Research Update

This is my Action Research Plan

Inquiry Question-How does teacher access to professional/staff development on campus meet the needs of teachers and their students?

Context/Setting-The setting is a middle school which serves approximately 1,000 students in a medium-sized suburban community. The student population is over 95% Hispanic and over 85% Economically Disadvantaged with a high percentage of Limited English Proficient (LEP) students. In terms of teacher experience, about 55% of teachers on campus have been teaching for 6 years or more, with 45% having 5 years or less experience. Both new and experienced teachers benefit from continued professional development to help them grow as educators and not become stagnant. I chose this topic for action research because our campus does not have a system in place for ensuring that its teachers receive access to valuable and needed professional development opportunities in a consistent way.

Selection/Target Population-The action research will target a representative sample of the 90 or so teachers on campus, both experienced and inexperienced ones. I will be analyzing which teachers receive what kinds of professional development and how the decisions regarding professional development are made.

Rationale for Sample Size-Since there are teachers with a variety of levels of experience, specific certification specialties, who service different student populations with various learning needs, it is important that I examine a representative selection of all the teachers on campus to see if their educational development needs are being met. From the approximately 90 teachers on campus, I will select a sample of about 25% (23 teachers): 14 Regular Education teachers (from the core content areas: ELA, Math, Social Studies, and Science), 7 with less than 5 years experience including at least one first-year teacher and 7 with 6 or more years experience; 5 non-content area Regular Education teachers, experienced and inexperienced; and 4 Special Education teachers, experienced and inexperienced (23 teachers total). I will be sure the selection sample includes teachers who work with LEP, Special Education, Gifted and Talented, and Pre-AP students.

How Research will be Conducted-Since the Curriculum Assistant keeps documentation of each teacher’s professional development history and is in charge of staff development on campus, I will be reviewing her records for the 2009-2010 school year. I decided to review last year’s data so that I can get a full year’s worth of information and make recommendations based on the data. I will be examining the type and amount of professional development, the teachers’ professional certification and background, and the characteristics of the students in their classes. I will interview the Curriculum Assistant and the Principal as to their perceived roles (and the school’s) in helping teachers select appropriate professional development. I will also interview a selection of the teachers in the target sample about their choices for professional development, the ease of access to professional development opportunities, and their opinion of how the training(s) or lack of training has impacted the students in their classes.