Networking is a term heard in this 21st Century. Loosely defined, networking happens when employees of a certain company or system share ideas, knowledge, and contact names of interested parties with people of similar companies or systems. Action research takes networking and traditional research and melds them together. It allows prinicipals or similar type leaders to focus on the needs of their people or area instead of being told what to focus on by higher levels of management. When the people involved are allowed to research their own needs, they are more likely to change based on the new knowledge gained through the action research process. (p 5) When gathering facts and information about the problem or topic, action research includes the traditional research like encyclopedias, professional magazines/journals, and newsletters, but also includes the 21st century type of research like internet articles, blogs, professional bulletin boards, e-mail, etc. to gather all kinds of information about the topic. Analyzing the data and reviewing the information is the next phase which leads to developing a plan of action. Resources, time, needs, administration, etc. are just some criteria that must be considered when generating an action plan. (Ringler EdD, Marjorie C. (2007) Action research and effective instructional leadership skill for future public school leaders, Journal of Scholarship & Practice, 4, p33) Following the action plan will take anywhere from weeks to months. Documenting what works and what doesn't work is vital in this step.
Sharing the results may be the most important part of action research. After gathering numerous facts about your topic, listening to many others, and trying new strategies, it's time to reflect to see what worked and what did not work, and to share all of those steps with others. Hopefully, results helped solve problems. (p 34) Sharing the results in the form of a blog or some other public forum might help solve problems for a multitude of others.
- How do you motivate unmotivated teachers?
- Does hallway behavior affect student ahievement?
- How do ensure equity amoung teachers grading systems?
- What can be done differently to motivate students to want to learn? Can independent student plans be developed to motivate students since they are all different?
My supervisor doesn't think motivating the teachers should be our focus. I'm not sure if I agree. We have had tons of new programs implemented in our district in the last two years and I've seen the love for teaching diminish at our campus; however, the principal has about 40 years of experience in education, so I will trust his lead. Equity among teachers grading systems he says should "take care of itself". This year we will be turning in lesson plans and grade books every week to our supervisor. I know what you're thinking. You haven't done that before? Not consistantly. Being that we have a new technology program, Eduphoria, I think it will be easier for him to keep up with what's been turned in. That leaves us with the two student oriented questions. We'll decide between the two of them.
TOPIC CHOSEN
We finally have decided on this question:Would a differentiated discipline plan be feasible and effective to use with all students in a general ed classroom, and does using it help student achievement?
The hallway behavior question is important, but if we address the students behavior over all it should improve the hallway behavior as well.
Blogging in today's society has several benefits for educators. You are right and this sums it up for all of us.
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