Action Research Plan

Will differentiated instruction improve students’ academic progress across all achievement gaps and sub-groups in the elementary classroom setting?
Action Steps	Persons Responsible	Timeline	Needed Resources
1.  Survey teachers, staff, and parents	Self	Feb 20th	Survey and contact information
2. Research Articles	Self	March 10th	Articles, websites, and academic journals
3. Gather Data	Self	April 1st	Report cards, discipline referrals, Student work samples and individual test scores.
4. Analyze/ Compare Data	Self	April 15th	report cards, student work samples and discipline referrals
5. Finalize Report	Self	May 10th	Survey, research data and analysis

How I will share my research plan

There are four critical tasks you must perform when you share your research plan. These are (1) providing background information, (2) Procedures, data collection and data analysis, (3) Supporting the statements with data, (4) providing concluding thoughts.

The background to my topic began with statewide and nationwide concerns over students’ lack of progress in improving achievement gaps. Looking for motivational strategies, I decided to take a look at the benefits of different forms of differentiated instruction, something so simple that it can be done in an everyday setting, yet effective enough to make strides in achievement. Students are learners of various avenues and the better we can understand their educational motives, the better we as educators can promote their success.

My action research plan begins with surveying parents, staff, and students on their opinions if differentiated instruction changes a student’s performance in the classroom, regardless of ethnic or economic background.  I will gather data from various professional resources. I will also take a look at student report cards and discipline files. All of this data will be collective and analyzed to take a look at the relation between instruction types and student progress and performance.

This research will provide students, teachers, and administrators a better understanding of various avenues for student involvement. It can also provide parents information to help their children find teachers activities that interest them so they are more willing to stay motivated.

We want them to succeed but sometimes we try to make them conform to our teaching styles rather than try and understand their learning styles. If educators understood students’ motives and students understood the teachers’ motives then hopefully everyone could achieve success by working toward a common goal, vision, and mission. I feel that by actually differentiating all forms of instruction, whether it be in the special or general education classroom, we can help students succeed not only in school but in life as well, regardless of their upbringing, race, or social status.