EDLD 5301 Action Research Project

Yvette Pawlowski/EDLD 5301:ET8032 Action Planning Template
School Vision/Mission Statement:  Central Texas College provides education for a global community through responsive, innovative instruction and educational services for diverse student populations. Goal/Objective-Outcomes: The purpose of this action research project is to investigate and restructure the course management system for Skills Center students, with inclusion of grading and attendance software.
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation (Monitoring/assessment)
Setting the foundation:  Topic:  The purpose of this research project is to investigate and restructure the course management system for Skills Center students, including grading and attendance	Self, Skills Center students and faculty members, site supervisor.	June 2011		Skills Center is a self-paced, face-to-face program in the Office Technology Department of Central Texas College.  Evaluation will be done with observation, interview/survey, and software trials.
Analyze data:  Research available literature and products regarding timekeeping and grading software, specifically open source software to minimize costs	Self	June/July 2011	Internet - Vendor websites, education literature, department budget amounts	Trial 5 different timekeeping software; 2 different grading software Interview/survey faculty and student members regarding changes to CMS Observation of current system
Developing deeper understanding: After initial research, organize focus groups to look over research findings and narrow down choices	Self, Skills Center students and faculty members	August 2011	Meeting place	Meeting notes presented to site supervisor
Engage in self-reflection: Reflect on research, explore options and resources available	Self	September 2011		Weblog
Exploring programmatic patterns:  Narrow down to one to two choices of systems, meet with faculty to determine what issues may be encountered on rollout	Self, faculty members, site supervisor	November 2011	Financial resources, meeting place	Use Delphi Method to identify and document pros and cons of each system prior to meeting with faculty
Determining direction:  In same meeting, determine what system will be instituted	Self, faculty members, site supervisor	November 2011	Software	Meeting notes – set timelines and stages for implementation
Taking action for school improvement:  Rollout CMS, monitor issues encountered	Self, faculty members, students	February 2012	Software, financial resources, personnel resources	Monitor feedback from students and faculty, observation of results.
Sustain improvement:  Follow up on results of rollout, make improvements or changes as needed based on feedback.	Self, faculty members, students	May 2012		Survey faculty and students on results.  Disseminate results of project to colleagues.