Tim
Coleman
March
25, 2013
Action
Research Plan
1. Area
of Focus Statement
a.
The
purpose of this study is to describe the effects of reflective exit tickets on
student learning, specifically understanding of the central question of the
lesson and retention of lesson objectives.
2. Define
the Variables
a.
Exit Tickets: a one page, one-sided piece of paper that a student completes at
the end of a lesson to reflect upon the lesson.
Should take between 2-10 minutes to complete.
b.
Central
Question: the
main question that drives the lesson and that the students need to be able to
answer at the end of the lesson.
c.
Lesson
objectives: the
curriculum components taught in a given lesson and needed in order for
subsequent lessons to make sense or have meaning.
d.
Checking students'
understanding: does the student
understand the core objective of the lesson
e.
Summarize: the ability to find the four or five most important points or
objectives in the lesson and state them clearly in one’s own words.
f.
Questions: items that the students need more information to solve or want
to know more about in a follow-up lesson.
g.
Illustration Box: a small area in which the students are allowed and encouraged to
draw anything related to the lesson.
h.
Reflection: thinking back to what was just
learned, relating it to prior learning, and/or finding value in the lesson
objectives.
3. Develop
the Research Questions
a.
What
is the effect of allowing students several reflective avenues to show what they
have learned?
b.
Can
there be choice in showing what has been learned?
c.
Can
an assessment tool be both specific enough to assess learning in a meaningful
way but also be broad enough to be utilized across subjects, curriculum, and
skills?
d.
What
is the effect of consistently having students reflect upon learning as opposed
to sporadic or even non-existent reflection?
e.
Does
reflection on learning happen naturally during the lesson?
f.
What
effect does continual feedback from students have on the teacher and the nature
of subsequent instruction?
4. Describe
the intervention or innovations
a.
I
will implement an Exit Ticket at the end of classroom lessons to stimulate
student reflection and solidify student understanding of the lesson’s
objections.
5. Describe
the membership of the action research group
a.
I
will be working with my grade-level team members at Prairie Elementary
6. Describe
negations that need to be undertaken
a.
I
control the focus of the study and anticipate no negations that will need to be
addressed. The Action Research Plan is
relatively modest in scope and breadth and I have an established history of
implementing new approaches, techniques, and methods in my classroom based upon
research I read and advanced degrees I purpose in education.
7. Develop
a timeline
a.
Phase
1 (March)
i.
Identify
area of focus; Review relevant literature and research; Develop rough draft of
Exit Ticket; Share Exit Ticket with grade level team; Finalize format and determine
which lessons to use Exit Ticket
b.
Phase
2 (Early-April)
i.
Introduce
and explain Exit Ticket to students; Include similar information in weekly
correspondence with parents; Guide students in a practice use of the Exit
Ticket
c.
Phase
3 (Late-April)
i.
Begin
routine use of Exit Ticket during selected lessons; Grade Exit Ticket and
collect data: Provide feedback to students about data, including quality of
responses, representative samples, high-quality responses, and encouragement;
Collect data on Exit Ticket scores as well as established data collection of
daily work, discussion, and routine lesson assessments; Meet with grade level
team members to review progress thus far
d.
Phase
4 (April-May)
i.
Continually
review data and use data to influence subsequent lessons; Share decisions with
grade level team members; Examine subject grades to determine correlation with
use of Exit Tickets; Collect narrative and anecdotal information from students
and parents.
8. Develop
a statement of resources
a.
Time
to review literature and research
b.
Examples
of Exit Tickets from a variety of sources, grade levels, and purposes
c.
Time
to adapt or create Exit Ticket utilizing information learned as well as
individual classroom
d.
Computer
to create digital copy and printer to print copies
9. Develop
data collection ideas
a.
The
main source of data I will be using are from sources already in place in my
classroom. This includes the components
that normally make up students’ grades: classroom seatwork, homework,
demonstration of concepts in class through discussions, projects, and
activities. This data will necessarily
need to be sorted according to whether there is a grade earned through an
objective measure (worksheets, seatwork, homework, etc.), or if the grade
earned is more subjective in nature (discussion, demonstration, etc.). Those that are objective would be
quantitative and those more subjective would be qualitative.
