What I Learned From My Action Research Course

The action research course was a concern for me as I had such an extensive background in research and publication that I feared boredom and redundancy. Luckily I always like to learn and was pleasantly surprised by seeing how research could best be applied to solving problems and issues in education areas. While I did not learn new information regarding how to research, I did learn several significant thins relating to possible areas of action research within education, different means of formulating actions research plans, and the best ways to assess and evaluate action research projects. It is to these three key areas of new learning that I will address my reflection.
One of the key areas that gave me the most new information involved the readings in the Dana text related to finding a wondering. Appropriately titled “The Passions that Drive Your Journey” nine different areas of inquiry were identified. Stemming from issues and areas of work for administrators the nine areas were as follows: Staff Development, Curriculum Development, Individual Teacher(s), Individual Student(s), School Culture/Community, Leadership, Management, School Performance and Social Justice. (2009) While I came to this course with a very strong research background, I did not know what areas of inquiry were available for action research. While I know now that any and all areas of education where an administrator or other individual seeks to find answers and apply new knowledge make for great inquiries, finding this list of nine basic categories was extremely helpful in focusing my interests and aligning them. Additionally these terms were And are also helpful in guiding searchers for pertinent literature. The use of these terms in seeking out other action research is extremely valuable.
When one finds and great inquiry or wondering from the categories above, the course then showed me several options for plans that would help a person organize their thoughts and actions or steps within the plan. While several were suggested, the one that I chose was the Tool 7.1 Action Planning Template from the Harris et al text. (2009) This particular model seemed to be the most straightforward and appropriate for my particular research project. It very succinctly, and in chart form, allowed the action researcher to identify the following elements: Action Steps, Person(s) Responsible, Timeline, Start/ End
Needed Resources, and Evaluation. These components helped me to lay out a very specific plan and truly hone the steps I would take to accomplish my task. I was grateful for the simplicity and the directness of this particular planning tool.
Lastly I enjoyed and was helped by considering various ways to assess and analyze an action research plan. The Dana text identified the importance of assessing the quality of one’s action research. This is useful not only in honing your own research plan, but also can be very useful in assessing the research conducted by others. At times, faulty conclusions can be reached when an action research plan does not have a solid foundation. By using the various questions and assessments identified in Unit 6 of the Dana text, “The Continuing Journey as ‘Head Learner’: Assessing the Quality of Inquiry” (2009) an individual can analyze other research and assess its validity before implementing findings in their own school. The most significant use of these assessments are, of course, honeing and improving one’s own action research. This particular unit was very helpful in identifying any short-comings in my own research, as well as seeing where I was doing well.
Over all these three areas were the most meaningful to me in terms of what I gleaned from this particular course. I look forward to continuing my research study and sharing my findings with others who may offer insight and possibly be able to apply my work to their own education community.


Dana, N. F., (2009) Leading with passion and knowledge: The Principal as Action Research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Harris, S., Edmonson, S., & Combs, J. (2009). Examing What We Do To Improve Our Schools: 9 Steps From Analysis to Action. Larchmont, N.Y.: Eye on Education.

