"The Plan"

Action Planning Template
Goal: Improve Communication to teachers and parents.
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Survey teachers on what forms of communication are most preferred to receive information from administration.	Myself	11-5-12/11-12-12	Survey Monkey	Data received from survey
Survey parents on what forms of communication they most prefer to receive information from the school.	Myself	11-12-12/11-19-12	Survey Monkey	Data received from survey
Propose changes to principal where needed to improve communication to all groups	Myself, Mrs. McBride	11-19-12/ unknown	Data from surveys	Do all groups feel more informed?

Week 2 what I have learned.

I have learned that I have always been an action research kind of person and just didn't know it.  I have always like to look at how we could make things run better, be better or fix an issue but I just didn't know it was called action research.  Really I just thought it was common sense and trying to make things work better.  I have learned that there are better approaches to figuring out how to fix or gain the knowledge  on how to fix the problem or issue.  Some issues have a cut and dry outcome, while others may have some grey area and these differences my cause some difficulty is reaching information or the outcome desired.  I have learned that I have so much to learn. :)

How educational leaders can use blogs

Educational leaders could use blogs to share their ideas and also seek solutions to issues they are having at their school.  They could also share with parents ideas and insights of how to better help their students deal with anything from homework to social issues.  Communication between teachers and administrators, district to district, the uses of blogs are endless.

What I have Learned of Action Research

As educators we are continually striving to teach our students how to be problem solvers, yet we sometimes do not give them a good example of what one looks like.  Life is always full of roadblocks and issues that try and keep us from reaching our goals, but if we are wise we try and figure out ways to overcome those roadblocks.  Action research is just a deliberate way of addressing the problem or issue and seek ways of improving or solving the problem.  It is using the resources that are available on a campus or school district, the resources being people, data, equipment or time.  To often administrators isolate their self with issues that are a problem for fear that it will be a bad reflection on their leadership abilities.  When we get to the place were we can be comfortable as seeing our self as a lifetime learner and that we do not know everything, growth is possible.  Our goal in life should be to learn as much as possible and to show that example to our students and college's.  Always giving the example of "Do as I do, as well as I say" and to "practice what we preach".  We teach problem solving skills in math and reading but they can be applied to all areas of life.  Action research is basically looking at the facts and wondering how we can adjust, tweak or completely change things to produce the outcome that we desire. The education field offers many opportunities to use action research because it always changing with new technology, budget constrants, new and harder testing requirements. As an administrator we would hope that one day all problems would be fixed, but as real people we know that  will never happen.