Thursday 4 October 2012

Action Plan

When browsing the module handbook and reader, time and time again I kept seeing how important it is to have a structured action plan.

Here's mine:


Action Plan

Week 1: 
  • Write permission letters
  • Issue permission letters to the under 16’s to give to parents
  • Design surveys for both students and teachers
  • Write 2 Literature reviews
  • Re-work and re-structure as needed based on advice from peers and on the literature reviewed.

Week 2:
  • Conduct the surveys
  • Write 2 literature reviews
  • Analyze the results of the survey. Look for patterns, contrasts etc.
  • Design some short interviews based on the survey results with the view of exploring key issues further.

Week 3:
  • Write 2 literature reviews
  • Conduct 6 interviews with students

Week 4:
  • Write 2 literature reviews
  • Conduct 6 interviews with teachers

Week 5:
  • Analyze the interviews, relating them back to survey responses, looking for patterns, contrasts, links etc.

Week 6:
  • Conduct 2 observations, one in each research setting, looking for visual evidence of my findings, recording the observations in written form.
  • Analyze the findings from the observations, looking for links or contrasts to the results found from the interviews and surveys.

Week 7:
  • Concentrate on collaborating my findings from all 3 inquiry tools, relating my findings and analysis to other sources and literature, using these sources to further analyze and explore the findings, and to begin to construct my Critical Review.

Week 8:
  • Work on my critical review

Week 9:
  • Begin to build my artifact. 

Week 10:
  • Work on my artifact.

Week 11:
  • Begin constructing and writing my presentation.
Week 12:
  • Re-draft, edit, fine tune everything! 

*** I want to know what everybody thinks! Too ambitious? Not ambitious enough? How does it compare to everybody elses plan? 

Paula, what do you think? Good or bad plan? ***

5 comments:

Emily said...

Hi Liam, welcome back!
Seeing your action plan written down has really spurred me on to do one of my own. I think it will really help with time management for this busy module.
Maybe you should give yourself a few extra weeks to start writing everything up along side some of your other tasks, as this could be quite a stressful time. What do you think?

Liam said...

Hi Emily,

I found the idea of writing an action plan daunting because it highlights just how much work I need to get through!! On top of all the other stuff that is my life! However, now I have it there, even if it is pretty flawed, I feel a bit calmer about it all.

Your suggestion is a good one, I'm pretty sure I'm completely underestimating how much time I'm going to need to get everything done. I think I'll see where I am in a few weeks and then consider revising the plan!

Sarah Pearson said...

This is fantastic! It is such a detailed action plan. Is it something you can realistically stick to? I think it is really helpful if you have a job which has a structured timetable/ calender so that you know in advance when you can fit uni work in. I'm really impressed with your plan Liam. It seems to me that if you can stick you this, you will have the next few months well in control!

Liam said...

ah ha! That's the question! Can I stick to it!?

In theory yes, but I've made these plans assuming I'll be ok working on my project at least 6 mornings a week (mornings are the only time I have free) all my afternoon and evenings are full of work (literally, every afternoon and evening, 7 days a week) so it could be unrealistic.

Another thing I was discussing with Paula today was setting yourself a "fake" deadline so that the time between the real deadline and the fake one can be used for checking, double checking and triple checking...

So the action plan may need some tweaking!

Unknown said...

Hi Liam,

This is a really great plan. As you have said in your comments above you have a very busy schedule which am sure we all can relate to. Its literally going to be non-stop now until that work is sent of. At least it will be all worth it in the end!!

I think its important to have a plan. I haven't made a plan as structured as yours as i think like you said it would kind of scare me knowing how much work we have to do but its a reality check as well as we have to fit it alI in. I think its good that you only do Uni work in the morning as over the past week i have been setting a whole day that i was just going to do work and it doesn't work as my brain can only focus on one subject for so long. So now i am trying to structure the work so i do something everyday but just for a couple of hours instead of 8 hours in one go!

Hope all is going well for you!

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