I'm about to embark in my first educational action research, and I must say it's a little overwhelming.  On the other hand, I'm excited about the final outcome and the experience and knowledge I'll gain from the action research.  This week I researche a few indicators to help me begin and assess my action research.  Here's what I learned today:

1.Context of Study:The quality indicator- context of study will greatly assist me with my own action research because it’ll give me a basis for developing my action research.  It’ll help me know which questions I’ll need to consider in the design of my study.  Did I include all the sufficient information for others to understand?  Finally, this indicator will assist me in the improvement of my action research because it’ll give me the appropriate questions or indicators necessary to properly assess other principal- researchers’ work in order to compare my own research to. 
2.Wondering(s) and Purpose Indicator: The wondering(s) and purpose indicator will be of great guidance for my action research it’ll help me with making sure I connect my wondering(s) to related knowledge, did I articulate my wondering(s) clearly and free of jargon? Finally, this particular indicator will help improve my action research by helping me assesses my own wondering(s) to that of other principal-researchers with similar wondering(s) or purpose.
3.Principal Research Design Indicator:When conducting my action research the principal research design indicator will be of benefit to me, when I’m collecting and designing my data.  It will enable me to have some sort of guideline(s) and rubric to which questions to ask in order to assure that I go about collecting data in multiple of areas.  Furthermore, this indicator will also enable me to assess the quality of transferability of my school to that of other principal-researcher’s schools. The questions will give me some sense of framework to follow based on how I assess other principal-researcher’s data collection and were they able to explain the data used and collected with relevance.
4. Principal Researcher Learning Indicator:During my action research this indicator will assist me in gathering my findings into effective detailed data that’ll support my inquiry.  Finally, I’ll be able to assess the quality and transferability of the learning of others to that of my own personal learning.  This process will help improve my action research because it’ll give me something to compare my research to that of other principal-researchers. 
5. Implications for Practice Indicator: When I must reflect on my own inquiry this indicator (implications for practice) will provide me with questions to reflect on in order to assure that I’m able to give detailed examples of changes I’ve made or plan on making as a result of my findings.  Finally, I’ll be able to assess other’s changes or changes they’ll make as a result of their inquiry frame worked by this particular indicator.  This last process will help with the improvement of my inquiry because it’ll assist me in a framework to follow in order to assess other principal-researcher’s inquiries to that of my own.

Please if you have any suggestions or knowledge on your personal experience with action research don't hesitate to comment.

Well, I'm about to embark in my first action research for grad school. Please feel free to comment  any ideas or suggestions you might have that will help me on this new endeavour!!! Here's my action plan!!!

Tool 7.1 Action Planning Template

 

 

 

Goal: Determine correlation between student behavior and parent involvement

 

                                  Person(s)

 

  Action Step(s)       Responsible          Time Line          Needed Resources     Evaluation

1. Survey will be administered to teachers on how they communicate to parents regarding student behavior problems.	Teachers and teacher specialist (myself).	Sept.2013-October 2013	Software: Survey Monkey, research on how to effective evaluate surveys	Determine effective methods of communicating to parents’ student behavior. Establish a campus wide teacher referral process for conduct, and parent contact and response process.
2. Explore/ Investigate approaches to increase parent involvement.	Teachers and teacher specialist (myself)	Sept. 2013 –  December 2013	Research Journals/ Articles, peers and colleagues	Collect information and data to compile methods for increasing parent involvement to assist and improve student behavior concerns.
3. Gather data from teacher referrals and communication logs.  Accumulate data from personal communication logs and student referrals. And teacher behavior logs.	Teachers and teacher specialist (myself)	Sept. 2013 – Dec. 2013	Teacher- parent communication logs, teacher-student conduct logs, teacher specialist-parent communication logs, and teacher-student conduct logs.	Compose/create an action plan correlating parent involvement with student conduct.

 

 

Action Research: Why are we still declining in Education

 

 

This week in my graduate "research" course, I was reading about the importance of conducting action research in order to improve student achievement. In one of my readings I read that the U.S. government is putting a huge emphasis on student achievement scores.  This emphasis in return is creating districts to develop achievement incentives for principals and teachers to perform high test scores.  Now, action research makes available to everyone, especially teachers, data today for tomorrow's instruction.  Meaning, research can result data and information as fast as today and now, for tomorrow's use.  We live in the era of information!!! We are able to test and diagnose an illness, a problem, and deficiencies now and have a solution or result in a short time frame.  What I can't seem to understand is, if we are able to diagnose the problem of instruction or learning deficiency... Why are we as a country 17th in world education rankings?  We know how to perform research and data tells us what's the problem and how to fix it... Why then are we still lacking behind other countries in education.

 

 Check this site: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/27/best-education-in-the-wor_n_2199795.html

 

 

 

Blogging for the Educational Leader!!!
Years ago... information was only passed down through stone templates and eventually scrolls, books.  Today, 2013, we have the World Wide Web. The Triple "W"  has made information accessible anywhere, at anytime, and with anyone available to  principals (and any other human) in matters of seconds.  One really great feature about the Internet is the ability of the Weblog.  Weblogging is basically an online diary.  Principals are able to share daily research with other researchers on a daily basis.  These entries can also be accompanied by article links, pictures, video, and reference to other researchers' blogs. Needless to say, the informational networking available to principals (and any other person) can provide immediate resolutions to daily conundrums.   Finally, but certainly not least, weblogging helps keep principals tuned-in to the latest and most recent informational research. 
I am enclosing a link to other educational blogs:
http://supportblogging.com/Links+to+School+Bloggers

Action Research
What I've learned about action research:

Administrative 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 (Dana, 2009).  Administrators are looking for change through questioning and wondering of their own practices and/or beliefs, collecting data, analyzing data, and reading relevant literature. In return, administrators will make changes based on their new understandings and findings through the inquiry research process.  One of the easiest explanations of administrative inquiry/action research is teacher research as a mechanism for staff development, as stated in Dana, 2009. Action research practitioners play as knowledge generators (Dana, 2009). The action researcher, according to Carr and Kemmis (1986) have several benefits; (1) knowledge and theories are generated through realities of educational practices, (2) practitioners become collaborators in educational research through investigations of their own problems, and (3) because practitioners played a role in the research process it’ll make them more likely to facilitate change based on the knowledge they generated.

There are several benefits to conducting action research for example instructional leadership skills. Let’s take the role of an instructional leader/coordinator on a school campus.  The instructional leader’s role involves implementing appropriate and effective curriculum, in a school, in collaboration with all stakeholders in the school, including children (Glickman, Gordon, & Ross-Gordon, 2004; Grundy, 1987; Sagor, 2000). The instructional leader takes an active role in the participation of the decision making process in both content and learning. As school leaders it is very important to understanding that no one individual can improve learning for all children.  Therefore, one must create a unifying vision and incorporate collegial discussions and action planning.   Another individual who benefits from the process of action research is the teacher.  Teachers are taking vital roles in the process of action research and are able to take a stance on learning taking place in their classrooms.  (Dana, 2009).  It’s a process, which teachers are able to reflect and analyze the effects of their teaching practices.  “Some would say that action research is an extension of “good teaching” (Dana, 2009).  Finally, from the perspective of an administrator the process of action research is a systemic method of addressing learning issues and motivation of teachers to improve their teaching practices.  Administrators will have to set aside reflection time and knowledge of resources in order to assists teachers in narrowing a classroom problem into a workable classroom action project.