What did I learn this week?

I got to spend 4 wonderful days in San Antonio with my wife at coaching school this week. No that is not really learned. What I did learn is we do action research all the time as coaches. We are constantly asking each other well how did you block this front, what did you do when this happened, how did you handle this problem. It is the first time that I ever thought of it as action research but that is exactly what it is. I also learned that on vacation class work is hard. Have a great week.

A few papers about Action Research

http://www.alliance.brown.edu/pubs/themes_ed/act_research.pdf

http://www.artsusa.org/animatingdemocracy/pdf/resources/tools/participatory_action_research.pdf

http://physicsed.buffalostate.edu/danowner/actionrsch.htm

How can educational blogs be used?

This year I will be using a blog to log every time that our curriculum calls for technology that our campus does not have. We have cried and cried for more technology due to the curriculum that we are currently using. The principal said that the only way we can be heard is if we document every time we do not have the right technology. We as a department are going to log every time the lessons call for something that we do not have. I am hoping that this will lead to our department getting more technology.

Action Research Is .......

Action research is a dramatic change from the typical book research that I am used to. I had not been exposed to action research till this class started. It is more than just going to books to find an answer to your problem. To me action research works a lot like a mechanic. When you take your car into the shop the first thing they look at is what is working. I think in education we often over look what is working because we are worried about the things that are broken. The mechanic then starts with the easy things and as he works his way through the easy things he starts to isolate specific parts to see if they are the ones that are broken. The mechanic may refer to books, but it is he know how and his ability that are going to fix the car. I feel that action research will work the same way as I gain understanding. It is not a complete and total makeover of everything at once. It is more of looking at what works at each campus and what does not and coming up with ways to improve the things that are not working. Just like the mechanic would not fix something that is working action research will only attempt to fix the things that are not working correctly.