When I first began this course, the concept of action research was
foreign to me. I suppose I knew that
professionals are always informally assessing situations and looking for
avenues to better themselves, the facility, those around him/her, etc. In my journey to make a decision on what my
research topic may be, I had several eye-opening experiences.
Upon reading further and further into the text, “Leading with Passion and
Knowledge,” I found that there was a never-ending supply of inquiries just waiting
to be pursued. The process is simple, straight-forward,
and familiar compared to any other attempt to improve an establishment, but
there were a lot of questions I would not have thought to ask when assessing
the quality of my work.
The next most important and helpful part of my learning experience was
the peer-to-peer connection aspect. Through
the use of discussion boards, blogs, and Facebook, I gained a lot of insight
and constructive tips from the others I am working alongside. Facebook was remarkably beneficial because of
the response rate. People are very quick
to respond on the social network. The
blog was very likely the least helpful because so few commented on what I had
written. The discussion board allowed my
peers to give me helpful feedback on my ideas; through it and speaking with my
site supervisor, I was ultimately able to make a decision on my research topic.
Lastly, I enjoyed the assignments the most. They were designed in a manner that guided me
through the learning process. Now, I
have a strong, needed topic about which I can inquire. They led me through the steps of discovering
the importance of action research, how to find a topic, how to narrow it down
in order to not lose track of what’s important, the steps in which to execute
the process, they gave me questions to ask to ensure quality, and lastly means
of maintaining the improvements that I have established.
Action research will prove
to be a rudimentary function for me as a leader in my school. Now that I have begun one process, there is
no way I can stop making improvements to my school!
