More results

Now I have collected most of my data from both the New Educators and the Instructional Coaches. Listed here are the responses from Instructional Coaches:

1. How did you support your New Educator in the area of classroom management?

• Meetings
• Behavior plan
• Examples of lesson plans and modifications for children in need
• behavior plan
• Strategies, tips, and suggestions
• Modeling, demonstrations of strategies
• Answers to questions
• Role model
• Did observations to see areas of weakness and suggestions
• Examples (of behavior management) as in quiet desist, specific praise, classroom management, withitness

2. Were there areas of classroom management where your NE needed more support? If so, what areas needed more support?

• Reward system
• Classroom management, organization
• Transition
• During independent work
• Specific praise
• Planned ignores
  

3. Regarding classroom management, what support worked well?

• Weekly contact with New Educator
• Observation at different times of the day
• Behavior modification and teacher interventions
• One on one conference with student
• Modeling for NE
• Giving ideas proven to work
• Providing a framework
• Demonstrations or modeling
• Monitoring
• Letting go
• CRISS strategies
  

4. What did not work?

• Discussion without modeling
• More time to visit NE throughout the day, especially during the first four weeks of school.
• Needed more time for planning
• Using aggressive tone

5. What would have helped you to make your NE's classroom management work better?

• More opportunities to observe effective teachers
• Modeling and more modeling
• Additional workshops
• More time in NE's classroom
• More time for planning
• More time for visits to NE's classroom during the first four weeks of school

6. What suggestions do you have to improve the induction process?

• Extra two days of pre-planning with coaches
• Staff development
• Modeling effective practices
• Reduce amount of paperwork
• Reduce required meetings and trainings
• More mentors available
• Teach more classroom management skills
• Teach more interpersonal skills
• More release time for IC during first four weeks of school
• Give NE time to observe several teachers with good behavior management skills

Do I see any patterns here? Yes I do. Together with the New Educators responses noted on the previous blog, I see several patterns emerging.

• Desire for more time to plan, meet and communicate as stated by both ICs and NEs.
  
• Need for modeling by the Instructional Coach with both their own (IC's) class and with the New Educator's class. In an ideal world, this modeling would be ongoing as long as needed.
  
• Desire for observations of veteran teachers in managing their own classrooms.
• Need for training

Questions and answers

I began to collect data by distributing my surveys to former New Educators and to Instructional Coaches. So far I have collected data from half of the New Educators and Instructional Coaches I have surveyed. Here is a sampling of my data from New educators:

1. How was support given to you (New Educator) in the area of classroom management?

• Collaboration with colleagues
• Observations by IC and feedback
• Opportunities to observe other teachers
• Harry Wong book and tape
• CHAMPs
• Team members, specialists, administrators
• Mentor came to observe behaviors and offer suggestions
• Attended CHAMPs workshop
  

2. My next question to new educators "Were there areas of classroom management that you needed more support? If so, what areas needed more support?" yielded the following:

• 80% said no
• yes- regarding transition
• Routines and procedures

3. My third question, "Regarding classroom management, what support worked well?"

• Team members, more familiar with material
• CHAMPs
• Having own classroom (as opposed to being "on a cart")
  
• Ideas on redirecting students
• Talking, observing, feedback
• Putting check on child's desk to not interrupt class
• Finding a good program and following it well
  

4. My fourth question, "Regarding classroom management, what support did not work?"
New Educators responded:

• Administrators not realizing problem students had a pattern of misbehavior that persisted throughout the day with other teachers as well.
• Textbook pacing
• Having an older teacher come in to "check up" on my class. It undermined my authority.

5. What would have helped you to make your classroom management work better?

• Visiting other classes to see what strategies they use
• Having my own classroom
• Stricter policies to start the year
• Planning checklists regarding back to school and organization

6. What suggestions do you have to improve the induction process?

• More of a student teaching model - have mentor co-teach one day with NE
  
• Start classroom management training during planning week so NEs can have their routines and procedures down before the first day of school
• More observations of experienced teachers
• Classroom management course
• Better understanding of paperwork
• Modeling effective classroom management
• More modeling

As I look at these responses, I see a few patterns beginning to emerge. In question #1, NEs listed support from various staff members from ICs, to team leaders and administration, from workshops to observations of other teachers. It is interesting to note in Question # 2 that while 80% of NEs said they did not need more support in Classroom management, many had suggestions of how to improve the mentoring process in Questions #5 and #6. Perhaps this is an indication that NEs "don't know what they don't know." However, the suggestions the NEs made for #5 and 6 reveal an insight into where their own problems lay. In a positive light, these responses also indicate an awareness of their weaknesses and room for improvement.

