Methods

 

To investigate my question I conducted three professional development meetings during the 2013-2014 school year.  All Inclusion Specialists, Speech/Language Therapists, Psychologists, Occupational Therapists and Counselors attended the meetings.  The meetings were designed to increase collaboration, improve practice, and build leadership capacity.

 

The following data collection methods were utilized:

 

Exit Cards: Inclusion Specialists responded to questions on exit-cards after each whole-group meeting.  The short answer and multiple choice questions on the exit card were designed to measure the effectiveness of each meeting/workshop, and to identify next steps for our professional learning community.

 

Surveys: Inclusion Specialists completed electronic surveys designed to gather their input, thoughts and ideas for the design and development of our professional adult learning community.

 

Interviews:  I asked 4 Inclusion Specialists to participate in one-on-one interviews.  The interview was chosen as a means of co-designing and co-creating structures for collaboration, sharing of best practices, and improving instruction.  I selected a diverse group of Inclusion Specialists who represented a broad spectrum of:

-years of experience

-ethnicity

-gender

-region (Point Loma/Chula Vista/North County)

 

Focus Groups:  I asked several groups to convene to generate ideas for our community and to reflect about the success of our efforts.  Focus group participants were also selected to ensure a representative and diverse group, taking into account the same criteria as listed above under “interviews.”

 

Qualitative data collected from exit cards, surveys, interviews and focus groups were coded to identify major themes or findings and guide next steps in the action research process.