As a lot of my classmates have stated, I
too did not know what to expect at the beginning of this action research class
but I was under the wonderings that is was going to be very time consuming and
very detailed to say the least. When I read the syllabus, I was a little besieged
and called my buddy who is also taking the same program to bounce ideals off of
each other. When I listened to the videos and began reading the assigned
reading it all started to fall into place and my anxiety faded a little. I
really enjoyed the lectures, readings, discussion board and blog entries which were
very helpful in understanding the expectations of this course.
As I began the first week of this course, I started watching the lecture
videos from Dr. Jenkins and Dr. Arterbury, even though they sound a little
intimidating they explained everything to expect about your journey towards
your action research. What was it and how do we do it? Dr. Arterbury
suggested some tips which included, “staying on topic, create a visual road map
for the reader, begin my outline with an introductory statement,
general-to-specific flow works best, create a varied blend in writing and
conclude with summary statements”. As I progressed through the lectures
during this course, the lectures became more informative and helped me feel at
ease when creating my Action Research plan.
We also had readings to look over and gain additional insight on the
development of a quality action research project that would benefit the school
and students. I found the readings that were included with this course were
interesting and helpful throughout the process, these included: Leading
with Passion and Knowledge: The Principal as an Action Researcher, by Nancy
Dana Fichman and Examining What
we do to Improve our Schools: 8 Steps to Improve our Schools, by S. Harris, S.
Edmondson, and J. Combs. Harris (2010) stated that, Leaders who want to
improve their schools need to “engage in meaningful improvement in their
schools, empower their teachers to willingly and collectively participate in
improvement, broaden the definitions of performance indicators and understand
the skills and tools necessary to lead effective change” (Harris, xiv). I also liked, Discovery is rarely about
creating something new, but is most likely about seeing what was already there
with a new understanding.
The assignments for this course were very time consuming but with the
help of the discussion board I was able to see how others were approaching
their topics which made me more comfortable with my own findings. The
discussion board is truly a beneficial tool when working on assignments and
activities. It allows for current feedback from other students in the
class to make positive and effective changes to my assignment or activity.
Another great resource for this class was the creation of the blog this allowed me to be creative and careful
with displaying my work. I really enjoyed viewing my classmates’ postings as
well. This allowed for another way to receive feedback for comments and
suggestions from fellow classmates needed to improve my action research plan.
I can see me using blogging as a tool throughout my teaching career.
This course
gave me the knowledge needed to understand the steps and time consumption
needed to complete an action research plan. With the help of each useful tool
and resource made available to me throughout this course, I feel a successful
action research plan will shine through.
Ronnie - I also found the discussion boards to be useful throughout this process. I preferred the discussion board over the blog because we were all required to post to the same place which allowed for more feedback on my action research from others. I am now following your blog and can't wait to hear about progress in your action research! Please follow mine as I am open to more suggestions regarding my topic! :) Good Luck!
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