Action Research: What I've learned

I was a little intimidated by the title of action research. I envisioned tedious reading of "experts" and the constant repitition of information and data that does not address issues faced by me or my students. I think of all the times I have sat through professional development meetings my district felt I needed the first week back after summer break. The information was always the same, and the data was outdated or not relevant to the population of students I served.

I was pleasantly surprised to learn what action research truly means. Professional inquiry is a great term to describe it. I like how inquiry is explained to help administrators look at continual professional development by investigating the needs of staff and students in their building (Dana, 2009). The idea of actively and collaboratively participating in the research pertinent to their student population and needs. Being an active participant in the research affords the opportunity to reflect not only on the process but also the result of implementing a solution. If upon reflection, the issue has not been resolved, it is easy to go back and take another look at the research and try another approach. It is also much easier to evaluate the effect of implementation as the team working on the research is also working with the students firsthand as opposed to an outsider who has limited access and can only rely on assessments without supporting information.

I fully appreciate and will follow the action research method in my project for my Ed Leadership program. I will be working collaboratively with my assistant principal and special education inclusion teachers to address the issue of inclusion student achievement in our school. The model and steps outlined in "Examining What We Do To Improve Our Schools" gives me a very good model of how to conduct my research (Harris, Edmonson, and Combs, 2010, p. 6). My readings have also helped me to understand the action research process and how to apply each phase in my project as well as to appreciate and rely on reflection as a tool to evaluate my research (Ringler, 2007).