Action Reserach Course Reflection

Until this course, I had never heard of the words ACTION RESEARCH before. I believe this concept is being conducted in many school all over the country but the words “Action Research” are not included and the structured form presented in this class is not always followed. Wonderings are presented often during PLCs and department meetings but with teachers being pulled in many different directions in one school day, their basic work assignments (grading papers, parent phone calls, etc.) are being pushed aside for planning of the curriculum.

Action research, or administrative inquiry, is defined by the book Leading with Passion and Knowledge: The Principal as Action Researcher written by Nancy Fichtman Dana as “…the process of a principal engaging in systematic, 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) Action research takes research a step further than traditional research. Traditional educational research has been trending toward "from the outside looking in"; while, action research allows those on the inside to make changes to their profession and offer insight. In my teacher groups (friends, PLC, in-service groups, etc.), a topic that continually comes up is how our laws are created and changed by professionals who have never taught in classrooms like ours. A “perfect world” scenario is created which is rarely a reality for anyone. If they involved those who it affects, there might be less controversy. Action research allows us to have a voice and present questions and results that matter to our profession.

I enjoyed the lesson of creating our Action Research Plan. During this process, we were asked to list the detailed activities and timeline from start to completion of our research. Up to this point, the first two weeks of this class had my head spinning! I had so many ideas for possible action research. Some of the topics I knew were not possible to implement and others I did not know how to put into motion or how to narrow the topic down to a manageable plan. When I met with my site supervisor, assistant principal, Laura Burciaga, she and I eliminated and narrowed ideas. We finally chose our Smart board topic because we viewed this as the biggest change happening to our campus since the new principal had taken over. This is where my plan started to take shape. I was able to form my wonderings into questions which included “words” that mattered to my school: Smart board, LEP, and increase engagement. Increasing engagement is a topic that is concerning most of the faculty at my school. Discipline is on the rise in many different forms. There is an increase of talking during class, tardies, non-compliance with school rules (i.e. uniform, public displays of affection, flow of traffic, etc.), not completing work…the list could go on. Currently, our lessons are as active as we can make them and students still have little motivation. If a Smart board can increase student engagement and grasp their attention for a little longer, teachers will take value in learning how to use the board effectively. The steps for my plan worked themselves out: we need training, create performance assessments, and an interactive lesson.

Blogging was a new concept that was introduced to me during this course. According to Amy Cottle, “Blogging is becoming a popular avenue for students to publish and read writing.” Introducing the class to the blogging procedure will familiarize us so that we can utilize it in our classes. If students start and maintain blogs, they will be writing about math concepts which will in turn create a deeper understanding.

The literature review has proven to be struggle for me. I have done a google search on advantages and disadvantages of a Smart board in math classrooms. Also, I have looked for any possible uses (apps, games, etc.) that could be displayed and used on the Smart board to enhance learning. During the Week 1 lecture video, Dr. Arterbury stated “Students will work with the literature review as a springboard for your selected research project – it provides background information and rich insights.” This is exactly what I am trying to achieve. I would like to have background information, potential benefits, possible disadvantages to which I can try to avoid, and any ideas that I can apply to my classes that would increase the conceptual understanding and student engagement.

I learned a lot from this class on action research:

• Definition of action research and its benefits
• How to create an action research plan
• Blogging

I plan to carry these lessons learned into my current career as a teacher and into the future as an administrator.

Dana, N. F. (2009). Leading with Passion and Knowledge: The Principal as Action Researcher. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press

Arterbury, E., Jenkins, S. (n.d.). Week 1 Lecture Notes [PDF document]. Retrieved from Blackboard Resource section.

Cottle, A. (n.d.). Integrating 21^st Century Skills in Schools Using a Class Blogging Project. West Virginia Online Action Research Journal. Retrieved from http://www.wvcpd.org/PLAJournal/index.html