Action Research

I learned this week that I had false thoughts and ideas about research. When I learned that I would have to take a 'Research' class, I expected hours upon hours in a library looking up information or searching the web for articles. After working on this week's assignment, I learned that the farthest I would have to go this week, was inside of me. Action research is based on reflections. Reflections on jobs, duties, and/or tasks that I, as a principal, would perform daily. Reflection is an important skill and to an educator’s professional health. Reflection is the process of stepping back from an experience to ponder, carefully and persistently, its meaning to oneself through the development of inferences. Reflection needs to be continuous, connected, and challenging. Effective continuous self-dialogue and collaborative inquiry both involves reflection before, during and after an experience. Connected reflection emphasizes the importance of integrating the experience with theoretical learning. Challenging reflection pushes oneself to think in new ways and produce new understanding and methods of problem solving.

I am really excited to put my new information to use this year. I am taking on the new role of RtI campus coordinator and can really see reflection becoming a great asset.