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.
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.
