Progress on Action Research

I have conducted surveys dealing with my action research plan. I have handed our surveys to fellow teachers, administrators, and parents. The surveys asked questions about what kind of teaching they got from their parents about financial literacy while they were attending high school. I also surveyed them on what kind of things they have tried to teach their own children about finances, and if they just lead by example, or if they have sat down and actually taught their children about financial concepts. Have they used a system in which their children earn money for chores, and after earning money, what do the children do with it? These are the types of questions that were also on the survey.  The surveys were turned back in, and I have recorded my answers. I then gave my classes a pre-test over financial literacy to assess what each student knows about financial concepts. The tests asked questions about checking accounts, savings accounts, loans and credit cards, bank loans, installment loans and contracts concerning financial events. Although I have not graded the tests as of yet, or evaluated the data, I will do that soon. I am now in the process of teaching the financial literacy part of my curriculum that I am required to teach. I will give this test again at the end of the year to evaluate whether our students are gaining enough teaching of finances, and if the curriculum we are currently utilizing is good enough to help our students at least gain a foothold in the financial world when they go off to college, or start a job. I believe our students need to know certain things to be able to help them be successful financially, and my action research plan and the things I am doing to evaluate will help us determine if what we teach is enough.

At the end of the semester I will then gather all my data, disaggregate the data, and use this data to write my action research conclusion. This will be after all of the tests are turned in.

Revised Action Research Plan

Hadsell Action Plan- Revised 11/1/12
Goal: Determine if high school students are financially educated and evaluate if high school curriculum is sufficient to prepare students to make independent, wise financial decisions in the future
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Surveys will be distributed to  teachers, admin, parents, and students to levels of financial education	Myself	Will distribute surveys in January 2013, and request return within 2 weeks	Surveys Excel program	Surveys will be analyzed to determine levels of financial education and compare student and adult responses.
A second survey will be distributed  to parents and teachers only.  The second survey will determine levels of financial instruction provided by parents for their children.	Myself	Will send surveys out in January 2013 and will request return within 2 weeks to analyze.	Surveys Excel program	Surveys will be analyzed to determine level of financial instruction provided by parents for their children.
Teachers will administer a written pre- test to students that participate in all three business department classes. There will be an approximate total of 150 students involved in the testing.	Teachers in the school, principal, curriculum director.	Pre-tests will be given the first week of January 2013 and collected that day. Tests will be graded and results will be saved to be compare with the post-tests to be administered at the conclusion of financial curriculum instruction.	Testing material for 150 students, teachers to help give tests to students, principal and curriculum director will help analyze data when returned.	I will grade the pre-tests and assign a percentage of correct answers to each test. I will then create a table with the percentages of each test taken.
Teachers will teach the financial curriculum that is required of business teachers, they will attend a marketing and finance event called “Marketplace”, and will request speakers to talk to students about financial literacy.	Business  teachers (including FCS taught classes that teach Dollars and Sense), all students involved in Marketplace event, principal, curriculum director, special education teachers.	Research will start in January 2013 at the beginning of the 2nd semester and will conclude at the end of the semester. The research may continue through the first semester of following year in order to increase research validity.	Financial curriculum	Students will be evaluated throughout the semester by their grades during the second semester and the post-test assessment.
The final step in the research process will be to administer a post-test to the students that have received instruction in the financial curriculum.  The test data will be compared to the  data obtained from the pre-test given at the beginning of the semester. A comparison will also be made to review the scores of students who did not participate in the financial curriculum to those that did .  Based on the results collected, it will be determined if students are financially educated and determine if the selected financial curriculum had an impact on student financial literacy.	Teachers Principal Curriculum Director	The post-test will be administered to students at the end of the semester in May 2013. If the research continues during the following school year,  another post-test will be administered at the end of the first semester in December 2013.	Financial literacy post-test Excel Program	All data will be evaluated and  a conclusion will be determined if what students are taught in  business classes about financial literacy is sufficient to prepare them for post high school financial decisions. Data  will also be evaluated to determine what students learn outside of school from parents, grandparents, or other sources of information.

Process Overview

Rollin Hadsell

Action Research

Process Overview

EDLD 5301

Goal: Why are our high school students not financially ready for life after high school? Are the methods we use in our high school to teach financial literacy sufficient enough to get our students ready for post high school and college?

