Action research is the avenue to tackle any weakness within the school unit and begin to find a solution. This process takes you from the question you want to answer, through the analyzing and planning phase and into the implementation and reflection phase, back to the beginning to start all over again. Harris notes that there are 8 steps in the process while Calhoun (1994) breaks the process down into four phases. However you decide to break it down it ends up to be basically the same. Productive action research will increase the school climate and continue to spiral back around and around again.
I will choose to use action research to address problems on my campus because the process involves "buy-in" from the staff. I will use action research with a leadership team when it is a school-wide area in need and I will use action research within a classroom when a teacher wants to reflect on how his/her practices are impacting the students' learning in their classroom. I think it would be optimal to use action research as a tool for staff development and yearly self-assessment. Most teachers, campuses and districts already segregate data constantly. Why not use this practice, take it a step further and really focus in on practices that will impact our students' learning.
Professionals in education can use blogs to address action research projects or general topics for discussion. It is a much more efficient way to communicate among a group of people instead of email. I look forward to using a blog with my campus staff or parent group to inquire and receive feedback regarding different areas of our learning community.
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