Gathering Data

I am anxious to get on with collecting data for my AR project. School has been very hectic these last few weeks and there is no indication there will be any "break in the action" in the next week or more.
After the Elluminate session today, I feel I should be ready to move to the next step. I also have the insight from the group to further define what effective support for NEs looks like. For example:
1. How often do the NE and IC meet?
2. For how long?
3. What style of mentoring is used by the ICs? (Direct, Indirect, etc.)
4. How much time is spent discussing Classroom Management?
5. How does the IC manage his or her classroom?
6. How does the IC gather information about mentoring skills?
7. How does the IC communicate needs of the NE to the NE?
8. What are some suggestions made to NE about classroom management?

Collecting Data

On to the next step: collecting data

Thanks to Amy and last week's Elluminate session, I have a pretty clear idea what to do next in gathering and analyzing my data. Also, I have observed the Session 1 Elluminate from last week and this has also given me some ideas for my next steps. Thank you Stacey, I especially like the interview technique.

1. I am concentrating on the areas of effective classroom management and instructional coach support.
   
2. Questions posted earlier need revision
3. I am not sure how to tie in the role of each survey participant to the actual questions. In other words, if the participant selects the role of instructional coach, should the questions be worded specifically for that role?
4. Or should the questions address the beginning teacher experience for each participant?

• Please indicate your role:
• Instructional Coach ____
• New Educator ________
• Support Staff _________
• Administrator ________
  

• As a New Educator, how was support given to you in the area of classroom management?
• Were there areas of classroom management in which you needed more support? If so, what were those areas?
  
• What support did you receive in classroom management?
• What support worked well?
• What support did not work?
• What would have helped you to make your classroom management more effective?
• What suggestions do you have to improve the induction process?

Specific indicators of classroom management to observe:

• Rules posted
• Consistency
• Organization
  
• Positive reinforcement
  
• Visible schedule
• Daily routine
• Opening and closing procedures
• Differentiated curriculum for students with special needs

My "Final" Question

This is it! I have finally determined my action research question. I think.
I have been told that forming the question is the most difficult part, and I believe it!
Or at least I hope it is the most difficult part, because I am having a hard time with the development of mine.

My Question is:
How do instructional coaches support the implementation of effective classroom management?

****I believe this is an important question because I know from my reading and research that effective classroom management (Wong) is the number one causing factor in promoting student achievement. In addition, I know that without effective classroom procedures established during the first few weeks of school, a teacher will face challenges all year long to gain control of the classroom. I also know that without effective classroom management more time is wasted in the classroom over the course of a school year (Sprick) than is spent actively teaching and learning.

**** I believe that support for a developing teacher in the area of classroom management leads to student progress?
My concerns: Does my action research have to prove this? Because at this point I am trying to wrap this up, so I don't want to extend myself beyond what I can feasible cover.

****I feel that Effective Classroom Management is defined as including but not limited to the following:

• Rules posted
• Consistency
• Organization
  
• Positive reinforcement
  
• Visible schedule
• Daily routine
• Opening and closing procedures
• Differentiated curriculum for students with special needs
  

****Is it realistic for new educators to have all the above mentioned pieces in place?

What have I learned?

I have learned I need to narrow my focus in several respects. These areas include my action research question and the current reality . Really what I want to address is Classroom Management. Why leave this to chance? I needed to be specific and include it in my question. My survey questions need to be centered about classroom management as well.
How do these sound?


Please indicate your role:
Instructional Coach ____
New Educator ________
Support Staff _________
Administrator ________

1. How was support given to you in the area of classroom management?
2. Were there areas of classroom management that you needed more support?
3. What support did you receive in classroom management?
4. What worked well?
5. What did not work?
6. What would have helped you to make your classroom management work better?
7. What suggestions do you have to improve the induction process?
   

