The entire process of inquiry research is new to me as I have been out of school for many years. I see this research process as having more value than a lot of the theory research I have read in educational journals. The key ingredients of inquiry research that make it so valuable are it is practical and it has immediate application. Another great thing about action research is that you get to pick the topic to suit your needs and interests. Each district and school has their own personality, so those that live in that environment have a grasp on what needs to be reflected upon.
In this course, I enjoyed learning concrete steps to take to conduct an action research project. Since this project is part of my internship, I am pleased to have taken research as my second class. Now I have a detailed plan that I can work on throughout the school year.
The first step in this process is to discover what “wondering” or “inquiry” you would like to pursue. “Wonderings materialize at the nexuses of the real-world observations, dilemmas, felt difficulties, and passions that you develop in your work as an administrator.” (Dana, 2009, pg. 30) These wonderings can be in one of nine categories: staff development, curriculum development, individual teachers, individual students, school culture/community, leadership, management, school performance, and social justice.
The second step in your plan is to collect data. It seems the best policy on data is to get the most possible from as many different sources. The term “triangulation” refers to the attempt by researchers to include varying sources of data. “Using multiple sources of data can enhance your inquiry as you gain different perspectives from different strategies.”(Dana, 2009, pg. 73) Data sources can include student testing and work, focus groups, interviews, surveys, field notes, pictures, journals and weblogs, videos and literature review.
After gathering all of your data, you must analyze it. This “means to search for patterns by comparing and combining data that typically are represented by numbers or words.” (Harris, Edmonson, & Combs, 2010, pg. 21) If you are a principal inquirer, your next step may be to determine a new direction based on the results of your data. This would be followed by taking action in response to your data-based decision for improvement.
Finally, the principal tries to maintain the improvement. If you are not in a position of leadership where you are making decisions based on your conclusions, the inquirer will need to share the results of their action research project with others. This sharing can occur through many avenues – brochures, speaking engagements, blog postings, reports, and journal publishing.
I also found the comments on the discussion board to be very helpful. My cohorts gave me sound advice as I prepared my draft plan. They pointed out things I missed and things I could change to improve my project. Some of them will clearly be valuable resources as they have great knowledge on the software program I will study in our district. Even though we live far apart, we were able to help each other in very effective ways.
The web conferences were also valuable to completing the assignments in this course and planning our action research project. It is a comfort to see others ask the same questions you have, so you don’t feel left behind. Also, students that were ahead and found obstacles voiced those problems and it was a benefit to hear how to address these issues.
Dana, N. (2009). Leading with Passion and Knowledge: The Principal as Action Researcher. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Harris, S., Edmonson, S., and Combs, J. (2010). Examining What We Do to Improve Our Schools: 8 Steps from Analysis to Action. Larchmont, N.Y.: Eye on Education.
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I'm glad you found the discussion boards so useful: I did, as well, and was a bit concerned when I heard mentioned that the discussion boards may get phased out of this course in favor of section (Cohort) wikis and blogs. I don't want to be doing double (or triple!) the work that I have to be, but I would really miss the chance to see how everyone is thinking about the same topics each week.
ReplyDeleteYou mentioned that researchers must take into consideration the environment of their school. What excellent advice. In fact, I see that human component as being the area that is consistently overlooked and undervalued by those who 'evaluate' a situation and recommend changes. We ask our students to approach learning with an eye to the larger world, and we must do the same. I wish you the very best of luck, and I will be 'peeking in' on your progress with an excited eye, in the hopes that I can share your solutions with my own campus.