Draft Action Research Plan

Action Inquiry: How can the inclusion of ePortfolios in advanced English IV classes improve the students’ achievement on the AP and Dual Credit Exams?
Goal: On our campus, we have many students who enroll in advanced classes during their Junior and Senior years. Looking back at the final exams for AP and Dual Credit English IV scores, the student did not perform as expected.  To help the students be more successful on the exams, we brainstormed several ideas. In reviewing the suggestions, we wondered in what way the many different Web 2.0 tools might impact our students’ learning and exam scores. Since there are many Web 2.0 options, we narrowed our inquiry to, How can the inclusion of ePortfolios in advanced English IV classes improve the students’ achievement on the AP and Dual Credit exams? We want the students to be engaged in the learning.  With engagement, the students begin to develop a deeper understanding of the material. Using ePortfolios as a way of looking at their learning, we also expect the students to develop and use 21st Century skills of collaboration, reflection and problem solving which should put them on the path to being life-long learners. Rationale: Using the ePortfolio as an assessment for learning, students select the article and artifacts that will be included in the portfolio.  These items are used to tell the story of the students learning (Barrett, H. C., 2006). The students can reflect on their progress and request feedback from others to help them improve on the learning. This process makes the ePortfolio “a powerful tool for the new 3Rs, representation, reflection, and revision” (Acker, S. R., 2005). Using ePortfolios as part of the learning process, students will come away with a deeper understanding of the content and their learning. Acker, S. R. (2005). Overcoming obstacles to authentic ePortfolio assessment. Campus Technology. Retrieve on November 29, 2010. Retrieved from http://campustechnology.com/Articles/2005/03/Overcoming-Obstacles-to-Authentic-ePortfolio-Assessment.aspx?p=1. Barrett, H. C. (2006). Using electronic portfolios for classroom assessment. Connected Newletter. 13(2). Pp. 4-6.
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Pre-test??
Analyze how students are currently learning / preparing for the exam.	AP English IV Teacher; Dual Credit English IV; Howard – CIT	December 6, 2010 / December 8, 2010	Computers;On-line Survey; Paper and Pencil – for taking notes during focus groups	Survey & Focus Groups – This information will be used to plan and design the ePortfolio activities and assignments.
Create the structure of the portfolios and the rubrics to be used by teachers and students to evaluate their learning and the portfolios.	AP English IV Teacher; Dual Credit English IV; Howard – CIT	December 8, 2010 / December 17, 2010	Computers; Word processing; Wikispaces Account	Evaluation of the ePortfolio structure will be on-going. Rubrics will be both for how the portfolio process worked and evaluating the content of the portfolio.
Compose and send home letters for parental permission for student work to be posted on-line*. *Students without parental permission will create an ePortfolio that will be posted on campus server.	AP English IV Teacher; Dual Credit English IV;	January 4, 2011/ January, 2011	Letters, envelopes and postage	Compile a list of students with permission/ without permission Phone calls to parents will be made for students who did not return permission form.
ePortfolio Process presented / begins.	AP English IV Teacher; Dual Credit English IV;	January 13, 2011 / May 20, 2011	Computers; Wikispaces; Project outline; Rubrics;	On-going evaluations through unit tests, rubrics, focus groups and surveys.
Final data collection from students	AP English IV Teacher; Dual Credit English IV; Howard	May 23, 2011 / May 25, 2011	Computers; Wikispaces; On-Line Survey	Survey; Focus Group
Data Analysis & Sharing of Results	AP English IV Teacher; Dual Credit English IV; Howard	August 1, 2011 / August 4, 2011	Surveys; AP Exam Scores	Results will be shared with Administrative staff and English Department Teachers