Action Research

I am truly excited about this course because I have really grown to appreciate the part action research plays in education.

In my current position in Community ISD, we are going through a couple of years of great transition. From coming out of a special education coop to bringing all services in house to better serve our students (this directly affects me because I am a special education teacher), to hiring a new superintendent...it has been almost two full years of transition for our district.

I feel that most would agree that the changes have been good and necessary. I have seen a real commitment to moving our district forward. I know that there are meetings and conversations on a weekly basis in which the old order of doing things are being challenged. Not change for the sake of change but to determine what is in the best interest of all stakeholders.

A big part of the decision making process for the administration has been in looking at the data (research based data) and determining the best direction based off of the findings.

This has been encouraging because, while I am not in all of those meeting, I can see the evidence of them and I truly feel like taking this approach to decision making is in the best interest of all involved. While change can be hard, those who are truly here because they are passionate about students and seeing them successful, we (teachers) can accept change when they see results.

That is why I am so excited about this course, I want to be an affect action research for the betterment of my district and more importantly for our students.