Week 5 - Reflecting on Course

                  

This course is not what I thought it was going to be about.  When I hear the word research, I think about looking up info and writing long papers.  This course has been very interesting.  Learning about the action research plan was very useful.  Learning about the Strategies for Sustaining Improvement, Harris (pp.94-97), is going to be a useful source to bring with me into administration.  They are

• Force Field Analysis
• Delphi Method
• Nominal Group Technique

Being able to work together in a collaborative to identify areas of concern and then brainstorm ideas to find a workable direction is something we need to utilize as an administrator as much as possible. 

This course also directed us with useful communication ideas.  One direct way of communication covered in this course was the blog.  The first part was going on line and watching a u-tube video to learn about blogs.  That was an experience for me. After watching the video, I had to set up the blog and then post on it each week.  We responded to some other blogs so we were able to communicate with each other our ideas on different subjects.  This type of communication can be done world wide.  The blog experience is something I would like to continue and maybe utilize at work.

This discussion board was very helpful also. I posted my ideas on a subject and reading the reply’s really helped me with my action research planning. Also, reading all the other discussions and being able to reply helped me to see different sides to situations that had not occurred to me before.  Reading all this made me stop and think and reflect which was good because I am trying to do that as much as possible to keep myself focused in the right direction.

I also enjoyed the lectures on the videos.  I think I like the lectors better that way because I can replay parts if I need to go back to clarify.  Both of the professors were very informative about the action research plan and everything we needed to accomplish during this course.  The video class meetings were an asset too.  Ideas and information were shared in a positive way so learning was made easier. 

During the week four assignment, part 2, the Tool 8.1 CARE Model: Planning Tool, Harris, was used for us to fill out in relation to our action research plan.  This assignment was very useful because it made me reflect and analyze what I had so far on the research plan and to prioritize the issues.  This helped me with my research plan.  I also used the PIP, Fichman, model to identify the action research plan direction and the different aspects to get results.  Both of these models made developing the action research plan easier and very organized.  When I am thinking or analyzing I try to lie out step by step and these models are a good way to do that with the research plan. 

This course will help me through out my career as an administrator and teacher.  Learning about the action research plan helps me right now as a teacher and I know it will be an advantage when I become an administrator.  I look forward to finishing the research plan and working with the results in a positive way.

Works Cited

Fichman, Nancy Dana (2009). Leading with passion and knowledge: The principal as action Researcher. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Harris, S., Edmonson, S., and Combs, J. (2010). Examining what we do to improve our schools: 8 steps to improve our schools. Eye on Education Press.