My First Week

What have I learned this week?

Action research, teacher research or practitioner inquiry: these are the names that could all be applied to the process of investigating something we as professional educators wonder about. The process is systematic and reflective. It requires that we look at what we do and decide if it works. It can be used in groups that share problems and decision making or encourage collaboration between lone professionals. Action research is different than traditional education research. It involves the professional in the act of the research, hence its name. It is not about transmission of data and applying it to a context, but about creating the data from the context. Conducting research that relates not just to our field, but to our exact situation makes it more likely that we will implement meaningful changes and build habits of continued learning and as leaders in education it sets an example for our colleagues to follow.

As a teacher professional inquiry will force me to look at what I do in the classroom when I identify a topic that I think needs more attention. As my experience grows and I continue to reflect on my practices I can see where changes are needed. Using action research can help me define new problems that may have not been obvious superficially and work on them.

How can an educational leader use a blog?

A leader or a teacher conducting action research can use a blog as a diary to record findings and share thoughts. The chronological nature of a blog allows the researcher to naturally track the thought processes and evolutions of findings. Collaboration between professionals can be easily facilitated though comments and linking of blogs. As mentioned above, the collaboration and participation in the research will make it more likely that the newly gained knowledge will be put to use.