From my readings this week, I have learned that the possibilities for action research are endless.  I really enjoyed reading about administrators making positive changes for their campuses through action research.  The wonderings about my own classroom and campus have greatly increased this week, and I can't wait to put some of them into action.

I met with my site supervisor this week, and we agreed upon my action research project.  Last week I talked about how I needed to become better at incorporating technology into my classroom.  I discussed this idea with my professor, and she advised that this might be a little too broad and that I really had already answered my own question because I understood that I had not had the proper training for the tools at my disposal.  Professional development is the key to successfully incorporating technology into the classroom.  It is still something I'm going to work on for my classroom next year.  I need to adjust the inquiry question.

For the purposes of my action research class, I am going to research the effectiveness of our campus math tutorial program for struggling students.  It is held after school twice a week and has had some negative feedback from parents.  Raising the campus math STAAR scores is a large part of our campus improvement plan.  I will be analyzing the test scores of the students before and after the tutorials, their attendance rate, teacher feedback and the curriculum being utilized.  This action research project, I think, will help prepare me for an administrator role.

Action research is a reflective practice that can be used by principals or teachers to allow them to make positive changes on their campuses or in their classrooms.  The researcher looks at their practices, makes changes, and then looks at the data or results of those changes.  It allows the researcher to stop and take the time to really think about what's working for them, and what is in the best interest of the students on the campus.  In turn, allowing them to become proactive instead of reactive.  A principal that uses action research and truly becomes a lead learner can create a positive learning experience for all those on their campus.

As a classroom teacher and an administrator I can use action research right now to reflect on my classroom practices.  I consider myself to be pretty tech savvy, but I still struggle incorporating technology into my ELA classroom.  I know that I am fortunate to teach on a campus that has wifi and access to computer labs, laptops, iPads and the students' own devices.  I would like to become a teacher that uses technology in the classroom seamlessly.  As an administrator, I want to be able to support my teachers to incorporate technology into their classrooms to enhance learning for all students.  In order to do this, I can use action research to figure out time management and professional development.

Blogging:

A blog can be a powerful administrative tool.  It can allow all stakeholders to gain an understanding of the inquiry of which an administrator is involved.  Many times as teachers we just want to know the thoughts behind changes that are made in the schools.  A blog can be that window for the teachers.  It can also allow others to see the struggles that many times go unseen.  When stakeholders are allowed to comment on the blog entries, then the administrator can use the blog as a data collector.