Survey...

One of my action steps for my research was to create, give, and analyze a survey.  The survey was about the feelings and thoughts of teachers in reguards to administrative walk throughs.  I had a great response on the surveys and several suggestions from teachers that would benefit the quality of  walk throughs.  The majority of the teachers that participated like the idea of walk throughs and ALL thought they were beneficial.  Most said walk throughs keep them on their toes all day long.  The question, "o you feel walk throughs encourage you to be more creative in your classroom in reguards to the activites you choose?" got an equal amount of yes and no's, which was interesting to me.  Lot's eel that walk throughs help them actively monitor more.  It was interesting that the majority said walk throughs frustrate them and about half said walk throughs make them nervous.  Walk throughs should only be frustrating if the principal is ONLY saying negative things, and is always coming when they KNOW you are not ready.  In that case, I would try to fix the things my principal feels negatively about and ALWAYS be prepared for a walk through.  Reading these surveys were very eye opening as a future administrator.  I will administer this same survey at the END of the year and look forward to seeing how opinions may change. 

Reflection...

As I reflect back on this course, I believe it was very beneficial to me as a future administrator.  I can honestly say that I was not looking forward to this class because of its name, Research, but I truly enjoyed it because I can now apply a type of “ongoing, relevant” research that will benefit me tremendously. 

I learned several benefits about action research.  First, there is really no “RIGHT” way to do it, and it is all based on the needs of YOUR staff, YOUR school, YOUR kids, YOUR needs, and YOUR circumstances.  Another benefit is that there really is no failing at research.  When you are reflecting on things that aren’t quite the way you want them, research and implementing a plan of action can only provide opportunities to make things better.   And, what better way to improve yourself than to be humble enough to reflect on your teaching or practice and realize that change is needed.

I learned that administrative inquiry is when a leader constantly reflects on his or her practices, questions what is working or not working, and creates a plan for changes that need to be made.  After implementation of those changes, the leader assesses how the plan worked or did not work and then makes further adjustments from there.  For a leader practicing administrative inquiry, this is an ongoing process and a way of doing their job.  It is not something “extra” to do, but just a different way of thinking.  When a leader finds solutions and positive results from his inquiry, he shares them with others because he wants others to have the same success.  A great point that was made in the Dana text was that the principal must be the “head learner” of his school (Dana, pg.2).  If a leader is constantly reflecting, then he is constantly seeking change, advice, approaches, and new ideas.  He is always challenging himself to learn more to create the best school that he can for his staff, students, parents, and community.  If a leader practices administrative inquiry, he is always ready to tackle a challenge or situation that comes up and feels confident about the process of making important changes.

 I also learned the difference between action research, or administrative inquiry, and traditional research.  A main difference is who is making the decisions. With action research the ones involved on a daily basis are the ones making decisions and in traditional educational research “outsiders” or people that are not involved in the school on a daily basis make the decisions.  I really liked the Dana text (pg.8) when it said the focus needs to be on improving the “schools from the inside out rather than the outside in.”  Traditional research is when someone else is telling you what to do, things to try, steps to follow that do not even know what is going on or what your situation is.  Action research is when YOU, as the leader, realize, reflect, and make decisions based on the needs of your staff, students and situations you encounter. 

This class also introduced me to many examples of inquiry in many different areas that really opened my eyes to how open ended action research is and how you can apply it to just about anything.  I learned about nine areas of importance such as staff and curriculum development, individual teachers and students, school culture and community, leadership, management, school performance, and social justice and equity issues (Dana, 179-186). 

When implementing an action research topic, it is very important to have a specific plan so you know exactly what is needed for your action research, and so you can work towards your ultimate goal.  You should know the specific steps your will take, who is responsible for those steps, a timeline and resources needed for those steps, and how you will evaluate and reflect on the steps you have taken to benefit your research. 

I learned different types of strategies to help support and sustain my action research.  The three I learned about are Force Field Analysis, Delphi Method, and the Nominal Group Technique (Harris, 94-97).

One of the most important things I learned from this class is how important it is to collaborate with other peers or people in the same position.  You can gain so much from other people’s insights, ideas, comments, concerns, and experience.  I learned that you can collaborate through blogs, emails, interviews, discussion boards, meetings, etc.  There are many opportunities that I will be motivated to participate in because of the benefits that come from it. 

All in all this class was a great success for me.  I am excited to continue my action research and reflect on others to gain much insight.  I know this will better me as a teacher and future administrator. 

