What to do....What to do?

The beginning of week 2 caused some stress for me. The thought of having to "pick" a topic this early in our course caused me to draw a blank. I wanted my research to have meaning for myself and the people and students that I work with. However, I did not want to pull a topic out of thin air just for the sake of having something to say I am researching; rather, I wanted to learn new information that would help me improve my job performance and benefit my campus and even perhaps, beyond.

After talking with my principal and people that I work closely with, they helped me realize that I have already began my wonderings about how I can, as an instructional coach, help teachers become more confident with their science instruction. I have also been toying with some new ideas about modeling effective instruction in the science classroom and this next year, our district has plans to implement a tiered professional development system to help "grow" science teachers that would help me in my research. The research lies before me and I am excited to get started.  It was such a relief to make this realization....the rest of the week's assignment fell into place after I was able to decide on my action research topic.

Blogs for Leaders

Blogs can be a excellent tool for educational leaders to share ideas and reflections. Quite often, principals stand alone on their campus and do not have an "equal" with whom they can discuss issues and concerns. A blog shared among other administrators can serve as a springboard for ideas and a place to offer solutions to similar problems.

Using Action Research for Personal Growth

In my opinion, one of the most important benefits of action research is the ability to engage in purposeful reflection to better oneself and one’s practice as an educator. No school or classroom is perfect. If educators believe that they have mastered all that there is to know about their craft, they become stagnant and lose the opportunity for personal growth. However, when teachers and administrators examine their actions and always look for ways to improve themselves, then schools truly become “learning” communities and students are the beneficiaries.

The administrative duties of a principal are varied and constantly changing. Therefore, there is no “cookie cutter” answer that can be applied to every situation. A leader should have a wide variety of knowledge that they rely on to make decisions. However, an effective leader should engage in reflection of their actions in order to analyze whether they achieving the desired result. They should then use that information to make adjustments to their decisions to meet various circumstances. It is through this process of action and reflection that a principal gains expertise. By setting the example of seeking to improve oneself, a principal helps create a “green and growing” atmosphere among the faculty where reflection and growth become the accepted practice on campus.