Action Research and Its Benefits

Action research is a tool used to develop and improve all aspects of the educational process. It can be used by administrators and prospective administrators as well by team leaders and teachers within their professional learning communities.  The data collected from an action research can lead to changes within the school to improve and enhance student achievement and teacher effectiveness. By having the stakeholders participate in the action research, it provides ownership and buy-in of those directly involved.  In addition, it allows for the data to be relevant and allows for changes to be made successfully.

I believe I will be able to use this approach in several ways as a teacher, team leader, and a future administrator. When it comes time in a district to select a program for use, an action research would be beneficial for our curriculum team to use to make the most informed, data-based decision. Once the program has been chosen and implemented, an action research can be used to determine its effectiveness. Another time when action research would be beneficial is when we look at data from curriculum based assessments. Upon identifying an area of weakness that needs to be improved, utilizing action research to best equip our staff to meet those needs of our students could dramatically improve scores. Not only could action research be helpful in finding solutions to these situations, it can also be an effective way to provide professional growth for our teachers while also building our professional learning communities on our campus.