Submitted by__________Tim Erwin_____________________________

Date_________________10-06-05______________________________

Title (optional)_________Technology Instructor___________________

Action Research

University School

Action Research: I am in the third year of a three year study of adjusting my curriculum and teaching methods to increase the mastery level of our students in the area of Technology and to align our school curriculum with both state standards and the technology expectations of the local college. I have discussed with the College Computer Science Department what technology skills they would like incoming students to have with. After examining the study’s first two year results I have adjusted my curriculum where needed and have prepared a pre-test / post-test to cover all of the areas discussed. I have given my Technology I students the pre-test to get a picture of their skill levels in technology entering the class. I will give a post-test to evaluate strengths and weaknesses in my program and to measure the student’s mastery level of the material at the end of the course.

Action Research Goals:

Goals for my research include:

·        Confirming curriculum alignment to Tennessee State Standards

·        Alignment of curriculum to meet local college technology expectations for enrolling student.

·        Increase the percentage of students who score at the mastery level of 75% or higher on the Technology skills Assessment

Question:

Is the current Technology curriculum and my teaching style successful in helping our students reach a 75% or above mastery level in the areas of technology they need for both high school and college?

Subjects:

      My subject area is Technology Level One.

Procedures:

·        Give Pre-Test to find current knowledge level of students in class.

·        Work with students to increase Technology knowledge to level of college expectations.

·        Give Post-Test to evaluate student mastery levels and the success level of current curriculum and teaching methods. A score of 75% or above is mastery level on skills test

·        Make changes in curriculum and teaching methods where weakness is found.

Results:

   Year One: 2004 - 2005

            Upon completion of year one of my three year study I have found my curriculum and teaching methods to be on target. The test results show that our curriculum is aligned with both state standards and with the expectations of area colleges. My students entering this year in Technology Level One all scored below mastery level on the Pre-Test. Upon completing the Post-Test the class showed a gain of 82.6%. Nineteen out of Twenty-three students scored at mastery level.  I have attached a graph showing percent gain in proficiency.

   Year Two: 2005 – 2006

            My students entering this year in Technology Level One all scored below mastery level on the Pre-Test.

Conclusions:

Recommendations: