Time management is a booger!!!!  Since having surgery during the first week of this course, I never seemed to stay ahead.  This was a great course, I just could never find my rythm. 

There were a few areas I found to be valuable for me while taking this course. 

First of all, I found that the discussion board was very useful when I had a question that needed to be answered.  It was encouraging to see educators with such a drive for the education of students.  It was interesting to see the common threads and issues we all faced. The discussion board helped me to feel a part of the class without actually being in a classroom setting.  

Lastly, learning how to create, read, and following a Blog was a great benefit.  It seems that now I’m noticing Blogs everywhere.  I actually have a friend who recently went through a life-changing event, and she created a personal blog about her life.  It appears that everyone has a Blog and has been using them for some time now.  Though not an expert, it’s good to know that I can use this as I continue to develop in my professional career.   

Ok, so after reading week 4 discussion board, I'm faced with the dilemma of attendance.  What I mean is, my struggling students are also the students that have a chronic attendance problem, OR no one is working with the child at home.  I fault the parents on this given that this is a kindergarten classroom that I am referring to!  What a shame. 

Even after speaking with the parents about this, it still has not been given top priority. 

We will see if this is effective for the students or not.

My planning template

Action Planning Template Goal: To find out if during school or after-school tutoring is more effective in the growth of students academically. Action Steps(s): Person(s) Responsible: Timeline: Start/End Needed Resources Evaluation Two kindergarten classrooms will be designated to conduct tutoring.  One class will have tutoring once a week during school hours, while the other will have after-school tutoring. A fellow kindergarten teammate as well as myself. March 2012-May 2012 We will use the same material and cover the same concepts, i.e. rhyming, blending phonemes, deleting beginning and ending sounds.  Resources are from the district, in addition to teacher prepared materials.    Students will be given a short assessment at the end of the tutoring session.  Also, a review of previously learned material will be given before the next session.  This will determine retention of the concepts covered.  Percentages of successful growth will be evaluated between the two classes. Assessment instruments:  EOY TPRI data, DRA testing, and teacher created materials.

Blog Uses

Educators may use blogs as a means for exchanging views with like-minded professionals dealing with similar day to day concerns.  Blogs can act as a sounding board for concerns they may have, addressing those issues with others that may have a solutions for the problem.

Action research is a reflective process of problem solving, led by individuals working together collaboratively, to reach a common consensus.  The main goal of action research is to analyze existing practices to identify areas for change.  Evidence should be gathered in order to make informed decisions, rather than those based on instinct.  These decisions can either yield positive improvements, or provide information helpful in the moving further towards the desired change.