EDLD 5301 Week 2 Reflection

This week I learned about the many purposes of action research. From the Dana text, I read about the nine main areas for action research, and I thought about some areas that I would like to investigate further. I learned about the importance of data when analyzing a problem and the need for practical thinking when picking research topics.

Use of blogs

Teachers should embrace Web 2.0 tools as much as possible, not only to stay up to date with the latest trends, but also because they have many educational benefits. Blogs are specifically educational because they encourage reflection. They also give educators a forums to share ideas and to receive feedback about those ideas. They also increase communication among administrators, colleagues, parents, and other stakeholders.

Action Research

As a teacher, I have made observations about what has worked and what hasn't worked for me in the classroom, but I have never really gone through the process of researching better ways of doing things. What I have learned from my readings in Week 1 is that action research is an effective way of analyzing problems and generating solutions. As a future administrator, I have learned that I will often be in need of fixing problems like improving the attendance rate, increasing standardized test scores, or decreasing discipline referrals. Instead of looking to the literature to see what other schools have tried, wouldn't it be better to look at my own situation and my own students and teachers to determine a more relevant solution to these problems? I liken this to checking WebMD to see what illness I have as opposed to going to a doctor. Of course, my symptoms could be anything from having a cold to Ebola, but I will not really know what I have until a doctor looks at my specific situation and gathers data about my condition. This is true about schools as well.