When I first heard about action research, my mind immediately went back to what I believed traditional research meant. I thought I would be reading long articles on subjects that are of no interest to me, and reporting on what I read. Happily, that is not the meaning of action research. In her book, Nancy Dana Fichman likened the concept of action research to “wonderings” (Dana, 2009. p.2). I like the idea of it being a “wondering” or inquiry. The most creative minds I know, my children, have always had wonderings. They see things without preconceived opinions or theories. They take the information for face value and process it in a fresh, new way. That is how I envision action research.
Action research is a process. It is a continual appraisal, implementation and evaluation cycle that repeats and refines. It allows and requires input from people that are directly involved with the topic of the inquiry, and that active engagement in the process increases the input of knowledge. I can see how action research can be beneficial in many ares of life, and not just in education.
I am very interested in using the ideas from my action research in my action research project. I plan to inquire how technololgy is being incorporated into the on-line classes that are beginning to be taught at Brazosport College. I will research literature on the subject, meet with faculty, administration, and students to get their suggestions and thoughts on what works and what does not work in the classes, and, finally, create a plan that may have some new ideas and suggestions that will be helpful to teachers developing their on-line classes. This cycle of appraising, implementing and evaluating will need to be repeated continually to develop the best practices for the on-line classes.
Dana, N.F. (2009) Leading with passion and knowledge: The principal
as action researcher. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Action research is a process. It is a continual appraisal, implementation and evaluation cycle that repeats and refines. It allows and requires input from people that are directly involved with the topic of the inquiry, and that active engagement in the process increases the input of knowledge. I can see how action research can be beneficial in many ares of life, and not just in education.
I am very interested in using the ideas from my action research in my action research project. I plan to inquire how technololgy is being incorporated into the on-line classes that are beginning to be taught at Brazosport College. I will research literature on the subject, meet with faculty, administration, and students to get their suggestions and thoughts on what works and what does not work in the classes, and, finally, create a plan that may have some new ideas and suggestions that will be helpful to teachers developing their on-line classes. This cycle of appraising, implementing and evaluating will need to be repeated continually to develop the best practices for the on-line classes.
Dana, N.F. (2009) Leading with passion and knowledge: The principal
as action researcher. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
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