Reflection on week 2 of EDLD 5301

In week 2 of EDLD 5301, I watched videos from three educational leaders: Dr. Johnny Briseno, Principal, Rancho Isabella Elementary, Angleton ISD; Dr. Timothy Chargois, Director of Research, Planning and Development in Beaumont ISD; and Dr. Kirk Lewis, Superintendent, Pasadena ISD. All three school leaders talked about how principal and teachers can better decisions by looking at data and analyzing data first. I was very impressed with these school leaders because they were very knowledgeable about the subject they talked about. They gave good and sound advice that I believe will help me in my campus.

I also learned about what Dana (2009) called sample inquiry questions by passion. Dana (2009) describes these sample inquiry questions to be: staff development, curriculum development, Individual teacher(s), individual student(s), community and culture building, Leadership skills, management, school performance, and social justice.

During this week web conference with Dr. Jenkins and Dr. Abshire, we went over several samples of action research topics. Dr. Abshire suggested that I look into Alvin Independent School District for support on my action research topic. The web conference was very informative as many suggestions were offered.

References
Dana, N. (2009). Leading with PASSION AND KNOWLEDGE: The Principal as Action Researcher. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Pres

Action Research Topic

The research I would like to conduct is how does utilizing laptops in the classrooms impact student learning?. My school is designated as technology magnet school, but few teachers are seen as technology literate on my campus. As an ancillary teacher, I have the opportunity to teach all students at my school. Last school year, I went from classroom to classroom with a mobile laptop cart teaching students technology skills. I found out that all students are very motivated when it comes to using these laptops. Many of them stay on task, others just want to play games. This made me to start wondering if the use of these laptops increases student learning. My goal is to get every teacher on my campus to use technology tools to increase student achievements. I know this is a big challenge for me as we have more digital immigrant educators on my campus than digital native educators.

How educational leaders might use blogs

Blogging is a good way for principals and educational leaders to share their thoughts about their research they are currently working on. Principals can use blogging to collaborate with other principals and researchers about their work. Blogging can give principals opportunity to receive feedback from readers from all over the world. Principals can also use blogging as a way to model writing to students on their campuses.

What I learned about action research and how I might be able to use it

I learned that action research can be effective tool for improving teaching and learning (Ringler, 2007). Dana (2009) describes action research as “the process of a principal engaging in systemic, 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.” (p.2)

Principals or educators may use the process of action research to pose question of what or why something is happening and they use these "wondering to reflect on their own practices. During action research process, principals may collect data of their "wondering", and they analyze the data in order to make changes to their practice as a result of their inquiries (Dana, 2009).

I also learned how action research differ from traditional educational research. According to Dana (2009), traditional research focuses on the findings of outside experts. Principals are not the main problem solvers. They are expected to implement the findings or solutions recommended by the outside experts. This kind of research does not give principals to actually know what the problem is first hand and be able to do something to change or resolve the problem themselves.

Action research, on the other hand, “focuses on the concerns of practitioners (not outside researchers) and engages practitioners in the design, data collection, and interpretation of data around their question” (Dana, 2009, p.5). Action research gives administrators chance to reflect on their own practices and to make changes based on those reflections. This type of research gives administrators opportunity to find what the problem is on their campus, devise a plan to solve that problem, talk to teachers and students in order to gather data to use in resolving the problem.

The way I can use action research on my campus is to use it to research why students in Pre-K and fifth grade have the highest absence rate out of all grade levels on my campus. Every year, the attendance rate in those two grade levels is high on my campus. I would like to change this by conducting action research which will involve all the stakeholders.

References

Ringler, M. (2007). Action Research an Effective Instructional Leadership Skill for

Future Public School Leaders. Journal of Scholarship and Practice, 4 (1).

Dana, N. (2009). Leading with PASSION AND KNOWLEDGE: The Principal as Action Researcher. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.