Action Research Week 2

Hello all! Hopefully everyone had a restful and family-filled Thanksgiving! (Although with the spectre of this week's course work hanging over you head that may have been a tad bit difficult!) Anyway, this week was interesting as we started getting into the nitty gritty of what action research entails and some possible avenues to explore as we craft our very own research projects. (Can I just say that when I start calling myself an action researcher it makes me feel a little bit like a superhero.) Anyway, due to the mounting pain in my back from cramming all of this week's work into one action-packed day in front of my laptop, let me be brief: the most illuminating thing I took away from this week is that this stuff really is practical and really can benefit the school as large. If each of us takes ownership of our practices and seeks to better ourselves and our classrooms than we genuinely will impact our campus for the better. Moreover, if we take the time to reflect upon what we do and how we can do it better, we will be better and so will our students. Feel free to ruminate on my latest batch of homegrown wisdom, cuz I'm out!

-Gabriel

Action Research...not quite as awesome as Action Comics, but ok...

I am now embarking on the second class in my Master's of Educational Leadership at Lamar University. So far, my first class was quite rigorous, but also useful and thought-provoking (I often wonder if phrases like that require a hyphen! Nevertheless, something about hyphenated words seem to add a measure of literary gravitas!). My second class entitled "Research" has us studying about a process called...(drum roll please): Action Research. Action research is the process by which the administrator, or teacher, leader, etc., analyzes their practice, designs an inquiry to aid in the improvement of their practice as well as their organization, and then spends time reflecting on, analyzing and improving themselves and their workplace. The action part comes in because the practitioner is smakc dab in the middle of the action: they design the inquiry, they reflect on the information they collect, and they are the engine that drives their own improvement! Honestly, at first, when I began to read about the process I thought it was so much gobbledeegook. However, once I set aside my pre-conceived notions and looked at it with an open mind, I found that this process is extremely empowering. Even now, as a classroom teacher, I can use this process to analyze the process by which I utilize interventions with my lowest tiered students and see if I am systematically and genuinely improving their performance, rather than simply waiting on district benchmarks and other standardized methods of assessment.

This brings me to the purpose of this blog. Well, let's be totally honest: I'm writing these words because I have been required to do so. Chances are, I would not do so otherwise. However, I am glad that this assignment has been given to me because it allows me to expand my boundaries and force myself to do that which will ultimately benefit me and others as well. You see, action research also requires that you share your findings with others and that they do likewise. It propels you to create a community of professionals that will supoort one another and learn from one another to the benefit of all. Thus, I look forward to learning from my fellow action research bloggers and to journeying with you on the path to excellence. This is Gabriel Verrone... signing off!