Research, Week Two

This week's assignment required me to come up with three action research questions. After reading about the nine areas ripe for research and considering issues on my own campus, here's what I came up with:

1) How will increased teacher morale impact student discipline referrals and minor student offenses (IDs, dress code, etc)?

2) Will common planning time during the school day create a more aligned curriculum in the English department?

3) What staff development options exist that can be carried out without staff development days during the school year?

It was during the conference with my site supervisor that I remembered the concept of measurable goals as she reminded me to make sure that each of these things could be measured in some way when I reach that step of the process. Each of these questions are applicable to my current school, but I've decided to research the first question because it holds the most interest for me.

My follow up questions become:

1) Do teachers on our campus feel that they play a vital role in discipline?

2) How do teachers deal with minor discipline issues like ID violations? Do they perceive that they are checking students for IDs? Is what they're doing in line with what the administration perceives as the best method?

3) For teachers who don't feel they watch for violations, why not? Is it intentional?

Wouldn't you know it? My initial question has already evolved. It should now read "How can we encourage teachers to help decrease minor discipline problems?" Teacher appreciation and morale is only one thing that may be a solution to this problem.

Based on the case studies in the text, I think my next steps are to begin trying to find the answers to these questions from teachers on my campus and to research what other campuses do about minor discipline infractions.

What are your thoughts, reader? What can we do to encourage teachers to help out with these little problems?