Tool 7.1 Action Planning Template Goal: To determine what body of teacher practices and classroom assignments and activities best promotes the rapid acquisition of academic English in a classroom of Mandarin-speaking students, as well as to better understand how well current ESL techniques geared towards speakers of Romance and Germanic languages translate to instruction for Sino-Tibetan speakers. Additionally the research hopes to discern what cross-cultural activities and practices can be put into place to best support the learning described above? Action Steps Person(s) Responsible Timeline: Start/ End Needed Resources Evaluation Literature Review Margaret Eubanks Present – June 2011 Internet Access, additional texts as acquired for review. A written evaluation of the literature will be produced, organized into statistics, best practices categorized by school grade range and class subject if possible, and observations. Meet With Teachers: Initial meetings will involve the dissemination and creation of possible lesson plan additions and activities to incorporate into instruction. Then teachers will be given Teacher Observation Forms with questions regarding the language acquisition of their students and the most promising activities/practices. Margaret Eubanks August 2010-June 2011 Lesson Plans, Activities, Academic Vocabulary Lists, Internet Access, Teacher Observation Forms Information from Teacher Observation Reports will be collated and incorporated into a large report of best practices as observed by teachers and validated by in-house assessments and teacher-graded work. Assessment of Standardized Tests Margaret Eubanks, ESL Support Staff, SYPAC Teachers and Administrators September 2010- June 2011 Data from Standardized Tests, Data Analysis Software The data from the standardized tests taken at multiple times over the course of the year will be analyzed for progress and to determine significant areas of improvement or need. This will help to evaluate the validity of practices being put in use and will also be used to support and validate teacher observations. Student Surveys Margaret Eubanks, SYPAC Teachers, SYPAC Students May 2011-June2011 Surveys created to assess the value students saw in certain practices, as well as ideas for additional activities that might assist students in language acquisition. Data from surveys will be analyzed and collated in the hopes of cross-referencing responses with Teacher Observation Reports to seek meaning. Best Practices List By Strength Margaret Eubanks June 2011 Teacher Observation Reports Data, Standardized Test Data, Student Survey Data Practices incorporated into classroom instruction will be given numerical weights by value placed on them from both students and teachers. A list of best practices by strength will be created as a means of truly evaluating and analyzing the ability of certain activities to best help students acquire academic English. Cross-Cultural Best Practices and Observations Margaret Eubanks, SYPAC Teachers and Administrators, SYPAC Students and Families August 2010-June 2011 Literature on Cultural Appreciation, Cultural Appreciation Activities, Internet Access Through observation and discussion, discern what practices best create a spirit of cultural appreciation and cross-cultural value in order to add this information to the body of knowledge. Additionally make note of any practices that appear to not help or, worse yet, to hinder cross-cultural appreciation and understanding. Monitoring Achievement of Goals and Objectives Margaret Eubanks, Site Supervisor August 2010- June 2011 Internet Access, Appointments with Site Supervisor Monthly Self-Monitoring of Progress Towards Goals With Responses Recorded Electronically In Blog. Additional appointments with Site Supervisor discussing progress over the course of the school year. Work Collaboratively Margaret Eubanks, Site Supervisor, SYPAC Teachers, Administrators and Staff August 2010-June 2011 Access to other staff members through various communication means, copies of wok completed so far, literature reviews. In order to better utilize the pool of talent and knowledge among the staff, the researcher will work collaboratively and use other staff members as idea-generators and sounding boards to both produce and analyze ideas, questions, comments, actions and suggestions related to the research throughout the process.

This week was incredibly challenging for John and I as we attempted to complete our coursework while simultaneously packing the last of our belongings, moving out of our home, repairing our roof in the middle of the process, and driving from outside of Houston, Texas to outside of Los Angeles, California. It has been utterly exhausting. And yet, amongst the hurry, the "emergencies" the craziness and overall feeling of off-kilter"ness" I have still enjoyed reading about the many different ways that action research can be incorporated into bettering the educational environment for many schools across the globe. I particular enjoyed the video interview with Dr. Brisneros and enjoyed analyzing his comments in the assignment. I also have to admit that in the readings, I was struck again and again by how Principal Donnan Stoicovy used not only action research, but a flexible and open mentality as she worked to use all at her advantage to make a better learning environment for her students and working environment for her staff. She is an administrator I would truly like to know and work with in an effort to better understand how creativity and thinking outside the box can help students.

Overall, though this week has been a struggle personally, it has been very enlightening in terms of the course, and I feel that I continue to add to my body of knowledge. Though I have a very strong background in research coming from a BA in History, seeing how research can be best utilized in educational settings has been helpful, and new ideas have sprung to life.

Action Research - As it should be

Action research, in many ways, seems so far in the realm of common sense that to think of it as something the educational community had to come to slowly is difficult. As a history major and political science minor my collegiate days were spent elbows deep in research attempting to not only retell a story or research an issue, but bring to it something new, inventive, and fresh. using research of what exists to create that which does not yet exist is one of the great joys I find in academia and I am thankful that its place in the educational setting seems secure. Allowing teachers and administrators to actively seek out a body of knowledge, then applying that to their own unique situation to resolve an issue in their own community, attack a problem or promote an endeavor is the incredible value of action research. It should be alive in all that we do as educators and administrators. I know, in fact I am sure that even before it had a name, great teachers and administrators were already using this technique everyday. To see what is out their in the world, harness it for the good of our students and staff and create something new that directly aligns with our goals for our campus is what action research is all about. That is the value, and I know it is common and should continue to be so.

In describing how administrators can use actiona research, numerous areas of need come to mind: ways to engage various subgroups into more meaningful academic discourse, improving test scores, creating staff loyalty, enhacing community buy-in, improving visions, increasing communication, and an unlimited number of other issues and administrator concerns all scream for the benefit of action research.