Use of Blogs

As an educator, Blogs can be very useful. If ever you have a thought, you can post it on your blog. This would be different from a diary since other people can view it and comment on it. At the same time, you have access to a TON of other people's thoughts. Currently, I am a football coach and I follow about 7-10 blogs on a regular basis that deal with football. I have learned so much from these blogs and have been tempted to get one myself.

My introduction to Action Research

What I've learned about Action Research so far....well, to start off, i am very familiar with how traditional research works. I worked for UT Health Science Center in San Antonio for a year as a Research Assistant. Traditional research involves a specific area of interest, a hypothesis, a well-designed experiment that tests the hypothesis, gathering data, analyzing data, and finally forming a conclusion. While my department did not work on educational problems/data, there is still plenty of research done within the field. This is where Action Research begins to differ. Whereas as an educator, you can easily read about the latest research in curriculum, test-taking strategies, etc. but the odds of it directly applying to your current situation are very low. The least you can hope for is one bit of knowledge that can be applied in your current setting. Action Research requires people to think/reflect upon their current situation, problems that can be seen, and how you think is best to solve that problem. Let's say your a principal and you want to solve a current problem at your campus. Hypothetically, you have two possibilities, A) Listen to an expert talk about his/her area of expertise which is closely related to your problem or B) Devote some time to reflect on the problem and come up with your own solution. The 2nd choice would be similar to action research and I believe (so does the research according to the Dana text) that the principal would be better off reflecting on his/her own. The "Spray and Pray" method might not work in his/her setting and he/she would be lucky to come away with one or two tidbits of knowledge. I think the principal would be better off reflecting and devising his/her own solution. The reasoning...nobody knows their campus and stakeholders better than the principal. By being familiar with the campus and stakeholders, you can attend to the minute details and employ the best strategy for your campus.

Another thing I've learned about Action Research is that it is a never ending process. The Dana text compares Action Research to a spiral. You think about the problem, determine how best to solve it, employ the strategy, evaluate, and then start from the beginning. There will always be something to improve upon and that's why one must actively participate in Action Research.

Interesting point...but in my first class (this is my 5th one), I chose to read the book Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. When reading about Action Research, I immediately started correlating it with the 3rd Habit in Covey's book, Putting First Things First. In that chapter, Covey talks about Quadrant II habits (matters that were important but not urgent). He said that in order to truly be effective, you must actively participate in Quadrant II activities. I believe that Action Research is a Quadrant II activity. To educators, it is very important but lacks the urgency other matters do. Also...if you haven't read 7 Habits, I highly suggest it...

Bio

Hey guys...my name's Jake and I'm currently enrolled in Lamar University's Educational Leadership program. I've always wanted to start a blog and this class, 5301 Research, made me finally get around to it. Looking forward to working with all my fellow classmates as well as posting my thoughts/findings on here on a regular basis....