Reaction to Action

This week's assignment led me to reflect on my own teaching and learning. Since I finally chose a topic for my action research plan: Technology in the Science Classroom, I was able to think about the current problems our school is facing in regards to student achievement. How can we expect students to do well on TEKS that are not covered in the current grade level? For example, in science, the 6th and 8th grade curriculum is aligned, but 7th grade focuses on humans and their systems. What happens if the teacher skips it or doesn't teach it thoroughly?

How can we increase retention of TEKS between grade levels? As I tutored 8th grade science students last week, I noticed that some students didn't even know the difference between a food web and a food chain! Seriously! That's a concept from 3rd grade and these kids looked like they've never seen it before!I'm hoping that bringing technology into the classroom will help increase student achievement by making learning fun again. Hopefully students will participate and interact at a higher level of rigor.

Blog, Blog, Blog....

     Have you ever sat in a meeting and thought it was a waste of time? Sitting there thinking that you could be doing a million things if you had access to the internet. We push our students to be technology savvy but reprimand them when they are addicted to their phones, ipods, and computers. We use the internet for basic needs, but how could we use this to increase parental involvement or student participation?
     As we continue to move in this 21st century world, where classes, important meetings, and even dates can all be held online, we fail to see all the benefits that the internet has to offer.  Educational leaders can use blogs as a bridge between parents and educators. When some parents cannot attend PTA meetings or special events, teachers can blog about their upcoming projects or even webcast a live performance!  Teachers can have students blog their school assignments, where teachers can provide instant feedback. Educational leaders can communicate internationally with members in the field of education and collaborate about the latest research or educational practice.
     The internet is everywhere and can be accessed by virtually anything. Now more than ever, we can say that the world is at our fingertips!

What's your Action, Jackson?

If you want to know what’s happening at a school, why not ask the principal? That doesn't sound like rocket science, right? You wouldn't ask an artist how to cure a cold or a doctor how to fix a car. For many years, the field of education was devoted to following the advice on "experts" who conducted research about how schools "should work". But, what did they know? Were they in the classrooms when little Johnny clowned around? Were they in your classroom as students sat lifelessly not understanding anything that you were saying? Then why would you listen to “experts” who had little experience in what the real classroom looked like?

If you need something to change, why not go to the expert in that setting? Administrators can gauge what the problems of their school are, based on recommendations, conduct their research, and implement a plan of action in order to see improvements. As we know, when one problem is fixed another arises, and so the cyclical process begins. Although problems might continue to arise, the administrator is better prepared and is proactive, rather than reactive (Dana, 2009, p. 14).

 Action research can be beneficial to administrators as they collaborate with leadership teams to reflect on their administrative practices in order to improve the quality of their school community. They can assess what needs to happen and create plans in order to address those issues.