After completion of your intervention and the results for your Case Study Summary Report, develop an action plan (2-4 pages) including additional research-based strategies that can be used to continue the progress of your challenging student AND steps that can be taken to address this problem within the classroom and school. Essentially, you are identifying a concrete plan for teachers and schools to implement to address the issue. What is an action plan? In some ways, an action plan is a “heroic” act: it helps us turn our dreams into a reality. An action plan is a way to make sure your vision is made concrete. It describes the way your group will use its strategies to meet its objectives. An action plan consists of a number of action steps or changes to be brought about in your community. Each action step or change to be sought should include the following information: • What actions or changes will occur (incorporate out-of the box suggestions, avoid prescribing the same old same old) • Who will carry out these changes (don’t lay all of the responsibility at the feet of anyone – remember, it takes a village) • By when they will take place (short-term, long-range) • What resources (i.e., money, staff) are needed to carry out these changes • Communication (who should know what?) What are the criteria for a good action plan? The action plan for your initiative should meet several criteria. Is the action plan: • Concrete? Does it list specific action steps to be made or changes to be taken? • Clear? Is it apparent who will do what by when? • Research-based? Is it opinion or grounded in the research literature? • Comprehensive? Does the action plan take a 30,000-foot view or is it narrowly focused? • Hopeful? Does it look at the circumstances optimistically or is there a resignation to failure?
