Mock Action Research Proposal Presentation Tara S. Burch EDU671: Fundamentals of Educational Research Professor Kathy Hoover September 3, 2015

Outline of Proposal  Area of Focus statement  Related Literature  Defining the variables  Research questions  Description of Intervention  Data Collection  Data Considerations  Data Analysis and interpretation  Action Plan  The beneficial factors for action research is that the teacher researcher will choose an area of focus, determine data collection techniques, analyze and interpret data and develop action plans on their findings. (Mills, 2014, p.12)

Area of focus statement  The purpose of this study is to improve the school readiness of children. The Head Start Program, approaches to the school readiness skills so that students ages 3 to 5 years old are ready for kindergarten. The families of the student are supportive for their child’s early learning. The view of school readiness is to have student’s knowledgeable, skills and attitudes ready for success in school for early learning bridging the gap from early learning to elementary school level.

Related Literature  Immediate Effects of a Program to Promote School Readiness in Low-Income Children: Results of a Pilot Study (Pears, 2014).  Winning Beginnings Learning Circles: Outcomes from a Three-Year School Readiness Pilot (Swaminathan, 2014). The articles are very informative with a lot of information that give me a understanding of reviews of related literature that will help support my action research process. The literature provides me with an opportunity to identify any gaps and concerns.

Defining the variables  A Variable is characteristic of your study that is subject to change (Mills, 2014,p 70).  The students are preschooler’s age 3-4 years old, I will have 4 students, 2 of 4 have Individual Education Plan (IEP) in a regular class setting  The improvement from a students weakness to strength is a change.  The students improvement to the Head Start framework which is the foundation of the Head Start Approach to school readiness. The framework represents and builds from five domains of school readiness: Approaches to Learning, Social and Emotional Development, Language and Literacy, Cognition and Perceptual, Motor, and Physical Development.  These guides and tools is to help foster implementation to help improve the school readiness of children by effective teaching, learning practices in Head Start Programs.

Research Questions What strategies would be the best support to improve the school readiness of children? How can I implement the improve support strategies for school readiness in early learning for the students?

I will implement my intervention plan by having a family reading/literacy night. The more the parents read to their child the more their child will have as their vocabulary words. For reading/literacy night I will make a poster and or banner to advertise the book of the month. The poster and or banner will be hang on the parent board and given out as a newsletters to the parents. The students and parents can see the book and think about how this book will enhance their child’s literacy before attending literacy night. I will have a sign-up sheet so that I can plan for the students and parents that may attend and prepare for an activity that can go with the story. I will have 2 activities to have as a choice for the students and parents such as movement activities or an art project. Description of Intervention Modeling and Demonstrate to students to learn the school readiness concepts. Students use strategies with supervision until the students understand and can move forward.

Data Collection  Portfolios is a daily, ongoing process in a comfortable, safe and familiar environment. (Assessment)  Progress Report (daily, weekly, monthly  Ages and Stages Questionnaires  Portfolios, Observation, Anecdotal Records and Journals, as ongoing assessments.  “One of the most frequent data analysis activities undertaken by action researchers is coding, the process of trying to find patterns and meaning in data collected through the use of surveys, interviews, and questionnaires” (Mills, p 135).

Data Considerations Validity: The degree to which scientific observation actually measures or record what they purport to measure” (Peltp & Pelto, 1978, p 33). Dependability: refers to the stability of the data (Mills, 2014, p 123)

Data Analysis and interpretation To ensure that the Qualitative Data have a system for measuring student’s outcomes and using the results to plan for continuous improvements. The goal is to make Qualitative and Quantitative Data more meaningful to contribute to continuous learning and improvement. Staff and families can use this information to see for themselves in how data can promote school readiness.

Action Plan Step 1 What strategies can help 4-6 preschool students to improve the school readiness skills? Step 2 Modeling and Demonstrate to students to learn the school readiness concepts. Students use these strategies with supervision until the students understand and can move forward. Step 3 Teacher and student are responsible for the action Step 4 Informed Parent of Students Progress. Step 5 Teacher will monitor through observation and ongoing assessments throughout the school year.

Reference Mills, G. E. (2014). Action research: A guide for the teacher researcher (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc. Pears, K.; Healey, C.; Fisher, P.; Braun, D.; Gill, C.; Conte, H.; Newman, J.; Ticer, S. (2014). Immediate Effects of a Program to Promote School Readiness in Low-Income Children: Results of a Pilot Study. Immediate Effects of a Program to Promote School Readiness in Low-Income Children: Results of a Pilot Study, Vol 37(3), Retrieve from f %40sessionmgr113&hid=120Immediate Effects of a Program to Promote School Readiness in Low-Income Children: Results of a Pilot Study f %40sessionmgr113&hid=120 Pelto, P., Pelto G. (1978). Anthropological research: The structure of inquiry. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press. Swaminathan, S.; Byrd, S.; Humphrey, C.; Heinsch, M.; Mitchell, M. (2014). Winning Beginnings Learning Circles: Outcomes from a Three-Year School Readiness Pilot. Early Childhood Education Journal, Vol. 42 (Issue 4), p p. DOI: /s Winning Beginnings Learning Circles: Outcomes from a Three-Year School Readiness Pilot