Action Research Plan

Goal: To determine if living on the United States/Mexico border affect English language acquisition for elementary students. If so, to develop and provide quality instruction to students.


Action Step(s): School administrators will be interviewed in regards to the recent trends of language acquisition in the campus. Teachers will also be interviewed in order to give their personal accounts of English acquisition in the classrooms. It is also very important to interview parents so that they can share information about their culture and the way they interact with his/her child at home. Community members also playa a major role in the every day life of the students, therefore they will also be interviewed. Language acquisition measurement tools will also be used, including Texas English Proficiency Assessment and the Texas Primary Inventory. This information will be gathered and studied to determine if living on the United States/Mexico border affects English Language acquisition.
Person(s) Responsible: Roman Martinez


Timeline Start/End: September 1, 2010 – May 1, 2011

Needed Resources: Texas English Proficiency Assessment and the Texas Primary Reading Inventory Results

Process: Initial assessment will be done after administrator, teacher, parent, and community member interviews. Assessment will conclude after TELPAS and TPRI assessments are reviewed.



Evaluation: The tools that will be used to evaluate English language acquisition are the Texas English Proficiency Assessment and the Texas Primary Reading Inventory. Two types of surveys will also be included one for teachers and the other for parents.




1. SETTING THE FOUNDATION The issue of English language acquisition in border cities has been around for a long time. Many changes in instruction have been done through out the years and results seem to be the same. I understand that all communities different but the composition of border communities is unique.


2. ANALYZING DATA  Data will be collected from administrator, teacher, parent and community member interviews. Texas English Proficiency Assessment and the Texas Primary Reading Inventory data will also be analyzed. This will give a better picture of English language acquisition in border cities.



3. DEVELOPING DEEPER UNDERSTANDING  We need to understand that we live in a very unique community. People from all over Latin America and recently from Asia come and settle in border towns along the Rio Grande River. The composition result in many different cultures colliding in one area. Border cities are often linked with poverty. There are many families that live below the poverty line.

4. ENGAGE IN SELF-REFLECTION  This is my tenth year as a teacher and I have seen the effects of English language acquisition in my community. I have long wanted to study this area. Living in a border town has given me the opportunity to witness this first hand. I believe that my findings will help me get more involved.
5. EXPLORING PROGRAMMATIC PATTERNS  There has long been a pattern of delayed English acquisition, but the problem has never been attributed to anything in specif. This has raised many questions in the type of quality of instruction that has been provided to the students. Hopefully the data that I gather will help alleviate some of these patterns

6. DETERMINING DIRECTION  I will work with other stakeholders to better answer my action research question. There are many stakeholders that have the same doubt and I know they will collaborate to the fullest. This research will help all the stakeholders especially the teachers and students. The findings will help administrators and teachers determine what course of action to take to better serve the students. In turn, the students will receive the best instruction possible to acquire the English language

7. TAKING ACTION FOR SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT I will be meeting with the campus administrator and teachers to inform them about my question for my action research. This will give them the opportunity to ask questions about my research. It will also give me the opportunity to receive feed back and suggestions that may assist in my research. I will be sharing my findings with the administrators and teacher. My findings will hopefully help in determining what course of action to take in the classroom.

8. SUSTAIN IMPROVEMENT As I share my findings with the campus I will continue to look for ways to help my community with any other problem that comes along the way. I will strive to provide students with the best instruction possible. Action research will be a constant in my professional development

Action Research: Week 2

This weeks assignment helped me realize the importance of research and staying current with educational issues.  The gentlemen that were interviewed believe action research plays an important role in the development of effective administrators. It is imperative to continue to learn about ways to better leaders and managers.  I had a difficult time deciding on which topic to do my action research on.  It was difficult decision because the prospective topics are major issues in the community. The research topic that my administrator and I agreed upon is: How does living on the United States/Mexico border affect English language acquisition?  We agreed on this topic because it has been a major concern to educators for many years.  Hopefully I will be able to help this community with my findings.

Research in Action

Action research or administrative inquiry is a practice used by administrators to enhance management and leadership skills. Administrative inquiry or action research is conducted in a person's professional field that enables them to use findings to better help and serve those who are involved. I was not aware that there  were different types of research.  I was only familiar with traditional research practices.  Luckily I came across administrative research in my EDLD 5301 course.  There are many positive aspects of performing administrative inquiry. Performing this type of research will benefit the school community from students to community partners.  The students will benefit from the findings that allow administrators to make changes and adjustment to any problematic aspects of school.  The level of respect from the community to the administrator will be dislpayed.  Members of the community want administartors that are proactive when it comes to making positive efforts and changes to deficient areas in the campus.  Not only will it help the administrator and his/her school community, but it also allows administrators from the education field to form networks and share findings. Nothing but positive things result from performing action research or administrative inquiry.  The results are obvious and have positive effects all stakeholders.