Educational Leaders and Blogs

It appears that blogging can serve as an important tool for educational leaders as it allows for collaboration in a field that often finds its leaders isolated from others.  A blog can allow for educational leaders to have a forum for reflection that also capitalizes on the reactions and thoughts of fellow colleagues.  

Action Research...initial understanding on philosophy and how to use

In my readings thus far on action research, I have found that it supports the very ideas that I find to be powerful in creating and sustaining successful classrooms and entire campuses.  The first principal that I find it reinforces, is the idea that those on the campus are best suited to pinpoint, articulate and develop plans to address the areas of need.  Providing those that work at a campus with a voice and ownership for all student learning on campus is powerful. 


 Secondly, action research call for having a systematic, cyclical approach to identifying issues on campus, reading relevant documents for clarification, collecting and analyzing data, creating an action plan and sharing that through reflection with others.  This entire process works to better meet the educational needs of the students on campus.


There is a common goal among those that work in the field of education, it is to see children be successful.  Action research calls  for those who work in this field to act when a question emerges.  To have campus environments that  promote collegial inquiry.  When initial wonderings are allowed to be nurtured and collaboration among peers is the norm, action research will be the tool educators and administration need to help ensure children experience academic success.  


I plan to use action research in my classroom to monitor and better assist my struggling writers.  I have a diverse group of writers, and several come to writing with little or no solid experience.  I plan to research what methods of approaching reluctant writers have had success.  I will follow this initial inquiry with continued research into the methods of approach that are available to me, that will best target the need that I have.  After careful analysis of the supporting information, I will select or combine the strategies discussed to have a solid plan for helping my reluctant writers.  Progress monitoring will either support the efforts of show that I have to re-evaluate my approach.  Sharing my plan among my colleagues is important as the collaboration can add insight to something I overlooked.  Reflection will be ongoing as I set aside time to stop and think about each student and their efforts.

I look forward to learning more about action research in the coming weeks.  In addition,  I look forward to  developing an independent action research plan that will support my class or campus.