Reflection of College Readiness 5301

     This class has taught me a lot about the importance of action research. It has also helped me realize the value of my research topic, college readiness. I realize that professionals seek out change and reflect on their practice by posing questions, collecting data to gain insight, analyzing the data, making changes in practice based on their new understandings, and then sharing these findings with others (Dana, p. 3). Action research allows you to be a lifelong learner, always looking for a better way to do things and encourages you to share your findings with others. As principal, action research puts you in the position as “head learner” at your school (Dana, p. 4). The goal is to transform the profession (Dana, p. 2). Choosing college readiness for my particular school is imperative for school improvement. Action inquiry or action research is an essential aspect in keeping principals and their schools from being stagnant. In other words, “Research tells us that engagement in inquiry is an important ingredient for the overall professional health of an educator (Copeland, 2003)” (Dana, p. 15). Educational enthusiasts such as Dr. Chargois and Dr. Lewis have also given insightful information.

     Dr. Chargois says that you have to change something today in order to change teaching tomorrow, because if a teacher is green, they are growing and if they are brown they are dying. Therefore, ongoing learning is a must. Action research is an interactive way to implement others’ ideas to fit individualized plans for change. We get in to this profession to make a difference, but now it is more about producing results. Teachers are held accountable and there is increased student performance with results shown.

    Another great perspective is from Dr. Lewis, and along with Dr. Chargois (and Dr. Briseno, Principal at Rancho Isabella Elementary, Angleton ISD) they advocate data analysis as an important tool in planning change, in making improvements, and in providing direction for your campus or district. In today’s age of accountability, it is imperative that we are always looking for ways to improve and well-defined research can provide a path to discovering what improvements are needed and how to achieve them. These administrators state the importance of continuous learning in order to maintain the highest level of success. As educators this day and age, we need to steer clear from traditional research and continue to learn through active research to reap the greatest rewards.

     The discussions, lectures, the blog comments as well as the discussion comments have been insightful. My colleagues have shared beneficial information. Based on that advice, my action research plan needs to be more organized so I will work on that in order for it to flow. I will also keep the research data organized so I do not get too overwhelmed. The advice from colleagues as well as the texts and the rest of the material that this course provided has gotten me excited to help make positive change at my school and action research is the way to do it. Data analysis is a tool that our district employs at length to try and advance student achievement. We use test scores, benchmark scores, demographics etc. to try and target areas where we are weak and to strengthen all areas in the realm of curriculum and instruction. As a rule, though, I don’t believe we are as effective at using data analysis to identify and remedy other areas of concern in our district such as teacher training, employee motivation, and student-parent concerns. It is my hope that my wonderings and learning can serve as a springboard for our district to incorporate more action research into areas besides curriculum and instruction in order to make our student achievement increase even more in the future.