Action Research & How will I use it?

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     What I have learned about action research is that it is research in the context of focused efforts to improve the quality of an organization and its overall performance. It is typically designed and conducted by people who analyze the data to improve their own practice or craft in the field they are in. Action research can be done by individuals or by teams of colleagues.  My action research would be done with educators I work with, so I would use a team approach that is called a collaborative inquiry.  I believe that action research has the potential to generate genuine and sustained improvements in both our public and private schools. I believe that action research gives educators new opportunities to reflect on and assess their teaching and opportunities to explore and test new ideas, methods, and materials. It is a lot like professional development, because when we are done with the action research, we can as a team assess how effective the new approaches were.  By doing this we can share feedback with fellow team members or staff and this will help make decisions about which new approaches to include in the team's curriculum, instruction, and assessment plans.
     I think educational leaders could use blogs as part staff development after having staff doing a book study and wanting them to reflect on a certain chapter or a specific quote in a chapter.  They could also use this for specific staff members that might be in a leadership academy in the district for aspiring administrators and they want them to blog on certain educational topics that are posted throughout the week on the facilitators blog.