I have learned that action research is
focused on the “concerns of practitioners (not outside researchers) and engages
practitioners in the design, data collection, and interpretation of data around
their question.” All practitioners of action research become collaborators
investigating their own problems, and they are a part of the process rather
than apart from the process. This choice of words “a part of” and one
preposition “apart from” most likely will facilitate changes based on findings.
There are many benefits to conducting action
research. It is a better way to be connected and aware of the school
environment and part of the school environment is developing collegial
relationships among teachers and administrators to become united for a common
purpose.
Another benefit to action research is it promotes
adult professional growth directly linked to student learning. Finally,
administrative inquiry or action research helps uncover and address problems
and take action.
I am focused, at the moment, on two of the
four examples of action research: leadership teams and professional learning
communities.
Our district and school is currently in stage
one because we did not meet AYP last year on the federal level. This has necessitated many changes
for both the administrators and teachers. By creating leadership teams and
professional learning communities, I am hoping that this helps the new teachers
and the veteran teachers embrace new methodologies to help our students
succeed.
Action research helps create a climate of collaborative efforts so it
doesn’t feel like mandated changes are ordered from above with no teacher input, but on
the other side it forces teachers to become more accountable to the school as a
whole and not simply focus on single departmental objectives. It must become a
team mentality because we are all in the same boat. If it sinks, I for one
prefer to help plug and reinforce the holes so we can move along to the next
island of paradise.
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