EDLD 5301 Week 5

Week 5 Reflection of EDLD 5301

As I start to write this type of reflection, this class helped me realize what an eye opening experience it has been the past five weeks.  The term “Action Research” in itself had multiple meanings to the phrase.  For me I had a nice awakening when I had to sit down and figure out what kind of research I was going to do.

As I began the first week of this course, I began watching the lecture video.  I began to panic when Dr. Jenkins and Dr. Arterbury began talking about “Action Research”.  What was it and how do we do it?  The lecture was very helpful in explaining the process and what was expected.  Dr. Arterbury suggested some tips during this lecture when searching the literature and drafting my literature review summary.  Those tips included stay on topic, create a visual road map for the reader, begin my outline with an introductory statement, general-to-specific flow works best, create a varied blend in writing and conclude with summary statements.  As I progressed through the lectures during this course, the lectures became more informative and helped me feel at ease when creating my Action Research plan.

I also enjoyed the readings that were included with this course.  Leading with Passion and Knowledge: the Principal as an Action Researcher by Nancy Dana Fichman and Examining What we do to Improve our Schools: 8 Steps to Improve our Schools by S. Harris, S. Edmondson, and J. Combs. Although both books were very informative, I learned more from “The Dana Text”.  In the book Leading with Passion and Knowledge: the Principal as an Action Researcher, “Administrator inquiry refers to 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.  Inquiring professionals seek out change and reflect on their practice by posing questions or “wondering”, collecting data to gain insights into their wonderings, analyzing the data along with reading relevant literature, making changes in practice based on new understandings developed during inquiry, and sharing findings with others (Dana p.2-3).”  This process is a long process and does take quite a bit of time.  I found this process somewhat demanding of my own time since I am currently out of school for the summer.  It will take a lot of time and effort once school is in session.  Finding the time is the key factor when implementing an Action Research Plan.  According to the book, What we do to Improve our Schools: 8 Steps to Improve our Schools, leaders who want to improve their schools (in my opinion, all staff members are leaders in some way), “Need to engage in meaningful improvement in their schools, empower their teacher to willingly and collectively participate in improvement, broaden the definitions of performance indicators, and understand the skills and tools necessary to lead effective change (Harris, xiv).”  The latter states the need to understand all tools and skills to lead effective change, which includes one’s ability to manage their time to inherit a working Action Research plan.

As for the assignments I thoroughly enjoyed doing most of the work.  I don’t think there was a time where I didn’t feel like I didn’t like something.  I think I like it all.  It really made me focus on what was at hand.  I can remember one specific time during my Spring break where I spent 10 hrs. in one day working on the assignments and the blogging all in one day.  Not sure why I did, but I did.  I think it was more of trying to figure out the whole blog stuff in a nutshell.  Anyways, the assignments again made me focus on what I was doing and what needed to be done at hand.  The research project itself will be a demanding task for the rest of the year to come.

The discussion board I felt like it served a very unique purpose for itself.  I like talking about the ideas that I have from the prompt questions and seeing what others have to say and then getting to share feedback on ideas they have or just general knowledge that you can give to a classmate.  Discussion is made for that purpose and I’m so glad to take advantage of it, b/c of that reason. 

With the use of the blog for this class, it was amazing being able to see and communicate with others in my class as well as followers outside of my class and rely on reactions and feedback from them as well on any suggestions or changes that needed to be made to my Action Research Plan.   Blogging is a tool that I will use throughout my teaching career.  I will also use the tools and resources received from this course, it will make the process of implementing my Action Research Plan run smoother.  I will use the information I obtained to not only follow through with my current Action Research plan but also to create and implement other plans to improve our campus as well as student achievement.