Action Research Question

An interesting occurrence happened recently. I needed to be out of school for a day so I arranged to have a substitute. Although I have an intern, I do need to have a sub present as teacher of record. Now, getting a substitute for an ESE class can be a challenging task, but I was able to accomplish it. When I was finished preparing for my absence, I felt certain that all was ready. Upon my return to school however, I was greeted with tales of horror, of rudeness, tantrums, and of other student behaviors requiring that administration be brought in. My intern told me it was her "worst day ever." I take these comments to heart because I always want my class to run smoothly, whether I am there or not.
When reflecting on this incident, I remember vividly the feelings of frustration and sadness I felt when this kind of"worst day ever" occurred for me as an inexperienced teacher. The help I received came from friends, often educators as new to the field as I was. No instructional coach observed or mentored me, and no classroom management training was available. As I think about these issues, I feel the need for all teachers to have strong classroom management skills. In order for this to happen, team leaders, instructional coaches, and administrators will need to have a good understanding of the training provided for NEs. Since CHAMPs is part of the NTA ( New Teacher Academy,) it makes sense that personnel providing support to NEs should have a basic understanding of CHAMPs as well.
After further reflection, considering my recent conversation with my principal and reading the responses to my last posting, I realize I need to change a few things in my action research. I know for certain the administrator of my school is taking training in CHAMPs. I signed up to take the training myself in May. As a result of my reading these responses, studying the behavior management specialists, and many hours of thought on these issues, I am revising my question from:

"If classroom management is the priority need of NEs at my school, how do we change induction to meet their needs?"

to the following:
"If classroom management is a priority need for NEs and veteran teachers at my school, how can we change induction to provide support for all teachers in classroom management?"

Progress

Back to my question: After the e-luminate session last week, I thought about some of the feedback I received. Things were getting a little muddy. My question seemed to be answering itself; I wanted to put something about CHAMPS in my question. I did get some responses to my blog - these helped me to clarify the issue. I decided to speak with my principal about my action research project. With the CHAMPS book in hand I went to my principal's office. We talked and it seems administration feels there is a great need for this type of training and not just for new educators! I was invited to the next team leader meeting.

I am thinking strongly that my questions will be open ended. I will prepare some to field test among a few teachers at school. For example:

1. As a new educator, in which areas did you feel you needed the most support? ______________________________________________________
2. As an educator with 2, 3, or 4 years of experience, which areas do you feel you would like training in? ______________________________________________
3. Most often new educators need additional training in classroom management. Do you agree? yes/no Please explain _________________________________

For the instructional coaches, support staff and administrators, the questions would be revised slightly:

1. As an instructional coach/administrator, in which areas did you feel you need additional information for supporting new educators? ______________________________________________________
2. Thinking back to your own experience as a new educator, in which areas do you feel you needed training? ______________________________________________
3. Most often new educators need additional training in classroom management. Regarding your own experience as a coach/administrator of new educators, do you agree? yes/no Please explain _________________________________

Also I am thinking I need to explore the teachers' willingness to attend a training for this issue.

1. With some of the challenging behaviors we are seeing in the classroom, do you feel you could use additional strategies in behavior management? yes/no
   
2. Would you be willing to attend a training to address this issue? yes/no

Are these questions clear?
Are my questions phrased in such a way that they invite free response?
Is there a better way to word these questions?
Will these questions help me get the information and data I need to proceed on my action research project?
Thank you for your input.

Survey Questions

In order to create a survey that will gather accurate information from different work groups, I need to carefully consider how to construct the questions.
I first thought of a multiple choice survey:
"Which area is most necessary for New Educator training?
a.) Classroom management
b.) Curriculum training
c.) Presentation skills
d.) Lesson Planning"
I am thinking of discarding this idea for two reasons. The responses to a multiple choice survey will be limited to what I choose to include without allowing for free responses, and I think this form will be too cumbersome to revise to a polished state. I therefore will be too bogged down in the details of the survey.
A second choice is to ask a limited number of open ended questions. This would allow for individual thought processes and be less limited to what I choose as in the multiple choice format. In this case I could ask for an explanation of the reasons why a response is stated. For example, "Which area of training is most needed for the New Educator (NE) and why do you think so?"
A third consideration would be the sort of survey that lists areas of support and a rating scale for each as in the following:
Rate the following areas on a scale of 1 to 5 with 1 being the least important and 5 being the most important.
Classroom Management 1 2 3 4 5
Curriculum 1 2 3 4 5
Presentation of Subject Matter 1 2 3 4 5
Stress Management 1 2 3 4 5