1.      SETTING THE FOUNDATION- After meeting with my site supervisor (principal) and our curriculum director/assistant superintendent, we came up with a myriad of things I could do an administrative inquiry on. We decided that the most important thing for our students with regards to the questions we asked and thought about was their financial literacy. We decided that two questions (and probably many more along the way) will be answered. I first want to find out why our students are not financially literate when getting out of high school. I want to find out the reasons our students are not getting taught financially in other ways. I also want to answer the question of whether the curriculum we use in our school (however basic and small it may be) is sufficient enough to prepare our students to help them on their way to a better path financially before leaving high school. I believe this research is important because our students are going into college and coming out with more debt than they could ever imagine having before their college graduation. I am hoping to be able to take to the district the results of this study to see if we as a district need to change the way we teach financial literacy, and if we need to do more.

2.      ANALYZING DATA- After obtaining pre-test sheets and parent, teacher, and student surveys, I will be able to come to a better idea of what our students need to learn. I will also be able gear my financial lessons towards the things our students do not have a lot of knowledge about. I will also, by analyzing the surveys that have been passed out and returned to me, further be able to analyze the reasons why our students are not being taught about financial literacy. With feedback from parents, teachers, and students, I am sure new questions will arise that I will be able to look further into and research later on after all this is finished. At the end of the research time, after teaching lessons all semester, the post-tests I will give at the end of the semester will give me even more data to analyze. I will use this data to hopefully effect change in the way we teach money matters to our students, or if the lessons we teach are working, then ensure that we keep doing the things we are doing to teach our students effectively.

3.      DEVELOPING DEEPER UNDERSTANDING- In developing a deeper understanding of the problem we are facing, I will analyze the data that I have collected from surveys, observations, interviews, and research that I will do on my own. I will be able to learn why students aren’t being taught, and what we can do to help them- or their parents- learn more and be more effective money managers.  I will conduct interviews with other business teachers, business leaders in the community, as well as doing my own research to further understand the problems that our students are facing. Credit card debt, student loan debt, lack of savings accounts, all this will be researched and discussed when interviewing others. I have already read many articles pertaining to the problems our students are facing when getting into college, without any financial know how.

4.      ENGAGE IN SELF-REFLECTION- This step is used for me to take the time to make sure I am progressing in my action research plan. Is there anything else I need to do to further gain more knowledge about this subject? Are the actions steps I have planned effective? Do I need to go back and change anything, or look forward and change something? These are the questions that I will reflect on. I will also ask for input from the people that are involved in this action research plan. I will ask for feedback concerning the methods, processes being used, and if the plan seems to be progressing the way it should. What improvements can I make in this process to help the overall project?

5.      EXPLORING PROGRAMMATIC PATTERNS- At this point in the research, I will  explore the programmatic patterns in our school. I will look at why these students are not learning financial literacy. I will research any school biases that exist in our school or district concerning my plan. Are there racial differences when it comes to way students are learning? Do some students have the opportunity to learn what others learn as far as financial literacy goes? What are some things I need to look at here to help me further understand what the true problem is? I will talk with my supervisor and any other person involved in this research to assess whether they see any biases that I don’t.

6.      DETERMINING DIRECTION- This step will come at the end of my research, as I will have all my data compiled, tabled, and analyzed. I will have given all tests by then, and it is at this point I can conclude whether change needs to be made in the way we teach financial literacy. I can gauge whether we need to find ways to help the parents become more financially responsible to be able to set examples for their students, and if we do conclude that, what can we do to help them? As far as teaching the students, do we need to change our entire way we teach finances, add additional material and teach it for a longer period of time, as right now we don’t teach financial literacy long enough, compared to how important it is in today’s society. Of course this is just my opinion as of right now, with no data to back up this statement.

7.      TAKING ACTION FOR SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT- After determining the direction we as a school need to take, I will use the data that I have collected during the semester. I will use this data, including interviews, surveys, and pre and post- test data to write a comprehensive plan for what we need to do as a district to get our students ready to face the world financially. I will have all data that I have utilized ready for any questions from anyone that needs more information. I will write this plan with alternatives to what we are doing presently, how to best implement the alternatives, and steps to take to implement the changes we need for our district.

