What I've Learned About Action Research:

I have learned that action research will allow the administrator to be engaged in identifying the problems he/she thinks are important and need to be addressed.  Being involved in the action research study also gives one the opportunity to take part in developing and implementing a plan of action.  The administrator is directly involved with the research and is a collaborator with the team in this process.  The decisions/plan of the administrator and his/her team would be more effective than that of an outsider because the team is more aware of the weaknesses and the vision of the campus.  I also learned that action research can be done individually by one person enrolling in a college course to complete an advance degree to enhance his/her skills.  Also collaboratively as a school leadership team where a small group works together to identify campus issues and analyze data.  Action research can also take place school wide in your PLC's. I can use action research in my classroom as a teacher as well.  Each year I reflect on my teaching practices, successes and failures.  I make adjustments for the next year but I do not reevaluate the changes in comparison to the previous year. I also plan to reflect and collaborate with others about what I've done because I learned in my readings this week that reflection takes place in a community of learners; not in isolation. (Martin, Danzig, Wright, Flanary, Brown, 2008, pg.107)