Reflecting on Reflecting...

As I reflect on my course on action research, my biggest take-away is the need for reflection.  According to Dictionary.com, reflection is "a fixing of the thoughts on something" or "careful consideration".  Our friends at Merriam-Webster say that reflection is a "thought, idea, or opinion formed or a remark made as a result of meditation".  No matter the definition, the need for reflection is paramount in today's world of education.  Likewise, engagement in reflection is essential to discovering an inquiry and traveling the road of action research.  Action research is the gold standard in educational leadership and implementing change due to the introspection that is integral to the process.  Taking the time to reflect on practices and connect questions to student performance keeps us from making hasty decisions based on the educational "flavor of the month".  To focus on the future, we not only need to take the time to reflect on the situation at hand, but we also need to look at the factors that led to it and the challenges and opportunities that arise from it.  Reflection coupled with collaboration will lead to my own personal growth and my ability to build leadership in others.  My engagement in the inquiry process will allow me to learn from reflection on my own thoughts and practices, learn from the insights of others, expand my use of best practices, and model life-long learning.

Changes...

The comments that I received from my peers regarding my action research plan were all very positive.  Felix commented that my plan is “very detailed with clear evaluations”.  Tammy stated that my plan is “very thorough and concise” and that she appreciated the amount of communication and collaboration with the 3rd grade teachers that I have planned.  One of my peers suggested that, in addition to interviewing the teachers, I interview “the 3rd grade students to get their feelings on math and how they feel they improved over the year”.  My site supervisor and I discussed adding surveys or interviews of the students to my action research plan, but decided that this would be extraneous.  We decided that I will focus on how the instructional strategies and interventions impact performance and not on the students’ perception of the learning.  After discussion with my site supervisor and reflection on the comments shared by my peers, I have decided not to make any further changes or revisions to my action research plan.  The consensus of my colleagues is that my plan exhibits a detailed and thorough account of how I will proceed through my action research project.  I appreciate that the comments from my peers affirmed the careful consideration that went into completing my action research plan.