Class #2 5301- Week 2 Reflection

Whoa Nelly I say! This week I tried to put roughly 1.5 hours nightly into the course work to try to get into a better routine. It seemed to work a bit better but I am still up late burning the midnight oil after my work and household responsibilities get completed. This next week I will try to put in 2 hours each night to see if I can finish earlier than the 11th hour of the due date. I know you are all at the edge of your seats waiting in anticipation for next Sunday or perhaps even Saturday to see when I completed my assignments. Oo- the excitement is building. I can sense it.

Anyway- enough dribble about that. Onto what I really learned from this week's assignments. One stand out silly thing I realized was that OMG- I can Google things to try to find the answers. Dr. Timothy Chargois mentioned that toward the end of his interview in the video. It was one of those "Well- duh" moments. I know it was mentioned in one of the web conferences in Class 5311 but I guess I had to hear it twice to really get it. The funny or ironic thing is that is something I always tell my students when they ask me a question. I guess I was thinking old school and I needed to be professional and solve the problems on my own and not ask for help- which is a deficit area I have and that maybe part of another discussion in weeks to come.

Overall though I have really enjoyed all of these assignments. I guess it was the right time for me to pursue this degree.I am really diving into the work and thinking about what they are asking and how it is going to affect me and not just completing an assignment for a grade. I feel the assignments have all been extremely useful in beginning to develop me into a leader in the educational system.  I am also very fortunate that my site supervisor/ principal is a wonderful example of an effective leader. She has had great insight and questions on my Internship Plan and Action Research Plan. I feel like we will be a team in trying to answer both of our questions on how we can better meet the needs both academically and socially for our low socioeconomic students. The journey has been enjoyable so far.

Thoughts on Action Research/ How You Can Use a Blog

New thoughts on Action Research...

Action research is the process in which a principal examines problem or deficit areas within their school and then develops a plan to solve this problem. It is different than typical research because the person inside the educational setting is the one who is doing the research and action of the plan. Once they have identified a problem area then they formulate an action plan to improve the problem. Once the plan is implemented and completed they evaluate the process to see how effective it was and whether they should continue on with the new strategy or if they need to develop a different strategy to resolve the problem.

Action research plans allow for professional growth as well as school improvement. It allows the principal to be self-reflective in their role and also become a role model for being a lifelong learner for both the staff and the students. It can bring groups of staff together to help resolve problems within the school. More staff members, including the principal, become more engaged in resolving the problems on their campus. When the staff is more engaged or part of the process then there will be a much better chance for buy in of the new strategies to implement. 

How can a leader use BLOGS?

An educational leader can use blogs as a daily journal to model for both staff and students. They can impact the teachers by showing how they are reflecting on their practices or how new programs that are implemented are working. They can impact the students in the same manner but it can also model for the students how to be reflective with their actions in everyday life as well.

 

Reflecting on where you have been will help lead you to where you should go.