Action Research Plan: Individualized Goal Setting

I intend to research the impact on individual goal setting and student expectations on individual student achievement.  I want to find out if creating higher student expectations and giving students more ownership of their success will have a positive impact on student performance on standardized district assessments.  

Setting the Foundation: Through meeting with administrators, teachers and students, I will address the issue of student motivation and it’s impact on student perfomance as an identified concern.  This assertion will be supported by data gathered from various sources. I will pose the question that individualized goal setting can have a positive impact on student performance.

Analyzing Data: I will gather data such as report card grades, student performance on district assessments and classroom teacher input. Also included will be internet research on the effects of personal goal setting on student performance.  

Developing Deeper Understanding: After looking at original data, I plan on a follow up meeting with students/classroom teachers to further investigate and potential outlying factors that might be impacting data. 

Engaging in Self-Reflection: During self-reflection, I need to think about whether or not I will be physically present enough to evaluate this issue and will I be able to create enough teacher buy in so they will continue the plan while I am off campus.

Exploring Problematic Patterns: Possible issues at this point, will creating a heterogenous sample of students to survey and then trying to implement a single method of goal setting be problematic?  Will different learning styles impact the results? 

Determining Direction: I feel like I am clear on the topic being addressed and have proper resources in place to conduct this action research.  I still need to follow up with in person meetings with administration, teachers and students.  I believe conducting this research during the 2012-2013 school year is a reasonable time frame.  

Taking Action for School Improvement: Have weekly meetings with the sample group and classroom teachers will allow me to adequately monitor students progress and reevaluate each goal setting method.  

Sustaining Improvement: I need to create a plan of action among the collaborating teachers and a course of action to share the results of my action plan.