The Nine Passions

This week's learning focused on the nine "passions" of an administrator's role. These are the areas in an administrator's day-to-day life where questions arise that are ripe for action research projects. The following is a list of the nine passions and an example of a wonderings that would lead to action research projects for each.

Passion 1: Staff Development.
An example of action research in this area would be to document ways in which a school’s staff development program aligned with the National Staff Development Council standards and ways in which it departs from them. (Dana, 2009). It is my belief that this would be an important area of study for schools because it would cause them to reflect on the effectiveness of their current staff development programs while at the same time opening up new resources and proven avenues for successful staff development practices.

Passion 2: Curriculum Development.
An example of action research in this area is to view the National Council for Teachers of Mathematics standards for best practices in the field of mathematics and then compare the delivery of our curriculum with these standards. I sense that this would be an important area of study for my school on several levels. First, it would give all math teachers a chance to become familiar with the NCTM standards, something that is not currently the case. Second it would cause us to reflect on our current mathematics teaching strategies and finally it would introduce us to new and innovative strategies for teaching math.

Passion 3: Individual Teachers.
An example of action research in this area would be to investigate the question, “What types of support helps new teachers succeed? and How can one best help an out-of-field teacher succeed?” (Dana, 2009) The answers to these types of questions would be extremely important to any school since teacher retention has been shown to have a direct correlation to student achievement. Understanding why teachers leave is the first step to finding a way to making them stay. If a school were able to discover the best ways to help new teachers succeed, then they quite possible might notice a difference in student achievement. A great next step in this study would be to collect data and document the relationship between increased teacher retention and increased student achievement.

Passion 4: Individual Students.
An example of action research in this area would be to delve deeply into the question, In what ways is our school succeeding in meeting the special needs of English as a Second Language Students, Talented and Gifted Students, and our Special Education Students? (Dana, 2009). The answer to these questions would have great value to any school or school district. By discovering the ways in which we meet the needs of these special populations, by finding out “what works”, a school has the potential to be proactive with these groups instead of reactive. By using the information gained from such a study a school could then look at each program individually and put in place programs and strategies that would safeguard the children’s right to an equitable education and in the process increase student achievement in these special populations.

Passion 5: School Community/Culture.
An interesting action research study in this area would be to look into the following questions: “In what ways are the teachers in this school congenial? In what ways are they collegial? Which types of relationships (congenial or collegial) are in the most need of support right now? What can be done to support the development of both a congenial and collegial culture in our school?” (Dana, 2009) Research has show that the right kind of teacher collaboration improves the quality of a student’s education and often results in large gains in student achievement. If, by answering the above question, a school were able to improve the quality of the collaboration among teachers, this would have a powerful influence on school quality and student acomplishment.

Passion 6: Leadership.
On a personal level I would be very interested in exploring questions such as, “How do I improve my aiblity to inspire others towards a common goal and how do I build a cohesive and spirited team?” (Dana, 2009) These are questions that I have often pondered both as a classroom teacher and as an aspiring leader. In the classroom I often wondered why it is that some teachers are able to bring their students together as a team for a common purpose and others are not. I have also been intriugued by leaders who are able to inspire others even in the face of great diversity. I have wondered these things, but I have never taken the time to do any investigating into the phenomonon. This study of action research has made me aware of many things I have questioned in the past but just moved passed without any action. Now I know that these wonderings that I have can be the beginiing of new learning for me in the form of action research.

Passion 7: Management.
Adapted from principal-inquirer Donnan Stoicovy’s wondering about lunch routines (Dana, 2009, p. 57), an area I would be intersted in researching would be, “How can the students, staff and administrators at my school work together to make the morning announcement routine run smoothly and be a time of collective learning?” The implications for this research suggest that if the time that is normally wasted in the basic morning routine of getting to class, getting to lockers, listening to announcements and participating the the Pledge of Alligience could be transformed into a time that incorporated all of these activities into a daily, whole-school learning, student achievement would be favorably impacted.

Passion 8: School Performance.
This is one area that I believe is incorperated into all of the other areas of research. Each passion, when viewed from an educator’s standpoint, should end with the wondering, “How will this impact student performance?” Having said that, an interesting area of research for any school would be to review the data from as many source as possible to look for and discover weaknesses in certain areas. Once that is done, the school could begin a to investigate different approached that can be taken, chose an approach or strategy that has been used before and then ask, “How can we use this strategy to improve performance with our students, what parts of the strategy do we think should be changed and why, and what parts of the strategy should be left alone or simply added to?”

Passion 9: Social Justice.
An interesting and important study in this area might look at ways in which achievement gaps could be closed and the teaching and learning experience improved with certain demographics. This would be an important area of study because it would impact student achievement as well as social justice. All students are entitiled not just to an equal education but to an equitable education. If by studying a question that increases our understanding of the best ways to teach students from varied cultures we are able to improve student achievement with that population then we have provided our students with a truly equitable educational experience.

5 Things I've Recently Learned about Action Research

Here is a short synopsis of what I have been learning about action research.
1. I have learned what action research is. I didn't even know that when this class started. Action research is the process in which a person, in my case an inspiring administrator, engages in systematic study of their own professional practices.
2. I have learned how action research differs from traditional educational research. The most important thing here is that traditional education research is conducted by some outsider and then they tell me what to do. I conduct action research myself on a subject of personal interest and importance to me and then I decide on the best course of action.
3. I have learned that action research is not a library project where I learn more about a topic that interests me. This is the image that the term "research" conjured up before I started this class.
4. I have learned that engaging in action research can have a positive effect on my thinking and communicating styles and can cause me to have a belief that I truly can make a difference. (Now come on, who among us does not need that affirmation once in awhile).
5. Finally, I have learned that although there are several different versions, the basic steps in action research are: identification of a problem area, collection and organization of data, interpretation of the data, taking action based on the interpretation of the data, and reflection on what has been learned and what must be done in the future to continue the growth.
I hope that you have found my learning interesting. I look forward to hearing about your learning on the subject and hope that we will engage in a lively exchange of ideas.

Ways in Which Educatinal Leaders Can Use Blogs

Educational leaders can use blogs to share their research and findings with others. Because blogging is world-wide the typical logistical problem that are inherent with traditional meetings of colleagues simply are not an issue.
Educational leaders can also use blogs as a reflective tool. By writing about their experiences they are more likely to think through the process carefully and discover any anomalies that may have not been visible at first. Also by sharing their process with others they get feedback from different points of view which allows them to look at a problem from more than one angle.
Lastly, educational leaders can use blogs to as a means to encourage themselves to try out new ideas, work outside the box, and step outside their comfort zones. Surely there are many other uses of blogs for educational leaders. Please post your ideas.