Week 1 Part 3: What is action research and how will I use it?

Action research is the systematic process of a principal to take action for change based on what he/she has learned from the results of his/her questions (Dana, 2010). It is basically the thinking process in which a principal undergoes to solve a situation or problem (Harris, Edmonson, and Combs 2010). In the past, “outsiders” would generate or tell the practitioner what is best for their school, they would not include the voices or opinions of the people who worked in the school every day and knew what was best for the school. In present time, practitioners are more involved with the research findings to improve their schools. Action research “focuses on the concerns of practitioners (not outsider researchers) and engages practitioners in the design, data collection and interpretation of data, around their questions” (Dana, 2010, p.5). I believe that this is a better way to make a difference or changes at schools, when the decisions and research comes from within the school and not from “outsiders”.

As a new teacher, I would use action research to investigate the importance of utilizing technology in the classroom. I would like to investigate this topic because we have an abundant amount of technology in our district, but most teachers don’t know how to use the technology. Most of the classrooms are equipped with smart boards, desktop computers, mini dells, and Activotes. The problem occurs when teachers try to use the technology, but they don’t know how to use it or know ways to incorporate it in their lessons. This topic is very close to me because I am a young and new teacher who would like to implement more technology in my lessons, but no one trained me for instructional strategies or showed me how to work the equipment. I believe that teachers need more technology professional development that provides these specific needs.

                                                           References

Dana, N. F. (2009). Leading with passion and knowledge. Thousand Oaks, California: Corwin.

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