Final Reflections
During these five weeks of the course
EDLD5301 Research for Teachers, I have acquired a wealth of information and
learned about many different and very important aspects of leadership. I
learned the very concept of action research and the reasons for it, as well as
the benefits it brings to schools and the correct way to perform action
research. I learn about the 8 steps from analysis to action as a tool for
school’s continuous improvement, using a problem
solving based on problem understanding. Also, for the first time in my
career, I learned how to make a blog and how to follow others blogs.
I understand now the importance of this
tool for leaders to express wonderings, ideas and concerns; and get input and
feedback from fellow leaders and the community in general. My
blog has been a great tool to get input to improve my research. Javier’s Action
Research Portal can be accessed at http://www.javiersactionresearchportal.blogspot.com/
Below
you will find a summary of knowledge acquired during this course:
Administrative inquiry/Action research
This refers to the learning process an
administrator must go through in order to increase the level of involvement and
knowledge necessary to efficiently run every area of the operation. Nancy
Fichtman Dana (2009) gives us a broader explanation:
Administrator inquiry refers to the
process of a principal engaging in systematic, intentional study of his/her own
administrative practice and taking action for change based on what he/she
learns as a result of the inquiry. Inquiring professionals seek out change and
reflect on their practice by posing questions or “wonderings,” collecting data
to gain insight into their wonderings, analyzing the data along with reading
relevant literature, making changes in practice based on new understandings
developed during inquiry, and sharing findings with others. (pp. 2, 3)
Difference between action research and
traditional educational research
In the traditional educational research
format, outside experts give input about the operation and possible solutions
to issues and give advice or action guides for school improvement. In the
action research model, aka practitioner inquiry, inside personnel perform the
research and recommendations for improvement with accurate and deep
understanding of the operation. As stated in Nancy Fichtman Dana (2009):
In general, the practitioner inquiry
movement focuses on the concerns of practitioners (not outside researchers) and
engages practitioners in the design, data collection, and interpretation of
data around their question. (p. 5).
Examples of action research in
educational settings
When principals are organized into small
groups to complete a series of interactive tasks to help each principal
identify an area to study about his or her own practice, or when Professional
Learning Communities (PLCs) serve to connect and network groups of
professionals to do just what their name suggests – learn from practice (Nancy
Fichtman Dana 2009, pp. 20, 21).
Benefits of Action Research
I learned that action research fosters
collaboration by empowering staff members. I also learned that leaders have the
opportunity to make informed decisions by gaining access to information from
the individuals working in the “front line”, which facilitates the job in return.
Another benefit of action research is that it serves as a mechanism of staff
development for teachers. Nancy Fichtman Dana quoted:
“Engagement in teacher research, also
referred to as teacher inquiry, action research, and practitioner inquiry, as been
touted as a powerful tool for teacher professional development (p.3 as cited in
Zeichner, 2003), an important vehicle for raising teacher voices in policy
making (p.3 as cited in Meyers & Rust, 2003), and a mechanism for
generating knowledge about teaching and learning and furthering educational
reform efforts” (p3 as cited in Lieberman & Miller, 1990; Cochra-Smith
& Lytle, 1993; 1999; Carr & Kemmis, 1986; Kincheloe, 1991; Miller,
1990)
The importance of reflection skills in
leadership
I learned that informed leaders have
better understanding of the operation and the group of individuals they lead.
Reflection allows leaders to empower staff members by making informed decisions,
and gives leaders a greater sense of control of the operation. Nancy Fichtman
Dana (2009), stated: “you’ll be surprised at how much you can accomplish and
how you will feel a greater sense of control over all of the other line items
on the principal’s ever-growing “To Do” list.” (p.19)
The importance of reflection in action
research
Being that reflection is part of the
action research cycle, its importance relies in that it emphasizes
practitioners’ examination of their own practices to determine which strategies
to implement in order to improve the learning process. Also, in this step,
practitioners analyze the data gathered in the action research process, and
change the focus of the investigation based on the results of the action
research.
Reflection allows one to see what is
unknown so that one can begin to understand, which ultimately informs change
(Harris, Edmonson, & Combs, 2010, p.49).
Interviews with scholars
The first scholar, Johnny Briseno, is
the principal at Rancho Isabella Elementary in Angleton ISD. One topic for
action research discussed by this principal is the type of environment students
have at their homes. Mr. Briseno states that instead of just analyzing
situations from a quantitative perspective, he studies the individual student
situation at home.
The suggestion this professional describes
for conducting action research is to get informed; to document ourselves; to
read articles on the area of interest; to consult with other districts across
the country to see what they have done in similar instances.
What I have learned from Mr. Briseno’s
interview is that we have to see both sides of the story, the quantitative and
the qualitative sides. Many times we tend to rely on quantitative data, jumping
into conclusions a little too early. We need to consider every aspect of the
problem to be able to see the complete picture and make better and more
educated decisions.
I
have also learned that as a leader, one have to be informed; that we need to
read everything we can about the related problem, and consult professional that
have had similar experiences in order for us to know what was done and how
effective those actions were.
The second scholar, Dr. Kirk Lewis,
Superintendent at Pasadena ISD talks about is how to change the way they were
delivering instruction, what can they do to upgrade the rigor and relevance of
the curriculum they were teaching. The advice from this profesisonal is for us
to find out what is practical for our specific situation; to find out what do
we need to know in order to apply directly to student learning in a specific
environment.
