Research...Research? NO!!! To be honest when I hear the word research I start to hyperventilate. During my time of reading the text my heart rate started to mellow out and I became calmer.
Action research is the process of forming an inquiry then engaging in a study of his/her own practices and taking action for change based on what he/she learned from the inquiry. This is an awesome way to gauge the status of effectiveness of a given practice. Instead of solely basing an opinion on an outsiders research you can use action research to form your own opinions.
What I have learned from the text about action research is that it is actually freedom research. There may be a specific area in the school that needs to be analyzed on its effectiveness in the school and action research can be used as a gauge. I deal mainly with special education and my action research will be geared toward special education and the inclusion setting. As an educator it is my responsibility to find different teaching methods that will be the most effective. For my action research I will try different teaching methods and from the responses will gear my teaching method accordingly. Administrators should use action research to determine what methods work best in their particular school rather than depending on what someone wrote in a book, journal, article, blog, etc.
Action research may be my new best friend!!!!
I debated focusing my inquiry on inclusion students and the impact of individual interventions on standardized test scores. I am very interested in ways to improve student achievement for my special education students. I love it when these students start to believe in their ability to succeed. I look forward to reading more about your inquiry.
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