What I Have Learned about Action Research and How I Will Use It

Last year I took a year long course hosted by my school district.  It was provided through an agreement with REEL Teaching and Learning.  The course included an action research project and I did complete my research successfully.  I didn’t, however, come to understand the importance of action research as I have through this week’s readings in 5301 Research for Teachers.  This is part of my coursework to gain my Master’s in Educational Technology Leadership at Lamar University.  I am clearer now, thanks to the comparison between action research and traditional research provided by Nancy Dana Fichman (2009).  In the beginning, since I am first and foremost a scientist, I was put off by the lack of controls and triple validated results.  After reading about the steps involved and the numerous benefits, I feel that it is a valid tool I should have in my belt as I learn to be an educational leader.  The areas where I currently think I could use action research include curriculum and instruction, language acquisition, classroom management, administration and policy creation.  The area that interests me most is language acquisition and since my school missed receiving a “Recognized” rating by TEA due to our TELPAS scores, I will make this area the one that I focus on for my research project in this class.

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