Getting Organized and Planning the Rest of the Year

I spent this week getting organized and planning the remainder of the lessons for Project LEAD this year. With all the testing that is coming up I needed to make sure I provide great lessons to end out the year. I created six lessons from seniors reviewing FAFSA, surveying students with the different clusters, deciding students leadership style (since we have several officer elections coming up), career exploration and evaluating and reflecting on the school year.

With the lessons completed it gives me the opportunity to sort out my samples and surveys from throughout the year. I am curious to see how the year turns out. I will post my findings at the end.  

AR Project Summary

When I first started planning my Action Research I knew I would have to be flexible because it was going to be a program that all staff and students were going to be involved in. The program started off very strong because of all the support that I had from the principal and staff. My goal was not to make extra work for any teacher but to give them an opportunity to really work and connect with students to prepare them for after high school. The program is still going well but I have learned that some lessons were hit and miss when it came to students and teachers enjoying them. Some weeks I felt rushed with the lessons and unfortunately didn’t always get the help I thought I would.

 

In talking with students it became very beneficial because they have given me an insight of what they enjoyed and what they want to learn. Student input is very important to me because of what my goal is for the program. With only a few Project LEAD lessons left for the school year I need and want to finish strong. I want these lessons to be very interactive with students and teachers. I will have students and teachers complete a survey of the overall program and include likes and dislikes. I am also planning to present the findings of the program to the faculty at a faculty meeting as well as present the findings at a CEIC (Campus Education Improvement Council) meeting. Even though it has been a very tough project it is something that I am glad that I did because I feel that it is very important.

Ending March

March has gone by fast. With Spring Break being over I created two more lessons for the Project LEAD classes. "Ethics at Work" and "Thinking Like a Genius". It is getting close to summer so I thought a lesson about ethics woudl be good since so many students will be getting a summer job. Also, the "Thinking Like a Genius" was really a lesson about working in small groups and have students think about different quotes and if they had a chance to do something over, would they and how would they do it over. Ending March students had to really think, but in talking with students they enjoyed both lessons. Teachers really stressed how ethics is important and that students really need to understand and apply. I am realizing as we start getting closer to the end of the year I am starting to lose some students and teachers, so I really need to think about some fun and exciting assignments to keep their attention.

March Update

This is has been a very strange month for the Project Lead classes. The first Monday in March was set aside for TAKS testing and the next week was a different schedule because of Spring Break so we didn't have a class. Next Monday is Spring Break so I don't have a Project LEAD class until March 18th. So, I decided to do a lesson on work ethics since it is getting to be that time of year that we have so many students that are looking for summer work. As for the last month of the month I am still undecided. I know that I will do a FAFSA lesson for the seniors but I am not sure about the other grades yet. I will post again at the end of the month.

February Recap

February is going by fast and there is only three Project Lead classes this month due to President's day. The lessons this month included an activity on listening skills, leadership and dating violence. Students really enjoyed the leadership activity I think because it was a game on determining who the leader is. As the year goes on I am learning in order to keep their attention the activities need to be more fun. The listening skills lesson was fun because teachers and to read a short paragraph then students had to work in groups to determine how to answer the questions that could have two completely different endings. It was amazing to see how students interpreted the passage.

On Monday students will review a "Toxic Relationships" video through Discovery Education and have a class discussion. I felt this was an important lesson to do with it being Dating Violence Awareness Month. I am curious to see what the students think.

Draft Action Research Project Progress Report

Check out my website that has more information about Action Research Project.

https://sites.google.com/site/jdeentechnology/home/edld-5397/action-research-project

Back into the Routine

This semester has started off a little crazy. This will be the first normal week. We had a Project LEAD class on Friday but it was the same time as our FFA show and Rush Day. So between Friday and today teachers should have covered two lessons. 10th & 11th Grade had to determine who the leader was by sending a student out, selecting a leader and have the class follow the leader so the "outsider" could determine who the leader was and 12th grade had to complete sample interview questions. Today was to recap the lessons and add a questioning exercise. Students sat in two rows, knee-to-knee and had one minute to answers questions before they rotated to the next person. I am waiting to get feedback from students and teachers to see how these lessons went.

Between these lessons, students learned about being a leader, follower, how to interview and ask each other questions.