to look through the discard piles for any items that are or will be used before the permanent removal.

This action was taken because of three primary reasons. One reason was to make staff members aware of the current resources that we have in our possession. The second was in response to discussions with staff regarding check out procedure of resources. The third was to organize the resource room so that new purchases will be accessible and organized by content area.

The initial action of discarding, taking inventory, and reorganizing resulted in a few immediate outcomes. A few staff members indicated that they were concerned that we were throwing some of the items away. These staff members recognized a use for seemingly useless material. They were given an opportunity to think about science curriculum and the materials of science.

The next step is to continue to dialogue with staff to determine the criteria for purchasing new material and software. Our purchase orders are due in May for the following semester.

One of the areas of weakness that I have recognized pertains to the speed at which this cycle is taking. I am working with teachers and college aides to accomplish the goals of my ARP. I know the relative time frame that I am working with but am unable to lead others to follow with the same time frame. I believe that I need to become more involved in the implementation part of the plan. However, I do not want this ARP to fall into the "micromanagement" trap that many projects fall into. I think I have not done a sufficient job of helping to create a collective vision for resource use.

questions for staff

2005-03-01T18:59:00.000-08:00

Purchase orders are coming up for next semester are coming up. I am establishing a task force so that the science department can figure out how they go about making purchases with a forever shrinking budget.

This task force will include 6 groups of three staff members. Each group will research, uncover, etc. the necessary information within their topic that they can report back to the larger group.

Proposed groups:
1. Available budget and possible distribution of monies among the grade levels.
2. Various types of resources (lab equip., chemicals, videos, software) and the benefits and downside to purchasing each.
3. How do our students learn best?
4. What makes a teacher successful and how does this relate to the "stuff" of science?
5. Discovery based science vs. ...?
6. Storage and inventory of supplies.

Threaded discussion?

2005-02-16T23:23:00.000-08:00

I wonder how a threaded discussion via a news group would impact the teaching within the science department at Millikan High School? Just a thought.

Millikan High School has set up a discussion board to be used by staff. It hasn't been used by anyone in the science department. I wonder why?

Visibility of resources

2005-01-10T20:00:00.000-08:00

We have undertaken the task of taking inventory and removing unnecessary or under untililzed resources from the science department. This has lead to a discovery that we are pack rats that do not like to "throw" out the trash. There are broken items that are older than I am. I hope this leads to a better use of what we spend money on.

ARP discussion with staff

2004-10-15T22:54:00.000-07:00

I have had conversations with a few staff members regarding my ARP idea. I received an enthusiastic response about what I am attempting to accomplish. The input I received included a push to focus on software and technology. The advice was to narrow my focus. After thinking about the idea of specifically focusing on software and tech use at Millikan high school, it is becoming more clear to me that this narrow focus can have a greater impact on student learning. Right now technology in the science department is primarily used for communication and presentations. This misses the advantage of living in the digital age by a huge margin.

After my introduction to software programs like MicroWorlds and Celestia, it became clear to me that the deficiencies we have regarding technology at Millikan is not primarily due to the lack of use of technology. It is due to the ways in which technology is used. Student media productions and research on the internet is important but may not produce the type of learning that sharpens students ability to think scientifically about the natural world. Media productions and research may not deliver the conceptual learning that we want to take place. An astronomy unit is one of the first units that our freshmen take part in at Millikan high school. Students do various activities to show the relationship between the size and distances between the planets. Students would discover the relationship between the sizes and distances of the planets by exploring the solar system using a software program like Celestia. Students would travel in space and get lost. Trying to find their way back home would be nearly impossible without using the "go to" commands. The vastness of space would have new meaning for them. In fact, understanding the vastness of space would be a natural by product of using the Celestia program.

2004-09-27T21:06:00.000-07:00

For the past few years I have been concerned with the way that the science department decides about purchases for the upcoming year. I have noticed that some purchases have little impact on the students education. One of the reasons for the lack of impact is due to lack of use.

I want to lead the department in determining the criteria for making purchases and the process of implementation.

Event: Science department makes yearly purchases of technology and other resources for the upcoming year.

Problem: Technology and resource purchases have limited impact on student education due to known and unknown factors.

