Action Research

Action research is different from traditional education research in that it takes an inside-out approach to the inquiry process. Its strength lies in the fact schools do not rely on outside experts but rather rely on those individuals who are true experts--individuals in the trenches every single day. Action research allows us to improve our craft, our teaching and learning system. Administrators are active participants in this process and become models of learning. The action research journey involves diagnosing problems and/or weaknesses, gathering and analyzing data that addresses these weaknesses, developing a plan of action, making changes according to what one's learned, and sharing this information with the learning community at large. As a teacher, I use action research to improve learning in my classroom. I diagnose potential weaknesses and engage in research and professional development to target those weaknesses and improve upon them to increase student learning. Stagnancy, then, is not an option. Administrators, too, must engage in action research rather than separate themselves from it. Simply put, action research engages us, it allows us to continue learning, to trust our ability and desire to improve ourselves and our craft, and gives us a template by which to travel this road of discovery. It allows us to collaborate and understand the importance of riding this wave together. We use action research to prevent the status quo from reigning supreme. If change is needed, we must first recognize that it is needed and then develop a plan to best address and improve/solve the issues at hand.

Educational leaders can use blogs to communicate, to write about their experiences and provide others the opportunities to understand their point of view. Blogs give us the opportunity to communicate, as they allow for dialogue. We can learn from someone else in this format, as we share our experiences. Leaders can communicate with various stakeholders that they might not otherwise see on a regular basis. Blogs allows us to keep open those lines of communication and provide a format for feedback and/or commentary.