Parish+Epsicopal



**PLP YEAR 1 TEAM ** **@parishepiscopal.org** || **TWITTER** || **DELICIOUS** || **BLOG** ||
 * **NAME** || **SUBJECT/DIVISION** || **e-mail**
 * STUART CHEPEY

**TEAM LEADER** || History and Religion/US || schepey || SDChepey ||  || [] || Algebra/Geometry/AP Calculus BC || jkondysar ||  ||   ||   || Spanish 8th Grade || sacosta-cavert ||  ||   ||   ||
 * JIM KONDYSAR || Math Department Coordinator
 * SUSANA ACOSTA-CAVERT || World Languages Department Coordinator
 * GRETCHEN PETERSON || Technology and Middle School Special Projects || gpeterson || GA6 || gpeterson1 ||  ||
 * LUCY HENARD || Upper Elementary Computers; Middle School Digital Design || lhenard || lucyhenard || lucyhenard ||  ||
 * BECKY MAHER || Early Childhood Librarian || bmaher || beckymaher ||  || [] ||


 * OUR PLP YEAR 2 TEAM**

Action Research Project - Template //We want to be able to share and post your Action Research Projects on the PLP website so that others may learn from you. We want to brag on you! We will be making web pages from these projects, so to make the projects a little more uniform and easier to flip through we are asking that you fill out this form. Don't worry - it's not nearly as daunting as it looks. This is meant to be a snapshot of your project with artifacts and links should a reader wish to dig deeper into your research.//

//For your convenience we have copied and pasted this information into your school's team page. Please delete the directions that are *in asterisks* once you are finished.//

**Team Name**
Parish Episcopal School Year One

**Team members**
Susana Acosta-Cavert, Stuart Chepey, Lucy Henard, Jim Kondysar, Becky Maher, Gretchen Peterson

**School**
Parish Episcopal Schoool (Dallas, Texas)

**Abstract**
Administrative expectation for Parish Episcopal School teachers to further implement its 21st century teaching and learning initiative is increasing exponentially. One aspect of this initiative is for teachers to regularly incorporate collaborative project-based learning in their classrooms. Many teachers find this to be challenging for the simple reason that they lack readily-accessible and effective tools to use for collaborative group projects. Our objective is to provide specific tools and information that increase teachers' use of, and comfort with, collaborative projects in their classes. The focus of our project is the middle school division.

**Problem, Issue, or Possibility**
Although middle school faculty members are increasingly encouraged and expected to incorporate collaborative group projects into all aspects of their teaching, no specific professional development has been provided on this topic. While it may be assumed that teachers are comfortable with this pedagogy, a survey we offered to faculty indicates that they are hungry for more specific strategies and tools to use in order to facilitate the incorporation of collaboration in their classrooms.

**Objectives and Assessment**
Our objective is to provide relevant tools and information to the middle school faculty by means of a readily accessible wiki. In order to assess the effectiveness of our project, namely the tools we provide and the medium and method by which we make them accessible, we will review faculty comments on the wiki and a offer a follow-up survey in the 2011-2012 academic year.

**Implementation Plan**
We will implement our project during faculty professional development in August 2011. We will introduce the project wiki to faculty during a thirty-minute PD session and will encourage them to try some/all of the tools and to offer feedback.

**Evaluation and Results** Feedback from the faculty has surpassed expectation already at this juncture. Our initial survey recorded nealry 100% faculty participation; comments added to the survey indicated genuine enthusiasm about the project. We will introduce the finished project and corrosponding wiki formally to the faculty during teacher professional development in August 2011 (aforementioned). Our team will assess its effectiveness by reviewing comments made by faculty on the wiki and the results of a follow-up survey we will offer in the middle of the 2011-2012 academic year. We will publish those results here at that time.

For all related documentation and materials, see our action project wiki at the following URL:
[]; the faculty version of the wiki (the one faculty will use) can be found here: []