Reflections about Action Research

One of the first lessons I recall learning through the readings in this research class is that administrative inquiry, or action research, utilizes the expertise of the teachers and staff to reflect about the work being done in the school, successes being made, and changes that may be necessary to improve upon what is not working. Action research is not the traditional ‘go to the library and document all these findings’ type of research. Action research, also known as inquiry, involves reflection by those closest to the situation, whereas traditional educational research is conducted by “outsiders” also known as university leaders with theories unfounded in realistic, practical findings (Dana, 2009). Elliot (1988) describes action research as a continual set of spirals consisting of reflection and action. On the other hand, traditional educational research is often viewed as the “latest fashion” thrown into classrooms without practicality or total buy-in by the staff. This form of educational research is often times conducted by researchers at the university level who are far removed from the day to day needs and dilemmas of children in schools (Dana, 2009). Action research can be conducted through discussions at administrative meetings, campus leadership teams, or professional learning communities (p. 21), and it is a real-world, applicable way of learning more about our students and how they learn. Principals who practice action research are engaged with their teachers, become role models for life-long learning, and support best practices for teaching and learning. The readings also helped me understand the passions that drive our wonderings. I was able to relate several of Dana’s nine passions to either my current research or research that I participated in during previous years of teaching, back when I didn’t’ even realize I was conducting action research.      Creating a blog was an integral part of sharing reflections openly on the web. By creating the blog, classmates within other sections of the course were able to communicate, reflect, and have continued discussions after the web conferences. I have been very appreciative of the feedback and responses regarding my Action Research Plan. Just as we reflect about our day to day activities, reflection is also an important aspect of action research. In fact, if you are conducting action research, I don’t know how it would be completed effectively without reflecting on the process and data collected. I am looking forward to following the progress of action research plans on the blogs throughout the courses.      Finally, participating in the weekly web conferences was especially important to my learning. In fact, during our second web conference, after listening to others read their proposals and hearing the responses, I realized my own original thoughts were way too broad and needed refinement. It was important for me to hear the conversations Dr. Abshire was having with other students so that I could reflect on my own work. The web conferences are an invaluable tool to bring the online learning to a classroom atmosphere. Dr. Abshire has done a great job connecting with the students and has relieved many of my stresses through her personal connections each week. I have looked forward to the weekly discussions; it was also very nice to put a face with the names of students in the course. References Dana, N.F. (2009). Leading with Passion and Knowledge: The Principal as Action         Researcher. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. Elliot, J. (1988). Educational research and outsider-insider relations. Qualitative Studies

     in Education, 1(2), 155-166.