Action Research Reflections

Action Research Reflections – Steve Foster

In her book Leading with passion and knowledge, Nancy Fichtman Dana states that “administrator inquiry refers to the process of a principal engaging in systematic, intentional study of his/her own administrative practice and taking action for change based on what he/she learns as a result of the inquiry.” (p. 2). Dana does not strike on anything new but articulates in that statement what it takes to be good at anything. At 46 years of age, my understanding of how to be excellent comes down to ones ability to be introspective, ask the right questions, and act on the answers to the information. Just as our research indicates, this is a continuous and on-going process.
As an instructional specialist for the last three years responsible for helping teachers at 18 campuses, I have found that teachers who needed the most help really didn’t need help with curriculum, but rather, they lacked the ability to reflect on and understand the nature of their problems and often failed to articulate a good question. Simply, they lacked the ability to “wonder” appropriately and thus understand how to improve as an educator. This action research course has reinforced my understanding that in order to be good at what you do, you must routinely ask questions about how you practice your craft and act on that information.
In my previous classes, I was most critical of our discussion boards in the end of the course surveys. I tend to be a debater and often want to explore a process of critically examining ideas. Over the first 4 courses, I have seen the discussions on the discussion board grow in value as participants have, in my view, moved beyond complimentary comments of “good job”. Likewise, I can see real value in blogging. However, like many of my classmates, this was the first time I had undertaken doing a blog and I think it will take some time before I see more value in it. As I took the time to post on my blog and reflect on the fact that most blogs had few, if any comments, I wondered about the value of my activity. Ultimately, I do see this as a process of growing and learning and the beginning of any growth process can be slow. I think that eventually, I will be a part of professional blogging communities that assist me in my professional growth as an educational administrator.
Reflecting on the changing nature of how one finds answers to questions is powerful. So much information is a few keyboard strikes away. As access to data and information has exponentially grown, I think the most important skill is how to use data to your advantage. Dana speaks of “data analysis paralysis” where an overflow of data causes one to disregard data gathered. I feel that most principals are very data driven. My concern about the use of any data is that you have time to properly analyze any given data and then properly set out a course of action where the data informs one on how to act. Dana does speak to time as an important element.
The greatest source of information in this course for me probably came from the research tools and methods that we utilized. I believe by examining the Force Field Analysis, Delphi Method, and Nominal Group Technique, I will approach my own inquiries into things in a more productive manner. The Force Field Analysis is, in my mind, a given. If the forces resisting an action are greater than the force for that action, the action will most likely not be successful. Ultimately, participating in a continuous state of inquiry into how one acts and gathering data to improve on ones actions is necessary for growth. One of my favorite movie lines from The Shawshank Redemption sums it up best: “get busy living or get busy dying”. The only truly successful educators are in constant states of inquiry and improvement.
Dana, N. (2009). Leading with passion and knowledge: The principal as action researcher. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
Harris, S., Edmonson, S., and Combs, J. (2010). Examining what we do to improve our schools: 8 steps to improve our schools. Eye on Education Press.