Snyder Action Research Plan

Goal: To determine the relationship between the Project-based learning approach and the student academic achievement of our 3rd and 4th graders on our campus.
Action Steps	Person Responsible	Timeline Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
1.Interview campus principal to determine areas of needed improvement in the school	self	June/July 2012	interview questions time with site supervisor	narrow down areas of needed inquiry to improve our campus Need: Student achievement through engaging teaching approach that combines significant content with 21st century skills: PBL
2.Gather research articles, books, professional literature on the benefits of PBL on student performance	self	July 2012- Aug 2012	articles books blogs essays professional literature	research paper at the end of action research project
3.Attend BIE’s PBL training to work with grade-level cohort representatives to develop curriculum-based and integrated projects	self district admin. cohort	July 31-August 2, 2012 August 14, 2012	BIE training documents and materials revised state standards	n/a
4.Obtain permission to access student data, both demographic and testing	self principal	August 2012	written permission	n/a
5.Obtain permission from 4th grade PBL teacher to observe project results and survey students	self	August 2012	written permission	n/a
6.Select 3rd/4th grade non-PBL sample population	self principal	August-September 2012	access to student AIES data	similar demographic/gender data to PBL sample population
7.Monitor student achievement throughout 1st semester -benchmark data -project evaluations	self	August-December 2012	Campus Benchmark Results and PBL project evaluations	compare/contrast data of PBL group to findings of non-PBL group
8.Obtain student survey of PBL student sample population	self	December 2012	survey	record findings of student engagements and success
9.Monitor student achievement throughout 2nd semester -Benchmark data -project evaluations	self	January-June 2013	access to benchmark results and project evaluations	compare/contrast data of PBL group to findings of non-PBL sample populations compare 1st semester results to 2nd semester results
10.Obtain student survey of PBL sample populations	self	May-June 2013	survey	record findings of student engagement and achievement compare/contrast 1st semester results to 2nd semester results
11.Obtain teacher surveys of perceived student achievement	self	May-June 2013	survey	record finsings and compare/contrast to results of PBL teachers and non-PBL teachers
12. Disaggregate student scores of STAAR for Math, Reading and Writing	self principal	October 2013	testing results from state	compare/contrast 2012 STAAR data to 2013 STAAR data and compare testing results of PBL sample group to non-PBL sample group
13.Write research paper presenting findings gathered from August 2012-October 2013	self	October-November 2013	student data surveys professional literature and articles	Proof supportive of the inclusion of PBL approaches in classrooms to enhance engagement and improve student achievement, therefore school ratings
14. Present findings to campus administration and other district administrators	self	December 2013 or January 2014	Paper and findings charts/graphs	Question/Answer