Possible solution: Determine criteria for evaluation of resources. Determine a plan for implementation. Become a resource for the science department to influence the thinking that governs decision making regarding purchases.

Expected Outcome: Value of technology and resources will be realized and utilized. Student education will be positively impacted due use of resources.

Research Question: What is the criteria for evaluating resources?

ARP options and a dilema

2004-09-22T21:38:00.000-07:00

I have been contemplating changing the focus of my ARP. One of the problems that I see at my place of work involves that lack of use of resources that are purchased to fulfill the supply need of the science department. The two areas that need the most attention is educational software and lab materials. We purchase educational software and lab materials annually. The yearly purchases often remain in their original boxes. I want to answer the question of why this happens. We either need to not make the purchase or utilize the purchase.

What is the criteria for evaluating the necessity of making a purchase? What are expected outcomes of purchasing science material?

Fragmented Education

2004-09-14T21:35:00.000-07:00

I am fortunate enough to teach in an "SLC" in a GATE magnet. However, the education for the 11th grade students is still fragmented. In most cases their science class has nothing to do with their English, History, and Math classes. I want to be an instrument of change. How can I increase the level of integration between the disciplines? One of my obstacles is that I do not have a common planning period with the three other teachers.

Journal Keeping Exercise: pg 39-40 (Coughlan/Brannick)

2004-08-22T22:08:00.000-07:00

A concrete event that has taken place at work involved the transferring of a staff member to another school to meet student to teacher staffing ratio. This event took place at the end of the first semester to another science teacher. The consequences that arose included the changing of current teaching schedules for 2 teachers in order to take over the classes that now had a displaced teacher.

Looking back on this event has me asking questions like 'why did this need to happen?' and 'what could have prevented this?'. I was disappointed when I heard the news and angry at the same time. I became angry because I viewed this as a lack of planning that would result in overstaffing. I felt like others were not doing their job which resulted in the science department losing one of their teachers. I contemplated volunteering to be transferred in place of this other teacher.

Losing a staff member often results in a sense of loss whether it be because of retirement or job transfer. I witnessed the pain and distress of another which invoked the same emotions in myself. Friends and colleagues suffer when their peers suffer or experience distress. If the morale of a workplace is going to be positive, fear of losing a current job assignment for reasons out of our control needs to be eliminated.

The other side to this coin includes the belief that job security is so strong that their will never be a reason to lose one's job. Complacency may result in this situation. One way to determine how morale is affected by somewhat random selection for transfer would be to set up a performance/asset criteria to be used if this situation occurs again. This may remove the 'not fair' attitude experienced by many teachers. Just a thought.

Action Research Planning

2004-08-14T22:07:00.000-07:00

My initial plans for my Action Research Project led me to think of the science department at Millikan High School in Long Beach. I have developed close relationships with the staff and would like to see the staff progress in their use of technology to enhance the education of the students at Millikan High. Since these initial thoughts I have developed an alternate option that I am considering. I have listed two options below for my field of action.

Option 1:
My field of action will be with 18 to 20 science teachers at Millikan high school in Long Beach. The school population is just under 4000 students. The school has been divided into "smaller learning communities -- SLC". Each science teacher is a part of an SLC. There are approximately three science teachers (9th, 10th, 11th grade) per SLC. Our staff is a collaborative staff. We plan curriculum together and share any ideas and resources that we have.

The area that I would like to impact regards the effective use of technological resources like science software programs and a computer lab of 40 computers reserved strictly for science classes. I have noticed that money is spent yearly on upgrades to the lab and various science software. Some software software purchases remain unused. We had to enforce a policy to limit word processing in the computer lab. Teachers were using the lab to allow their students to type papers. Because of this, teachers using the lab for things other than word processing were given priority. It is my goal to take the science department beyond their current use of technology.

Option 2
My field of action will be with 4 members of the SLC that I work in. The SLC is named QUEST--" Questioning, Understanding, Engaging Students through Technology." I am a part of the 11th grade team that consists of 4 teachers from 4 different departments (English, History, Math, Science). We sadly joke about how QUEST should be renamed QUES. The technology part is lacking in the 11th grade. It is my goal to bring the "tech" back into QUEST in the 4 disciplines in a meaningful way. I would like to find out why technology is missing and what we are missing by neglecting technology.