References:

Dana, N.F. (2009). Leading with passion and knowledge: The principal as action researcher. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Harris, S., Edmonson, S., & Combs, J. (2009). Examining what we do to improve our schools: 9 steps from analysis to action. Larchmont, N.Y.: Eye on Education.

Revisions...

I made a view minor changes to my action research plan thanks to imput from peers, and my site supervisor. These changes brought to my attention that my goal needed a revision as well.  So, my goal is slightly different with the same concept in mind.  I encourage you, as I update my blog on the progress of my action research, to give me constructive criticism and any ideas or thoughts you have. 

Revised Action Research Plan...

Action Planning Template
Goal:  The goal for my action research is to gather data based on teacher input focusing on administrative walkthroughs, and utilize formal evaluations to have a better understanding of the impact it has teacher performance.
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
I will create and conduct a survey for teachers before formal evaluations begin and when administrators first start implementing walk throughs.	Linza Gann and all teachers willing to participate in the research.	September	Teacher survey	I will collect and analyze all of the teacher surveys to gather their ideas and perceptions of administrative walk throughs.
I plan to interview at least 5 teachers half way through the year to see if their thoughts have changed regarding their perceptions of administrative walk thoughts from the beginning of the year.	Linza Gann and 5 teachers chosen to be interviewed.	January	The interviewee, myself, interview questions, and notepad.	I will read over the interviews and informally compare the teacher’s current thoughts to their thoughts from the beginning of the year about administrative walk throughs.  I will make note of any variations.
I will strive to find an article related to my topic of administrative walk throughs on a professional internet site to gain insightful information.	Linza Gann	September 2011-May 2012	Internet access, computer, and links to professional websites	I will read through some articles so that I can gain information on my topic.
I plan to gather quantitative data from all teachers (or those that agree to participate) from last year’s score on evaluation, without walk throughs, to this year’s score on evaluations after implementation of walk throughs.	Linza Gann and all teachers willing to participate in the research.	January 2012-May2012	Paper or computer to record quantitative data for comparison.	I will gather the confidential data, comparison of scores, from all participating teachers.  I will then figure out the exact difference in the numbers and let this be a guide to my conclusion of the affect walk throughs have on teacher performance via formal evaluations.  I will make sure I use teachers that had Mrs. Dunlap as an evaluator both years for the scores to be valid.
I will conduct the same survey I did at the beginning of the year to the same teachers.  I will add some self-evaluation questions on the end of this one.	Linza Gann and all teachers willing to participate in the research.	May 2012	Teacher survey from beginning of the year, and blank teacher survey with extra questions.	I will analyze the differences in the responses from the beginning of the year to the end regarding administrative walk throughs. I will also read over the self-evaluation questions.
I will document the qualitative and quantitative data I found during my action research study.	Linza Gann	September 2011- May 2012	All data and information gathered during study.  Computer to record results.	I will take all the data from the whole action research time frame, come to a conclusion, and record findings.
I will continuously reflect on my action research blog about the process and progress of my action research.	Linza Gann	September 2011- May 2012	Computer and data to be reflected on.	I will post on my blog things that I am learning, still wondering about, concerns, progress, mishaps, and interesting things that take place during the duration of my action research project. Continuously posting on my blog will allow me to always be able to reflect on my first, and hopefully beneficial, action research project.

Action Planning Template...

