Scripture to Ponder

This is the day the Lord has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it!

Psalms 118:24


Saturday, July 31, 2010

Trying, Yet Exciting Times

Week 3 has seen some trying, yet exciting times in Research 5301 for my Lamar course. The trying time was narrowing down my topic and deciding on one. I had several that I wanted to do, but spent some Skype conversations with emails here and there with my site mentor, before deciding on this inquiry: "How does the integration of 21st century skills impact student achievement and how can we motivate teachers to create this environment in their teaching and learning? My exciting time was starting back to work and seeing our textbook "Examining What We Do to Improve Our Schools" by Sandra Harris, Stacey Edmonson, & Julie Combs on my director's desk! I had to do a double take and wondered how my book ended up there. My director shared that they all received a copy during their Administration Retreat and said that Sandra Harris spoke at the event. Who would have guessed that? I am happy that I will be able to collaborate with her on some of the points that were made in the text. I love the quotes that she shared on the page one. "We must exchange the philosophy of excuse for the philosophy of responsibility." by U.S. Congresswoman, Barbara Jordan. The other one is used by Lou Holtz, the NCAA Football and NFL head coach and can be applied to any activity. "We aren't where we want to be, we aren't where we ought to be, but thank goodness, we aren't where we used to be." This quote makes me think of my battle with non-Hodgkins lymphoma this past year. Like I said, it can relate to any place in your life. Until next time . . .

Monday, July 26, 2010

Nine Passions

During week two of Research 5301, we were asked to narrow down our topic(s) that we want to pursue for an action research. I had first thought about doing research on accountabitlity in technology use, but from my reading, discovered that it was not such a great idea. The book cautioned me not to focus my wondering on controlling or changing other people's practice. I need to realize the only person I can control is myself. I need to focus on my influence and commit to develop my own behavior rather than others. With that being said, I was able to connect with my site mentor through Skype. We collaborated back and forth about topics before deciding on these two possible topics: In what ways does the integration of 21st Century skills affect student success? What can we (technology) do to encourage the integration of 21st Century skills? Our text by Nancy Fichtman Dana titled, "Leading with Passion and Knowledge" has been an interesting book and I find it easy to read. This week I read Chapter 2 about the nine passions that drive the action research journey. They are as follows:

1. Staff development
2. Curriculum development
3. Individual teacher(s)
4. Individual student(s)
5. Community/culture building
6. Leadership skills
7. Management
8. School performance
9. Social justice

One statement that stuck with me this week was that the hardest part of action research is "GETTING STARTED"! I am feeling it at this point. We will see what changes Week 3 brings about.

Friday, July 16, 2010

Thanks


Thanks to everyone who takes time to comment on my Action Research post.

Action Research

Whether you are in a classroom leading students, or an administrator striving for school improvement and student learning, we are faced with many challenges and issues throughout the educational system. While taking Lamar’s online course, Research 5301, I was introduced to the process action research which is a powerful tool used for school reform and improvement. Our text states the word research carries negative baggage, since many people recall long hours in the library, endless bibliography cards, and lengthy papers when they think about research. Therefore, the term inquiry was used synonymously with action research. So what makes action research different? It is a continuous spiraling process where the intentions of research are to bring about some type of transformation. The leader goes through a process of wonderings or posing questions that spark the beginning of the inquiry process. Through reflections and research, new insights are gained; data is collected, and analyzed. The leader reads relevant literature and shares the discoveries with others. Based on the new findings, a plan is put into action to bring about a needed change for improvement. Throughout the process of action research, reflections are continued and more actions are incorporated according to needs and circumstances. This continuous cycle places the leader in charge of their own professional development and they become a lifelong learner in today’s society.
As our district’s instructional technology specialist, the action research process will be helpful in discovering new ideas and gain insights to difficult problems that exist in technology today. Our professional development plan is in the early developing stages. I plan to use this process to help with our goal of improving technology integration in our district, which will in turn, improve student learning and teacher proficiencies.