Action research is an insightful tool that reminds us how
beneficial change can occur. It is an
active approach that seeks to make a genuine difference and provide a solution
to a possible problem. Action research
requires the participation of everyone that it affects; thus, making it
practical and realistic. The first step
in action research is to reflect. As
educators, we are often overworked and have difficulty finding the time to
complete all necessary and desired tasks.
We simply attempt to get through our “to do” list and do not have the
time to truly reflect on our teaching and the needs of our students/school. If we look at this from a learning
perspective, we are only becoming “surface level” educators. We are not truly learning from mistakes, colleagues,
students, and possibly other
districts. We are doing exactly what we
teach our students not to do. As
educators, we attempt to develop creative, engaging lessons hoping that the
students enjoy these and perceive learning as enjoyable. We all know that if learning is enjoyable and
positive, the students are more likely to become lifelong learners. We continually encourage the students to
learn a concept instead of simply going through the motions of
memorization. Contradictory to this, we
are often going through the motions of our profession. We do not take the time to reflect and learn
from each other. If we take more time to
reflect, then we become overall better learners. Reflection opens the soul and the mind to
various problems that may exist. We must
take the time to reflect on the day, the lesson, the students, the school, and
each other to continue to have a well balanced and successful campus.
Since I am currently
a teacher and department chair, I am going to reflect from that perspective and
then incorporate that view into the entire school as though I might be the
administrator. Our math scores have seen
a steady increase over the last few years with various changes we have made. It
has taken several years, but we are excited about this. After the second administration we are at 92%
for our 5th grade math. We
very much want all of our students to succeed so we are looking for the final
piece to our puzzle. We realize that we
must think beyond the norm to accomplish this final challenge. Some of the
action research that I am interested in would be:
1. The benefits of our new math computer programs
2. Inviting parents to come and observe their child in
intervention classes so that the parents have a better understanding of how
they need to help instruct their child at home.
3. This is also the
first year that we will have a math interventionist on our campus. This, too, might be an area of interest.
______________________________________________________________________________
There are many ways that an educational leader might use
blogs. Department chairs and team
leaders can use blogs to communicate ideas and changes within their department,
helping to create a more cohesive team.
Administrators can use blogs as a key source of communication among
parents, teachers, and between other district administrators. Teachers can use blogs to communicate with
both students and parents. Blogging is
an important tool that allows reflection among all and the opportunity to
better communicate concepts that a busy day might not allow time for.
