Week 5 - An Inquiring Mind Reflects

Wow! The last five weeks have been very busy but very informative and rewarding to me at the same time. I have not only finished this class, but also added distance to my morning and evening runs even in the Texas heat!

Before beginning this course, EDLD 5301 Research, I had absolutely no idea what to expect. I was very hesitant but yet eager to get the class started as soon as possible. I have several colleagues in my district and across the state that completed this same program. They “warned” me about the depth and time it took to complete the activities and assignments in the class. Therefore, I wanted to find out what being an action researcher is all about.

I found that our web conferences were very helpful. It is nice to have the constant collegiality among your peers each week. It is also nice to put faces with names that you are corresponding with on a daily or weekly basis. It was obvious that a lot of us are having similar hesitations and/or questions throughout the research process. Especially when it comes to TK20! Yikes! 

Another benefit of this research class was the blogging and discussion boards between my classmates. Reading and participating in discussions through our discussion boards and blogs have allowed for an informal environment wherein we were able to participate in a free flow and exchange of ideas, offer suggestions, solicit recommendations, and continually offer verbal motivation that has made our action research plans more solid. With the use of the boards and blogs for this class, it was amazing being able to see and communicate with others in my class. I have been able to rely on reactions and feedback from everyone in regard to reflections or assignments posted for suggestions or changes that needed to be made to my action research plan. I found that I was always looking to see if someone made a comment on my blog or discussion board with another great suggestion that I could add to my action research plan. The suggestions were noted and have made my plan more solid! So, please keep commenting! :)

I have found this course to be helpful and relevant to my professional career as an educator and a future administrator. With the use of the tools and resources received from this course, it will make the process of implementing my action research plan more efficient and effective.  I will use the information I obtained to not only to follow through with my current action research plan but also to create and implement other plans to improve our campus goals which in turn increases student motivation and achievement. This course provided me with intense knowledge on the steps and hard work it takes to do action research on my campus.  Further, I have been able to work more closely not only with the administration on my campus but also major decision makers in our district. I don’t know if I would have had the chance otherwise.This whole process has allowed me even more opportunity to take on more leadership roles as well as get a broader network among my fellow educators and administrators. I also have been able to understand the ins and outs of various departments in the district that I might otherwise not have a need to know in my current roles at my campus or in my district. This has offered a great stepping stone to the knowledge that I will gain and need to know as a future leader in a district. Working on my action research plan as well as the whole idea of inquiry and reflection has brought a new passion in how I will approach my various duties and goals that need to be achieved for the next school year.

In summary, the support of my site supervisor and other decision makers regarding the program implementation as well as my classmates has only been instrumental in relieving any stressors that I had going into this class! I learned how important it is to be an action researcher. You should always be “wondering” which in turn will lead to innovation and change for the benefit of students, parents, peers, staff, community et al. It is very exciting to know the possibilities of having a hand in positive changes for your campus/district. What a fabulous class! I think that anyone in education could benefit from taking this class! I wish all my classmates the best of luck in implementing your action research plans! I look forward to following your progression!