Week 2 Reflection

This week I really enjoyed the brief interview with Dr. Kirk Lewis.  On the surface the interview wasn't extremely informative, however, there was one statement that, I thought, knocked it out of the park.  It was near the 4:30 part of the video when he shares his advice.  Dr. Lewis' advice is to figure out what is practical to you.  This hit me like a ton and a half of bricks.  I've taught at several schools in different areas and each "stuck in a rut" teacher or admin will say the same thing about some data or research that is being used on their campus.  The stuck teacher will always say, "That doesn't apply here." or, "We are different."   Yes, that is partially true.  Dr. Lewis is saying that by doing onsite action research, you can avoid that thought because the research is done on your campus, by your faculty, and about your students.  So, it DIRECTLY applies to you.  

an analysis of how educational leaders might use blogs

• Next write an analysis of how educational leaders might use blogs – 25 words or more are recommended.

Educational leaders could use blogs in many ways but the most useful will be self-reflection.  Using a blog to track stages of actions, almost like a diary, so you can always keep track of what stage, or accomplishment you have done.  Blogs never disappear which means you will always be able to back track so you can learn from your past experiences.

what you have learned about action research and how you might be able to use it.

• On the screen provided, write a description of what you have learned about action research and how you might be able to use it. This description should be at least 200 words. 

I have learned that action research is an in-depth approach for an administrator to complete local problem identification, study, and problem solving, through his/her administrative team and teachers.  I will be able to use action research in many ways.  The first I have decided upon is to grow teacher effectiveness. This may seem like a broad topic but I feel it can be done in a year using action research.  To clarify, I will use data to find out where the teachers are according to the state and district findings.  Next, I will involve the teacher and ask him/her where they think they need the most help.  Then, I will observe their classroom multiple times without warning while trying to identify if the areas they want to work on are truly what needs to be focused on and while doing this, I will identify, demonstrate, and suggest workshops on the specified growth areas.  This will be an ongoing process thus creating a living document that provides feedback and evidence of growth.  Lastly, we will compare the previous year’s data to the current data and see if these areas of growth made an impact on the student success rate.  This will document the growth of teacher effectiveness.