Action Research: Final Reflection

This course has been one of the most interesting that I have taken during this master degree program. I need to admit that at the beginning, I was not motivated to take the course, but through the readings, assignments and lectures my thoughts towards the course changed. Week after week, my interest in the course started to developed. I see now the importance of this course for my career as an educational leader. The learning acquired through the experiences provided by this course and the professors will help me grow as a professional and as a leader.
The action research or administrator inquiry is a process that helps us develop and improve the instruction and leadership of our campus. Simply stated, administrator inquiry refers to the process of a principal engaging in systematic, intentional study of his/her own administrative practice and taking action for change based on what he/she learns as a result of the inquiry (Dana, 2009). The importance of this type of investigation for education is precisely the engagement in a research based on the interests or concerns of the inquirer. The level of engagement of the researcher in this type of project, will help him/her design, develop and improve an action research project that promotes the necessary and needed changes in his/her campus or district. The action research process helps improve and develop instructional strategies that engage our students into the education they deserve as the 21st century learner.
The outcomes or findings gained from an action research project give us a broad repertoire of benefits. One of these benefits is the sustained improvement we provide to our schools and districts through the findings on an action research project. As we mentioned before, the outcomes from an administrator inquiry process lead us to a change that can or will improve the students’ learning process at a campus or district level. This means that the findings in an action research project improve the teaching and learning strategies used by the educational professionals. However, not all of the implemented changes provide a constant improvement on the learning process. As educational leaders, we need to always monitor the established changes, project them into the future of education, and decide which ones are worth keeping and which ones need modifications in order to work. The changes we decide to keep are the ones that provide the sustained improvement, as Harris, S., Edmonson, S., & Combs, J. (2009) mentioned, schools improvements are most likely to be sustained when educators also look to the future to provide needed structures for these improvements to continue.
The assignments in this course helped us understand, design and developed an action research project that builds up to the outcomes mentioned before. By working cooperatively and collaboratively with our site mentor and peer students we have been able to design, develop and improve an action research project that will emulate the outcomes and benefits described by the course lectures and readings.

References:
Dana, N.F. (2009). Leading with passion and knowledge: The principal as action
researcher. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. Page 2.

Harris, S., Edmonson, S., & Combs, J. (2009). Examining what we do to improve
our schools: 9 steps from analysis to action. Larchmont, N.Y.: Eye on Education. Page 100.

Revised Action Research Plan

Goal:
To improve, provide and guarantee a safe learning environment for the students, and prevent students of becoming cyber bullies’ victims.

Action Steps:
1. Acquire parents’ authorization to work with the students.
2. Identify prior knowledge of the term cyber bully, and identify cyber bullies victims.
3. Assess students’ behavior and academics.
4. Analyze students’ feelings and thoughts about cyber bullies and bullies in general.
5. Advise and provide students with the necessary skills to handle a cyber bully situation.
6. Examine improvements (if any) on students’ behavior and academics.
7. Document improvements or changes of the students towards cyber bulling.
8. Share the project findings with the faculty.

Person Responsible:
Joanaly Ramirez

Timeline:
January-May 2011

Needed Resources:
1. Permission letters
2. Survey Monkey
3. Students’ current teachers and students’ records
4. Small group of students
5. i-safe and NetSmartz web sites
6. Students’ teachers and grade reports
7. Power point

Evaluation:
1. Permission letters
2. Pre-assess Survey
3. Interview
4. Questions and answers, quizzes
5. Post- assess Survey
6. Group Discussion

Action Research Plan

Goal:
To improve, provide and guarantee a safe learning environment for the students, and prevent students of becoming cyber bullies’ victims.

Action Steps:

1. Identify prior knowledge of the term cyber bully, and identify cyber bullies victims.
2. Assess students’ behavior and academics.
3. Analyze students’ feelings and thoughts about cyber bullies and bullies in general.
4. Advise and provide students with the necessary skills to handle a cyber bully situation.
5. Examine improvements (if any) on students’ behavior and academics.
6. Document improvements or changes of the students towards cyber bulling.

Person Responsible:
Joanaly Ramirez

Time line:
January-April 2011

Needed Resources:

1. Survey Monkey
2. Students’ current teachers and students’ records
3. Small group of students
4. i-safe and NetSmartz web sites

Evaluation:

1. Pre-assess Survey
2. Interview
3. Questions and answer
4. Quizzes
5. Post- assess Survey