So I can separate the results into feedback from new educators, instructional coaches, administration and support staff, I would ask for the person taking the survey to indicate their own role.

Please feel free to comment as I would appreciate any feedback on these ideas. I realize this is just the beginning of my research and I have a long way to go. Thanks.

Planning stage

What do I need to learn?
I would like to learn the following:
1. Who are reliable sources for information on needs of new educators (NEs) ?
2. Is classroom management a priority need for mentoring NEs?
If not, what is given priority instead?
3. Will I get different opinions from different work groups?
4. In addition to the authors I know, Lee Cantor, Harry Wong and Randy Sprick,
Who else can I read to find information on my topic?
4. What is most important in the needs of NEs?


In relation to "What I plan to study?"
What resources have I identified to learn this new material?
1. Myron Ashmore Media Center
-Videos
-Books
-Journals
I ordered a few items from Myron Ashmore to research the importance of classroom management in the mentoring of new educators. - I searched by the subject of classroom management, by recency of publication date, by authors whom I know.
2. School Liaison Action Research Conference -many leads are posted there.
3. Specific Authors such as:
-Harry Wong
-Randy Sprick
-Lee Cantor
4. Survey of staff at my school (to be created)

How has my action research question/ focus changed?
Originally my question was, "How can our site based induction be most effective to support NEs in classroom management?" Or "How can classroom management be made a priority to support NEs in our site based induction plan?" As I began browsing through my sources for data, I realized how much information is available. At Myron Ashmore, for example, I selected 12 titles from the first three of over 300 pages of available media. I literally began to panic, thinking I would never be able to finish on time. Demands on my time are such that I feel swamped. I stay late, bring work home, work on the weekends, etc. As it was, researching a full and complete answer to my question seemed an insurmountable task. Now I realize my question was too broad.
My question is evolving and has changed to "If classroom management is the priority need of NEs at my school, how do we change induction to meet their needs?"
Is this question clear?
Is it feasible that I can study this question and answer it in the context of Action Research?
Notes
Would it be feasible to develop a survey to distribute to all teachers and staff members to determine needs of new educators in their own opinion and when they were new educators?
According to Richard Sagor's book, How to Conduct Collaborative Action Research, I need to keep in mind several issues: confidentiality of participants' responses, clarity and brevity of items on the survey, provide open ended questions to add the opportunity for additional comments. Sagor also advises avoiding including suggested responses. (Sagor p. 39)
He also advises conducting a small field test. If I develop a few questions, can I include them in my blog and ask for feedback from the group?

About my question

Thinking about my question for action research, I narrowed down the concerns I have about new educators at my school. I feel that the support for new educators needs to be aligned so as not to overwhelm the new teacher. I reflect on how easily we can become bogged down with all the demands we have on us from all directions: administrators, district and state mandates, team leaders, instructional coaches, parents and students too. Increasingly, we are seeing students in our classrooms who present challenging behaviors. These behaviors are challenging for veteran teachers. Then I think of how the new teacher feels: excited, idealistic, nervous, anxious, frustrated, and maybe even insecure. How much better would it be to help relieve this stress for them and give support in the area which is the most important and fundamental for the teacher who is just starting out. That is classroom management. Instead of sending NEs to workshops on reading, math and curriculum wouldn't it be more efficient to concentrate on classroom management and the ability to handle the behavioral challenges we meet in the public school classroom?

Hello

This blog is a new adventure for me. I have high hopes for making it work so I can apply my new learning to my work as NESS Liaison as well as in the classroom. The challenging part is going to be remembering all the passwords. But I am anxious to get started. So thank you to those who have helped me get started; I know I will be counting on your support.