Action research is being used more in a principal’s or administrator’s practice and it opens the door to effective and creative systematic problem solving in the school world. I plan to use the inquiry research approach to attempt to resolve and improve systems that are in dire need of change tied to improving school processes that will yield continuous school improvement.
My action research for this class consists of using the book Teach Like a Champion by: Doug Lemov to improve academic vocabulary in fifth grade. The problem over time has been that students are not retaining the vocabulary needed in order to understand science concepts. In analyzing the school science data, I have found that this is one of the most significant deficiencies.
To be able to inquire, I will pose the study of taking some of the 49 techniques mentioned in the book and perform a study of the correlation of teachers using the techniques when teaching science vocabulary. Two classes will be under the study, of which both will consist of having the same student demographics and the techniques will be used to teach the vocabulary. Two other 5th grade classes will not use the techniques. The measure of the inquiry research will be weekly as students take their vocabulary assessment and a cumulative assessment every four weeks. A reflection piece will be used so that the teachers can improve the use of the techniques after each science vocabulary lesson.