ACTION RESEARCH-REVISED
15 years ago
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Wonderings...
According to our text, Leading With Passion and Knowledge, there are nine passions involved in the "wonderings" of action research. These passions range from staff development, individualism, the community, leadership, social injustice and school performances. The most important item to glean from this information is that our "wonderings" come from real experiences we have encountered. Through these experiences, educators find areas of weakness, areas of strength, and areas of needed growth. By reflecting on these types of experiences, the educator can find better ways to benefit the students.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Action Research
Action research is inquiry to improve the quality of an organization and its performance. It typically is designed and conducted by practitioners (aka teachers and administrators) who analyze the data to improve their own practice. Although this research can be done individually, the ultimate goal in education is to move to collaborative inquiry. This includes all educators within the district.
Action research has the potential to generate genuine and sustained improvements in schools. It gives educators new opportunities to reflect on and assess their teaching; to explore and test new ideas, methods, and materials; to assess how effective the new approaches were; to share feedback with fellow team members; and to make decisions about which new approaches to include in the team's curriculum, instruction, and assessment plans. The process begins with learning, planning, and searching for data to be used in the research.
Action Research gives educators the skills needed to work on problems specific to their classrooms, in their schools, and most of all, on themselves. It allows faculty and administrative staff the best tool on the research market...the inside scoop on their daily lives. By using an actual research procedure, researching teachers and administrators can resolve their own teaching challenges. They learn how to ask a focusing question, define terms, collect relevant data, use an analysis process that rules out bias, and includes methods that yield validity and reliability. The findings become immediately applicable to their individual situations. The best part is they aren't reading the data from books. They are conducting their own surveys and data to see how it applies to and affects their own individualized students, teachers, and administrators.
Action research has the potential to generate genuine and sustained improvements in schools. It gives educators new opportunities to reflect on and assess their teaching; to explore and test new ideas, methods, and materials; to assess how effective the new approaches were; to share feedback with fellow team members; and to make decisions about which new approaches to include in the team's curriculum, instruction, and assessment plans. The process begins with learning, planning, and searching for data to be used in the research.
Action Research gives educators the skills needed to work on problems specific to their classrooms, in their schools, and most of all, on themselves. It allows faculty and administrative staff the best tool on the research market...the inside scoop on their daily lives. By using an actual research procedure, researching teachers and administrators can resolve their own teaching challenges. They learn how to ask a focusing question, define terms, collect relevant data, use an analysis process that rules out bias, and includes methods that yield validity and reliability. The findings become immediately applicable to their individual situations. The best part is they aren't reading the data from books. They are conducting their own surveys and data to see how it applies to and affects their own individualized students, teachers, and administrators.
Technology in Education
Alhough schools are using technology more, blogging has not quite caught on in the educational realm. Although some teachers implement blogging in their curriculum, few districts actually participate in teacher/administrative blogging.
Blogs can be used by the educational leader several different ways. Teachers always promote the use of journals to their students. Unfortunately, few of those teachers actually follow their own instructions. Blogging is a quick way to jot down ideas as they pop into one's head. It's always a way to blow off steam without making wrong decisions. If the person wishes to share his or her ideas, they can post them and collaborate with other colleagues. However, if they do not wish to make their ideas public, they can keep them private. This is an excellent tool to reach the minds of all people involved in education.
Blogs can be used by the educational leader several different ways. Teachers always promote the use of journals to their students. Unfortunately, few of those teachers actually follow their own instructions. Blogging is a quick way to jot down ideas as they pop into one's head. It's always a way to blow off steam without making wrong decisions. If the person wishes to share his or her ideas, they can post them and collaborate with other colleagues. However, if they do not wish to make their ideas public, they can keep them private. This is an excellent tool to reach the minds of all people involved in education.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