8.      SUSTAINING IMPROVEMENT- This step is of vital importance to the entire action research plan. I can research, determine direction, and take action to improve the situation, but if that improvement can’t be sustained into the future, then all the work would seem meaningless. In my opinion, the CARE model of examining improvement would be the one I would use. I will write my concerns down and pass out to all stakeholders, and what needs to happen for us to sustain school improvement. I will look at the positive things that are happening that must be sustained also, and then give recommendations for effective sustainability. I really like the SMART model that is explained in the Harris et. al text (page 97). It says that recommendations need to be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely. I will also conduct evaluations at the beginning and end of each semester by continuing to give pre and post-tests to students to assess where students are with their financial knowledge, continue to look at material we are utilizing, and stay updated on current trends or problems in the financial world that could affect our students. I will also examine what we are doing that does not need to be changed. Many things may need to be different, but we cannot just turn a blind eye to the things that do not need to be changed and forget them.

My Action Research Plan

Hey all. I have added my Action Research Plan below. I hope it is correct. Please, please, please give me some feedback on it, good or bad. I won't get my feelings hurt with comments, because this is a learning experience. Thanks for any comments you can give me!!!

Action Research Plan

Action Planning Template
Goal: To find out why our students are not financially ready to leave high school, and if the things we teach them in high school is sufficient enough to help them get started on the right path financially.
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Surveys will be conducted with  teachers, admin, parents, and students to find out if they were taught financial responsibility as children.	Myself	Will send surveys out in January, and will receive back within 2 weeks so I can analyze data.	I will need surveys to pass out to individuals, computer with Excel to create tables for data.	Surveys will be analyzed to help understand why students are not financially literate, and if there are other concerns with the results, such as parents needing to be taught.
A second survey will be sent out to parents and teachers only to explore if they taught their children financial responsibility when they were younger.	Myself	Will send surveys out in January, and will receive back within 2 weeks to analyze.	Surveys, computer with Excel to create tables for data to be stored.
Myself and other teachers will give a written Pre- test for students that are involved in all three business department classes. There will be a total of about 150 students involved in the testing.	Myself, other teachers in the school, principal, curriculum director.	Pre-tests will be given the first week of January and collected that day. Tests will be graded and saved to be compared with the post-tests to be given later on in the study.	Testing material for 150 students, teachers to help give tests to students, principal and curriculum director will help analyze data when returned.	I will grade pre-tests and assign a percentage of correct answers to each test. I will then create a table with the percentages of each test taken by the two different study groups.
I will teach the financial curriculum that is required of business teachers, we will attend a marketing and finance event called “Marketplace”, and I will have speakers come and talk to students about financial literacy.	Myself, other business class teachers (including FCS taught classes that teach Dollars and Sense), all involved in Marketplace event that will take place in April, principal, curriculum director, special education teachers.	We will start our research in January starting the 2nd semester and it will run through the semester. I am also exploring the possibility of continuing the research through the first semester of next year, just to have more data to analyze, and more students.	Financial curriculum, teachers that will teach the financial curriculum.	Students will be evaluated during the semester by their grades, but the evaluation that will go with this research will be the post-test we will be giving at the end of the semester.
My final step in the research project will be to give a post-test to the students that have been involved in the financial curriculum that we have been teaching for the semester. We will give the test and analyze the data, comparing it to the data from the pre-test given at the beginning of the semester. We will also compare it to the students that did not receive the financial curriculum during our classes. I will come to a conclusion with this data and answer the question of whether the things we teach them about finance is working, and hopefully find other ways or methods to help these student gain a better understanding of financial literacy.	Myself, other teachers, principal, curriculum director.	The post-test will be given at the end of the semester in May. If I decide to continue, another post-test will be given at the end of the first semester of next year, in December of 2013.	Financial literacy post-test, computer with Excel to create tables for data.	I will evaluate all the data that I have taken, and come to a conclusion about if what we teach the students in our business classes about financial literacy is sufficient enough to get them started on the right path financially. I will also evaluate data concerning what students learn outside of school from parents, grandparents, or other sources of information that they gain. Are their parents teaching them how to handle finances correctly, are they setting the example for their kids? Are there other ways our students are learning about financial responsibility? If so what are those ways? These are things I will evaluate at the end of the study.