Topic: Action Research

Action Research

I’ve learned that action research is a helpful tool for administrators to use in developing better plans of action for their campus.  It can help administrators grow closer to their faculty by organizing groups to come up with solutions and new practices for the campus.  Action research can help administrators and teachers to better understand what is happening on their campus, and provides a decision making process that helps to guide instruction on their campus.  It is also a form of continued professional development that helps to improve teaching and learning, and put the administrator in a guidance position to help their faculty in the implementation of new teaching principles.  Action research also helps administrators and faculty to be more open to new ideas and ways of thinking forming more diverse educators who are striving to achieve the same goals.  This creates a team atmosphere among faculty members, and this thought process starts to transcend from one classroom to the other.  Action research brings the faculty together so that instead of being one teacher with 250 students, they are team teachers that are teaching the entire student population.  Another aspect of action research is the reflective time an administrator must take in order to evaluate what’s best for the campus.  In the book, Leading with Passion and Knowledge, Dana (2009) a story about regular exercise is compared to inquiry.  In this situation Dana describes inquiry as something that must be scheduled into your day, week, month, and year in order to better facilitate a positive learning environment for students.  This is what we must all do, never settle for what we have done, but strive to do better every day for ourselves, our students, and our community.