Though all the lectures were informative, I believe I was enlightened during week 2 with the presentation of the three interviews with instructional leaders who actively practice action inquiry. The three interviews we watched gave me insights into the importance of action inquiry and how they may benefit both myself and the students. They also helped calm some of my trepidation regarding the research itself. Dr. Timothy Chargois made a comment regarding teachers needing to learn how to be action researchers so they can touch every student in the classroom. This idea made me realize that my very informal, unstructured inquiries I did as a teacher were something I did to help me touch more than just one student. Dr. Kirk Lewis recommended that when we begin our own action research inquiry, to look at other research that addresses the problem we are trying to solve, look for patterns between our problem and the research that has been done before, and break it down for our own specific problem. His final recommendation was to create an action plan that was doable and practical. With both of these gentlemen, I have tried to apply their wisdom to my own research plan to ensure I will learn from the inquiry and students may show success in their learning.
Both textbooks had an abundance of information regarding action research and the steps to affect change on campus. From Ms. Dana, I have come to understand the meaning of action inquiry and how it helps one to grow professionally (2010). She broke down the process and explained each step in easy to understand language. For me, I came to understand why being concise and clear is important to the process. Since I had no idea of how to begin the process, Ms. Dana’s list of stages make it much easier. Pairing her steps with “Examining what we do to improve our school: 8 steps from analysis to action” (Harris, S. et al, 2010), made the perfect blue print for me to create my action plan. After outlining my action plan using the SIP form found in the resources folder, I used the eight step (Harris, et al, 2010) to review and analyze my plan. With both these forms, I believe I have a strong start to my inquiry.
The assignments, discussion boards and blogs provided help, practice and learning as I worked through my action plan. The assignments and related activities helped me process the information from both the lectures and readings. The discussion boards created an environment where I felt safe sharing my ideas and thoughts and allowed me to learn from others. The feedback I received from both the discussion boards and blogs gave me support and recommendations on how I could improve my learning and action plan. As we continue as a cohort through our master’s program, we are building a great learning community that, hopefully, will extend into our professional positions.
Dana, N. F. (2010). Leading with passion and knowledge. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Harris, S, Edmonson, S., and Combs, J. (2010). Examining what we do to improve our schools: 8 steps from analysis to action. Oakland, CA. Eye on Education.
No comments:
Post a Comment