Reflecting on 5301 Research

To begin with, in the first week of the class, I learned that although inquiry is something I do in my classroom on a daily, probably hourly basis with my students, I was hesitant when I first came across this jargon.  After reading the assigned excerpts for this week’s assignment, things became much clearer.Harris, Edmondson, and Combs (2010) simply state that “Inquiry is investigating in a systematic way. Inquiry is examining data, asking questions, and requesting more information” (p.5).  Throughout this week’s readings, this definition acted as my baseline for understanding about this concept.  Inquiry seems to simply be the process of problem-solving through action.  As an administrator, this is something that one uses to “seek out change and reflect on their practice…” (Dana, 2009, p.2).  Dana (2009) describes it as “an intentional study of one’s own professional practice” (p.9).  By completing the action research process effectively, the administrator is completing his own professional development and gleaning a greater understanding for his students, teachers, and his own leadership style. It is interesting to me that this is something that administrators should do with priority, but as fires must be put out, it ends up being on the back burner for most.  Dana (2009) suggests that administrators block-out time for their administrative inquiry, that doing so will allow the administrator to take control and become proactive, rather than just reacting to situations.

In week 2, I watched several video lectures in which I learned about different ways to do research.  I chose two interviews that really spoke to me to focus on.  Dr. Briseno discussed the importance of qualitative data in regards to student achievement.  He stated, “…kids are kids, and sometimes if you just look at numbers, it doesn’t tell you the whole story.”  In his experience, the data that is on the page can only take you so far.  He feels that when you have a wondering about students’ scores, you should look at them not only as a set of data, but you should look into what is going on in their lives.  Dr. Lewis discussed a grant that his district received from the Gates foundation.  The purpose of the grant is to “…change the way we deliver instruction” to help ninth graders get on track for graduation.  The grant is research-based because the district must use their data in order to figure out what their areas of growth are and how they should attack those.  Different groups look at different areas of the data.  While those who are in upper-level positions understand how to complete research, some teachers may not know about the research process.  Everyone needs to know what they are looking at when they look at data and know what to do with that data.  I found both of these interviews informative, but I especially enjoyed Dr. Briseno’s interview from a teacher’s perspective.  I think principals and district and state administrators get so caught up in the numbers on the page in regards to student achievement, but I believe there is so much more that than that.  I fully agree that quantitative data is invaluable, but you can’t really understand how to improve it without knowing some of the qualitative data as well.  Dr. Lewis discussed the importance of knowing the research process more explicitly, and it opened my eyes to what some teachers, including myself before this class, don’t know about the importance of understanding how to do research.  I also learned about the 8 passions that help principals formulate their wonderings.  I was overwhelmed, again, by the many areas principals must dabble in.

In week 3, I created my Action Research Plan – what an undertaking.  Before creating the Action Research Plan, I met with my Site Supervisor to discuss my wondering and give her background information about my topic.  I was also able to glean background information based on her knowledge of the discipline issues at my campus.  After I have attended the “Love and Logic” training by Kimberly Smith, I plan to meet with my administrative team to build a group understanding of the topic.  Once the plan completed, I will present the information to my administrative team.  In that presentation, I will create a PowerPoint that systematically shows my learning from the research.  I will also share information from the student and teacher surveys in that PowerPoint.  These will serve as my data.  Finally, I will offer suggestions for systematic ways the campus can improve their behavior management process using “Love and Logic”.

Last week, for week 4, I learned about ways to sustain improvements at my campus from the Dana text.  The three strategies are:

Force Field analysis helps educators make informed decisions because they must focuses on both the driving forces and the resisting forces for a change.  It focuses on the process of the change, not so much on participants.  I liked this because it seemed the most logical of the three ways to sustain improvement.  I can see this being a great way to deal with issues like amount of tardies or failures on campus.  I plan to use this method to help me create my refresher course for my Action Research Project.The Delphi Method seems to be the method with which I am most familiar.  This seemed to be the natural progression of many e-mails I’ve sent and received.  Since this isn’t a face-to-face way of communicating, I see this method as working well for less touchy tasks, like building an agenda or creating a plan-of-action.  This is a way I will be able to keep anecdotal notes of the progress during my project.  Nominal Group Technique involves working with a small group who completes a five step process.  To me, this would be a great way to problem-solve when tensions are running high since everyone will get a chance to speak without being interrupted.

I also learned about the CARE model which is a planning tool for Action Research.  The last activity was to reflect on some of the comments on my blog about my action research plan.  I made some changes based on those comments and a meeting I had with my Site Supervisor.

Briseno, J.  Retrieved from https://luonline.blackboard.com/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_62321_1%26url%3D

Dana, N. F. (2009). Administrator Inquiry Defined. Leading with passion and knowledge: the principal as action researcher. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Corwin Press, a Joint Publication with the American Association of School Administrators.

Harris, S., Edmonson, S., & Combs, J. P. (2010). Step 1: Examining the Work: Setting the          Foundation. Examining what we do to improve our schools: 8 steps from analysis to action. Larchmont, NY: Eye on Education.

Lewis, K.  Retrieved from https://luonline.blackboard.com/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_62321_1%26url%3D