Action Research. It sounds pretty exciting, right? At least the first word is engaging…action! The second work starts a little yawn in the back of my head and so it was with those thoughts that I started to read Chapter 1 of “Action Research: An Educational Leader’s Guide to School Improvement.” The reading was a bit long and dry. Pages 8 and 9 were missing in our copy of the chapter and I wondered if anyone had noticed that the information from page 7 was not ever completed in their reading. It also made me wonder if they cared or if they were just skimming the information to get the ideas that they needed as quickly as possible. That to me is the sharp contrast of this reading. It provides a quick theoretical model for designing a research plan of action, yet told in a very long winded professorial way.
The information was appropriate for guiding educator’s toward thinking in a more research oriented way. A quote from the chapter says, “Many teachers…have not been adequately prepared to understand how research can positively affect their work.” The sharing of findings between educators is probably the most important part of this reading. We can always learn from other’s teaching methods. More importantly, we can learn from the results of their findings. We can eliminate what didn’t work for them and build on what worked well.
With that in mind, I created the Action Research Plan pictured below. Choosing an area of art that can be done well by hand and on the computer, I set out to see what fifth graders would think of either method. I want to know how much they already know about the art of collage and one premier artist, Romare Bearden, with a pre-assessment survey. My next step will be to do a presentation explaining the art of collage and design principles. I will also introduce them to a collage artist and show how he expressed himself through collage. I want to have half of the students create a collage by hand with materials I provide and am calling this my non-technology based lesson plan. I want to have the other half learn collage with a technology based plan completing the collage with an interactive online program.
Since I am not a teacher, I have asked to be a guest lecturer for a nearby school who was not able to provide art to their students this year due to budget restraints. I can’t imagine not having art in my life and can at least give them an opportunity to express themselves at school while I begin to understand how technology can have a part in changing their experiences as well. I don’t think the school even realizes that art can be taught without the expense of an art room filled with materials. I’m not sure I did until I started to write this. Stay tuned…..
Glanz, Jeffrey. Action Research: An Educational Leader's Guide to School Improvement. Sept 2003: page 4.
Photo credit:
http://th955.photobucket.com/albums/ae36/hatchdj1/th_618926.jpg
Great job on figuring a way to teach without having your own classroom! Thats cool that you are going to give to kids who dont have what you can offer, for FREE no less! I am not embarassed to admit I totally missed that page 8 and 9 were missing. They should be, Mr.Glanz never drew me in on his writing and yes I read it because I had to force myself too! I really like how you laid out your theory of action diagram. It was easy to understand and made sense. My 16 year old daughter loves art class and of course did very well in it because of that. I cant imagine if we didnt have an art teacher, or art class for that matter. Looking forward to seeing your results!
ReplyDeleteI agree that the article was a tough read. I didn't know it was missing pages. :( After I read it, I had to go back over it several times to figure out how I was supposed to set up the Theory of Action. After I saw a few examples of what other people did it started to make more sense.
ReplyDeleteGreat job being creative with your lesson planning. I am interested to see how it goes for you. When are you planning on doing your lesson?