Beginning Action Research Learning

Cedar Rapids Community Schools

October, 2004

Dr. Susan Leddick

Everything’s Up-to-Date in Cedar Rapids!

Working at classroom,

building, and

district levels

What the District Is Doing

• Teaching teams of teachers and administrators to use the tools and processes of Action Research in order to make improvements in all three levels of the district system.

• Emphasizing deployment of school improvement plans – carrying out strategies that have significant impact on student achievement.

• Using Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) as standardized model.

Why Action Research?

• Compatible with adult learning theory

• Compatible with Iowa Professional Development Model

• Combines learning and improving• Works at any system level, in any

setting• Research-based; data-driven;

system-focused

Our Year in Brief – Three P’s

• Purposes– Develop knowledge and skills for

improvement by completing one action research cycle (Plan-Do-Study-Act)

– Introduce the Baldrige framework as an organizer for system improvement

• Preparation– 3 training sessions, with support between

• Presentation– All-district sharing session in April

Alignment: The Starting Point

GOALS GOALS

Apply It

• Examples from last year …Jane

• Getting Started– What are your school goals?– On what goal area will your team

concentrate its learning project this year?

– How would improving the learning system in that area benefit students?

Record the Decision

School Name _____

Team Members - - - - - -*

Goal Area for Our Project ________

Date __________

An Organizer

The Guide to Action Research

3 AnalyzeCauses

4 Try OutImprovement

Theory

5 Study theResults

6 StandardizeImprovement

7 PlanContinual

Improvement

1 Definethe

System

2 AssessCurrentSituationPLAN

ACT

STUDY

DO

Flow Chart … the First Tool for Process Management

Deployment Flow Chart

What is it?

A picture of any process ( sequence of events, steps, activities, or tasks) in a system.

What does it look like?

S ta ff P urchas ing C le rks V endorsR ece iv ingP ersonne l

B us iness D ep t.

S endR equis ition C all S ta ff

R eq. O K ?

G enera teP urchase

O rder

P lace order F ill o rderR ece iveG oods

S endInvo ice P ay B ill

S end G oodsto S taff

R ece iveO rder

E nd

Y es

N o

Deployment Flow Chart

When is it used?

1. Is a picture of a process needed?

2. Is it necessary to show the relationship of the people and the steps in a process?

3. Will the process be pictured as it actually operates? Or as it ought to operate? Or as it might operate?

Deployment Flow ChartHow is it made?

1. Define the process boundaries: first and last steps.

2. Observe the process in operation if you can.

3. Draw a people coordinate/list the actors.

4. List major steps in the process (12-15).

5. Draw the flow chart, using symbols.

6. Study the flow chart for omissions, disconnects, etc.

Baseline Data

• On your key measures…

• Several data points over time…

• Graphed (if you can)

• Disaggregated, if it makes sense

• Analyzed for insights

Assignment for December 8

Complete the background information on your learning project

Do flow chart on key process

Collect, graph, and analyze baseline data