As I reflect back over the past five weeks, I realize that not only did I grow as a student; I also grew as a professional. I have learned the ‘art’ of reflecting. Reflection is an important leadership skill because it provides the ability to think more deeply about problems and allows the leader to have the ability to take action or make adjustments accordingly. (Martin et al., 2005) After I submitted each week’s assignment, I took some time to make notes of the most important key concepts I learned that week, and kept them in a journal. This will be very beneficial in the future as I transition to the role of administrator.
I have learned a great deal about action research. Like most other students, I was terrified of this course. I had built a pre-conceived idea that a research class meant countless, tiring hours looking up information I cared nothing about. Then the six letter word ‘action’ was inserted before research, and that changed everything. When I first read the definition from Dana’s text, “Simply stated, administrator inquiry refers to the process of a principal engaging in systematic, intention study of his/her own administrative practice and taking action for change based on what he/she learns as a result of the inquiry” (Dana, 2009, p. 2), I was a little less terrified and more knowledgeable of what we were being asked to do. For the lack of a better word, I was giddy that I was going to be able to pick my own topic and conduct action research on a topic that was relevant to my district and campus. What a concept!
In addition to learning that action research can actually be enjoyable, I learned three strategies that could be used to support and sustain action research. From our Harris text, I learned about three strategies: Force Field Analysis, Delphi Method, and Nominal Group Technique. Remembering these strategies and being able to implement them as an administrator will be very beneficial to our campus and district. In our week four assignment, I learned that following the steps outlined in the Harris text to conduct a Force Field Analysis in our new mentoring program would be most beneficial.
Our weekly discussion board posts have been very insightful. I think the most beneficial part of the discussion board, is that we are able relate to other students and make sure we are on the right track with our plan. I would always second guess myself when answering discussion board prompts and would wait for a few people to post their responses before I did. It was always a relief to see how they responded and know that I was on the right track initially. It was validation that I was actually understanding and doing what was required. I was able to learn how to give suggestions to others without being negative, and receive positive criticism without taking it personally.
BLOG. That is a word that terrified me in the past. I am not a blogger and at first, didn’t see the relevance in creating and maintain a blog for this course and for the life of our action research. I couldn’t have been more wrong. My blog and blogs of my peers have been the most help to me during this course. I appreciated and welcomed all the comments I received on my blog postings, because it helped me adjust and make additional changes to my action research that I would not have thought about. Using a blog to communicate your action research plan and progress is a great accountability tool. It helps the researcher stay on task and meet timelines.
The weekly web conferences were wonderful. It was nice to be able to put a face to the names we see weekly on the discussion boards and to actually see our professor. I participated every week on the web conferences. Some weeks, I really didn’t have any questions or concerns, but I joined in because someone always inevitably asked a question I SHOULD have and that pertained to my situation. I learned that I needed to participate in everything provided to me as a student, so that I could get the most from this class and program.
References
Dana, N.F. (2009). Leading with Passion and Knowledge: The Principals Action Researcher. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Martin, G.E., Wright, W. F., Danzig, A. B., Flanary, R. A., & Brown, F. (2005). School Leader Internship. New York, NY: Eye On Education, Inc.
