Another thing that I found intriguing in this course
was learning about action research vs. traditional, scholarly research. Before
taking this class, I imagined research in the traditional sense (scholarly)
because I had never heard of Action Research. Because I am a librarian, and
research is something I teach on a regular basis, I thought this class would be
easy for me. I quickly found that that was not the case! Frankly, I’m thrilled
to be learning about action research. While I see the place for scholarly
research, as an educator working with students every day, action research is SO
much more practical. I thought Dr. Kirk Lewis described it very well in his
video interview. He
states that theoretical research might look and sound really impressive, but
that it won’t help you as a teacher (or leader) unless it is real-world,
practical research. Our goal is always student success and students will
benefit much more from practical research, as opposed to theoretical research.
One
thing I have definitely learned from this class is the importance of
collaboration and flexibility! While I began forming my idea for my action
research project in Weeks 1 and 2, trying to finalize the project with both my
site supervisor (principal) and the leadership team has been a lesson in
patience! I have really had to get my ego out of the way while forming the plan
for this project. Because this project affects the entire school, it is one
that must have buy-in from everyone. Each time I have presented a plan to my
principal, and then my leadership team, I have had to go back and make
revisions. This is definitely good practice for working in a collaborative
community.
One
other big part of this class for me has been learning to communicate in an
online professional community. While I have done Facebook and Pinterest, I have
never participated in an online community for anything other than social
reasons. That has been a HUGE help for me. Having other people who are dealing
with similar issues and being able to share and get feedback from them has been
so helpful. I really hope that the people I have started an online professional
community with will continue to communicate throughout our masters program and
even beyond that.
