Steps for Action Research Plan

Setting the Foundation – During meetings with my Career and Technology Director, we discussed the problem of gender gap in our CTE classes.  This is the first year that CTE was held accountable for STAAR EOC passing rates for CTE students in math, reading, science, social studies, writing, CTE dropout rate, CTE graduation rate and CTE nontraditional course completion rates for males/females. 

The area of most concern is the CTE nontraditional course completion rates for males/females.  In the accountability report, we received a rating of one on a scale of zero to three in this area (with the standard score being zero). We must receive a standard score of zero next year, or we will be selected for monitoring interventions by TEA. 

Analyzing data – I will use surveys to gather data regarding tenth graders’ perceptions regarding gender roles.  My first data will be gathered in December, before recruiting starts for the 2014-15 school year.  I have decided to do a three-part study, one to see if there is any change in enrollment in the 2014-15 school year, one to see if there are any changes in tenth graders’ perceptions after the 2-month media campaign, and one at the end of the year with an extended period of exposure to media featuring students in classes nontraditional to their gender.

Developing deeper understanding – I plan to meet with a focus group to gather data before the surveys and to collect students’ work before and after the media campaign.  I hope to gain a deeper understanding of students’ perceptions by studying the particular roles the students choose to reflect in their assignments.

Engaging in Self-Reflection – Reflection will be a continual activity throughout the action research project.  I will be able to reflect on the students’ reactions to the media each time they are presented the media in a different manner and make any revisions as necessary.

Exploring Programmatic Patterns – Throughout the process I will be in contact with the principal at the ninth grade center and two different colleagues at that campus to get feedback from students there. I will ask questions about their students’ reactions as well as identify any gaps in information.

Determining direction – Instead of trying to improve enrollment in all the nontraditional CTE courses, I will be working with three teachers on the issue of gender gap in their specific programs—auto mechanics, agriculture mechanics and health science.  I will meet with them before the beginning of the study in order to ascertain their opinions on the issue.  We will work collaboratively to ensure the coverage of all subject areas in the campaign and to create the media pieces for the campaign.  As stated before, I will also be working with two colleagues on the ninth grade campus, and my site supervisor will be part of the entire process in order to provide ongoing feedback.

Taking action for school improvement – The media campaign should have the added benefit of improving the enrollment in all Career and Technology classes, not just the specific nontraditional classes targeted.  Additionally, with the advent of the foundation plan, our school is going to career pathways, and we’re hoping that the media campaign will help increase awareness about the impending changes.

Sustaining improvement – After the completion of this study I will be presenting the results to my colleagues.  At that time I will give recommendations either to extend the campaign and the study to the middle school or to explore other projects for addressing this issue.

After working through these steps, I have decided to add the following steps to my action research plan:

1. Meet with CTE teachers to discuss perceptions of gender as the basis of low enrollment of students in classes nontraditional for their gender.
2. Solicit feedback from teachers
3. Deliver additional media to tenth graders
4. DATA Collection: Student survey #3
5. DATA Collection:  Student Work – Image grid of workers  #3
6. DATA Collection:  Follow-up meeting with focus group.

Action Research Question: Would a media campaign showing students involved in non-traditional courses for their gender improve the ratio of gender enrolling in those courses and change the perception of gender roles amongst tenth grade students?
Goal:  Improve the gender ratio of nontraditional career and technology courses so as to reflect the gender ratio of the school.
Action Steps	Person(s) Responsible	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
DATA Collection: Meet with CTE teachers to discuss perceptions of gender as the basis of low enrollment of students in classes nontraditional for their gender.	Linda Miller Janet Fuller Bob Maupin Darryl Nowotny	November 2013	Enrollment figures	Feedback from those teachers, questions for survey
Write a survey to ascertain the tenth graders’ current perception of gender roles.	Linda Miller	November 2013	Literature regarding gender role perceptions, Survey Monkey	Use survey with select group of 11th graders to ascertain the effectiveness of the survey document.
DATA Collection: Survey students	Linda Miller, 1 additional teacher	November 2013	Student Survey	Use survey results as the baseline for action research process.
DATA collection: Meet with focus group to discuss perceptions of gender in media.	Linda Miller, CTE Director, student focus group	November 2013	Student Survey	Reflection
DATA Collection: Student Work – Image grid of workers	Linda Miller, Photoshop students	December 2013	Rubric	Examination of student work, reflection on perception of gender roles
DATA Collection: Current enrollment in nontraditional classes	Linda Miller, CTE Director	December 2013	Enrollment reports	Use as baseline for enrollment changes
Identify current research on how media can be used to promote gender equality	Linda Miller	December 2013	Online library	Reflections from quality of information gathered and ability to incorporate into media plan.
Interpret data from the literature review and reflect on best practices regarding the portrayal of gender in media.	Linda Miller	December 2013	Literature pertaining to media portrayal of gender	Reflections on information gathered from the literature, and incorporating learning into media plan.
Generate media in the form of videos, and posters and an iPad game.	Linda Miller,  CTE Director, Principal, District Videographer Mike Tristan, Photoshop Students, Commercial Photography Students, Gaming Graphics students	January 2013	Computers, Photoshop, Models	Approval for use
Deliver media to Ninth Grade Center	Linda Miller, CTE Director, Principal, Ninth Grade Center Principal	January, 2014	Hard copies of media	Observed reaction of students
Solicit feedback from ninth grade teachers	Linda Miller, two Ninth Grade Center teachers	February 2014	Email	Reflection on feedback and making necessary changes.
DATA Collection: Survey students	Linda Miller, 1 additional teacher	March 1, 2014	Student Survey	Compare student survey data from the original data.
DATA Collection: Student Work – Image grid of workers	Linda Miller, Photoshop students	March 5 2014	Rubric	Compare with first student work assignment, reflection on perception of gender roles
Deliver additional media to tenth graders	Linda Miller	March 2015	Video files, accessible downloads	Observe student reaction
Identify current research on nontraditional career and technology program participation	Linda Miller	March 2014	Online library	Reflections from quality of information gathered.
Identify current research on student perception of nontraditional gender roles	Linda Miller	March 2014	Online library	Reflections from quality of information gathered.
Analyze surveys and student work	Linda Miller	March 2014	Surveys and student work	Reflection of analysis.
DATA Collection:  Follow-up meeting with focus group.	CTE Director, student focus group	March 2014	Notes from original meeting and results of survey	Reflection
DATA Collection: Survey students	Linda Miller, 1 additional teacher	May, 2014	Student Survey	Compare student survey data from the original and second survey.
DATA Collection: Student Work – Image grid of workers	Linda Miller, Photoshop students	May 2014	Rubric	Compare with first and second assignments, reflection on perception of gender roles
DATA Collection:  Follow-up meeting with focus group.	CTE Director, student focus group	May 2014	Notes from original meeting and results of survey	Reflection
DATA Collection: 2014-15 enrollment in nontraditional classes	Linda Miller, CTE Director	October 2014	Enrollment reports	Use to compare with baseline
Analyze and compare October 2013 enrollment with October 2014 enrollment.	Linda Miller	October 2014	October 2013 and October 2014 enrollment data.	Reflection of analysis and comparison.
Present my research and data collected to CTE Director, principals and teachers with recommendations based on findings.	Linda Miller, CTE Director, CTE Teachers	October, 2014	All relevant data from action research project in presentation form including literature reviews, student surveys, focus group notes, student work, media hard copies, and interpreted data.	Teacher and Director feedback