Final Thoughts on Research Class 2012

When I first started this course, I had little training on action research. I was fortunate enough to be working on an action team for the district, in regards to our graduate profile. The team I worked with had a focus on improving interpersonal relationships with the students. Throughout this course I have gained a greater insight on what it means to do action research. I thought the blog was a very interesting way to share ideas and comments on my plan. I have always marveled at teachers who blogged about different subjects. I thought it was something that was too technical for me to accomplish. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to create and do. I am very grateful for learning a new strategy on how to communicate with others.

Reflection was a big concept that kept recurring in the book, the videos, and webinars with Dr. Abshire.  I learned that an effective administrator takes the time to reflect on action research projects both on their own and with collaborative groups.  I know in a lot of our science professional developments, we are asked to do a reflection form at the end for an evaluation. To be honest, most of the teachers just write ”Great job today,” so they can leave. I admit, I have done this many times. However, after this course, I now understand why they want us to use the reflection form for evaluation. Reflection time allows you or a group to really stop and think about the process or plan fully. It gives you the time to think about what is good in the plan, but also what needs to be changed. We need to take this time to think through potential problems, and be able to  plan accordingly.  Reflection is also a good thing to do collaboratively to be able to bounce different ideas and opinions off each other. During this process, if you  are working with a group, then you need to have a strong leader that allows everyone to share their ideas . The leader of the group should be a good listener, speak when needed, and guide the conversation in the correct direction.

The strategies such as; Force Field Analysis, Delphi Method, Nominal Group Technique, and the CARE model were of particular interest to me. As a teacher, I am always interested in learning new strategies to teach my students, so learning new strategies is always something that I have been interested in . These strategies for sustaining improvement in an action plan, were both easy to implement and helpful. I really liked the CARE model because it not only identified concerns, but also positive policies going on at a school. I feel when implementing a change, we sometimes look so closely at the negative we forget the positive.  This model has you look to the positive aspects in your school that will help make those changes.  Again, when I used the CARE model to write up my plan, it was very straightforward and not at all hard to do. I think this is a major benefit of these strategies.

I feel that I have gained a greater understanding of what action research is and how to complete a plan. I know that as I continue to reflect and revise the plan, I will grow to understand it even more. The best way form me to continue my understanding is to ask to be involved in action plans in the district and on my campus level.

 

Citations:

Dana, N. F. (2009). Administrator Inquiry Defined. Leading with passion and knowledge the principal as action researcher ;Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Corwin Press, a Joint Publication with the American Association of School Administrators

Harris, S., Edmonson, S., & Combs, J. P. (2010). Sustaining Improvement. Examining what we do to improve our schools: 8 steps from analysis to action (pp. 94-96). Larchmont, NY: Eye on Education.