Week 2 Reflection/Comments

I gained a tremendous amount of valuable information about action research in this week's readings and videos.  The school leaders provided insightful information and wisdom on how research can increase student success on campuses and in the entire school district.  After reading in Leading with Passion and Knowledge: The Principal as Action Researcher, by Nancy Fitchman Dana-pp.29-68, pp. 93-94 (ch. 2), I was able to understand why action research is needed and increases student success in a school; weither its directly or indirectly related to student acheivement. After viewing the videos and reading Chapter 2 I believe I was able to identify three topics for an action reseasrch project that will benefit my school campus a great deal and  am looking foward to discussing these topics with my site supervisor.

How Educational Leaders Might Use Blogs

Sharing your reasearch in the form of a blog will help you play with, develop, and challenge ideas that have developed about your educational practices as a result of engaging in research. Blogging automatically connects you to a large audience of professional educators in all positions and can be a wonderful way to share your research with colleagues that are 1,000 miles or more from your school.

Learning and Using Action Research

The role of the instructional leadership requires skills of facilitation and enpowerment, under a unifying vision, to provide effective learning experiences for students because no one instructional leader in isolation improves learning for all childern.  Therefore, teachers with the support of an instructional leader are provided support and direction necessary to address learning in their classroom.  Learner-centered leadership promotes the facilitation of action research in the classroom as a method of improving teaching and learning.  The action research process is an effective tool for improving teaching and learning with the instructional leader playing a vital role in the process by strengthening teachers' self-confidence and self-efficacy through action research.  Action research is grounded in scientific inquiry that tackles learning concerns in a case-study approach.

There are many benefits to using action research, a major benefit is the improvement of teaching when focusing on improving student achievement.  Facilitating the process as case studies, whole class, or whole school can be effective strategies for teachers' professional growth and accountability.  By engaging in the process of administrator action research with principals or teachers within your own building, you are forced out of isolation and surround yourself with other professionals conversing about practice in systematic and meaningful ways.