Action research is the systematic study of my practices as an educator. It will allow me as an administrator, to hone my skills in teaching and learning. I will be able to study my practices as an administrator, determine what I need to focus on to improve, collect and analyze data related to my quest for improvement, read relevant literature, and make a plan for implementing and sharing what I have learned.
Administrative action research is different from traditional research in that it is focuses on the administrator's needs in his or her current situation rather than information delivered by outsiders. I have learned much from traditional research, but it does not compare to the learning I acquired as a result of inquiry based learning. When I have been a part of the process of determining what I needed to learn, and researched this for myself, I owned that knowledge in a much deeper way.
I have always been an educational book junkie, buying books in mass at whichever workshop I happen to be attending. Usually my purchases are determined by the topics presented, and how engaging the material appears to be. I have to admit I am excited about changing this approach to align more with the action research I am currently undertaking.
I will be using action research to focus on an issue that has been bothering me for years. We, as reading specialists, tend to get involved with struggling readers only after they are failing. I wonder what we can do in the classroom to catch these students before they fall.
Educational leaders can use blogs to build collaborative teams of learning. They can share information learned, question each other, and raise the level of learning. Blogs can also be diaries of learning over time. They are a way of connecting educators for the improvement of education.
I feel your pain! I wish there was some way to help struggling students before they get so behind that they need extreme intervention.
ReplyDeleteI liked the statement about how action research helps you to own the knowledge in a much deeper way. That is exactly right! By putting the knowledge into action, we come closer to remembering what we have learned.
ReplyDeleteI too like your statement about how action research helps you to own the knowledge. Anytime you are able to put your knowledge into action it helps in the learning process. We can all learn more by doing. Thanks, Donna Gossett
ReplyDeleteI related to the comment that blogs can be a diary of learning. Sometimes I need to see something multiple times before I can actually apply the knowledge. By keeping track of the things I have learned, I can revisit them and bring back the things that used to work, but maybe have fallen away for a while.
ReplyDeleteI think the collaboration aspect of blogs is something that can be used to great benefit. I like the idea of diaries of learning.
ReplyDeleteI think that one way that a blog such as the one you have started can benefit your current area of research is that teachers from different grade levels can access your findings. Likewise, it'd be great to have a similar blog started by a teacher in some of the lower grade levels to see if the problem is manifesting itself in the earlier grades. People are more inclined to "vertical team" with other teachers by reading blogs instead of having to attend meetings that are usually pretty boring.
ReplyDeleteMario Arroyave
I agree with you that using action research is great because you choose what you want to research by what is relative to your needs.
ReplyDeleteBlogs can help in reading also. Students embrace technology and to allow them to blog about what they are reading, start a reading group, etc., hopefully that will also allow for fewer students to fall through the cracks. Likewise with adults, we can still get quick information and feedback without attending a "faculty meeting."
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