Below is my draft Action Research Progress Report. The headings bolded align with the ELCC standards that can be found at this link.
Draft Action Research Project Progress Report
A Study in the use of Online Learning and its effects on graduation: Does the use of online learning to recover credits contribute to a student's ability to stay on-track with their graduation cohort?
Needs assessment
With the looming need to have 100% of our students meet NCLB guidelines and TEA’s standard of 95% completion it was necessary to address the completion rate in my district and on my campus. In 2009 we only had a graduation rate of 74.9% on my campus and 70% overall for the district. This statistic lead to the district creating a program called Graduation Labs to help students, who were behind their cohort, catch up. As a result I was hired to run one of these labs and therein began my passion for working with students who are struggling to graduate. Using online learning for credit recovery is a hot topic highly debated in the education circuit, but that was what I was employed to do. After a semester of working with these students and seeing marginal success, I was led to desire to know more about how to make this program work. I read about best practices in this environment and started to wonder the following questions. What makes the students who are sent to me unsuccessful in the traditional classroom? How can I help them to be more successful in the lab environment? What motivational techniques will work for these students? Is using online learning really the right tool to help students to graduate? Do some students have more of a propensity for online learning than others? These wonderings led me to develop this action research project. I will collect data in the form of surveys, course completion statistics, motivational techniques used, teacher observations, and student feedback data. There is no need to break down the data by gender or ethnicity as these findings would be irrelevant to this subject matter. My goal was to find out if my program really helped students to graduate on time.
Vision
The need to address the needs of students at-risk for dropping out of high school was imminent. In conjunction with the school district a vision was developed for addressing those needs through the use of online learning. As a part of this vision a program called Graduation Labs were enacted in my district and I was hired to supervise and coordinate a program to address the needs of these learners by using online courses to regain credit. The original goal was to address the needs for credit recovery but it was quickly discovered that there was a greater need to help students from all grade levels stay on track with their cohort through the use of accelerated courses for both recovery and original credit. After a semester of experience using online learning I was lead to formulate the need for an action research project centered on the question: Is the use of online learning for credit recovery effective to catch students up to their graduating cohort? The goal was simple. Determine if the use of online learning was effective as evidenced by an increase in graduation rate and course completion rate thereby allowing students to stay on track to graduation with their cohort. The use of motivational tools and data collection would determine the answer to this question.
Literature Review
As I pondered some ideas for the project that was slowly taking form in my head I ran across several articles that supported the need to develop an online program for credit recovery that would work. In an article entitled Credit Recovery Software: the New Summer School the author stated “The push for a high graduation rate--always a symbol of academic excellence but now carrying even greater value as a measure of accountability under the No Child Left Behind Act—has districts looking for any way to help turn around or even bring back students whose poor academic performance is driving them--or already has driven them--to drop out of school.” (O'Hanlon, 2009) This idea encompasses the vision for the Graduation Labs as the school district designed it. The idea for my research was a springboard off of what the district was already doing; a way to cross-reference myself to make sure that the job that I was doing was reeping benefits. The benefits to online learn are that “coursework can be completed entirely through the software, or the technology can be used as a supplement to textbook teaching.” (O'Hanlon, 2009) As a part of the decision making process for formatting this design of this research prior studies which indicated success when using online learning were used. An article on Issues Surrounding the Deployment of a New Statewide Virtual Public School in The Quarterly Review of Distance Education stated that students in an online environment did not always possess the technical skills needed to be successful in an online environment. (Oliver, Osborne, Patel, & Kleiman, 2009). This research prompted me to ensure that as a part of my research I took data which spoke to the technical skills of my students. I found a survey to use for this effort. The same article also stated that “In Credit Recovery, these students have failed in a traditional setting maybe because of incomplete assignments or absences. Most of these students don’t have the self-motivation to login and complete assignments according to the course’s standards.” (p. 44) I had also noticed this issue in my previous semester with the students I would be studying and had to find a way to counteract this issue. I had already employed several motivational techniques but I knew that I would need to up this strategy if this project was going to work. From these ideas the research ideas just blossomed. I decided to, with the help of my mentor, steam roll ahead and discover if online learning really was effective and how to make it more so.
