What I have learned about action research

This week in the readings of the Dana text I learned a great deal about action research.   First of all action research needs to be focused on a specific question or issue to be honed in on.  It is crucial that the research stays focus and does not deviate onto other topics, which can be quite easy to do when there are so many things going on in the context of the issue.  The researcher then needs to begin the process of gathering information.  While gathering information, the entire time the researcher needs to be engaged in reflection, or administrator inquiry, on the information gathered.  The information gathered needs to be from various practioners in the field who can offer experience, which is pertinent to the researched issue.  It may be prudent for the researcher to look at hard data, like drop out rates, test scores or grades.  The researcher needs to be open to discussing their findings with educators they respect to help them sort through all their findings and draw conclusions and potential solutions.  I will definitely use what I have learned to help me conduct action research in the future.  I think that the process and the results of action research are invaluable.  

Blogs could be very helpful for administrators.  Blogs provide a venue for administrators to explain what their goals for the school/district are and how they plan to get there.  They can also use blogs to address current events in the district which require attention.  What is unique about a blog versus a press release, or just speaking to someone, is the administrator has the opportunity to organize his thoughts and word his thoughts just as he desires for is audience.  This reduces the chances of words being taken out of context or things being misunderstood.