Action Research Experience

When I heard the term action research, I was a little unsure and uneasy about what I was about to get in to. I think I was probably like most of you. The word research conjures up thoughts of sitting in libraries going through tons of books or on the Internet searching for literature, lots of writing and typing. Then I started reading about it and its not as scary as I had once feared. To me, action research should be something that all people in education, or at least all administrators, should be doing on a regular basis. The first part of action research is questioning. As leaders of our schools, we should be always asking those nagging questions about how we can improve or continue growth in our school and community. Next we must collect as much relevant data as we can on the issue or question that we are concerned about. After you have collected all the data, it must be gone through and analyzed. Along with our data collecting, you will need to read good, relevant literature. As the plan is put into action there may be times where change is needed. It's always a good idea to take a step back and ask yourself if the plan is working. Are we getting the results we are looking for? Lastly, the practitioner must share their findings with others. This type of research is ongoing and is a great way to bring about change and collaboration with fellow educators.





As I began reading about action research, I also started to search for some examples of ways of using this inquiry in schools and classrooms. I began to see that it can be used in almost every situation. School leaders can use this in leadership committees for all school improvement projects. It can be a tool to look at different teaching methods, classroom management, types of instructional materials or methods, in looking at different types of assessments and the way they are reported. If there is a problem, question, or wondering, then there is a need for action research.