EDLD 5301 Week 2 Action Research Reflection

As I was looking at the courses for the educational administration program at Lamar University I have to admit this research course intimidated me more than any of the others.  I was worried I would not be able to come up with a topic that has not been researched on my campus.  I teach in a very large school.  The district has many people that are constantly looking for ways to improve each campus.  I originally only considered doing research over areas involving curriculum.  As I was reading the text Leading with Passion and Knowledge by Nancy Fitchman Dana, I realized there are many areas on my campus that I previously did not consider.  The book mentions nine areas that are ripe for action research.  These areas include: Staff Development, Curriculum development, Individual teachers, Individual students, School Culture, Leadership, Management, School Performance, and Social Justice (2009).  One research topic I did not consider until reading the text came to mind involving individual students.  Our district has a summer program for students that want to get-ahead in mathematics.  I have heard many of my colleagues mention that they feel this program is not adequately preparing these advanced students for the next class.  One research topic that should be considered on our campus should be "How does the online summer get-ahead mathematics program affect the performance of the students in their future math classes?"  I really feel this topic would be very valuable for the students and the school.      

Dana, N. F. (2009).  Leading with passion and knowledge:  The principal as action researcher.  Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

5301 Action Research Week 1 Assignment

Action Research

According to Dana (2009) administrative inquiry or action research is the systematic process where principals examine their professional practice in order to find areas to change to further enhance learning and school improvement (page 2). Administrators can solely, or with a collaborative group inquire about a localized problem. Working with the staff the administrators can propose and implement changes to address the problem. The research or inquiry occurs when data is collected and analyzed to determine if the specific changes are working or if any modifications need to be made. I have learned through the study this week the difference between traditional educational research and action research. The traditional educational research model uses research gathered on the outside to bring about a specific educational reform.  These reforms are more on a broad scope than at the local level.  One way that action research is being conducted on our campus is with the “flipped classroom” model.  The administration has asked many of the teachers at the high school to flip their classrooms.  A group of teachers that are flipping their classrooms including myself are meeting monthly to determine the effectiveness of this teaching approach.   The administration is going to use data gathered this year to see if the "flipped classroom" model should be implemented throughout the campus.   
         
 

Dana, N.F. (2009). Leading with passion and knowledge: The principal as action

          researcher.  Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

 

How can educational leaders use blogs?

The administrators can use blogs to check the pulse of what is happening in the school. The blogs can encourage parental, student, and teacher involvement.  The blogs can also be used to communicate with other administrators from different districts.  By blogging information can be shared with parents and parental concerns can be voiced and addressed in a timelier manner.