Well hello there action research!

As I have been reading and researching information about action research I’ve learned a great deal about how it works and for what it is used.  One of the things that I’ve learned and that has stuck with me is that through the use of action research we have the opportunity to grow as professionals and also to take ownership and have a hands on approach to our learning and growing.  Action research involves collecting data, analyzing data, studying relevant literature, questioning, and using all of the information we gather and come up with to help us make changes and better decisions for ourselves and our campuses.  Action research requires that the individual not only acquire information from other sources but also to do a fair amount of self-reflection to make the best improvements to his/her plans.  It allows the opportunity to make changes and improvements based on actual situations happening on their campus.  It is first-hand knowledge and experience that is tailor made for the situation that the administrator is trying to solve. 

One of the ways I think action research could be used on a campus is through PLCs.  As a classroom teacher in previous years that has participated in many PLCs I feel that this is a perfect opportunity to use action research.  Since the PLCs are ongoing throughout the school year and they often involve the same members, it is easy to fall into a rut and for the PLCs to not be as useful as they can be.  It would be a good opportunity to have constant self-reflection and analysis as to what can be done to make the time spent in PLCs more effective, how we can learn more and share more in the time allowed.  It would be really nice to see growth in how the PLCs are handled throughout the year hopefully see improvements and more success from all of the teachers due to what is being shared and learned during PLCs. 

Education leaders can use blogs in so many different ways.  For me one of the biggest perks about a blog is simply the idea of journaling.  I journal often to keep my thoughts in order and to help me do some self-reflection on my personal life and professional life.  I think journaling is so good for individuals to put there thoughts into words and on paper, it helps to see the ideas, and re-read them.  It would be a great place for educational leader to journal in order to keep track of the action research.  They could post ideas in certain areas, to always have a running list of thoughts and ideas that they would like to change or improve.  Then as action research is used for some of these ideas they can journal and take notes on their findings and data collection.  It would also be an excellent place to document their successes or any problems they run into along the way.  How great would it be to later be able to go back and see how far you've come and how much you've accomplished?  Not to mention that it would also be a place to be able to get feedback from others and get ideas that you may not have thought about before.  Like they say two heads is better than one, well how about an infinite amount of people that could possibly read your blog and give you ideas and suggestions, you can't find that anywhere else.