Week 2 - Research

In this week's blog, I will share my possible research topics:
1. In what ways do our after school intervention tutorials help our at-risk students pass the TAKS?
2. How can we increase the commended scores for our students on the TAKS test in all subject areas?
3. How should we incorporate the new ELPS (English Language Proficiency Standards) into our science curriculum?

When talking to my campus supervisor, we decided on these three possible topics based on information gathered in our campus improvement plan. Our biggest goal this year is to improve our commended scores on the TAKS. I thought this would be a great topic for my action research. Unfortunately, after exhaustive research, I could not find any literature on what could be done to raise the scores. Therefore, I had another meeting with my supervisor where we then decided to do research on how to incorporate the ELPS into the science curriculum. We are currently going through a lot of professional development to learn about the new ELPS that must be incorporated into our curriculum. Since I am in the science department, she thought that it would benefit our entire science department to find out effective ways on incorporating the new ELPS. From my research in science, she also hopes that I will be able to come up with effective instructional strategies that could be used across all subject areas.

Leaders Using Blogs

I LOVE TECHNOLOGY!!! There are so many things we can do with technology and more specifically...blogging. In the "old days" people would put their thoughts into a diary. It allowed for self-reflection but it was never shared. Blogging allows for self-reflection but now it can be easily shared with others. One of the greatest benefits I see for an administrator to use blogging is the ability to communicate. It is a way for many people to share their thoughts.

Action Research

Being a science teacher, I am very familiar with “inquiry” labs. We do inquiry labs to allow students to investigate and discover science concepts on their own. It allows students to learn new concepts and determine where they want or need to go. Administrative inquiry or action research is very similar to this. It allows a campus leader to reflect on their self as a way to lead the school. As Dana stated, “administrators can use it to gain deeper insights into their practice as administrators and their leadership role in school improvement efforts.” To gain deeper insight, administrators will gather and analyze data and then work collaboratively with the staff to make change for the school. It is a way of looking at data to gain insight to determine a plan of action and sharing it with others. Sharing with others means working collaboratively with the staff to not only determine a plan of action but also to put the plan into action. Administrative inquiry allows self-reflection that gives the principal ownership. It also allows teachers to have ownership as well.

As a future administrator, I will use action research to allow me to develop a vision for my school. It will allow me to work collaboratively with my staff to make sure all the students in my school succeed.

Fitchman Dana, N. (2009). Leading With Passion and Knowledge: The Principal as Action Researcher. Thousand Oaks: Corwin Press.