Action Research Discussion, Week 2

Action Research Discussion:

I have had several projects shifting around in my head, all of them having to do with Passion 1: Staff Development (Dana, 2009, p. 32). Our school campus has undergone a tremendous number of changes in the past five years: we became a Title I school, had a complete change in administration, and had a population explosion in our area during this time. We have gone from being a "country school" to shifting between the second or third largest elementary school in the parish. We have an administrator who is a real "techie," and she has utilized Title I funds, written grants, and worked with Partners in Ed to garner a tremendous amount of technology for our school. Most of our staff has become much more technologically savvy, though some have been resistant to the process. To some extent, I can understand why; some of the changes have not always been diplomatically undertaken, and there is always the time element. It takes time to learn new tricks. I can attest to the fact that although I enjoy learning about new techniques and technologies, as a “digital immigrant” (Prensky, 2001, p. 1), I have been intimidated by them in the past. My initial question was, "What can I do to help others on my campus learn about technology?" I decided to narrow the focus, and my purpose is now, "Is a PLC the best way to reach others to help them with technology integration?" One of my classmates has also suggested using the PLC to ask, "How do we involve and motivate others who are afraid or refuse to implement technology in their daily lessons?" (Thank you, Jeanette!) I am also going to be consulting with my site mentor and co-workers for their opinions of whether or not this inquiry would be valid to them and to our school. As Dr. Lewis stated in Video 4 this week, "If it's not practical [an action research project], and it can't be applied to your particular situation, it just hasn't done much good" (Lewis, n.d.).

I think the people who will benefit immediately from this project will be the ones in my PLC. Collaboration with other teachers has always been helpful to me, and for the past few years I have been blessed with wonderful co-workers in my grade level. We all work very well together, share similar attitudes towards classroom management and work ethics, and my co-workers are terrific about sharing ideas and techniques that really work. I hope this will benefit my administrators as a model of an effective way to help with staff development. We will have our blog open to others on the staff, of course, and encourage them to share ideas and begin their own PLC’s. Lastly, and most importantly, are our students, who will benefit from having teachers who are knowledgeable, confident, role models of lifelong learning.

Dana, N.F. (2009). The passions that drive your journey: Finding a wondering. In Leading with passion and knowledge the principal as action researcher (pp. 29-69). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

Lamar University EDLD 5301 Research for Teachers. (n.d.). Interview 3: Dr. Kirk Lewis [Embedded video].
Retrieved from URL: https://lamar.epiclms.net/Learn/Player.aspx?enrollmentid=2271379

Prensky, M. (2001, September-October). Digital natives, digital immigrants, part one. On the Horizon, 9 (5), 1-6.

Marianne Wallace
EDLD 5301/ET8038