Sharing the Vision
After brainstorming the idea to research whether the program that I am involved in was having an impact I sought the approval of my principal and mentor. Both happily agreed for me to go ahead with the research since I was already working in the environment. The vision for the program was already well defined by the school district and my goal with implementing this research was to improve upon the already successful program. I knew that the life of the program would be short-lived if I did not show ways in which to boost student course completions and the overall success of the program. Since the program was already successful it was necessary to conduct this research so that the program did not become stagnant. I share the vision of the program with the faculty as a whole and in more detail to the teachers who showed an interest in helping with the program. The students were placed in a course called Grad Lab and I worked to ensure that they understood why they were chosen to work online to recover credits. Through a series of motivational and instructional sessions the students involved became well versed in the program requirements. I am withholding sharing the vision with the community at large beyond the scope of what the district has already done until I can show conclusive evidence that the program is working. A special program and informational session was designed for the parents of the students involved in the program.
Manage the Organization
The design of the research was to have the students complete a survey put out by the district which indicates the level of technological proficiency. There was no cost for this survey and the students completed the survey prior to begin the course work online. I was responsible for administering the survey and ensuring that all students had completed the survey. Throughout the course of the semester students were instructed on ways to complete the coursework and the number of course completions was tallied. Students were provided with a reward system, tutoring support, and motivational training to deal with the reasons that they had fallen behind in the first place. A significant counseling component was instituted and the student’s daily needs were tracked by me and the school counselors. Teachers were hired to provide tutoring assistance with approval from the principal. After hours lab time was made available with additional tutoring assistance was also made available. The emotional needs of the students were noted and all staff in contact with the students was held accountable to meeting the emotional needs of the involved students. Special tutorial arrangements were made on an as needed basis and the teachers for those sessions were paid from a pre-arranged budget. All said as many as the students had access to at least 20 staff members at all times. Students were provided ways to contact me after hours as well. A daily reward system was used and students were held accountable to tracking their own progress. Due dates were set for each student as needed and students were held accountable to meeting the due dates.
Manage Operations
The project was overseen by me at all times with constant input from both my principal and mentor. I undertook the role of coordinating all efforts and was often placed in the position to manage conflict as it related to students and staff. A priority was given to meeting the needs of the students first. The vision and goals were always at the forefront of my mind as I implemented the project. I had to gain interest from the staff to provide the tutoring needed; counselors were given biweekly updates on student progress and attendance; the students were given the opportunity to provide feedback near the end of the semester; and when conflict arose it was dealt with in a private manner keeping the needs of the students as the focus. As a part of a large program, using online learning was the tool used to help students regain credit. My study centered around was it the best method and how can we make it better.
Community Interests and Needs
Since the program using online learning was put into place to serve the needs of students at-risk for dropping out, in a way the needs of special interests were already being served. In addition my campus is 97% Hispanic. I did have to address the needs of special education students. The needs and modifications of these students were handled according to protocol; however, by the program’s very nature we have already addressed the needs of many special populations. The Grad Lab program was designed to meet the needs of a special population. Interestingly, the needs of several students who fell out of the general demographic the program was intended for were served as well. Three students who participated in the program graduated in the top 10% of their class. The needs of the school were addressed by close monitoring of the student progress and attendance by me, the school counselors, the truant officer, and the school police officers.
References
O'Hanlon, C. (2009). Credit Recovery Software: the New Summer School. T.H.E. Journal , 36(2).
Oliver, K., Osborne, J., Patel, R., & Kleiman, G. (2009). Issues surrounding the deployment of a new statewide virtual public school. The Quarterly Review of Distance Education , 10(1), 37-49.
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