EDLD 5301 Week 2 Action Research Findings

During week two of my action research class, I have learned valuable information about action research. I learned the bulk of this from the interviews that we watched. One important tool that I learned was that when doing action research, try to find other schools or school districts that are similar to your own and that are experiencing the same problems. Through collaboration you can find if they are doing action research on the same topic, what are they doing to fix such problems, and what solutions have or have not worked. I also learned that action research should be relevant to your campus or district. Researchers should research topics of interest that are beneficial to their particular campus or school district.

How educational leaders might use blogs.

Educational leaders might use blogs in several different ways to improve leadership under their administration. I believe that leaders can most effectively use blogs by using them as a resource for news. Leaders can use this source as a means of communicating important information to stakeholders. Also, stakeholders can visit a leaders blog page at their convenience. Blogs work around the schedule of busy persons. When stakeholders find time, they can use this resource.

What I have learned about action research and how I can use it

I have learned several different characteristics of action research through this week's assignment. Not only did I learn the definition of action research, but I learned how I might be able to use it as a future leader. I believe that a leader who possesses more ways to solve problems perfects his or her ability to lead. This makes for a strong and respected leader. Action research uses several different methods in order to study existing problems and issues. The advantage to action research is that it can be collaborative and involve many stakeholders. Educational research typically involves one researcher looking for an answer. Action research can use a number of stakeholders within an organization to solve current problems. Action research also is a reflective process. This allows researchers to use past experiences to find solutions to existing problems within an organization. These reflections tend to avoid errors that have been made in the past dealing with issues. Researchers can also reflect on what has solved problems in prior years and use the solution to solve current problems. I believe that I can use action research as a future leader to solve certain problems or conflicts that I may encounter. I feel that I could use action research as a means of addressing situations such as improving student test scores, professional development, or parental involvement. I intend to use action research because it focuses on localized problems or conflicts that may appear within my community, school district, administration, faculty, or school.