Thursday, July 29, 2010

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Action Research Week 3

Hello to All.

I am not totally sure my action research plan is correct, however, after much researching, analyzing of data, thinking, rethinking and revising for hours, I have come to the conclusion that this plan is what I intend to put in place this next school year. The order and follow is how I think it would best serve my school and myself. Please let me know what you think should be changed or altered to better serve my learning community overall while keeping the best interest of the students in mind.

Monday, July 19, 2010

Week 2 Reflection

This week, I learned how important research really is. I now realize how many schools, districts, and individuals actually use research on a daily basis. I admit, I use some research to an extent when analyzing students' test scores, etc., however, after listening to the scholars of week 2, I now understand how important, relevant, and necessary active research is.

Research should be a regular tool/responsibility that a person does in his or her profession. As future school administrators, research keeps us up-to-date, informed and educates us on what strategies, practices, and skills we can use to better our school and our student achievement levels. We need to work together in the education field to provide and share practical research that can benefit others. By sharing and communicating such knowledge, our school systems can be much more effective and efficient.

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Blogging

Blogging is the act of sharing one's ideas, thoughts, questions, and or experiences on a website for others to read and respond to. Educational blogs are great tools which develop collaboration and support amongst multiple members of the educational world. Sharing research with others by blogging clarifies one's expression. Blogging empowers one to reflect on their own practices. Blogging is a generative activity which gains a sense of accomplishment of one's own thoughts and research.

Administrators can share their works, accomplishments or simply ask for guidance of others, taking ideas further and explore concepts beyond the basic thought by just taking time to type on the computer. Such blogs are short phrases, comments, thoughts that can then be posted to the internet visible for all to view. I believe such tool as blogging is definitely a useful and beneficial tool that each and every individual especially school leaders can use to communicate and support each other by. Such support and communication is needed to be a successful leader.

Action Research

In my opinion, action research is the process of taking action, taking time to sit down and focus on one's own administrative practices by evaluating current actions and determining where one is, where one needs to be and how one gets there. Action research requires the engagement of inquiry that serves as the basis for investigating, reasoning and processing situations each and every day in the school setting. Action research is a continual process consisting of reflection and action by clarifying and diagnosing practical situations that need improvement or resolution, formulates action strategies for improving the solution, implements the action strategies and evaluates their effectiveness while clarifying the situation resulting in either resolutions of the problem or additional issues. Action research rotates in a spiral continuum that feeds from reflection and actions and so on.

I along with other administrators naturally have a set vision in place. Action research allows individuals to understand the need for inquiry and know the importance such research and thinking has on making better decisions in order to gain successful solutions. By researching and analyzing data from literature and making changes in practice based on findings, I believe such action research is a powerful tool for learning and improving the educational world. I believe each and every administrator needs action research to lead a productive leadership role.