Final Reflection

       Action research is the process of creating systemic change for an immediate need on campus.  This research process begins with an administrator inquiring or wondering about a specific topic.  According to the Dana text (2010), “administrator inquiry refers to the process of a principal engaging in systemic, intentional study of his/her own administrative practice and taking action for change based on what he/she learns as a result of the inquiry”(p. 2).  Before I began EDLD 5301 Action Research I considered research as something done in the library with strictly books and periodicals.  I soon learned in week one of the class that action research goes way beyond literature review.  I learned that quality action research takes and addresses a very specific problem on campus  Through this course I have learned that action research data can be gathered by many methods such as surveys, interview, and test scores.

Collaboration is a very important quality trait for any action research project.  In this course the class used many different venues to communicate with each other.  One way that the class communicated was through the discussion board.  Each week the class was asked to post key aspects of an action research project.  We then commented on at least two of our colleagues’ posts.  These comments led to many changes in my action research project.  When I first began my action research project I was going to see how students and teachers were affected by using the flipped classroom model opposed to the traditional teaching model.  With help from the others in class I narrowed my topic to strictly students hoping to be able to better focus on the biggest area of need on our campus.  Another way that our class communicated was through blogs.  I heard of blogs prior to this class, but I have never considered how useful blogging could be in the educational field.  I learned quickly how inexperienced I am when I was trying to setup my blog.  I soon learned when comments started coming in about my action plan the true benefit of a blog.  Some of my fellow classmates gave me advice on my research project.  One person gave me additional websites to go to for resources over my action research topic.  I will try to keep everyone updated on the progress of my action research project using this technology resource. 

One of the scariest parts of this course was the week we were asked to develop our own action research project.  Luckily, we had a resource that served as a guide.  The Harris text (2010) provided me with a template that I used to establish my research project.  The template was well defined with areas for action steps, persons responsible, timeline, needed resources, and evaluation.  This was tremendous help.  When I am an administrator I will continue using this template to guide future research projects.  The Harris text (2010) also had a section that helped ensure the action research was addressing 8 key components needed in any school improvement project. 

Lastly, I learned that action research should not be an area that is intimidating.  I learned that action research is where many of the substantial changes in the school system begin.  I learned that setting up and action research project, while daunting at times, is definitely not as intimidating as I originally thought.  I look forward to discovering how my action research project may affect the way teachers operate in their classrooms.  In closing I learned that action research in a vacuum is pointless.  The researcher needs to reflect and communicate his or her results appropriately so that others may implement meaningful change on their campus.      

 

References:

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

 Harris, S., Edmonson, S., & Combs, J. (2010). Examining what we do to improve our schools: 8 Steps from analysis to action. Larchmont, NY: Eye on Education.