Choosing an Inquiry

This week we learned how to choose a "wondering." When a school leader is looking for ways to improve student learning there are many areas to choose from. Dana (2009) suggests nine different areas to look at to get ideas. She suggests staff development, curriculum development, individual teachers, individual students, school culture/community, leadership, management, school performance, and social justice. There were so many different examples of good action research studies that I started to think more deeply about my own school and school experiences. And finally I have settled upon one area that I know we need improvement on and that is our math TAKS scores and the passing rates for the required math courses. The following describes the purpose and significance of my action research study.

The purpose of my action research study will be to investigate the effect of Sandcrab Monday Night (after school weekly tutorials) on our TAKS math results and the retention rate for the three required high school math courses (Algebra 1, Geometry, and Algebra 2).

This study will be significant for all of the math teachers in our department. If regular use of Sandcrab Monday Night (SMN) weekly tutorials yields positive results in the area of TAKS math scores and passing rates, then more teachers will be likely to participate. The study would also have implications for all of the core classes who need improvement with TAKS scores or failure rates. Sandcrab Monday Night is a three hour tutorial session in the library from 4 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. The tutorial sessions are staffed by teachers who are paid for their time. Sending students to SMN is currently voluntary for teachers to use at their own discretion. Students can be assigned SMN if they are missing homework or test grades and they are allowed to leave when they have completed the work. Students who need transportation are allowed to ride the late athletic bus if they choose. The teachers who have bought into this program have reported positive results in an informal manner but an actual research study would make all of the results incontrovertible. Before initiating this program in January 2010, we studied a similar program done on a larger scale (five nights a week) at another school and we soon decided that the budget would not stretch that far. Our principal would be able to use this action research study to justify the money that is currently spent on SMN and even ask for additional funds to include more evenings if the results indicate the need.