Getting the plan rolling......

During this last week I made final confirmations of teachers that were going to take part in my action research and we met and discussed what the students' electronic portfolios would include.  We talked about how many students should participate per class and its okay if teachers have different numbers.  Our goal is that next school year this becomes a campus wide procedure. 

I am excited to have the students start creating their portfolios and to see what else we can discover during this project.  I think it will be interesting to see what different grade levels of students will create and discuss with their parents during the conference.  I am hoping for high participation from my students and parents. 

Plan of action for Research Action Plan

I have created an outline of how to conduct my Action Research Plan of Student Led Conferences
Here is what I have come up with....

OUTCOMES	ACTIVITIES	RESOURCES/RESEARCH AND TOOLS NEEDED	RESPONSIBILITY TO ADDRESS THE ACTIVITIES	TIMELINE	BENCHMARKS/ ASSESSMENT	REVISION TO THE SIP/PIP BASED ON MONITORING AND ASSESSMENTS
Present of concept to site supervisor	Meet with supervisor and develop beginning steps to plan	Use the internet to search student-led conferences	L. Thomas, Principal (site supervisor)	February, 2012	Approved by site supervisor	Adjustment of goals may occur
Find teachers (grades 2-5) to participate in student-led conferences	Meet with different teachers and ask for participation	Have list of resources used to research student-led conferences Have brief timeline ready to show teachers	2-5 grade level teachers	February, 2012	Have participation from one teacher per grade level	More teachers could be interested in participating
Create reflection form for student’s electronic portfolios	Create a template to be used in a PowerPoint presentation, make a paper copy available if needed	Create the form to reflect  various activities students may choose to use in their electronic portfolio	L. Thomas, Principal Participating grade level teachers	February, 2012	Ask for input from participating grade level teachers and administrators	Make reflection form easy to modify based on age/grade of student
Create a graph to plot students’ assessment scores and add to their electronic portfolio	Create a template to be used in a PowerPoint presentation, make a paper copy available if needed	Graphs will be created and used in marking assessment in core subject areas	L. Thomas, Principal Participating grade level teachers	February, 2012	Ask for input from participating grade level teachers and administrators	Make graph easy to modify based on age/grade of student and subject
Create a plan to prepare for the conference day	Meet with participating teachers and help guide them to create electronic portfolios with students to present on conference day	Collaborate with participating teachers and examine how students are creating their portfolios Share ideas with each other about how to present to parents	L. Thomas, Principal Participating grade level teachers	March-May, 2012	Listen to feedback from teachers and students about project thus far	Make adjustments as needed to fit the needs of students to be able to confidently present to parents
Have all electronic portfolios completed before conference day	Have surveys for teachers, students, and parents ready to take with them at the end of the conference	Create surveys for the following parties: Teachers Students Parents Administrators	Participating grade level teachers, students, parents, and administrators	May, 2012	Completion of conferences and surveys returns after conferences	Analyze data from surveys
Students are able to present their academic progress and accomplishments to their parents	Students lead conference by presenting their electronic portfolio	Conduct end of the year conferences	L. Thomas, Principal Participating grade level teachers, students, and parents	May, 2012	Students have the confidence to communicate their academic progress throughout the year to their parents	Present teachers, students, and parents with surveys at the end of the conference
Write and reflect about surveys from all involved parties	Analyze results and comments from surveys	Completed surveys Word document for gathered information	L. Thomas, Principal Participating grade level teachers, students, and parents	May, 2012	Finalize word document and presentation to administrators and staff	Consider what can be improved for future conferences
Get video testimonials from parties involved	Ask volunteers if they are willing to have their opinion of the process be recorded on video	Video testimonials	L. Thomas, Principal Participating volunteers	May, 2012	Volunteers consent to be in video documentation	Be ready for not having any video volunteers, instead have survey completed on paper
Present results to staff	Create a PowerPoint to show results of findings from surveys	Research results Video testimonials PowerPoint presentation	L. Thomas, Principal Participating grade level teachers	May-June, 2012 August, 2012	Administrative teams approval to continue the use of student-led conferences	Create a committee of teachers who participated that will guide new teachers into conducting student-led conferences