What I have learned about action research.

Over the past week I have learned that action research goes by many names; practitioner inquiry, classroom research, or action research. The idea of action research is that practitioners, not outside researchers or academics, collect, share, analyze, and interpret data to answer a question or resolve a problem. Action research leads to professional growth by allowing administratirs to analyze and question their way of doing things, not just following the industry standard. They can create networks of information through literature or developing relationships with colleagues outside of their own school. This creates quite a few benefits for the administrator. The first benefit is that the principal can do away with a feeling of isolation while learning and staying on their own campus. The second benefit is that the principal can engage in learning and be an example to his / her staff to be lifelong learners and stay active in ongoing professional development. The third benefit is that the principal can continue to make sure best practices grow on their own campuses. The best benefit, though, is that it helps principals better manage situations that arise by being more prepared for them. Schools and campuses share a lot of the same problems, yet also deal with progressive issues uniques to themselves. In both cases, action research allows school leaders to become better leaders and reflect on that leadership to determine how it can improve daily.

As a campus leader I will use action research to gather information on current issues in education. By determining problems or concerns with my own campus, I will collaborate with colleaugues about best practices and how to resolve these concerns. Hopefully my experience and continued education will also help other principals gain information to help their campuses improve.