What I have learned from Dr. Lewis’
interview is that we need to perform research at all levels from district to student
level, and at specific objective level. I also learned that we need to look at
data; to disaggregate data, to analyze what others have done in similar
situations, and that can do a lot of research that may look good in our resume,
but if it is not practical, it does not do any good to the student learning.
Conducting action research
Throughout the course, the word wonderings took a different meaning. I change
my perception of the word from something that brings concern to something that
triggers curiosity and learning. I have a clear understanding now as to action
research requiring one or more goals to be pursued, as well as activities
designed to achieve the objectives, resources and research tools needed for
data gathering, draft timeline for completion or implementation of activities,
individuals responsible for implementation of the action research plan, and assessment
instruments to evaluate the effectiveness of the action research. To compile
all this information, I learned that there are some tools we can use, such as Tool
7.1 Action Planning Template and SIP/PIP (School or Professional Improvement
Plan of Action.
Progress and Process Sharing and Dissemination
of Findings and Recommendations
I learned that action research findings
and recommendations must be shared and disseminated with and to the community
by using a combination of methods, such as formal oral presentations, Power
Point presentations, executive summary write ups, etc.
I also learned that learning statements
must be supported with data to validate the information provided; to prepare
the audience to understand our findings; and to maintain a high level of
credibility. Furthermore, concluding thoughts must be included to illustrate
the answers to the initial questions and to explore the possibility of creating
more questions from those thoughts, to enforce continuous improvement.
Strategies to support and sustain action
research
My learning in this area includes the
use of three strategies or methods to improve my action research plans: Force
field analysis, Delphi method, and Nominal
group techniques
Force Field Analysis
I learned that this is a strategy that
considers all the pros and cons of an initiative for change or a project for
specific changes in an operation; it weighs all the forces that are in favor
and the ones against a plan. For an implementation of a plan to be successful,
the forces in favor must be stronger than the forces against it, or as Harris
et al. describes it: “In order for a change to occur, the driving forces for
the change must exceed the resisting forces against the change” (p. 94)
Delphi Method
This method includes surveys or
questionnaires answered by a group of experts in the area of change in two or
more cycles. These questionnaires or surveys are answered by all the members of
the panel. When the question has been gone through the whole process, the
variety of responses decrease and the group reaches consensus. Harris et al.
states: “The participants respond to questionnaires in two or more rounds and
often responses are made electronically with e-mail. After each round, the
facilitator provides a summary of the answers given and, when possible,
provides the rationale for those answers.” (p. 95)
Nominal Group Technique
My learning about this technique allows
me to understand that this is a technique that involves small-group discussion
to reach consensus, with and that there is a facilitator that directs
activities in the groups, where each group comes up with ideas, suggestions or
needs, which are then written, after being clarified, in a flip chart and rated.
8 Steps from analysis to action
I learned that
this is an excellent tool to insure continuous improvement in schools. It
consisted in eight steps, setting the foundation, analyzing data, developing
deeper understanding, engaging in self-reflection, exploring patterns,
determining direction, taking action, and sustaining improvement. Harris et
al., state: “Our framework uses 8 steps that are cyclical and continuous.” (p.
100)
Review Tool 8.1 CARE Model
Another learning I acquired is the CARE
Model, which is a tool that provides us with a strong rationale and framework
to enrich our action research plans. The CARE Model identifies concerns that
must change (look to the future), identifies affirmations that must be
sustained (look to the present), identifies SMART recommendations for changes (Specific,
Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Timely), and identifies the best ways to
evaluate the implemented recommendations.
Lastly, I learned about five quality indicators
to evaluate our action research, Context of Study, Wonderings and Purpose, Principal
Research Design (Data Collection and Data Analysis), Principal Researcher
Learning, and Implications for Practice.
Context of Study
I learned that this quality indicator describes
the context where the research develops and applies, or as Dana (2009)
describes it: “Principal-Researchers provide complete information about the
context in which their research took place” (p. 179)
Wonderings and Purpose
This quality indicator addresses the
inquiry and the objectives pursued, including the reason as to why this
questioning is important. It helps us in making sure that our inquiry is
appropriately expressed, with clear language and focused in our own practice.
All the wonderings must be sustained by documentation related to the area of
study, or as Dana (2009) states: “The stated wondering(s) are connected to
appropriate and pertinent literature from the field” (p. 180).
Principal Research Design (Data
Collection and Data Analysis)
What I learned about this quality
indicator is that this is the phase where data is collected from many different
sources and where the rationale of the strategies of data collection is explained.
Dana (2009) indicates that “Principal-researcher’s include detailed
explanations of all procedures and a timeline for data collection, as well as
an explanation of how data were analyzed” (p.181).
Principal Researcher Learning
This indicator is a reflection of what
we have learned backed with data and with information gathered from our
readings and experiences. Dana (2009) mentions that “Principal-researchers
weave readings and other relevant experiences into the discussion about their findings
if the readings and experiences relate to what was learned.” (p. 182)
Implications for Practice
I learned that this indicator deals
with the results of the evaluation of the action research. In this stage, we
indicate changes made or needed to be made in our research based on our
learning. Also, in this indicator we formulate new inquiries using our learning
as reference. Dana (2009) explains: “Practitioner-researchers discuss
wonderings that might be pursued in the future based on what was learned from
their current research.” (pp. 183, 184)
References
Harris,
S., Edmonson, S., & Combs J. (2010). Examining
What We Do To Improve Our Schools: 8 Steps From Analysis to Action. Larchmont,
NY: Eye on Education.
Dana,
N, (2009). Leading With Passion And
Knowledge: The Principal as Action Researcher. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin, a
Sage Company
