Final draft of Action Research Plan

Here is my final draft of my plan, I made one change by adding a classroom management component.  Let me know what you think.  Thanks!

Same Sex Classes Action Research Plan Goal:  The goal of this action research project is to determine if same sex classes improve the academic success of high school math students. Action Step (s) Person(s) Responsible Timeline:  Start/End Needed Resources Evaluation Survey students on thoughts about same sex math class vs. heterogeneous core classes Jamie Baldwin April 2013 Surveys Have each student complete a survey and explain how same sex class is beneficial to academic success. Collect data from math unit tests from each class Jamie Baldwin April 2013 Excel, Math unit test scores Analyze data and gather in an Excel workbook Research the success rates of same sex classes Jamie Baldwin April 2013 Internet, scholarly journals Research instructional strategies and analyze why same sex classrooms are successful. Research Classroom management techniques for same sex classes Jamie Baldwin April 2013 Internet, scholarly journals Teaching a class full of males can present classroom management issues that will hinder academic achievement and therefore policies and procedures need to be in place to prevent misbehavior. Collect TAKS data for current math students Jamie Baldwin May 2013 Excel TAKS Data, Eduphoria Analyze TAKS scores and gather in an Excel worksheet Compare math unit exams and TAKS scores from 2011 – 2012 heterogeneous classes to 2012 -2013 same sex classes Jamie Baldwin May 2013 Excel, Math unit test scores, TAKS Data Analyze 2011-12 data and 2012-13 data and gather in an Excel worksheet Create data tables/ graphs comparing 2011-12 test data to 2012-13 test data Jamie Baldwin May 2013 Excel, Test data Create presentation on why same sex classes are successful Present findings to Principal, Associate principal, and assistant principals Jamie Baldwin June 2013 Power Point Explain to principals that same sex classes are successful and should be implemented in other core subjects.

Examining the work: Setting the foundation Students often find themselves easily distracted in math class.  In a subject that is plagued with disgust, teachers struggle to help students comprehend and understand complex and abstract math concepts.  One of the biggest distractors in a classroom is the opposite sex.  By splitting classes by gender, teachers can explore instructional strategies that are successful for males and females.  Although students may be alarmed at first, they will enjoy having the opposite sex removed because they no longer will feel the peer pressure of appealing to the opposite sex. Analyzing data I will analyze Math models unit tests and TAKS scores from 2012 -13 school year.  My math models classes are currently split by gender.  I will compare the 2012 – 13 data of same sex classes to the 2011 – 12 data of heterogeneous classes.  I will look at passing standards and passing rates.  I will also analyze if males or females perform better on specific unit tests, benchmarks, and the TAKS test. Developing deeper understanding I will survey my current math models students about what they believe to be the pros and cons of same sex classes.  I will also have them describe the pros and cons of their heterogeneous classes.  They will reflect on previous math classes and describe which setting was more conducive to academic achievement, same sex math class or heterogeneous math class.  Along with looking at surveys, I will research classroom management strategies for male classes.  Males are traditionally rowdier than females and may need additional techniques to ensure academic success. Engaging in Self-Reflection After analyzing the Math Models unit tests and TAKS scores for 2011 – 12 and 2012 – 13 school years, I will talk with other math teachers and my site supervisor about my findings.  I will reflect over what I have learned and the successfulness of my same sex classes.  My reflection may prompt more questions: Do males or females benefit more academically from same sex classes?  Would same sex classes be beneficial in science, social studies and English?  Would same sex classes be beneficial in raising STARR scores?  Would same sex classes be more beneficial in freshman and sophomore classes vs. junior and senior classes? Exploring Programmatic Patterns After I analyze my test data, consult with other teachers and principals, and reflect over my findings, I will need to further investigate some of the problems associated with splitting males and females.  The first issue to address would be classroom management in male classes.  Professional development would need to be offered for gender split classes especially the classroom management component.  Next, I will discuss the pros and cons of same sex classes with math teachers and principals.  I would also like to explore the pros and cons of expanding same sex classes to other grade levels and other core subjects.  Lastly, we would also have to consider which type or students would benefit the most and the least from same sex classes.  Determining direction After examining problem areas, I would work with my site supervisor to determine if same sex classes could be implemented in other math classes along with science classes.  Although I believe all core classes would benefit from same sex classes, we would target science next because it is the most similar subject to math and the next hardest subject for the average student.  We would work with a select group of teachers who would be interested and capable of handling same sex classes.  Taking action for school improvement Once my site supervisor and I have found the math and science teachers that are willing to teach same sex classes, we would all work with the principal on determining what math and science classes would be separated by gender.  Our main focus will be improving test scores for struggling math and science students.  We will compare heterogeneous unit tests to same sex unit test data and analyze success rates and trend data.  We will also explore teaching strategies that ensure success for males and strategies that ensure success for females.  We will implement these strategies and techniques into our classrooms and monitor the progress and achievement of the students. Sustaining improvement Upon the conclusion of the 2013 – 2014 school year, the same sex teaching core and principals will evaluate the success and struggles for the year.  We will survey the students about the pros and cons of the same sex math and science class.  We will solicit their suggestions on what they feel needs to be improved and what they enjoyed about the classes.  The gender split class committee will brainstorm changes for the next year and determine if the same math and science subjects will be split by gender.  The committee will also analyze the student surveys and make appropriate changes as needed.  We will decide if more gender split classes need to be added for the following school year.  We will also analyze the success rates of the teaching strategies and learning techniques that were implemented.  We will determine if the strategies will be continued the next year or if they need to be altered.