Eight Steps in Action Research Project

Action Research Project
Teacher-Student Relationships: The Effect on Student Learning and Discipline Occurrences

1. SETTING THE FOUNDATION---In conversations with my site supervisor, the principal of my school, we have had numerous conversations exploring why some teachers seem to be more effective than others. Many times, it seems that the teachers who are working the absolute hardest and are most capable are the ones that seem to be the least effective with the students. They have higher failure rates and also the highest number of office referrals as well. I want to better understand if there is a breakdown in the teacher-student relationship that is leading to the decline in performance and more discipline issues.
2. ANALYZING DATA---I will collect data from last year’s office referrals and also from office referrals as they occur this year as to why the student is being referred and how well are they performing in the class they are having discipline issues and also their other classes. I will also conduct a survey of all students on campus about their performance in school and their perception of their relationship with the faculty. Walk-throughs focusing on respect between teachers and students will be conducted in October and February of all secondary classes. Field notes will be taken as I witness various interactions between teachers and students throughout the year. At the conclusion of the school year, I will conduct a study of the 10/11 referrals in comparison to the 09/10 referrals to determine any areas of improvement or further identify areas where improvements are still needed.
3. DEVELOPING DEEPER UNDERSTANDING---As I begin my research at the beginning of the school year, I will need to focus on specific aspects of the teacher-student relationship.
• Discipline strategies of the classrooms will be one area I compare between the faculty members. How do they handle similar circumstances? Which one seems to be more effective?
• Where is the line between trying to be “friends” with our students and showing legitimate concern and compassion that will show them we care?
• How do teachers effectively manage their classrooms and still maintain good respect for their students and not manage with fear?

4. ENGAGE IN SELF-REFLECTION---With my fifteen years experience in the classroom, I have witnessed first-hand very effective teachers at work and those who are not effective. One element the successful teachers had in common was a love and respect for their students. Some were more touchy-feely than others, but there was always respect. As I continue with my research, I am aware that I must be very sensitive and careful so that my work is not interpreted as a “witch-hunt” seeking to point a finger at teachers who may not be successful in maintaining respect for their students. By surveying all students, conducting walk-throughs with all teachers, and offering professional development to all teachers about teacher-student relationships, I believe that my work will be ethical and well received by most students and faculty members.
5. EXPLORING PROGRAMMATIC PATTERNS---I believe that one outcome of my research will be that at each teacher’s summative conference a summary of discipline referrals should be discussed with his/her referrals compared to those of all other teachers. I believe that raising their awareness to how well they are able to manage their classrooms in comparison to their peers will create more change in their style of discipline. This study is an abstract study where the data is mostly qualitative with the walk-throughs, surveys that are biased based upon the perceptions of the students, and my field notes. The only concrete data will be in the referrals themselves. So there is great risk that people will not respect my conclusions. I will have to continue to solicit input from my principal and superintendent as I begin to analyze the data. They will be able to make suggestions on how to alter my survey or my summary sheets to optimize the validity of my research.
6. DETERMINING DIRECTION---I fell confident that my research question is one of great value because I have witnessed how much of an impact the teacher-student relationship has on the performance of our students. The resources needed for my research is already provided through PEIMS data where all referrals must be reported. The process of my research is a collaborative process where all faculty members, students, and the administration will be involved with input, and all teachers will be informed of the collective results as well as their own personal statistics on an individual basis. My timelines are well established to correspond with the school year, and they require at least one school year’s monitoring for comparison. I will be monitoring the project by completing a summary at the end of each six-weeks grading period. I will consider my research a success if I can see a reduction of office referrals by at least ten percent and a continued increase in student performance of two less failures to receive graduation credits for the year. If my plan is not successful, then the first thing that I will look to revise will be my survey. A survey instrument is ineffective if it is not asking the right questions of the right people, and it is a large component of my research.
7. TAKING ACTION FOR SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT---I will conducting an in-service in August with the faculty and staff where teacher-student relationships are a focus from the Understanding the Framework of Poverty information as many of our students are from economically disadvantaged homes. Teachers will be aware of the walk-throughs that I will conduct, the surveys of the students, and the data I will be collecting from them. As they meet with the principal for their summative conferences, they will discuss how their relationship with the students has improved this year or how it needs to improve for the next year.
8. SUSTAIN IMPROVEMENT---As office referrals are a part of PEIMS information reported each year, it will not be difficult to track trends in the number of referrals made. As students arrive at the office for their referral, they almost always have some waiting time before they see the principal, so they can complete the surveys during this time and be collected by the secretary for my analysis at a later time. The survey can also be a tool for the principal to have documentation of the incident in the classroom from the student’s perspective to be attached to the referral from the teacher’s perspective. As the research continues, I believe that it can be useful to the principal to determine if more staff development is needed in the area of classroom management.