A Final Reflection on Action Research

Throughout this Action Research course, I have learned some new strategies, had some ah-ha moments and solidified some current thinking along the way. We have had the opportunity to watch video lectures, read from two beneficial pieces of literature, engage in collaborative discussion boards and blog feedback, and apply our learning through weekly assignments/activities.

The concept of action research versus traditional research was an initial ah-ha for me as I read through Leading with Passion and Knowledge (Dana, 2009). The benefits of engaging in principal inquiry to identify current best practices, engender the principal as a model learner, assure principals do not become isolated and slow the whirlwind pace are compelling reasons to engage in inquiry and reflective practice.

I found the process of developing my action research plan as a part of our coursework a rather nice challenge and look forward to continued improvements/modifications as I engage in the implementation of the plan. I was intrigued as we read about strategies for sustaining improvement and how we might incorporate those strategies into our action research plan. I was able to embed Force Field Analysis, the Delphi Method, Nominal Group technique and the CARE Model from Examining What We Do to Improve Our Schools: 8 Steps from Analysis to Action text (Harris et al, 2010, pp 94-99).

Building interpersonal trust is something I think will be critical for those of us embarking on the journey of educational leadership and possibly principalship. Without trust, you can’t engage in the inquiry process and be open to positive change. Trust will be a topic about which I will choose to do more research and independent readings. The questions provided to take an organizational “trust reading” is a nice start to the process (Harris et al, 2010, p. 9).

I most appreciated the comments and feedback from my colleagues through our weekly discussion board prompts and on our blog postings. Their feedback led to some critical questions that needed to be considered as I developed my action research plan. Questions posed by my counterparts helped me hone in on areas of refinement with my data collection plans and identified variables that need to be addressed before I engage in conducting my surveys and collection of quantitative data.

I never thought of myself as a “blogger” and never considered the possibility of even creating a blog. I was intimidated at first when we were assigned the task of creating a blog. However, I found the process quite easy and look forward to utilizing the blog as a personal/professional reflective journal of sorts. I plan to follow fellow classmates via their blogs to keep tabs on their research process and hopefully continue to gain insight and ideas for my own research as well.

 

As was mentioned in our readings as well as my own personal experience, I know that making time to reflect and inquire will be a challenge, but a very necessary practice in which to engage. I will need to build specific time into my calendar that is dedicated to reflection and inquiry in order to accomplish this task. The most challenging aspect will be to engage in assessing the quality of inquiry through the five quality indicators provided in the Dana text (2009, pp 179-186). However, I feel ready for the challenge and look forward to my action research findings.