Action Research

     Action research is the intentional and systematic study of a concern or wondering . As an educational leader it is important to analyze the data and pose questions as to why your students or campus maybe struggling in a particular area .  These questions lead to creating actions that need to be taken, based on careful research (educational literature), to address the concern . Once the actions are in place and have been given adequate time to be used, the area of need should be reevaluated . If the action was successful the team can focus their attention on another area of concern and begin the process over again to continue to improve student, faculty and campus success . If the action was not successful, it is important for the team to generate more questions and conduct further research to address the dilemma .
     As an educator, I feel action research can be an extremely valuable tool in improving student, faculty and campus success . Data should drive actions to be taken . Every assessment given has a purpose; it is not simply to provide a grade in the grade book . It is crucial for me to evaluate and question why they were not successful then develop a plan of action to better meet their needs.  As a classroom teacher, I have often used data analysis to structure tutoring based on my students needs. In my current position I weekly use charting to decide on whether my groups are ready to progress to the next step in the Wilson program.  Luckily, the program is scientifically structured to focus on the skills needed for my students to become more successful in their reading. Unfortunately real world implementation prevents us from moving in a quicker fashion. The program asks for an hour of intervention time a day and our intervention schedule only allows for us to meet for 30-45 minutes four days a week. Of course intervention times are also hindered by grade level curriculum benchmarks/assessments, field trips and campus programs.  I hope that during my internship I can have a little more input in creating more time for intervention to better meet my students needs.