What is action research, and how can it be used?

When I began the readings for this week, the term action research discouraged me immediately because it sounded like it would be technical and involve a great deal of time and energy. What I soon discovered after analyzing and reflecting on the information I read was that it was simply a more systematic approach to my definition of just good teaching.

Action research can be defined as:
* identifying a specific problem that needs to be addressed
* creating possible solutions to the problem
* implementing those solutions
* evaluating the results of the solutions
* proceeding with other solutions to the original problem, or
* identifying new problems the solutions may have created.

I view good teaching as:
* presenting information for desired learning outcomes
* evaluating the success of those outcomes (identifying the problem)
* brainstorming other methods or strategies (creating possible solutions)
* presenting the information using new strategies (implementing solutions)
* reassessing students (evaluating the results of the solutions)
* continuing in this manner until students are successful.

Applying action research to administrative practice can bring about positive change by improving student performance, improving campus climate, and enhancing collaboration among all staff. I am particularly interested in using action research in the coming school year as we are initiating Professional Learning Communities district wide. I feel that this will be particularly useful on our campus because we are a close knit group who strive for success of all of our students, and most are willing to go above and beyond to accomplish this goal. I envision using action research in our PLCs by looking at the specific needs of our students, working together to identify ways we will address those needs, and proceeding with implementation of new strategies to allow each student to become successful. Of course, each step will be reviewed and evaluated to make sure we are proceeding in the appropriate direction for our students.