Web Conference July 29

The web conference on July 29 was very helpful. It was good to know that other students had many of the same questions and needed the same clarifications. The assignment for week 3 was discussed. It was beneficial to have a conference with Dr. Jenkins and hear how he wanted the assignments completed.

Action Research Plan

Please follow the link to view my action reasearch plan. Comments are encouraged.

https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=1YFeoFPHu6mK62m_yqRJjvtSUOLUF7BPRiKja61_WZnA

Web conference

Attended web conference tonight. Learned that you can change your action research topic, you may use resources from outside of the US, and that Dr. Abernathy will be giving us a link to purchase TK20 on announcements Monday.

Week two has been an enlightening week. The readings of week two showed me how action research can be applied to many the different facets of principalship. It is important that when choosing an action research project you should find something that is important to you and your situation. It should be a topic that will improve the success of all involved.
Through the videos I learned that data is very important when studying your action research topic. Data drives many of the concerns and issues in our school system. Even though quantitative data is an important driving force, you should also look at the qualitative aspects of the school issues. Many times the quantitative data will raise a red flag but it’s the qualitative issues that greatly affect that data.
The meeting with my site mentor also showed me how as a principal you must be flexible. My mentor really wanted me to do an action research plan that would benefit our campus but, after discussing that this plan would have to carry through and be a part of my e-portfolio for my masters it was decided that it should be something dealing with technology. This project will benefit the school but in a different way than she envisioned. Her ability to see another point of view and work me shows me why she makes a good principal.

Blog Use

A blog is a tool that educators and administrators can use to get input on any issue that may need to be addressed. This can be as simple as a topic of discussion in the classroom or any thing that an administrator needs feed back on for the betterment of the campus. It is a quick easy and easy interactive tool.

Action Research Reflection

There is no problem or concern that ever totally goes away. Action research is the answer to working to improve the issue. A team can continually look at the advancements, what has worked, what has not worked, how the concern has morphed. Sometimes through study you will notice while solving issues with one concern that there is another that equally needs to be addressed or that the new concern was really the underlying reason for the first concern. Action research is an effective tool for improving teaching and learning. Educators can study their student’s learning and relate it to their own teaching so that learning is improved. Because of the continual reflection and action spiraling of this process it is an ongoing method to overcome a problem that may exist.
As an educator I would use action research because it is ongoing, makes use of those who are involved in the problem, uses current information to help problem solve, and has a semantic approach that utilizes data to better understand the issues at hand. Once a plan of action has been devised then it does not just drop the process as complete. Action research includes eight steps as Harris (2010) states; the most valuable in my opinion is step 8 “Sustaining improvement” which includes the annual diagnosis and continued attention to choices made to correct the problem. Our world as teachers involves is a dynamic field that is continually changing we must use a process to approach problems that lends itself to change and adjustment.