Draft of My Action Research Plan
Mary Beth Cuevas
Title:
More Knowledge, Better Choices
Needs Assessment:
There has been a rise in teenage pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases, cyber-bullying, teen suicides and such. These types of issues do not know anything about color, race and culture. Unfortunately our Hispanic population had more teen pregnancies and our younger students; 4th, 5th and 6th grade students, do not understand the importance of internet ethics. With technology the girls can be mean. They talked about other girls as if they were writing in their diaries, but using technology, the entire world can view. Boys, on the other hand, tend to use more profanity and ask girls to do things, like take pictures with only underwear on, or do some kind of sexual activity that they would not ask face to face.
Objective and Vision:
With more knowledge, I believe that students will make better decisions and choices, when it comes to sexual activity, bullying and using technology. I will be teaching 10 lessons over the topics listed above. As the students ask questions and learn more, I want to see them make better choices and decisions. There might be times that they still don’t make the “good” decision, but when I talk with them, I want to know that they understand why the decision they made was not a good one.
Review of the Literature and Action Research Strategy:
Popular magazine articles, fictional novels, reality TV, made for TV movies and big screen movies have people, usually teenagers, making poor choices and decisions. Why? Because it is so much more interesting! Non-fiction publications also have information and stories that depict the same kinds of actions as the fiction publications. But with non-fiction they stories are true and really do happen. In a New York Times magazine article, from the web, talks about parents coming to the school after they found text messages to their daughter from a 12 year old boy and these messages were very sexually explicit. The parents wanted the principal to do something, but since it happened over the weekend and not at school or a school function, the principal’s hands were tied. In another article from sciencedaily.com it shares even more information about the cyber bullying. Both articles mention that because of technology, bullying over the internet or over text messages happen all of the time, over the weekend, at night and so on. The “old fashioned” bullying typically happened during the day and was face to face. But when everyone went home, it stopped for that time. ABC Family made a movie to TV and it was called “Cyber Bully”. Cyber Bully was produced by Jesse Prupas, directed by Charles Biname and written by Teena Booth, July 2011. When my 12 year old daughter and I watched this movie, we both said, “This sounds like we are at school.” It was a movie that happens in real life. With the “Worth the Wait Curriculum” by Scott and White, it talks about self esteem and making good choices, talking to your parents or an adult who knows the facts, sex and so on. It wants young people to take their time with sex and thus it talks about other choices in life and how they can determine what happens in a person’s life.
Articulate the Vision:
I sat with the other 6th grade teachers and administration and shared with them what the curriculum has. I had a parent night to show the parents the curriculum, talk to them about how I would talk with the students and answer any questions for them. When I talked with my students, I shared with them my goal of them gaining knowledge that would help them make better decisions and choices.
Manage the Organization:
This project is a piece of our district curriculum. The biggest part of preparation is making all of the copies and preparing any activities. Parents help me with the copying. Time is 10 lessons and 45 minutes in length. Our classes are 90 minutes long every other day (A & B schedule). I do 2 lessons per class so I am able to get through 10 lessons in 10 days (5 days for A day classes and 5 days for B day classes.) If more time is needed, I tack it on to the end. Many times students schedule a lunch time with me. With the surveys I am the one who disaggregates the information
Manage Operations:
I’m required to give the parents at least 2 weeks to come and view the curriculum. This past year I added the parent night as well. Doing this helps the parents to understand the importance of this. Parents must sign a paper stating “yes” or “no” whether their child will be a part of the lessons or not. The pre-test (pre-survey) acts as my needs assessment and it lets me know what the students know and don’t know.
Respond to Community Interest and Needs:
The blessing with this curriculum is that every student who goes through my district will have the opportunity to be a part of it. Yes, the parents must sign the form and thankfully, they have. When I have the opportunity to share with teachers and staff and parents they always get a little nervous, because they think the students don’t know about any of this. Well, the students do, but they do not always know the truth. This program meets the needs of every child with special needs, exceptional needs, students of all backgrounds, students who may be economically disadvantaged and so on. I haven’t had the opportunity to stand in front of a crowd from the community, but maybe one day.
References:
New York Times (2010, June 27). Online bullies pull schools into the fray. New York times, Retrieved July 29, 2011, by Jan Hoffman
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/28/style/28bully.htmlBy JAN HOFFMAN
Published: June 27, 2010
University of Gothenburg (2010, February 22). Cyberbullying: A growing problem. ScienceDaily. Retrieved July 29, 2011, from Mary Beth Cuevas Google
© Scott & White Worth the Wait ®. 2401 S. 31st Street |Temple, TX 76508 | (254) 724-7359
Design by AMS Production Group and Pallasart Web Design
Design by AMS Production Group and Pallasart Web Design
