Reflections for EDLD 5301

Going into this course, I did not know what to expect. I had no idea what action research was or how it could be useful and beneficial to my educational goals, my school and me. However, I have learned quite a bit about action research. During the first week I learned that action research is a process in which a principal analyzes his or her own administrative practices and takes action for change using the information gathered during the research (Dana 2009). It is a tool for making changes in the classroom, on campus, and in the district. There are numerous benefits of action research such as peer collaboration, modeling learning, improving schools and making researchers reflect on current practices and needs. I particularly enjoyed to videos from week two. It was helpful to hear how other administrators have used action research. I found Johnny Brisenos video particularly interesting because his ideas on action research focused on how teachers can benefit from using action research in their classrooms. The readings from week two about the 9 passions very were helpful in choosing my research topic. In week three, I created a draft of my action research plan. This was difficult for me because of the amount of thought and reflection required. I really had to think about what I wanted to accomplish and how it could be done realistically. I chose to use action research to determine the benefits of Career and Technical Education courses in student success in core academic subjects. My questions are:
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How can CTE teachers integrate 9-11th grade English TEKS into foundation CTE courses? How can 9-11th grade English teachers integrate CTE foundation course TEKS into their curriculum?

Many of my students are very successful in my CTE classes, yet they struggle in their core academic classes. I have seen study data that suggests students enrolled in CTE courses are more successful on state standardized tests and have a higher graduation rate than their counterparts. If students in CTE courses are more successful, then it would seem ideal to have an integrated curriculum where CTE and core academic courses come together for the benefit of the students.

The discussions and readings for week four concerned strategies for sustaining improvement. This was helpful because I began to think about the effect my project would have on others. The nominal group technique stood out to me. If the research is going to lead to change; then we, as a school, need to continue to sustain the improvements we have implemented. This approach would help teachers to feel that they had a part in changes that are made and provide administrators with information about what teachers feel needs to change and what does not. The CARE model was also interesting to me. The four components: Concerns, Affirmations, Recommendations and Evaluations emphasize sustainability while planning for the future (Harris, Edmonson, Combs, 2010). I enjoyed week four because I was able to get feedback about my action research project from my peers. The blog was useful to post my draft and get feedback without having to go anywhere. I found that the feedback I received was useful and encouraging. During the final week of this class, I learned about the five quality indicators for action research. I will use the quality indicators to assess each step of my action research plan as I prepare to share my findings. Overall, I feel that this course has been tremendously helpful. It has given my internship some direction and helped me organize my thoughts on what I want to change.

Dana Fichman, Nancy (2009). Leading with passion and knowledge: The principal as action researcher. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press Harris, S, Edmonson, S, & Combs, J. (2009). Examining what we do to improve our schools: 8 steps from analysis to action. Larchmont, NY: Eye on Education.