Action Planning Template
Goal:  The goal for my action research is to gather the advantages and/or disadvantages of administrative walk throughs, and gain knowledge of the the affect walk throughs have on teacher performance through formal evaluations.
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
I will create and conduct a survey for teachers before formal evaluations begin and when administrators first start implementing walk throughs.	Linza Gann and all teachers willing to participate in the research.	September	Teacher survey	I will collect and analyze all of the teacher surveys to gather their ideas and perceptions of administrative walk throughs.
I plan to interview at least 5 teachers half way through the year to see if their thoughts have changed regarding their perceptions of administrative walk thoughts from the beginning of the year.	Linza Gann and 5 teachers chosen to be interviewed.	January	The interviewee, myself, interview questions, and notepad.	I will read over the interviews and informally compare the teacher’s current thoughts to their thoughts from the beginning of the year about administrative walk throughs.  I will make note of any variations.
I will strive to find an article related to my topic of administrative walk throughs on a professional internet site to gain insightful information.	Linza Gann	September 2011-May 2012	Internet access, computer, and links to professional websites	I will read through some articles so that I can gain information on my topic.
I plan to gather quantitative data from all teachers (or those that agree to participate) from last year’s score on evaluation, without walk throughs, to this year’s score on evaluations after implementation of walk throughs.	Linza Gann and all teachers willing to participate in the research.	January 2012-May2012	Paper or computer to record quantitative data for comparison.	I will gather the confidential data, comparison of scores, from all teachers.  I will then figure out the exact difference in the numbers and let this be a guide to my conclusion of the affect walk throughs have on teacher performance via formal evaluations.
I will conduct the same survey I did at the beginning of the year to the same teachers.	Linza Gann and all teachers willing to participate in the research.	May 2012	Teacher survey from beginning of the year, and blank teacher survey.	I will analyze the differences in the responses from the beginning of the year to the end regarding administrative walk throughs.
I will document the qualitative and quantitative data I found during my action research study.	Linza Gann	September 2011- May 2012	All data and information gathered during study.  Computer to record results.	I will take all the data from the whole action research time frame, come to a conclusion, and record findings.
I will continuously reflect on my action research blog about the process and progress of my action research.	Linza Gann	September 2011- May 2012	Computer and data to be reflected on.	I will post on my blog things that I am learning, still wondering about, concerns, progress, mishaps, and interesting things that take place during the duration of my action research project. Continuously posting on my blog will allow me to always be able to reflect on my first, and hopefully beneficial, action research project.

Reflections...

     This week was very eye opening to me.  I thought I knew exactly what I wanted to do my action research project on, until I brainstormed with my principal and other co-workers about what would be beneficial to our school at this point.  It was just interesting because at the beginning of this course I was honestly clueless about what action research really was and really worried that I would not be able to find anything that would be a good action research topic for me.  Now... I have lots of questions/concerns that I think would be beneficial.  It is great though, because a lot of the blogs I am following have the same questions as I do.  I am very interested and excited to learn from my peers.  This is proof that when you work together and share things with one another... you get twice as much accomplished.

     As for now, I have not "officially" started my research, other than just listening and noting teacher comments about the subject.  Looking forward to getting it going and seeing what beneficial things I learn.

Change??

Yes!  I changed my title because after meeting with my site supervisor we decided my new topic would be more benificial and attainable.   Let's get the research started!

How Educational Leaders May Use Blogs...

Educational leaders may use blogs for many things.  Having a blog is just a simple, yet informal way to communicate with parents and the community about what is going on within the school.  A leader could use a blog to provide resources for parents to empower them to work together with the school for the success of their child(ren). A blog could be used to encourage and praise the learning taking place.  I think the time it takes to consistently update a blog would be evidence that the leader really has a passion for kids and the success and lifelong learning that is taking place within their school. 

What I have learned about action research and how I will be able to use it...

One very important thing I learned in my readings on action research is that the word research can be replaced with the word inquiry.  This is important to me because when I hear the word "research," I automatically think about A LOT of extra work and my interest level decreases.  So... when I refer to inquiry, it means the same as research.  With that said, I have learned that professional inquiry is when a leader constantly reflects on his or her practices, questions what is working or not working, and creates a plan for changes that need to be made.  After implementation of those changes, the leader assesses how the plan worked or did not work and then makes further adjustments from there.  For a leader practicing professional inquiry, this is an ongoing process and a way of doing their job.  It is not something “extra” to do, but just a different way of thinking.  When a leader finds solutions and positive results from his inquiry, he shares them with others because he wants others to have the same success.  The leader of a school should always be wanting to learn more. 

If a leader is constantly reflecting, then he is constantly seeking change,  advice, approaches, and new ideas.  He is always challenging himself to learn more to create the best school that he can for his staff, students, parents,and community.  If a leader practices administrative inquiry, he is always ready to tackle a challenge or situation that comes up and feels confident about the process of making important changes.  I also learned a major difference between traditional research and action research, or professional inquiry.  Traditional  Professional inquiry is when YOU, as the leader, realize, reflect, and make decisions based on the needs of your staff, students and situations you encounter. 

 I will use professional inquiry in my future to improve myself, and be humble enough to reflect on my own teaching and practice to realize that change is needed. I will also use inquiry to help me focus on improving student achievement which will improve my teaching.  It will help me gain knowledge of effective strategies for my own professional growth, which may lead to practicing different teaching styles.