Week 2 Lessons learned

The biggest lesson I learned was action research and how it can be used in a variety of ways.  I guess I have been doing action research in the past, but I now officially know what it is.  In doing our 9 part assignment, I never realized how much action research was used.  I'm excited to know about this and how I can put it to use.

Action research and how leaders can use blogs

Action research is a valuable tool that should be utilized by all school leaders.  In fact, after studying about action research, I believe all leaders should be doing this.  Action research uses inquiry to develop a plan to make learning relevant to a school and/or district.  Many items are considered, such as data, feedback from teachers, staff, and superintendents.  After accumulating this data, plans are put into effect to strengthen the learning at the particular institution.  The main advantage of action research is the uniqueness for the subject.  The day to day activities and environments of the students are taken into account.  Many other plans lump all students into a homogenous group without considering outside factors that might affect the students and their ability to learn.  With action research, the leader can take into account these outside influences and design his or her inquiries.  Another advantage to action research is collaboration and teamwork amongst staff.  When the leader inquires for action research, he or she is involving other people, mainly staff members.  For example, if a leader uses PLCs for action research, he is involving teachers and learning if the plans put into place are working or not.  This also allows for reflection and deciding if changes need to be made.  If the teachers and staff members feel they have input, then this will only make the leader stronger which in turn, makes the school stronger.  When the school becomes stronger, the students are excelling, and that is our goal as educators.

Educational leaders can use blogs in several ways.  One way is Weblog.  The leader can instantly publish entries on topics he or she has been researching.  The leader can combine texts, images, and links to other blogs and post comments in an interactive format.  The leader can then receive feedback from anyone in the world or other researchers.